Tracey Rollin - Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death

Tracey Rollin does an excellent job of laying out and explaining Santa Muerte. I particularly appreciate how she explores the history 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 Dona 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

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 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: 978-1-57863-621-1

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

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This book is dedicated to my brother, Chris.

Foremost, I acknowledge and thank Santa Muerte
for her continued influence in my life. I also thank:

C. D. for telling me what I needed to
hear, not what I wanted to hear.

S. L. for their endless patience, worthy of a living saint.

S. P. P. for their sunny and golden inspiration.

C. M., M. K., B. B., P. P., S. M., B. L., and R. B. for letting me
rearrange their lives so I could have what I wanted.

Without their support, this book would not have been possible.

With Special Thanks

I would like to thank Dr. R. Andrew
Chesnut for his expert guidance that
helped polish and perfect this book.

I hope that his work continues to
inspire for generations to come.

Oddly enough, my first introduction to magic came as a result of my Catholic upbringing. When I was a child, my devout mother sent me to after-school classes at the local Catholic Church so that I could receive my religious education. The program taught by the church was designed by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), the branch of the Vatican that was dedicated to teaching the principles of the Catholic religion. Attending the CCD classes, or catechism as it is commonly called, is considered necessary for children to later receive the religious sacraments of Penance (confession), the Eucharist (communion), and Confirmation.

One of the things I learned during catechism was that Catholics believe in a wide variety of saints, with the Virgin Mary hailed as their chief (in fact, she is commonly called the Queen of Saints). To Catholics, a saint is a spiritual figure that is believed to have a special close connection with God. The primary role of saints is to act as a spiritual bridge between you and God, helping you communicate with him as well as helping you understand his divine purpose for you. Their secondary function is to act as spiritual intercessors, advocating to God on your behalf in order to receive divine concessions. Sometimes saints may even persuade God to perform miracles for you. Therefore, developing a strong relationship with the saints is essential in order to receive their wisdom and continued favor.

I was taught to pray to the Virgin Mary and to the other saints using a rosary. A rosary is a special set of meditation beads that Catholics use to count prayers as well as to induce a peaceful and focused mental state. Because saints are so useful and because Catholics have so many of them, the CCD believed that learning about the saints during catechism was essential. As a result, the nuns who taught my catechism classes often gave me prayer cards dedicated to different saints. Each prayer card had a saint's picture on the front and a short prayer printed on the back. The nuns rewarded us with stickers and chewing gum if we memorized the prayers. I had so many prayer cards that my father started jokingly referring to them as Catholic baseball cards.

I was taught that a saint could intervene in any aspect of our lives, no matter how minor. When I was eight years old, I learned to pray to Saint Thomas Aquinas, the patron saint of students, for help with passing my spelling tests. (Given that I was the district spelling champion, it appears that my prayers were answered.) The nuns always stressed to me that the saints were not meant to be worshipped for themselves. It was not Saint Thomas granting me good marks for spelling tests, for he did not have the power to do so. Saint Thomas's role was carrying my desire for good grades to the ears of God as my spiritual intercessor. God himself was answering my request. The nuns explained that since I had developed a strong relationship with Saint Thomas by praying to him in the manner I was taught, he was helping me get a divine advantage. I was simply reaping the benefits of my Catholic faith.