Santa Muerte

Santa Muerte is an occult figure venerated primarily in Mexico and the United States, probably a syncretism between Mesoamerican and Catholic beliefs, although strongly condemned by the Catholic Church as Satanic. The name literally translates to "Holy Death" or "Saint Death." Mexican culture since the pre-Columbian era has maintained a certain reverence towards death, which can be seen in the widespread Mexican celebration of the syncretic Day of the Dead. Catholic elements of that celebration include the use of skeletons to remind people of their mortality.

Santa Muerte generally appears as a skeletal figure, clad in a long robe and carrying one or more objects, usually a scythe and a globe. The robe is most often white, but images of the figure vary widely from person to person and according to the rite being performed or the petition of the devotee. As the worship of Santa Muerte was clandestine until recently, most prayers and other rites are done privately in the home. However, for the past ten years or so, worship has become more public, especially in Mexico City. The worship is mainly condemned by the Catholic Church in Mexico, but it is firmly entrenched among Mexico’s lower working classes and various levels of the criminal world. The number of believers in Santa Muerte has grown over the past ten to twenty years, to approximately two million followers at least and has crossed the border into Mexican American communities in the United States. Santa Muerte should not be confused to be identical with the Argentinian folk-saint San La Muerte, even though the two are ascribed similar powers and are venerated with similar rituals.