Cressida Stone - Secrets of Santa Muerte: A Guide to the Prayers, Spells, Rituals, and Hexes

I really appreciate Cressida's point of view on Santa Muerte, and I like the way she writes about our spirituality. I hope everyone will like this book that is derived from the writer's lived experiences and shares so much about our people and our rich traditions. I wish Cressida Stone every success.

Arely Vzquez, leader of Santa Muerte, Queens, New York

I very rarely endorse nonacademic books, but this grimoire by Cressida Stone is, hands down, the very best and most complete of the spiritual guides on devotion to Santa Muerte, the fastest-growing new religious movement in the West. Secrets ofSanta Muerte is grounded in the prayers, rituals, and spells developed in Mexico where Holy Death originated. Unlike so many other grimoires and even some academic texts, this devotional road map features the Lady of the Shadows in every single one of her cloaks of many colorsred for love and lust, gold for prosperity and abundanceand even relates how Mexican devotees combine colors for added potency. Penned in captivating prose that engages the reader on every page, Stone's grimoire belongs on the top shelf of both neophytes and seasoned devotees seeking to develop their relationship with the Bone Mother.

Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted toDeath: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint

I am pleased to endorse the publication of Secrets of Santa Muerte by Cressida Stone. This publication is a well-written book about a belief system that is found in Mexico, as well as many parts of the US. The history, prayers, rituals, etc. of la Santa Muerte offer information that many will enjoy.

Dr. Eliseo Torres, professor of traditional medicine courses at the University of New Mexico

Cressida Stone is an incredible writer who is very intelligent and knows a lot about Santa Muerte; she goes into the fine details very well. I admire her as a woman and as a writer who is dedicated to explaining, with great clarity and without hiding anything, the themes pertaining to Santa Muerte. Her words transmit light, darkness, healing, power, happiness and gratitude.

Soraya Arredondo Hernandez, bruja, curandera, founder, and leader of Templo Altar Angel de Alas Negras (Angel of Black Wings Temple Altar), Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico

I confirm and attest that Cressida Stone has deep knowledge of the spirituality of Santa Muerte. She has traveled across Mexico where the roots of devotion to the Saint of Death truly originate. She honors our faith and shares the teachings of Santa Muerte clearly, aiding people to respectfully venerate and learn correctly about Santisima Muerte. This is because Cressida has been to those special places where devotion to Holy Death is deep and true.

Yuri Mendez, Bruja of the Three Virtues and spiritual guide of Santa Muerte, leader of the Templo y Recinto de SanacinDulce Madre, Cancn, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Secrets of Santa Muerte offers an insightful look at a culture that I feel many outsiders do not understand or know about, yet feel a great attraction to learning about. This book reveals a series of mysteries, secrets, traditions, beliefs, culture, magic, and spells deeply linked to this ideological current, especially the myth of the White Girl. In this culture, magic is powerful, raw and real, as is Santa Muerte. We know that, just as light is born in darkness, death gives way to life. Living is arriving; dying is returning; and returning is continuing. This is the eternal lesson of the Santa Muerte.

Martha Ileana Moran Gonzalez, founder and director of Witchmart, high priestess, and proud bruja

Secrets of Santa Muerte is the most complete workbook I have found in English on this subject. After reading it, you will be well equipped to navigate the botanica for supplies and have a solid understanding of how to use those supplies in your spells and witchcraft. Stone goes beyond the well-known color systems and reveals the secrets of lesser-known powders, oils, and candles, and how they are used. There is even a chapter on unbonding with Santa Muerte, for those who decide the faith is not for them and want to respectfully stop working with her. Anyone interested in the fastest growing religious movement in the world should have this book on their shelf.

Jason Miller, author of Consorting with Spirits

Cressida Stone's Secrets of Santa Muerte is the Santa Muerte book we've all been waiting for: a brave blood and guts master class in how best to bond with the Queen of Death. Part personal journey and part history, it focuses mainly on how to work with the Bony Lady. The author is no spiritual tourist, trying Santa Muerte on for size, but the real deal, dedicated to The Lady of the Shadows, and she writes with the authority of both humble seeker and sincere teacher. Stone gives careful advice on how and why to set up an altar including details about herbs, candles, and omens, as well as sharing what she has learned, first hand, from shamans and healers and devotees in Mexico. One of my favorite parts of the bookand I have manyis when Stone describes the ritual of the blood pact, recommended to her by a mountain-dwelling witch. But you'll have to read the book for the whole story! My one wish is that Stone decides to write a companion volume, as the power and beauty of Holy Death in concert with Stone's knowledge and passion made me hungry for more. If you are curious about Santa Muerte or want to deepen your devotion to her, then you need this book.

Aliza Einhorn, author of The Little Book of Saturn and A Mystical Practical Guide to Magic

This edition first published in 2022 by Weiser Books, an imprint of

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

Copyright 2022 by Cressida Stone

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, 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: 978-1-57863-772-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

Interior by Steve Amarillo / Urban Design LLC

Typeset in Caslon Pro and Antique

Printed in the United States of America

IBI

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to the many witches, healers, shamans, and devotees who taught me the ways of Holy Death and opened their hearts and homes to me, but above all it is dedicated to the most beautiful and sacred Santsima Muerte, whom I thank for all the many blessings both material and immaterial, for the innumerable wonders, and many magical moments. May she always protect me and grant me with mystic insights and abundance in all aspects until the last day and ultimate hour when forever I will find rest within her most tender, bony embrace.

This book contains advice and information for using herbs and other botanicals, and is not meant to diagnose, treat, or prescribe. It should be used to supplement, not replace, the advice of your physician or other trained healthcare practitioner. If you know or suspect you have a medical condition, are experiencing physical symptoms, or if you feel unwell, seek your physician's advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. The spells and rituals in this book are for information only and should not be practiced by anyone without proper training. When working with candles, readers are cautioned to follow instructions carefully and accurately for safety and the best effect. Readers using the information in this book do so entirely at their own risk, and the author and publisher accept no liability if adverse effects are caused.