The second line of the devotion was the first line I wrote, and it was all because of a man born in 1883.
I discovered Santísima Muerte in 2006 while on a business trip in San Antonio. But I think she had been calling to me my entire life. When I was in seventh grade, and began reading Greek mythology in literature class, it was Hades who attracted my attention. When I began to delve into Egyptian lore, I had to read everything I could about Anubis. Next came Ereshkigal, and then Oya. No matter what culture I explored, it was the god or goddess who ruled the dead and/or the underworld to whom I was most attracted. At last, I encountered Santa Muerte.
Last time, I started with the first line of Santísima Muerte devotion. In case you missed it, you can find it here. The second line is:
Ave La Hermana Blanca, She who gives me peace of mind.
I began writing this devotion to Santa Muerte with this line, and it was all because of a man who was born in 1883. Napoleon Hill was a successful speaker and businessman, and he had a set of psychic guides “ten invisible guides” who took care of him. He spoke about these guides on disc two of his audio series The Science of Personal Achievement. When I listened, I realized that I had the same benefit through Santa Muerte and all her robes, if only I could harness that benefit though a devotion.
La Hermana Blanca is another one of Santa Muerte’s nicknames. When I first started reading about her, I learned that Mexicans called Santa Muerte their White Sister. Of course, La Hermana Blanca means The White Sister. In the three-robe tradition, La Hermana Blanca, or sometimes simply La Blanca for short, is the white robe. She is also purported to be the oldest of the three. So, when someone is speaking generally of Santa Muerte, you could say he or she is speaking of La Hermana Blanca.
Christianity teaches that through the crucifixion, Christ overcame Death, as if Death were a sort of enemy. And certainly, regardless of our relationship with her, we all look with some disdain upon the figure of Death when one of our loved ones dies. However, Catholics who venerate Santa Muerte see her as having a different role in the crucifixion. Because the Son of God had to die, the figure of Death had to be there to conduct him to Heaven, and that figure was Santa Muerte. Since the white robe is the oldest, when practitioners say that God called upon Santa Muerte to reap his only Son, it is generally believed that it was La Hermana Blanca who took the task.
The white robe is our spiritual mother, cleansing and purifying in nature. She looks out for us. She can help with our higher spiritual purpose. She can give us divine guidance. She can be called upon to help with spiritual cleansings of both body and location. She is a soothing influence. She can be asked to help ease our fears. I have found that working with her in conjunction with the stone opalite has almost completely stopped my nightmares. I should inject a disclaimer here and say that you should always use alternative therapies in conjunction with medical therapies prescribed by your doctor/medical professional, and that results may vary. La Hermana Blanca and an opalite worked for me, but a different stone might work better for you. One friend of mine uses tiger’s eye. Another friend swears by citrine.
When you approach La Hermana Blanca, try not to be angry or anxious, but instead to be calm. If you are angry, or otherwise agitated, and you must approach her, then let your initial request be that she help calm you. If you cannot let go of your emotion, because you feel righteous anger about something, or you are grieving, and you want to process your grief and not be cleansed of it, then choose another robe, or nickname as the case may be, with whom to work. Believe me when I say that La Hermana Blanca is patient, and she will wait for you.