Santa Muerte: the history, rituals, and magic of our lady of the holy death

260 Pages·2017·11.443 MB·English

by  Rollin, Tracey

Death Welcomes Everyone
Santa Muerte (Holy Death or Saint Death) is the female personifi cation of
death. This powerful and mysterious folk saint provides blessings including
safe passage to the afterlife. Santa Muerte is the patron saint of those who
live on the fringes of society, as well as those who face violence and death.
She is hailed as a potent and powerful guardian and protector. Death is the
great equalizer, and Santa Muerte potentially grants miracles to anyone and
everyone.
Santa Muerte is a complete ritual guide to working with this famous—and
infamous!—Mexican folk saint. Go beyond the sensational headlines to dis-
cover the truth about why Santa Muerte is so beloved by so many. Author
Tracey Rollin presents simple, straightforward methods for working with
Holy Death that may be used alone or easily incorporated into your own
magical practice.
“Tracey Rollin’s very well written book Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and
Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death avoids a dogmatic approach to Santa
Muerte. The author, who hails from New Mexico, where
Doña Sebastiana, Lady Death, presaged Santa Muerte,
incorporates more research on Santa Muerte than
other books aimed at devotees.”
—Professor R. ANDREW CHESNUT,
author of Devoted to Death:
Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint
www.redwheelweiser.com
U.S. $16.95

Praise for Santa Muerte
“Tracey Rollin does an excellent job of laying out and explaining
Santa Muerte. I particularly appreciate how she explores the his-
tory and beliefs of Santa Muerte while balancing the theory with
practical magic and suggestions for how people can integrate Santa
Muerte into their existing spiritual paths. Her instructions are clear
and easy to follow but also encourage people to discover how to
develop their own relationship with Santa Muerte. If you want the
authoritative book on Santa Muerte, this is the book to read.”
—Taylor Ellwood, author of Pop Culture Magic
“Tracey Rollin’s Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our
Lady of the Holy Death is a serious work dedicated to providing
historical insight combined with spiritual application in the
ways of the Holy Death. Rollin’s book provides sound research
and a unique inside perspective into the customs and rituals
associated with one of the fastest growing religions in the world.
This book brings together two important perspectives of both
a historical and magico-religious worldview without alienating
either one. A valuable contribution to this area of study.”
—Tony Kail, author of Santa Muerte: Mexico’s Mysterious Saint of Death and
A Secret History of Memphis Hoodoo: Rootworkers, Conjurers, and Spirituals
“Tracey Rollin’s very well written book, Santa Muerte: The History,
Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death, avoids a dogmatic
approach to Santa Muerte. The author, who hails from New
Mexico where Doña Sebastiana, Lady Death, presaged Santa
Muerte, incorporates more research on Santa Muerte than other
books aimed at devotees.”
—Professor R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted
to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint
“Do you have a friend in Death? You should and you can with
Rollin’s new book. Rollin does an amazing, nonjudgmental job
of relating the stories of Santa Muerte, but also gives the reader
the practical goods on how to work with this powerful folk saint
combining both traditional and modern ways of working with
her. Her personal stories and experiences with St. Death are,
more often than not, entertaining, and the book gives you more
than a solid foundation to work with Santa Muerte. The only
question you should have is how fast do you want your results?”
—Andrieh Vitimus, author of Hands-On Chaos Magic and
podcast host of Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole
SA NTA
M U E R T E
The History, Rituals, and Magic
of Our Lady of the Holy Death
T R A C E Y R O L L I N
W B
EISER OOKS
This edition first published in 2017 by Weiser Books, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
Copyright © 2017 by Tracey Rollin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechan-
ical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.
ISBN: 978-1-57863-621-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon
request
Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck
Interior by Frame25 Productions
Typeset in Adobe Devanagari
Printed in Canada
MAR
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to my brother, Chris.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1. Introducing Santa Muerte, the Skeletal Lady of Mexico 1
2. The Aztec Roots of Santa Muerte 25
3. The Sainthood of Death 41
4. Death’s Feminine Ways 55
5. The Seven Colors of Santa Muerte 79
6. Preparing Your Ritual Space and Tools 87
7. The Rosary of Santa Muerte 135
8. The Novena of Santa Muerte 151
9. Niña Blanca, Sweet Sister Death 171
10. Niña Violeta, the Royal Queen 177
11. Niña Azul, the Gracious One 185
12. Niña Dorada, Lucky Lady Death 193
13. Niña Roja, the Queen of Passion 203
14. Niña Verde, the Just Judge 213
15. Niña Negra, the Mother of Tears 221
16. A Few Last Words 229
Glossary of Terms 233
Recommended Reading 237