Poppet Construction

On Basic Poppet Construction - Building the Magick

Source

http://www.witches-tutorial.com/spells/poppet.html  

Ok, so now you’ve decided to make a poppet. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. It can be made of any material you like – and not just cloth, either. A poppet can be made from clay, wax, wood – let your imagination run wild. Try to remember that the more work you put into it, and the more complex it is, the stronger your link will be to your goal. A poppet is a device for sympathetic magick. In other words, all of its components will be symbols of what it is you hope to achieve. 

Poppet construction can either be done as part of the spellwork itself, or it can be done ahead of time, leaving the poppet to be used later on. The choice is yours.

Remember, the poppet is representing a person. Accordingly, before you begin construction, you need to determine what sort of spell you are doing. Do you have someone you want to keep out of your life? Want to stop someone who spreads gossip? Or is there a friend who wants to get a job and needs some magickal assistance? Do you just want a protection poppet to keep around your house or in your car? The possibilities are endless, but it’s a good idea to determine your goal before you get started. It will save you from countless “do-overs” later on.

The directions here are for a simple poppet construction using fabric. We’ll go through it step by step, but feel free to modify or “tweak” anything you need.

Selecting Your Fabric

Obviously, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to material. However, you can choose your fabric based on your purpose. For example, someone doing a money poppet might select a piece of green or gold cloth, or a festive cotton print covered in dollar signs. If you’re looking for love, try something in pink, or perhaps in a heart design.

Fabric is inexpensive – most craft shops such as Joann or Michael’s – even Walmart has a craft section -- sell cotton prints at less than $3 a yard. You can make a LOT of poppets with a yard of fabric. Be sure to check for the post-holiday sales, and you can get a ton of great fabric to save for later.

Another alternative to purchasing fabric is to use something that links the poppet to your target. Ask your friend who is job-searching to give you an old t-shirt, or when you’re trying to draw love into your life, cut up that pair of silky pajamas that you slept in last night. Poppets don’t care what you make them out of, and they won’t be insulted if you use previously worn material.

When all else fails, and you just can’t seem to find the right fabric, a plain piece of muslin or felt is perfect for the job.

Here are a few additional suggestions for poppet fabric, based on their purposes. 

Spell Goal:	Fabric Color:	Patterns to try:
Prosperity	Green, gold, silver	Dollar signs, dollar bills, earth symbols
Love	Pink, red	Hearts, Cupids, roses or other flowers
Banishing	Black	Swords, wands, dragons
Creativity	Orange, Yellow	Suns, fire symbols
Protection	Red, white	Keys or locks, fences, mistletoe
Spirituality	White, blue, silver	Moons, clouds, air or water symbols
Animals	Brown	Cats, dogs, anything pet-related

When it comes to texture of the fabric, anything goes. Cotton is easy enough to work with, but if you’re an inexperienced sewer, you may want to stick with something stiffer at first, such as felt, which is available in darn near every color imaginable. Felt will hold its shape nicely as you sew, and its natural properties help keep the fabric from slipping during assembly.

Now that you’ve figured out what fabric to use, let’s move on!

Poppet Shape

Because the poppet is representing a person, we want it to look like -- you guessed it -- a person. Two arms, two legs, a head, that sort of thing. You can either create your own outline, or you can use the ultimate poppet template – a gingerbread man!

Several of the major craft stores sell large gingerbread man cookie cutters, especially around the holidays. You can pick one up for about $5, and use that as your template. Alternately, you can design your own, but basically the gingerbread man shape is perfect for poppets.

If you’re doing a spell for an animal – such as healing a sick pet – make the poppet shape accordingly.

Remember, your poppet doesn’t have to be huge, but it will need to be big enough that you can stuff it with all of the ingredients later. This is where planning ahead comes in handy! 

Your poppet is going to start out looking something like this, although it may not be smiling when you get done with it. In fact, you can print this out, enlarge it on a copier, and use it for a pattern if you like.

Cutting and Sewing

So now you have your fabric, and you have a pattern. The next activity is going to be cutting out the poppet. This isn’t hard, but you will need a good pair of scissors, and some straight pins might be useful as well. 

You will need two pieces of your fabric. Place the pieces right side together on a flat surface. This means that if your material has a print or design, the patterned sides should be facing each other. This is important!

Place your template or pattern on top of your fabric and secure it into place with your straight pins. Once your template is in position, you can cut out around it. Be sure to either leave some room around the edges, or design your pattern a bit larger so that you will have room to sew it shut. A ¼” to ½” margin is a good size.

Remove your template, and presto! You now have your poppet shapes!

Now, on to the sewing. If you’ve never used a needle and thread before, don’t be alarmed. It’s not as scary as it sounds, but it WILL require you to concentrate a little, and to be patient. If you’re pressed for time, you could theoretically use a sewing machine, but poppets like it when you take a bit of time and effort with them and sew them together by hand.

It’s probably a good idea at this point to pin the two pieces of material together, although if you’re using something such as felt, it may stick together on its own. Use your own best judgment.

Place the right sides of the material together, and then stitch around the edges. Don’t go all the way around. Leave yourself an opening (wide enough to get a couple of fingers into) at the head. Then turn your poppet right side out. Presto! You have one partially complete poppet.

Stuffing Your Poppet (or What the Heck Do I Put In There?)

Stuff your poppet with fiberfill, which is available at any craft store (or even Walmart). If you don’t have fiberfill, you could use cotton balls or even old pantyhose. Make sure you work the fiberfill all the way into the extremities. Once you have stuffed the arms and legs, you can work on the center of the body. This is where you will place your spell components. If you are adding herbs, stones, a taglock, whatever, this is the place to do it.

You may be wondering what in the world a taglock is. Well, quite simply, it’s the part of the poppet that links it to the person it represents. This can be hair or nail clippings, the person’s signature or name on a piece of paper, body fluids (yes, body fluids!) or even a photograph.

Once you have stuffed the components inside, finish filling the body and head. Sew the head shut with a small overcast stitch, as shown in the graphic.

Now that your poppet’s body is complete, it’s time to personalize it a bit more. This part is lots of fun!

Let’s Play “Name That Poppet”!

You’ve already placed the taglock and other goodies inside your poppet, but the more personalized you can make it, the better. Draw or paint a face on your poppet. Add yarn to represent hair if you like. If you have an item of the person’s clothing, wrap your poppet in it, or copy any identifying marks like tattoos or scars onto the poppet’s body.

Most importantly, repeatedly TELL the poppet who it is they represent. You can say something along the lines of “I have made you, and you are John Smith”, or whoever you are doing the spell for.

You can also add magickal or astrological symbols to the poppet, with paint, sewing or even markers. The possibilities are endless.

Poppets can be used for healing, for love, for money, for banishing, for revenge, to get a job – you name it, you can make a poppet for it. It’s simply a matter of figuring out what your goal is, and the best way to achieve that goal. The only limitations to poppet construction are your own imagination and creativity.

Sample Poppet Ideas

To Gain Employment

Material: Green or Gold satin.

Herbs: Chamomile, Clover, Ginger, Jasmine, and Pecan.

Stones: Snowflake Obsidian or Sodalite.

Create the poppet to represent yourself, and as you are working on it, think of all the positive attributes you have that would make you attractive to an employer. Another option would be to make a poppet representing the employer, and tell it why it would be in the company’s best interests to hire you.

Healing

Material: White cotton

Herbs: Lemon balm, carnation, ivy, and pine.

Stones: Bloodstone

When making this poppet, make sure you indicate on it what you are trying to heal, whether it is a sore leg, a bad case of lice, or even a broken heart. Focus all of your energy on the idea in question.

Love

Material: Red silk

Herbs: Rose petals, parsley, and peppermint.

Stones: Barite

You can make a poppet to represent the object of your affection, or make one to represent both you and the other person. If you are trying to draw a specific person to you, you can use pink or red cord to bind the poppets together. If you are simply trying to attract love to yourself, but you don’t have a specific target in mind, make sure you think about all the things that make you desirable to a potential lover.

Revenge

Material: Ground beef

Herbs: Avens, Fumitory, Heliotrope, Horseradish, Pepper, Rue, Sagebrush, Witch Grass, Yarrow.

You can take THIS little guy, and burn him to a crisp on the grill. Then bury him somewhere FAR away from you. Another option would be to feed him to your dog, or just leave him out in the sun to spoil and rot. 

Poppet Magic

Poppet Magick - A Perspective

Source

http://whisperingwood.homestead.com/Poppets.html

If poppet magick was to be defined, it would be considered "sympathetic" magick. Like is, what like does. And while poppet magick, for the most part, is for healing. It has however, over the centuries , been used in many different ways.

Making a poppet is quite simple. It is usually made in the rough image of a human, though animals poppets are known as well. It can be made out of just about any material; cloth, wax, clay, various metals (lead, copper ect.) wood and so on. It is the intent and the energy that it is empowered with that counts. The poppet is often filled with certains herbs depending on the desired result.

Those of the VooDoun faith fill poppets or voodoo dolls or gris-gris as they are also known, with personal items such as hair, nail clippings, articles of clothing ect. They then use these gris-gris for binding and for acts of revenge.

It has been suggested that poppets were first used by Paleolithic hunters from about 50,000 B.C.E. An image of the animal being hunted was created, and a ritual resulting in a successful hunt was performed on the poppet. Indigenous people around the world have used this method of magick and in some parts of the world, they still do to this day.

In ancient Greece (4th. century B.C.E.), poppets were referred to as "Kolossos". Their primary purpose was for binding. This could be applied to one's enemies, deity, ghosts and spirits, and so on. They were also used for healing and self defense of the individual or community and protection of boundaries. The act of binding was similar to the voodoo method. In that various personal articles were embedded into the kolossos (poppet). The kolossos was then set upon by tying the figure up, mutilating various parts, and/or piercing it with thorns or nails. This was usually accompanied by various incantations and/or ritual in order to further enhance the binding.

One example of these incantations is:

" O Hermes Katokhos, restrain ( name of person ) !

   I commit __________ to the Gods,

   to Ge, Hectate and Persephone!

   I bind _________, born of _________,

   in your presence, Hermes Katokhos.

   May he/she be restrained

   in hand and foot and body! "

The kolossos is then concealed by burying it or sealing it in a jar or clay pot. or cast into the deep sea. Among the Greeks and Hellenes the most common material for making poppets were clay, wax and lead.

The Babylonians often used poppets for defensive or protective magick. They were often made of clay or wax. These poppets were place around the entrances to their homes. and still others were buried, depending on the need.

The ancient Egyptians also used poppets for protection from their enemies. Spells of destruction were written on the poppet and then smashed and buried.

The point being made is that poppets have been in use for centuries and in different ways by many diverse cultures.

In the United states, mountain folk, particularly the women, have used poppets for ages in order to attract and bind a lover. After casting a binding spell, they would bind the poppet with string or a ribbon and then conceal it where it could not be found. If found the spell is broken.

Witches often use poppets for healing and love magick. Though one should not use these for binding magick.

When doing a healing spell using a poppet, first stuff it with Calendula ( a good healing herb ) and then do a naming ritual, using the name of the person that the healing is for. Here is an example:

" Image of health, your purpose is healing.

  I bestow upon you the name of _________ .

  Their body is your body.

  Their thoughts are your thoughts.

  Their emotions are your emotions.

  Their state of health is your state of health.

  I proclaim you both as one entity! "

Here is an example of a healing spell:

Material needed:

1 Yellow candle

herbs of calendula, Lavender, and Rosemary

Clear quartz crystal

Photo of the patient

Any personal articles

To be performed on a Sunday;

Stuff the poppet with the herbs and place the crystal at the heart of the poppet.

Seal the poppet and do the naming ritual.

Light the candle and visualize the patient as being healthy and energetic.

Chant three times:

" Lavender, marigold, and rosemary

The body, soul and mind are free

Crystal of quartz, take the pain away

Whole and healed and free today

With harm to none

My will is done

  So Mote It Be! "

Bury the poppet in the ground prior to sunset on the same day.

The same procedure should be followed when using the poppet for love magick. ( Attracting love, not binding ones emotions. Remember the Threefold law. ). Use herbs associated with love magick to stuff the poppet. Some of these would be Lavender, Rose, Patchouli and Basil. Some of the crystals that you could use are Lapis Lazuli, Alexandrite, Malachite, and Jade. Do the naming ritual, using aspects of love in place of healing. And then do a love chant, repeating it three times. Afterwards bury the poppet.

Color plays an important part when doing magick. And the color of the cloth used in poppet magick is no different. The colors can be used alone or in combination with other colors. Following are a few colors and their associated meanings to help you get started:

White - This is a universal color and can be used for just about any type of spell. It is often used for spells pertaining to spirituality.

Green - To be used for spells of prosperity, healing and fertility.

Red - Poppets made of this color are used for blood related diseases, sexual passion and courage spells.

Blue - This color is for emotional and mental healing, harmony and all round good health.

Black - Used to reverse curses or spells cast against you and to stop harmful gossiping.

Yellow - Used as an aid in mental healing.

Pink - A poppet made of this color cloth is for fertility, love and compassion towards others and yourself.

Brown - Financial success and to attract gain .

Orange - This color is used for success and to attract positive energy.

Purple - The color of this poppet is used to enhance psychic ability.