Santa Muerte tattoos are clear examples that how people have a strange obsession with death. These tattoo designs are inspired by the personification of Death in Spanish culture. Santa Muerte translates to Saint Death or more affectionately called Our Lady of Death.
Santa Muerte is a controversial figure as it is not associated with any particular religion but instead, it is viewed as a new religious wave by many media houses. A survey recently revealed that Santa Muerte is the second largest growing ‘new’ religion in the 21st century.
There are multiple reasons for the insane popularity of Santa Muerte which has now touched the 20 million follower mark. Firstly, As a personification of death, it is often linked as a savior that cares for her devotees. Many people have claimed miracles that changed their life after they accepted Santa Muerte.
We can not verify the truth of those claims but one thing is for sure that Santa Muerte has established itself as a challenge to catholic churches. The high order of Catholic churches has publicly bashed the figurine and its follower going as far as calling it blasphemy. However, it put no dent in the popularity of our lady of death.
If you are also a devoted follower of the lady of death and want a cool tattoo dedicated to her then you are at the right place as we have the best photo gallery of the Santa Muerte tattoo designs collection.
Before we jump into the list let us brief you about How meaningful Santa Muerte tattoos are and how you can choose the design to represent the meaning that signifies you the most.
Santa Muerte Tattoo meanings
One amazing thing about Santa Muerte is that there is no organization or religious body that is propagating her message but in fact, it is an unorganized community. This is the reason why the Santa Muerte tattoo can have so many meanings. Some of the most popular ones are –
Afterlife – The most common theme is Death and Afterlife. Santa Muerte is called the Lady of death but unlike many other counterparts, it does not mean to harm or take the life away of its devotees. The devotees see her as a noble angel that takes her devotees to their next journey of the afterlife peacefully.
Your Santa Muerte tattoo can signify the same if you believe in an afterlife. Don’t forget to add the Scythe and globe to the design. You can try this in red color as it is considered a symbol of Faith over fear.
Anarchism – The devotees of Santa Muertes have only increased even after being publicly objectified and humiliated by Catholic churches. Several orthodox Churches have cited Santa Muerte devotees as an anarchist who has no affiliation with the catholic practice of Christianity.
Her followers rather took this criticism with open arms and many devotees got inked with the word ‘Anarchist’ on their bodies. If you have similar thoughts then you can try the same.
Anti-Crime – Mexican Police arrested an infamous gangster in 2001. After a thorough search of the house, police found a few sculptures and a shrine of Santa Muerte. Since then, many people associated the lady of death with crime and even called her a protector of criminals.
Again the devotees didn’t roll their eyes but rather sent a clear message that Crime is not associated with just one religion. You can uphold this idea and show that your faith doesn’t represent you as a criminal.
Wealth – There are hundreds if not thousands of claims that how people became rich after they built the shrine of Lady of Death and paid prayers to her daily. These claims resulted in the unimaginable popularity of Santa Muerte.
If you wish to represent the same in your design then try a gold color for the veil.
Health and Prosperity – You can try a Santa Muerte tattoo in a yellow color veil to show that the goddess takes good care of the health and prosperity of her devotees.
Different colors can represent different themes as Green will signify justice while white will show peace.
Here have a look at 100+ Santa Muerte tattoo designs that can be tried by both men and women –
Santa Muerte Tattoo Ideas
Santa Muerte Tattoos For Men
Santa Muerte Tattoos For Women
Small Santa Muerte Tattoos
Black and White Santa Muerte Tattoos
Also Read: Cross Tattoo Designs
Conclusion
Santa Muerte does not have a particular appearance as her devotees are divided on this. You can try and check all different variations of her. Pick the best that suits you and add your own meaning to it. Which tattoo design from above photo gallery you liked the most?
References: Santa Muerte Wiki
