Saint Martha of Bethany was the sister of Mary and Lazarus and a close companion of Jesus. She is known for welcoming Jesus into her home in Bethany and preparing meals, while her sister Mary chose to sit at his feet and listen. While Christ gently admonishes her for being overly concerned with material matters, her devotion and faith shine through, especially when she expresses unwavering belief in Jesus during the resurrection of her brother Lazarus (John 11:21-27). In Catholic tradition, she is considered the patron saint of hospitality workers, domestic laborers, and those seeking strength in adversity. The Golden Legend later describes a tale of her saving the people of Tarascon France from a dragon known as the tarasque who was ravaging the town. Rather than slaying the dragon or subduing it by force, she tamed it by sprinkling holy water on it’s head and then tying it up with her girdle.
Within hoodoo tradition she is known as Martha the Dominator and shares syncretism with Marta Dominadora, a figure depicting an African woman holding snakes who shares connections to Mami Wata, Filomena Lubana, and other various figures with African Diasporic traditions. She is approached for help with all works of domination, and she is particularly helpful in matters of the household such as keeping lovers faithful, maintaining peace in the home, and dealing with abusive landlords. I have found to her to be a fierce protector of women but also anyone oppressed or marginalized seeking to maintain or reclaim sovereignty and agency in their home, relationships and workplace. She is typically worked on Tuesdays, the day of Mars, and her connection to works of domination give her a decidedly martial bent. Her Catholic feast day is celebrated on July 29th.
These lariat necklaces were born out of devotion to Martha, a beloved saint and patron of mine of many years. On her feast day on July 29, 2024 I offered her red roses, black coffee with cinnamon and dark chocolate with chili peppers in it. I then dried the rose petals and ground them with dragon’s blood, tarragon, and other herbs into a powder and placed it with her statue on my altar. For 9 consecutive Tuesdays I prayed over this powder that it may be used for works of domination and those involving gaining and maintaining agency and sovereignty in one’s home, workplace, and relationships. During this period I was inspired to create this necklace in her honor.
I chose a lariat style in the style of a traditional medieval girdle as a reference to the girdle which she used to tie up the tarasque after subduing it. The necklace features a dragon head and tail I sculpted from jeweler’s wax and then cast in solid sterling silver. The dragon’s head features a sky blue topaz pear, referencing the holy water sprinkled on its head. The chain connecting the head and tail measures 18″ and is sterling silver. Each necklace comes with a 10ml bottle of the powder along a printed copy of the above prayer card I designed featuring the woodcut Saint Martha and the Tarasque – Engraving from “Leben der Heiligen – sommerteil” (The book of the saint) by Jacobus (James) of Voragine (1228-1298) along with the prayer to St. Martha used in her 9 Tuesdays devotion. These necklaces can worn devotionally and to further connect with Martha or in any situation where one is in need of strength or performing domination work.
