How to Make Magic Dolls

The use of magic dolls is a common practice in various forms of witchcraft.

Magic dolls, often called poppets or voodoo dolls, are made to represent a specific person and bring them good or bad happenings depending on your intent as its maker. Magic dolls are a common form of witchcraft, and can be used to bring someone love, money and healing, or to banish, harm or otherwise curse them. Common properties of magic dolls include a human shape, a representative color, herbs and an object specific to the person the doll represents.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric (cotton or felt works well)
• Cotton batting or cotton balls
• Needle
• Thread (to match the fabric)
• Straight pins
• Various herbs or flower petals
• Taglock (personal item from person represented)
• Gingerbread man cookie cutter

Instructions

1. Select your fabric. The fabric for your magic doll will vary depending on what it is you would like to bring to the person it represents. For instance, green fabric invokes money or success, while black is used to banish a person. Red or pink may bring love, while white is used to represent spirituality. You'll need less than a yard of fabric.

2. Fold the fabric in half and place the gingerbread cookie cutter on top. Using a pencil or pen, trace the shape onto the fabric and cut it out, making two copies of the shape.

3. Using straight pins, pin the fabric in place so that the front sides of each piece are facing each other with the backside facing out.

4. Thread your needle. Sew 1-cm. stitches along the perimeter of the fabric, leaving about a 1/2-inch border. Do not sew completely. Leave about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of the border unsewn.

5. Turn the doll inside out. This will bring the "front" of the fabric back to the outside and hide your stitching. Using cotton batting or cotton balls, stuff the doll, making sure to push the stuffing into the arms and legs.

6. Place herbs and taglock inside the doll. Depending on your purpose, there are a variety of herbs you can use. For instance, you can use birch or garlic inside a magic doll whose representative person you'd like to banish. The taglock is an object from the person the doll represents. This could be a lock of hair, a fingernail, a photograph, a handwritten note from the person, a scrap of clothing or piece of jewelry.

7. Sew the hole shut, using an overhand stitch.

8. Place finishing touches on the doll. For instance, if you'd like to bring love to the person represented, draw a kissing face onto the doll. If you'd like to stop a person's actions, bind the doll's hands together with string.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no scientific method to creating magic dolls, so be creative with your materials, colors and taglocks.

• Be cautious when wishing bad luck or harm upon another person. Magic dolls should be used for fun.

References

• EverythingUnderTheMoon: All About Poppets
• PlanetVoodoo: How to Make a Voodoo Doll
• MagicSpellsandPotions: Make Your Own Poppet