Who is Santa Muerte?

      Let's start with the basics and most frequently asked questions and what best to start with than this question. Who or what is Santa Muerte?

    Santa Muerte is Spanish for Saint Death or Holy Death. She is the thing that unifies us all. She doesn't care what is your race. She doesn't care where you're from or where you were born. She doesn't care about your ethnicity. If you're rich or poor. What you've done. What language you speak. Everyone is the same in the eyes of death. One way or another we all meet her. You might meet her before me or I before you, but at the end of the day we will all see her. So why not make friends with her now?

    Some people leave this world kicking and screaming. Sometimes they leave this world in fear or full of regret. Wishing they could undo what's been done. Wishing they could go back and have a chance to do things differently. What do you think? Will you leave the world like this? Personally I prefer to leave this world satisfied and comfortable. Without fear or regret.

    However many people fear death, people don't want to dwell on their own death and avoid it or worse are paralyzed by it. Some of us understand death at an early age, maybe you had a pet die when you were a child. Some don't deal with death until later, maybe a classmate stopped showing up and the whispers of your fellow classmates revealed that they passed away due to some unfortunate accident. But how did you internalize that idea? Some equate death an annihilation. The irradication of something. Although if you think about it, even when someone passes away the memory of them or the effects they have are not wiped out. In that same virtue death or Death is not the same as the termination of something.

    There are many cultures around the world and some deal with death very differently. In the western world, we bury or sometimes cremate our dead. In other cultures around the world they deal with death very differently that we do here. Some of these death practices might be disturbing or down right terrifying to you. Although historically death was something enigmatic. Not only was it unpredictable but it was something that was hard to spot. Now a days we think of dead as being brain dead, however that hasn't always been the case. In ancient times, someone was considered dead when they happened to appear dead, became cold to the touch or stopped breathing. I'm sure you can see how problematic that would be if for example you were in a coma, had circulatory issues or had some kind of disease that would make you catatonic and slow down your breathing.

    Imagine the bewilderment of people when they wake up buried underground or the dismay of opening a relatives exhumed coffin only to find the scratch marks on the inside. Death for many people has always been something to fear due to it's mystery. The unknown is what really scares most. However over time more and more people have grown to accept the unknown and make friends with it. In the middle ages, a particular artistic movement rose up called Danse Macabre. Artists would personify death as skeletal beings and depict them at times dancing to the grave. Sometimes they would also include clergy and nobility to help make their point across, no one escapes death. Death is not really what scares you but rather the fragility of life. Life is a very delicate balance, when it gets thrown out of balance you would lose life and even if you maintain that balance you would still die. So why not live it up? Don't be afraid of death, because if you're alive you're dancing with death all the time.

    This world can be very cruel, it's full of illness, sadness and pain. Life is not fair. We all get dealt a random hand and not all of them are favorable. Some people are outcasted for what they look like, who they love or simply who they are. They are seen as untouchables, are dehumanized and mistreated all the time. Many of them try to turn to organized religions such as Christianity with it's promises of salvation, redemption and loving thy neighbor only to be further ostracized, alienated and othered. For those of marginalized communities they know that there is no difference between us. That we are all just people. Humans living this human experience. This is why Santa Muerte has been described as the patron saint of sinners and outcasts. She doesn't judge you for being a sex worker, a criminal or queer. As I said before, in the end we will all meet Death.

    I hope that this helps you understand a little bit about who is Santa Muerte. She doesn't bring on destruction. She isn't here to kill you. In fact, she doesn't care what you think or feel about her, she holds no ill will towards you. In my opinion La Santa Muerte is the exalted form of the phenomenon we call death if it was personified. However, I'm curious what do you think? What is death like for you? What does death mean to you? What's your experience with death? Have you had someone close to you die, if so how did you deal with it? Do you fear death or dying? Do you deny it and avoid thinking about it? If you would personify your relationship with death what would it look like? Would death be a scary skeletal creature? Or would it be comforting, like an old friend? Let me know down in the comments.

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