Santa Elena de la Cruz Nicho

Most spells that are used in Mexican magic are love spells, and one of the most famous is that of Santa Elena de la Cruz, which a lot of people have memorized, albeit in slightly different versions. This version I learned from a Mexican Curandera, Maria del Refugio, known popularly here as doña Cuquita (coo-KEE-tah). This is something that is part of the folk religion of Mexico, known as curanderismo.

The concept of this magic is that one symbolically takes one of the three nails from the Cross, the one that Santa Elena did not use for another purpose, and one nails it through the heart of her lover to make him loyal, or to make him come back when he has gone astray. There is a milagro - a Mexican religious charm, that shows a heart with a daggar in it, and this is associated with this same concept. Its roots go back to the Roman god Cupid, who shoots an arrow through a person's heart to make him fall in love.

It is also useful to have an amulet for this magic, and this should be prepared in the traditonal way and blessed with holy water mixed with Perfume de Siete machos from an altar to a saint that is being reverenced actively, and the proper prayers must be said by a person who is believed to be blessed for her or his devotion to the saints. We have those available in our eBay store. This nicho has an image of Santa Elena de la Cruz, and below is the prayer in Spanish and English. Simply place a photo of the person on whom you wish to work the spell in under a glass of water (or just his name on a piece of paper), light a red candle, and pray the prayer daily. Before you say the prayer, take the nail out of the candle. When it gets to the part where it says, "The third I drive into the heart of (name of person)", stick the nail back into the candle, and then light it. Don't leave it lit very long, or it will just burn down! Just light it when you are performing your spell. If you don't have a photo of the person, write his name on a scrap of paper and use that instead.

Translation into English of the prayer:

Prayer to Santa Elena of the Cross

Most loving Mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine
Daughter of King and Queen
To the Mount of Olives you went
Through you overwhelming love
Thus to Divine Jesus
The three nails of Our Lord Jesus Christ
One you threw into the sea
For the salvation of sailors
Another you nailed into a dedicated object
The third I drive into the heart of (name of person)
So that he may not be able to eat
Nor in a bed sleep
Nor in a chair sit
Nor with men nor women converse
Nor have even one minute of rest
Until he is surrendered at my feet.
If this which I desire were to me conceited
I will be your most loving and sincere devotee. Amen

Original prayer in Spanish:

Oración a Santa Elena de la Cruz

Madre Amantísima de Constantino Emperador Romano
Hija de Rey y Reina
Al Monte de Olivete Fuiste
Por vuestro entrañable amor
Así al Divino Jesús
Los tres clavos de nuestro Señor Jesucristo
Uno lo tiraste en al mar
Para la salvación de los navegantes
Otro lo clavaste en un objeto dedicado
El tercer lo lo clavo en el corazón de fulano
Para que no pueda comer
Ni en cama dormir
Ni en silla sentar
Ni con hombres ni mujeres hablar
Ni un solo momento de reposo
Hasta que se rinde a mis plantas
Si esto que deseo me fuera concedido
Yo seré tu más amante y sincero devoto. Amén

Santa Elena was the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, who declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire, after he won a major battle before which a cross appeared in the sky over the battlefield with the words “In hoc signo vencis” (In this sign you shall conquer - the same as the slogan on a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes). After this miraculous event took place, Constantine converted to Christianity and required that all of his subjects do the same, and the world witnessed a watershed event. After that, being concerned now, especially with the subject of the Holy Cross, Constantine’s mother, Santa Elena, set out to find the One True and Holy Cross (“Veracruz” in Spanish), and when she succeeded, and brought it back to Constantinople, where it would become one of the symbols of temporal power of the newly sanctified by God Roman Imperial throne, she paved the way for her own sainthood, and thereafter, in any Holy Images of herself, one would see the symbol of her own contribution to Christendom, the presence of the Holy Cross. She has been a popular saint in Mexico, and near our own town of Ojinaga is the village of Santa Elena, where she is the patron saint, and near to that, Santa Elena Canyon in the Big Bend, which also gets it name, ultimately, from this saint.