You may have seen a Santa Muerte tattoo before — a feminine skeleton shrouded in a cloak. It’s a beautiful image, and it makes for a great tattoo, but it might not mean what you expect it to mean. Santa Muerte is a very important religious belief with deep roots in Mexican folk Catholic culture.
Here’s what you should know before you get a Santa Muerte tattoo and what you need to understand about Santa Muerte iconography.
What Is Santa Muerte?
Santa Muerte is a folk religious movement based in catholicism. Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, is a folk saint that personifies the afterlife.
Folk catholicism, sometimes called neopaganism, is its own set of beliefs derived from the Catholic doctrine but re-interpreted, modified, or modernized to be utilized outside of an institutional context. TLDR: folk catholicism is a spiritual reimagining of the way Catholics look at the bible.
Since Santa Muerte is a folk religious belief, there is no universally accepted doctrine for
worshiping the icon. In Mexican culture, Santa Muerte is generally perceived as a saint of protection, healing, and safe passage to the afterlife. Making peace with death and believing that you will only die when your time truly comes is the philosophy of Santa Muerte worship.
How Does Santa Muerte Appear?
Santa Muerte appears as a feminine skeleton, often wearing a colorful robe. She holds two things: usually a globe and a scythe. Sometimes she holds goblets and daggers or other religious paraphernalia. She’s very similar in appearance to the Grim Reaper.
Some stylized versions of Santa Muerte depict her as a young woman in skeleton face paint, similar to the traditional sugar skull art associated with Dia De Los Muertos.
What Does a Santa Muerte Tattoo Mean?
To those unfamiliar with Santa Muerte, a Santa Muerte tattoo might seem dark or morbid. In reality, it’s exactly the opposite. A tattoo is seen as asking Saint Death for a favor. You’re requesting her protection from forces that may try to harm you and requesting that she doesn’t take you from this earth too early.
Practitioners believe that showing the Lady of Holy Death respect will help your death be peaceful and your passage to the afterlife pleasant. The act of getting a tattoo involves the marking of your flesh and the loss of your blood, which is seen as a small bit of self-sacrifice given to Santa Muerte.
Why Are Santa Muerte Tattoos Controversial in Mexican Culture?
Showing respect for death can be a complicated issue. A lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of making the worship or respect of mortality a cornerstone of your religious beliefs.
Worshiping Santa Muerte is essentially the same thing as worshiping the Christian god or Jesus as your way to heaven and decider of your fate. But, the iconography of Santa Muerte appears a little darker.
This dark iconography led uninformed people to the false belief that Santa Muerte relates to a gang or a drug cartel rather than a new-age religious belief rooted in Catholicism. While there may be seedy people who have faith in Santa Muerte, the belief is not exclusive to this group of people.
There are plenty of spiritual people of Mexican descent who place faith in Santa Muerte, and they do so without a nefarious purpose. The controversy surrounding Santa Muerte is rooted in religious misconception or intolerance of other spiritual beliefs.
Santa Muerte is not an inherently criminal or morbid practice but a respectful one that reassures people in times of grief or situations where they may be facing their own mortality. They’re asking that death greet them with peace and serenity rather than pain and suffering and praying for the safe passage of themselves and their loved ones into a restful afterlife.
What You Should Know Before You Get a Santa Muerte Tattoo
Images of Santa Muerte are beautiful. They’re aesthetically pleasing works of art that make for excellent tattoos.
What you need to remember is that Santa Muerte is a religious icon for people who are very spiritually devoted to the worship of a particular saint. People who follow Santa Muerte could view a casual Santa Muerte tattoo on a non-believer as culturally insensitive or offensive.
Santa Muerte practitioners get these tattoos because part of their worship process involves shedding blood and marking themselves to show devotion to a saint. Their religion is just as real to them as Catholicism is to Catholics or Judaism is to Jewish people. They may feel as though you’re mocking their beliefs or reducing the image of their icon to “something that just looks cool.”
There’s been a longstanding conversation about cultural appropriation in tattoos, like caucasian people getting Native American tattoos or script tattoos in Asian languages. The general consensus is that it’s probably not cool.
If you don’t have genuine faith in Santa Muerte, it may be better to get a similar tattoo. Not all feminine skeleton tattoos are Santa Muerte tattoos. Changing the stylization, like making your feminine skeleton a retro pin-up girl or a futuristic cyberpunk, can move the iconography far away from Santa Muerte.
How Are Santa Muerte Tattoos Designed?
Most Santa Muerte tattoos are very similar to other religious iconography tattoos. A lot of Santa Muerte tattoos mimic the appearance of the Virgin Mary, with Santa Muerte’s hands clasped in prayer or holding a rosary. Her shroud, despite its association with the grim reaper’s hood, doesn’t dramatically differ from shrouds worn by other figures in Catholicism.
Santa Muerte tattoos are open to creative interpretation. Some people choose to incorporate other symbols, like a globe, a scythe, or the scales of justice. They may use a Santa Muerte tattoo as a memorial tattoo for a loved one who has passed away, asking Santa Muerte to protect them in their eternal peace.
A single red rose or a crown of red roses on Santa Muerte’s hood is used as a symbol of love and remembrance. Roses can also be an offering to a loved one who has passed on. Each rose can represent a person someone would like Santa Muerte to protect.
Should I Get a Santa Muerte Tattoo?
It’s your body, and you have the freedom to decide how you choose to decorate it. If you want a Santa Muerte tattoo, you’re free to get one. Keep in mind that if you get a Santa Muerte tattoo and you don’t believe in Santa Muerte, you might upset some people who utilize her as a core part of their faith.
If Santa Muerte is religiously important to you and you’re contemplating a Santa Muerte tattoo, you have some spiritual exploration to do. Consider where you’re at with your faith and the longevity of your beliefs. A tattoo is a permanent commitment, so it may be best to make sure you feel secure in your faith before demonstrating your commitment in ink.
Will My Santa Muerte Tattoo Hurt?
All tattoos hurt. Some hurt more than others, depending on their size and location. If your pain tolerance isn’t your strong suit, you may be just a bit worried.
Good news! Tattoos don’t have to hurt. That’s not a requirement of the process. HUSH tattoo numbing cream can make your tattoo as close to painless as possible. Now that you know, you can just breeeeathe.
Slather on a thick layer of tattoo numbing cream 45 to 90 minutes before your tattoo appointment. Wrap it up with plastic wrap to keep it from transferring off. Your artist can help you remove the wrap and excess numbing cream during the tattoo prep process. The surface of your skin will be almost completely numb, and the numbing cream won’t negatively affect your tattoo.
In Summary
Santa Muerte has a profound meaning to the people who seek spiritual guidance from her. If you’re one of those people, a tattoo might be a great way to express your appreciation for your religious beliefs.
If you don’t practice a belief in Santa Muerte, you should give your tattoo a little more thought. Whatever you decide, HUSH is here to help you have a painless tattoo.
Sources:
Who Is Santa Muerte? | JSTOR Daily
'Saint Death' Now Revered On Both Sides Of U.S.-Mexico Frontier : Parallels | NPR
Worshipping Santa Muerte, the Goddess of Death | Texas Standard
