Saint Martha

Saints

The sister of Mary and Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke, who receives Jesus into her house and is rebuked for being busy. The medieval legend of Martha taming the Tarasque dragon is a later accretion and is the source of her folk-magic authority over unruly forces.

Tradition · Christian FolkSaint

A note on this entry

The feast is 29 July in the West; the Eastern churches keep her memory on 4 June. The dragon legend is medieval and is not part of the scriptural account.

Offerings

Offerings: BreadWineCooked foodFlowers

Practice

Invocation Approach: Tone
Warm and firm
Address
Saint MarthaMartha of Bethany
Relationship
Householder and protector
Warning
The dragon is a medieval legend
Modern Practice: In folk magic she is 'Martha the Dominator', called on to bind a situation or a person who will not listen. The corpus records the devotion and marks that the domination reading is a folk extension of the dragon legend, not the Gospel.

Nature and meaning

Domain: HospitalityServiceProtection of the homeDominance
Mythology Summary: The sister of Mary and Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke, who receives Jesus into her house and is rebuked for being busy. The medieval legend of Martha taming the Tarasque dragon is a later accretion and is the source of her folk-magic authority over unruly forces.

Details

Feast Day: July 29
Patronage: CooksServantsHospitalityDomestic workWomen in childbirth
Correspondences: Colors
GreenRedWhite
Stones
Jade Garnet Rose Quartz
Herbs
Basil Marjoram Rosemary
Scents
FrankincenseRose

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Referenced by 2

Every entry that names Saint Martha, grouped by the system it comes from.

🧿 Folk magic 2

Louisiana Voodoo Deity or saint
Novena and Velación Deity or saint

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