Santa Muerte oil

Santa Muerte holds a scythe in one hand and a globe or a set of scales in the other: she cuts down everyone, and she weighs everyone the same.

Origin & Traditional Use

Santa Muerte, Holy Death, is a Mexican folk saint pictured as a robed skeleton, with devotion rooted in folk Catholicism and older Mexican attitudes to death. Long practised in private, her following grew rapidly after 2001, when a public shrine was set up in the Tepito district of Mexico City. This oil is a modern preparation used to dress her candles and carry her prayers.

Uses by Tradition

Folk Catholicism & Spiritism

• Dress a candle in the colour of the help you need: white for blessing and protection, red for love, gold for money, green for justice, black for protection against enemies and for harm.
• Anoint the base of her statue and offer tequila, a cigar, red roses, bread or an apple alongside.
• Touch a drop to your forehead before praying her rosary or novena, and keep your promise to her once the request is granted.

Demonology & Black Magick

• Dress a black candle with the oil and a photograph of the target to ask La Flaca to cut down an enemy.
• Anoint a name-paper and place it beneath her scales for a court case or a punishment you believe is deserved.

A Simple Working

• Set out a glass of water and a small glass of tequila before her image.
• Choose a chime candle in the colour of your request and dress it with the oil.
• Light it and greet her as Santísima Muerte.
• Tell her plainly what you need and what you will offer in return.
• Let the candle burn out completely.
• Change the water weekly and fulfil your promise as soon as the help arrives.

Pairs Well With

• Tequila: her best-known offering.
• Red roses: a favourite flower offering.
• A black chime candle: for protection and works against enemies.
• A white household candle: for blessing and longer petitions.

Lore & History

Enriqueta Romero set a life-size image of Santa Muerte outside her home in Tepito in 2001, and her shrine still draws crowds for a rosary held on the first day of every month. The devotion has spread across Mexico, the United States and Central America, especially among people who feel left out of official religion.

What You Receive

Santa Muerte oil, available in 2 dram, 1 oz and 16 oz.