Poppets and Doll Magick

[jackdawking]

Poppets and Doll Magick

Probably the most common form of magick in today's society, with novelty "Voodoo Dolls" being sold in bookshops and stores worldwide. Revenge in a Box...

But what is the Art of Doll Magick all about? And why is it such a popular method of performing all sorts of spells, to all manner of effects?

Well, in this thread I hope to give you an insight into what it is all about, and hopefully giving everyone a technique they can keep for life.

Contents:

- The Theory of Sympathetic Magick -

- Getting a Doll -

Feel free to comment and give feedback or corrections, all will be appreciated.  

[jackdawking]

The Theory of Sympathetic Magick

Sympathetic Magick, is in essence, making an object that has some connection or similarity with a living person. That object can then be used in a number of ways, to change the situation of the person that it represents.

In Basic: whatever you do to the doll, you are doing to the person.

That being said, this kind of magick is taken very seriously by everyone that uses it, and with good reason. The idea that you hold in your hands, a miniture version of someone, that you are controlling completly; is the dangerous side of it.

Of course, all of you know that there are two sides on every coin. Whilst having control of a tool like this, we have the opportunity to effect the target's lives in positive ways.

Healing, Protection, Wealth, Peace and Love are only a few of the spells that are commonly used in beneficial voodoo, and with a bit of creativity, you can create magnificent mini-situations for your doll...which relate directly to your target.

I know that some of you have the view that magick should not be done upon anyone that doesn't know about it, but in this form of magick, this will more than likely always be the case.

But I must say here that the magick you work will more than likely always be positive, and I'm afraid that it will be up to you personally whether you perform this kind of spell.

But do not worry if you don't want to do spells behind people's backs, because there are many different forms of doll magick, so you may find something to suit you.

 

[jackdawking]

Getting a Doll

Before you can even think of starting Sympathetic Magick...you need something to work the sympathy through. So we need dolls.

I know that a lot of resources I have read don't specify ways and things to use in a doll. They usually say, "There is no limit on what you can use"

But this doesn't help us except that we now have to think hard on acquiring or making a doll, that we don't really know how to do. So this post is going to be a long one. I have recently been getting into poppets a lot more and found a few new ways to make dolls for any occasion.

Buying a Doll

There are thousands of Voodoo Dolls and Poppets on sale all over the world. From the tiny-plushie voodoo kits you can pick up in bookstores, to the authentic dolls from New Orleans. I have seen some of the prices and I was not impressed.

In my opinion, you would be better off purchasing a mini-voodoo kit for the nifty little doll and pins rather than the dolls crafted in New Orleans and said to be more powerful. You are the one who is going to be using it remember, you are the one who gives it power.

Aside from comercial voodoo dolls, there are a load of things on sale that can be great substitutes (e.g. Barbie Dolls). Anything that looks human is useable.

Woolen Dollies

The most recent of my discoveries, this technique is a countryside adaptation of the Corn Dollies that used to be made.

- Take a ball of wool and a thin-flat object like a book.

- Wrap the wool around the book until you have a fair sized wad of wool on each side. The thickness of this is up to you, I prefer fat little dolls.

- Remove the wool by sliding it from the book, and you will have a thick loop of wool. Bunch the loop and tie up one end: this will be the hair, so make it long or short as desired.

- Tie another section off to make a head. Now that the neck is tied you can take the scissors and cut the bunched woolen loop by the hair to free the wool.

- Do the same at the other end of the woolen loop, so that you should now have hair, and a head at one end, and a bunch of wool strands at the other.

- Split the bunch into four equal sections, to create the arms and legs.

- Moving the outer-most bunches up, tie a waist for the doll underneath them. This will seperate the arms and legs.

- For the legs, simply tie ankles at the ends of each bunch.

- For the arms, you can either tie wrists like the ankles, or plait each arm and then tie it off. I prefer plaiting to give a better finish.

That is the Woolen Dolly made. These can be used like Poppets or Fetishes which will be discussed later (non-sympathetic magick).

Cloth and Stitches

I have very little skill with a needle, but made a simple doll from cutting up an old t-shirt and stuffing pieces with wadding (fluff inside teddy bears) to sew them into arms, legs, body and head.

I had never made a doll before and it came out alright. Make sure you have a drawing of what you are trying to make before you start, otherwise you coudl get a bit lost. I don't have much advice on actually making the cloth and stitch doll, it is just a case of trial and error.

Classic Voodoo Doll

If you see Authentic Haitan or New Orleans Dolls, you will see they are simple things made from simple materials. These effigies are lesser seen now, but are very easy to make and then personalise.

- Go out for a walk and pick up a bunch of grass or moss, and two straight sticks, these will be made into a crusifix style cross.

- When at home, let the moss or grass dry, this will be your stuffing. When it is dry, take the two sticks and make a crusifix style cross by tying them together with string or some dried grass.

- Wrap or lay the stuffing on your sticks, tie the stuffing to section the body up. Like the Woolen Poppet, you can tie off hair, neck, waist, shoudlers, wrists and ankles.

- You now have the option to tie cloth over the stuffing as skin, or leave it bare.

- That is the skeleton of the doll done. Now, if you desire you can decorate it to have a face and clothes. Add things from your local area you have collected like feathers or dried flowers.

These dolls have been used as symbols of the Loa, the african spirit-gods and goddesses. You may also use them as poppets and voodoo dolls.

Candles and Soap

A western tradition, where bars of soap and candles are readily available, you can carve them into faces or bodies to your design, some candle-shops also sell human-shaped candles.

Clay Dolls

If you have clay, you can create long-lasting dolls for your own uses. The clay will need to be baked, and this gives you the choice to add a variety of materials in it forever. For example, shards of mirror can be set into the skin as protective dolls or reflecting negative energies.