Poppet Magick

Edit: Wow, a feature?!?! Thank you so much! I'm so honored!

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful day! My name is Glory, and I am very new to Paganism and relatively new to this Amino. This is my first post, and I hope you enjoy!

:rotating_light: DISCLAIMER :rotating_light:

In no way am I an expert in poppet magick. This is just a retelling of my experiences, and what I have read about poppet magick.

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I am a solitary practitioner. I'm also on the younger side and still live with my family, and you could say I'm still "in the closet" (which is why I'm very glad I found this ive community!). This makes it hard to practice magick and the craft.

The only piece of magick I am able to practice at home, without feeling the need to hide anything, is poppet magick.

What is a Poppet?

Poppets are doll-like tools you can make. They usually represent people and are in a person-like shape, though you could use a poppet for any living thing. Poppets, or poppet-like magick, was used by many different people in history, including Greeks, Princess of Wales, Caroline of Brunswick, and West African slaves.

Colors and Symbols

You can use different symbols and colors when making your poppet, depending on its purpose. Here are some examples:

Colors

Animals: Brown, Green

Banishing: Black

Creativity: Orange, Yellow

Healing: Silver, White, Blue

Love: Pink, Red

Money: Silver, Gold, Green

Protection: Red, White

Symbols

Animals: Patterns with animals, anything pet related (example: paw print)

Banishing: Swords, Wands, Dragons, Fire

Creativity: Suns, Fire symbols

Healing: Clouds, Air symbols

Love: Hearts, Flowers, Cupids

Money: Dollar Bills, Coins, Cups, Earthy symbols

Protection: Shields, Keys, Locks, Fences, Mistletoe

(These two lists are from a list in an article, which I have linked down below. I do not take credit for coming up with either of these lists.)

Magickal Links

Magickal links, sometimes called taglocks, help connect the poppet to who/what it represents. You could use a lock of hair, a picture, an eyelash, etc.. Though I do not think a taglock is necessary, I have made two poppets, one with a magickal link and one without, and I have found that the one with a taglock works better.

How I Make My Poppets

While I am making a poppet, I always try to keep a calm mindset, so my emotions do not interfere with the magick. As I am not the best sewer, I often get frustrated. When I do, I walk away and do something else to calm down before returning to my work.

Because I usually make poppets that represent people, I use the classic, simple gingerbread man shape.

After choosing my fabric, I fold the fabric in half and pin the sides together. I then cut out my gingerbread man shape. Because the fabric is folded in half, I will end up the two pieces: the front and the back. Then I cut out the eyes, and any symbols I would like to sew on. I personally put a red heart inside the poppet, so I cut that out now as well.

After everything is cut out, I sew the eyes and symbols on. I do this before I sew the front and back together, as I find it to be easier this way.

Then I sew the front and back pieces together, except for the head section. This is so I can stuff it. While stuffing, I add the heart and magickal link. At this stage, you could also add any herbs, crystals, or other magickal substance.

Finish sewing the front and back together, stuffing the head gradually as you sew.

The final step I do when making a poppet is telling it its purpose. For people, I say something along the lines of, "I have made you, and you are (blank). You will help (blank) with a, b, c by x, y, z." Obviously, I do not say "a, b, c," and "x, y, z." I fill those in with what the person needs help with, and what the poppet will do to help them. I have never made a non-person poppet, but I would use the same statement for a non-person poppet.

My Poppets

As I mentioned before, I have made two poppets in my life, and will surely be making more. The first poppet I made represented me, and I used to coax my creativity out from its hiding place (I'm an aspiring author, and I had been having major writer's block). For this use, I used fabric with yellow and orange in the pattern. I also used yellow and orange thread, except for sewing on the eyes and moon (then I used black).

I sewed on a moon and embroidered stars around it to represent my darker side. :waxing_gibbous_moon:

I sewed on a sun to represent my lighter side, as well as creativity. :sunny:

This poppet has a lock of my hair and a red fleece heart inside.

The second poppet I made was of a friend that is going through a tough time. The poppet's purpose was to protect her, banish negativity from her life, make her feel loved, and heal her soul. For these uses, I used a fabric with black, white, blue, and pink.

For protection, I sewed a lock shape over the heart.

This poppet has a red fleece heart inside; no magickal link.

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