How Are Voodoo Dolls Made?

A voodoo doll can be made from scraps of a person's clothes.

Voodoo dolls are often associated with New Orleans voodoo magic and perceived as pin-stuck dolls used in spellcraft to inflict pain on others. According to "Voodoo Dolls in Magick and Ritual" by Denise Alvarado, voodoo dolls are mainly created for positive purposes, such as for healing or finding true love. A voodoo doll is made to represent a person at the center of a spell and is commonly formed out of different natural materials.

Cloth

Voodoo dolls can be made out of natural cotton fabrics. Two identical human figures are drawn on a piece of cloth and cut out using scissors. The two cloth pieces are sewn together with a needle and thread; however, the head of the doll is left open so that stuffing -- cotton, straw, herbs or Spanish moss -- can be added to it. A personal item, such as a hair clipping, that belongs to the person the doll represents is added to the inside of the doll. The doll's head is sewn shut and physical characteristics of the person are sewn or drawn on the outside of the doll.

Sticks and Moss

In "Voodoo Dolls in Magick and Ritual," the author says that moss voodoo dolls are found throughout New Orleans' French Quarter and are typically used to heal or hex. To make a moss voodoo doll, two sticks taken from a person's local surroundings are placed into a cross shape and secured together with a piece of twine or string. Spanish moss is wrapped up and down the wooden cross and 2-inch strips of precut fabric are wrapped around the moss. The fabric can be secured to the moss with fabric glue. Moss dolls are embellished by gluing feathers to the dolls' heads and by sewing or gluing on buttons for facial features.

Clay and Wax

Voodoo dolls are also shaped from clay. According to "Voodoo Rituals: A User's Guide" by Heike Owusu, voodoo dolls were originally made out of clay. The dolls had hollow bodies into which were added personal effects of the victim, such as hair, fingernail clippings or body secretions. In New Orleans, it is common to make a voodoo doll's head out of clay from a crawfish hole. Soft wax, such as wax from a melted candle, can also be molded into the shape of a person. You can carve a person's name into the wax and press beads, stones or personal effects into the doll before it hardens.

Additional Materials

If you need to make a voodoo doll quickly, you can free-draw a figure on a piece of white paper using colored pencils. Add symbols and the name or picture of the person who the spell is for on the image. Instead of making a doll out of branches, voodoo dolls can be created by winding Spanish moss around two chicken bones in the shape of a cross. The bone doll can have beads glued to its face to create eyes. Skilled woodworkers can carve voodoo dolls out of wood. Wood figures can be painted with the physical characteristics that resemble the person whom the doll represents.

References

• "Voodoo Dolls in Magick and RItual"; Denise Alvarado; 2009
• "Voodoo Rituals: A User's Guide"; Heike Owusu; 2002
• "Doktor Snake's Voodoo Spellbook"; Doktor Snake; 2000
• Voodoo Doll Museum: How Voodoo Dolls Are Made
• "To Ride a Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft"; Silver RavenWolf; 2000

Resources

• Haunted America Tours: How to Make a Real New Orleans Style Voodoo Doll