The Book of Shadows of a Broom Closet Dweller *EDITING*

Poppet Magick

What is poppet magick?

Poppet magick is a type of sympathetic magick, a type of magick that works on the logic of "like creates like". Poppet magick consists of crafting a poppet representing someone for a specific purpose. Poppets go by many names; Voodoo dolls, moppets, jujus, bridey dolls, worry dolls etc.

Although in pop-culture you'll see the stereotypical "Voodoo doll" being used to harm someone, poppets have been used in many different cultures all over the world, and can be used for almost anything, including healing.

Poppets come in many different shapes and sizes, and can be made out of a whole range of materials in many different ways. The most common medium is fabric, but they can also be made out of paper, wax, wood, or anything else readily available.

The use of poppets has been found to date back to ancient Egypt, and they've been used in lots of other areas and time periods like ancient Greece, West Africa, Europe, and even in the American Civil War. While many different traditions and cultures utilise poppets, some forbid it, so you might need to double check your tradition's stance on poppets, or assess your own views of ethics and morals when it comes to using poppets. As a rule of thumb, always get the recipient's permission before using any sort of magick on them.

How to make a poppet

First you'll need to identify the person you want your poppet to represent. This can be yourself, or anyone else who has asked you to help them using a poppet.

Next you need a goal. This could be almost anything and not just to harm someone. It could be to help with insomnia, self-love, confidence, protection, healing, abundance, etc.

Then you'll need to gather materials that represent your goal and add intention. These will be used to make the poppet. Here are some ideas:

Animals: Brown or green fabrics, patterns with cats or, anything pet-related
Banishing: Black fabric, designs such as swords or wands, dragons or fire
Creativity: Orange or yellow fabric, prints of suns or other fire symbols
Healing: Silver, white or blue, with designs of clouds or other air symbols
Love: Pink or red material, designs like hearts, roses or other flowers, Cupids
Money: Silver, gold or green fabric, or designs of dollar bills or coins, cups or earthy symbols
Protection: Red or white material, with patterns of shields, keys or locks, fences, mistletoe

Now you can make the poppet. There are many ways to do this and this will of course be different depending on the material you're using. Later in this part I will give some steps on how to make a poppet out of yarn, and one out of paper. The thing that will remain the same for any method you use is that you should be focusing on the goal and imbuing the poppet with intent as you craft it.

If you use fabric or paper or similar, one of the last steps is to fill the poppet's insides with things that represent your goal. To add extra power, add things that physically belong to the person the poppet represents; these are known as taglocks. These can be things like hair, clothing, photos of the person, or gross things like nail clippings and bodily fluids.

Now you can place it somewhere in the home, burn it, bury it, give it to the recipient to look after, use it as part of a larger spell, or anything you want to do with it. As an example, if you wanted to help with insomnia, you could place the doll in a comfy bed of its own.

How to make a poppet/Juju out of yarn/wool/string