Santa Muerte, Our Lady of Holy Death, is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. She appears as a robed skeleton holding a scythe and a globe, and her devotees ask her for protection, love, healing, money, justice, and a safe passage at the end of life. The Catholic Church does not recognize her and has condemned her devotion, yet her following has grown from hidden home altars to an estimated 12 million people in Mexico, Central America, and the United States.
Who Is Santa Muerte?
Santa Muerte is a folk saint: a holy figure honored by the people rather than declared a saint by a church. She belongs to Mexican folk Catholicism, and scholars also describe her devotion as a new religious movement with temples, clergy, and rites of its own. Most folk saints were once living people. Santa Muerte never was. She is death itself, given a woman's robe and a face that devotees speak to like a powerful godmother.
Devotees do not see her as the enemy of life. The anthropologist Kate Kingsbury, who has studied the devotion in Mexico, describes her as "life-death conjoined": the same saint is asked for a safe childbirth, a new job, and a gentle death for a suffering parent. The historian R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint, calls her devotion the fastest-growing new religious movement in the Americas.
Her Names
Santa Muerte translates as Holy Death or Saint Death, and devotees often call her Santísima Muerte, Most Holy Death, during their rites. In daily speech she has many nicknames:
- La Flaca or La Flaquita, the Skinny Lady
- La Huesuda, the Bony Lady
- La Niña Blanca, the White Girl, and La Niña Bonita, the Pretty Girl
- La Madrina, the Godmother
- Señora de las Sombras, Lady of the Shadows, and Señora de la Noche, Lady of the Night
- Santa Sebastiana, or Doña Bella Sebastiana
Santa Muerte Is Not the Day of the Dead
Santa Muerte and the Day of the Dead share a skeleton and a season, but they are different things. The Day of the Dead, on November 1 and 2, is a holiday for remembering family members who have died, with ofrendas, marigolds, and sugar skulls. La Catrina, the elegant skeleton in a feathered hat, began in the early 1900s as a satire by the printmaker José Guadalupe Posada and became the holiday's mascot. Santa Muerte is a saint who is prayed to and honored all year. The dates overlap because many devotees celebrate her on November 1 and 2. If you are honoring your own dead this season, our guide to the dumb supper covers a quiet way to set a place for them.
Other Saints of Death
Santa Muerte has two male counterparts in Latin America: San La Muerte of Argentina and Paraguay, and Rey Pascual of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. She is the only female saint of death in the Americas.
Where Did Santa Muerte Come From?
Santa Muerte came from the meeting of two ideas of death after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The Spanish brought la Parca, the Grim Reaper with his scythe. The Aztecs had honored Mictēcacihuātl, the skeletal lady of the dead, and her husband Mictlāntēcutli, whose sacred owl still appears at Santa Muerte's feet on many statues. Scholars once argued over whether her roots are Indigenous at all, and research by Kingsbury, Chesnut, and the historian Judith Katia Perdigón Castañeda has since traced clear links to the old death deities.
The earliest written trace is an 18th-century record of the Spanish Inquisition, which reported people in central Mexico tying up a skeletal figure they called Santa Muerte and threatening to whip it if it did not grant their wishes. For the next two hundred years her devotion stayed hidden, kept at home altars and passed from person to person. American anthropologists recorded it in the 1940s in working-class Mexico City neighborhoods such as Tepito, and most of their reports from the 1940s to the 1980s describe her as a saint for love magic.
She came into public view in two very different ways. In August 1998, police arresting the kidnapper Daniel Arizmendi López found a Santa Muerte shrine in his home, and the press coverage tied her to crime in the popular mind. Then in 2001, a devotee named Enriqueta Romero built a shrine for a life-sized statue of Santa Muerte at her home on Alfarería Street in Tepito, visible from the street, where anyone passing could pray to her. The devotion had run in her family since her aunt began it in 1962. The public shrine changed everything. By the late 2000s Santa Muerte was the second most popular saint in Mexico after Saint Jude, rivaling the Virgin of Guadalupe, and around 2005 Mexican and Central American immigrants brought her devotion to the United States, where she now has temples and chapels from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
What Does Santa Muerte Do?
Santa Muerte protects, heals, grants love, brings money, delivers justice, and guides the dying safely to the other side. Her devotees hold that because death comes to everyone equally, she hears everyone equally: the poor, the night worker, the prisoner, and the person a church has turned away.
- Protection. As the Lady of the Night she is the patron of people whose work is dangerous after dark: taxi drivers, bar owners, police officers, soldiers, and sex workers. Devotees ask her to guard them from accidents, assault, and violent death.
- Love. Love is her oldest role. Most of the early anthropological accounts describe her as a saint for attracting a lover, keeping one, or ending a bad relationship to make room for a better one.
- Healing. Devotees petition her for their own health and for sick family members.
- Money and work. She is asked for a job, a sale, a raise, and a business that lasts.
- Justice. She holds the scales, and devotees bring her court cases and legal troubles.
- A good death. She is asked to take the dying gently and to carry them safely to the afterlife.
Santa Muerte is also honored as a protector of LGBTQ+ people in Mexico and the United States, who ask her for safety and for love. Devotion to her is a relationship, and a promise made to her in exchange for help is a promise devotees keep.
Santa Muerte Symbols
A Santa Muerte statue is a set of symbols, and each object she holds tells devotees what she offers.
| Symbol | What it stands for |
|---|---|
| Scythe | The moment of death, when it cuts the silver thread of life; also cutting away harm, and the harvest |
| Globe | Her reach over the whole world, and the earth that everyone returns to |
| Scales | Justice, fairness, and impartial judgment |
| Hourglass | The time each life is given, and that death is not the end, since the glass can be turned over |
| Owl | Wisdom and the ability to see in the dark; also a messenger |
| Oil lamp | Light through ignorance and doubt |
Santa Muerte Colors and Their Meanings
The color of Santa Muerte's robe or candle names the petition being made. Devotees dress her statue and choose her candles to match what they are asking for. White, red, and black are her three main colors.
| Color | Petition |
|---|---|
| White | Gratitude, purity, and cleansing away negative influences; the most common color and the usual first statue |
| Red | Love, passion, and emotional stability |
| Black | Protection against black magic and harm; also used against rivals, and usually kept private at home |
| Gold | Money, success, and prosperity |
| Green | Justice, legal matters, and unity with loved ones |
| Blue | Wisdom and study; favored by students |
| Amber or dark yellow | Health; often seen in rehabilitation centers |
| Purple | Healing |
| Brown | Calling on spirits, and for some devotees, wisdom |
| Seven colors | Every petition at once |
The seven-color candle answers a common question about "the seven powers of Santa Muerte." Chesnut traces it to the seven powers candle of Santería, the Afro-Cuban religion brought to Mexico by Cuban migrants. Its bands are gold, silver, copper, blue, purple, red, and green, and devotees light it to ask for help in every part of life at once. Our guide to candle color meanings covers color use across other traditions.
Is Santa Muerte Good or Bad?
To her devotees, Santa Muerte is a protector and a mother, and nothing about her is evil. Her bad reputation comes from two sources: the churches that condemn her, and the press coverage of her popularity among some drug traffickers.
The criminal association is real but narrow. Shrines to her have been found in drug houses since the 1998 Arizmendi arrest, and some traffickers light her black candle for protection. Scholars who have studied the devotion find that most devotees are ordinary working people, mostly young and mostly women, many living with poverty, violence, or a hard job. Police officers and soldiers are among her faithful too, and some ask her to bless the same weapons they carry against the cartels. Her white, red, and gold candles far outsell the black ones.
Whether a person sees her as good or dangerous usually depends on their own faith. The honest answer is that she is a saint of death whom millions of people trust with their lives.
Do Catholics Believe in Santa Muerte?
The Catholic Church does not accept Santa Muerte. The Church in Mexico has condemned her devotion as blasphemous, and when Pope Francis visited Mexico in 2016 he spoke against it on his first full day in the country. Evangelical Protestant churches in Mexico and Latin America condemn her as well. Many devotees are baptized Catholics all the same, and much of the devotion borrows from Catholic practice, including a Santa Muerte rosary. The Church calls this heterodoxy rather than heresy, and in the United States the Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued no official position.
How Devotees Honor Santa Muerte
Most devotion to Santa Muerte happens at home, at a small altar with her statue, a candle, and offerings. Public shrines and temples are newer, and most of her devotees still keep her in private.
The Santa Muerte Altar
A Santa Muerte altar usually holds one or more of her statues surrounded by some or all of these:
- A glass of fresh water
- Candles in the colors of the petitions being made
- Flowers, often red roses
- Fruit, especially apples, and bread or candy
- Coins and bills
- Tequila, beer, or another drink
- Cigarettes or cigars
- Incense
Tobacco smoke is also used to cleanse her statues. Devotees dress her in robes of the color they need, and sometimes as a bride. Some believe she is jealous and give her an altar of her own, never shared with the images of other saints. The most controversial image is "GuadaMuerte," Santa Muerte dressed as the Virgin of Guadalupe, and many leaders in the devotion advise against it out of respect for both.
Santa Muerte Prayers
Santa Muerte prayers are said at home altars and public shrines, and they follow the pattern of Catholic devotion. The best known is the Santa Muerte rosary, based on the Catholic rosary. At Enriqueta Romero's shrine in Tepito, it is led on the first day of every month and lasts about an hour. Many of her votive candles carry a prayer printed on the back that matches the candle's color. Her prayers belong to a living devotional tradition, and they are best learned from practitioners within the tradition, at a shrine, or from books written by devotees, such as the two below.
Santa Muerte Feast Days
Santa Muerte has no official feast day. The most important celebration is November 1, the anniversary of the Tepito shrine, when thousands gather at midnight to pray the rosary and the statue is dressed as a bride in hundreds of pieces of gold jewelry given in thanks. November 2, the Day of the Dead, is becoming the favored date elsewhere, some devotees keep August 15, and many shrines and temples celebrate the anniversary of their own founding.
Offerings and Promises
Devotees bring Santa Muerte offerings the way you would bring a gift to a respected elder: fresh water changed often, her favorite fruits and sweets, a drink, a cigarette, flowers, and candles. The most important offering is a kept promise. Devotees who ask for her help often promise something in return, and they are careful to promise only what they will do.
Approaching Santa Muerte With Respect
Santa Muerte is not a Halloween figure or a costume. She is a saint to millions of living people, many of whom have been shamed for their faith. If you feel drawn to her, learn about her from her devotees and from people inside the tradition before you set up an altar, keep any promise you make, and treat her image with the respect you would give any holy figure. Her devotion also overlaps with Mexican brujería and folk magic, and some practitioners include her in cleansing, protection, and love work; those practices, too, are best learned from the people who keep them.
Santa Muerte Tattoo Meaning
A Santa Muerte tattoo is usually an act of devotion. People wear her image to ask for her protection, to give thanks for a petition she granted, or to mark a commitment to her. Kingsbury records a devotee whose Santa Muerte tattoo thanked the saint for letting her mother die peacefully after a long illness. The objects in the design carry the same meanings as on a statue: a scythe for death and cutting away harm, a globe for her reach, scales for justice, an hourglass for time, an owl for wisdom, and roses for love. Devotees consider the tattoo a serious commitment rather than a fashion choice.
Where to Find Santa Muerte Supplies
Our Santa Muerte collection keeps her devotional supplies together. The Santa Muerte red statue is 7 inches tall, in the red robe of love and passion, and sized for a home altar. The Santa Muerte quartz tin candle suits a small altar or travel. Santa Muerte oil comes in a 2 dram bottle, as well as 1 ounce and 16 ounce sizes, for dressing her candles. For incense, choose the Santa Muerte incense sticks or the Sree Vani box of 120. For candles in her colors, see our 7-day jar candles, white candles, red candles, and black candles.
To learn her devotion from people inside it, start with Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death by Tracey Rollin and Secrets of Santa Muerte by Cressida Stone. The Santa Muerte Tarot by Fabio Listrani is a full art deck in her imagery; our tarot card meanings guide covers the Death card and the rest of the deck.
Santa Muerte FAQ
Who is Santa Muerte?
Santa Muerte, Our Lady of Holy Death, is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death. She appears as a robed skeleton with a scythe and a globe, and devotees ask her for protection, love, healing, money, justice, and a safe passage at death.
What does Santa Muerte do?
Devotees believe Santa Muerte protects them from violence and accidents, grants love, heals, brings money and work, delivers justice, and guides the dying safely to the afterlife. She is known for hearing anyone who comes to her sincerely.
Is Santa Muerte bad or good?
To her devotees she is a loving protector. The Catholic Church and Evangelical churches condemn her, and the press links her to drug traffickers, but most of her estimated 12 million devotees are ordinary working people, including police officers and soldiers.
Do Catholics believe in Santa Muerte?
The Catholic Church does not recognize Santa Muerte and has condemned her devotion, and Pope Francis spoke against it in Mexico in 2016. Many devotees are baptized Catholics all the same, and her rosary is modeled on the Catholic rosary.
What are the 7 powers of Santa Muerte?
The seven powers refer to her seven-color candle and robe, which ask for help in every part of life at once. The scholar R. Andrew Chesnut traces the candle to Santería's seven powers candle, with bands of gold, silver, copper, blue, purple, red, and green.
What do the Santa Muerte colors stand for?
White is for gratitude and cleansing, red for love and passion, black for protection, gold for money, green for justice, blue for wisdom, amber for health, purple for healing, and brown for calling on spirits. The seven-color robe covers every petition.
Is Santa Muerte the same as the Day of the Dead?
No. The Day of the Dead is a holiday on November 1 and 2 for remembering family members who have died, and La Catrina is its mascot. Santa Muerte is a folk saint of death herself, honored all year, though many devotees celebrate her on those same days.
When is Santa Muerte's feast day?
Santa Muerte has no official feast day. November 1, the anniversary of the famous Tepito shrine in Mexico City, is her biggest celebration, November 2 is becoming a favored date, and some devotees keep August 15.
What offerings do you give Santa Muerte?
Traditional offerings are fresh water, candles in the color of the petition, flowers, apples and other fruit, bread, candy, coins, tequila or another drink, cigarettes, and incense. The most important offering is a kept promise.
Can anyone pray to Santa Muerte?
Her devotees say she turns no one away, and her following includes people of every background. Anyone drawn to her is encouraged to learn from devotees first, treat her image with respect, and promise only what they will do.
What does a Santa Muerte tattoo mean?
A Santa Muerte tattoo is usually an act of devotion: a request for her protection, thanks for a granted petition, or a mark of commitment to her. The scythe, globe, scales, hourglass, owl, and roses in the design carry the same meanings as on her statues.
What does Santa Muerte mean in English?
Santa Muerte translates as Holy Death or Saint Death. Devotees also call her Santísima Muerte, Most Holy Death, and by nicknames such as La Flaca, the Skinny Lady, and La Niña Blanca, the White Girl.
