La Santa Muerte

When I first began to work on high level Mexican narcotics trafficking matters, I learned that many of the most prominent drug kingpins and their attorneys had, "made a pact with death". The concept didn't surprise me because so many of them find themselves dead at an early age. However it went a lot deeper than my initial superficial understanding.

Shrines to La Santa Muerte or Senora de la Noche "Lady of the Night" can be found in the homes and offices of the attorneys who defend the narco-traffickers. This is the way they explained it to me. They have made a pact with death to extend their mortal lives and to give them power over others in the process. La Santa Muerte (the Saint of Death) is able to grant favors such as causing the death of others who are interested in killing you. Frequently the weapons wielded by both the police and the criminals in Mexico are blessed ritually by the Saint of Death. Worship of the Saint of Holy Death is said to bring fortune to her devotees and the narco-attorneys are all about fortune.

This cult worship of The Saint of Death has made this Mexican saint the de-facto patron saint of prostitutes, taxi drivers, police officers, soldiers, street vendors and people who work at night or "in darkness". Even though the ritual worship of this saint mirrors the rituals of the Catholic Church, the church condemns its practice as devil worship.

The Saint's Day is celebrated on November 1, August 15 (or both).

For more information about the rituals associated with La Santa Muerte, there is a forum where it is discussed (CLICK HERE ).

A serious religion, fantasy cult, dangerous black magic, or whatever it is, I found it very interesting that highly educated men and women put a lot of effort into worshiping this particular saint.