Doll Babies, Voodoo Dolls, and Poppets

[SunKat]

Doll-babies, dollies, voodoo dolls, and poppets are names given to a variety of figural images constructed by hoodoo rootworkers and intended to represent human beings upon whom a magical spell is to be cast or for whom spiritual work is to be performed. (The word "voodoo" in this case does not refer to the African Diasporic religion of Vodoun; it is simply a common name that was long ago applied to this style of doll.)

Hand-Made and Stuffed Doll-Babies

There are basically two kinds of hand-made doll babies used in hoodoo -- those that are personalized by attaching things to the outside and those that are hand-stuffed.
Things applied to the outside of a doll include a photograph or the hair of the target glued onto the head of the doll or a figural candle that represents the person. Things stuffed inside a doll can include an array of personal concerns, herbs, roots, minerals, and talismanic items.

The two styles of doll may also be combined, as in the case of a hand-stuffed doll-baby made of simple cloth, to which a photo of the target person's face is glued, or a figural candle to which a photo is glued, but which is also carved with words and hollowed out at the base and loaded with personal concerns and herbs.

An extremely personal form of hand-made doll can be crafted for a client by a rootworker who sews it from remnants of the discarded clothing of the the target person, and stuffs it with herbs, incense powder, and petitions. No matter how it is made, the hand-stuffed doll-baby functions both as a poppet or image of the target and as a container spell.

Toy Dolls and Commercial Dolls as Poppets

Commercial baby-dolls or toy dolls, as well as ceramic figurines, are often prepared by experienced hoodoo practitioners as doll-babies or voodoo dolls on behalf of clients. Like hand-made dolls, commercial baby-dolls, toy dolls, and ceramic figurines may be dressed in clothing sewn from scraps of the target's clothing or stuffed with herbs and roots. When properly fixed and prepared, they can create strong and long lasting protection, enhance ongoing love work, and aid clients in matters of prosperity, protection, and healing.

Plastic or ceramic dolls are selected by many hoodoo rootworkers and spiritual practitioners when they are to performing a long-distance uncrossing or spiritual cleansing bath to remove crossed conditions and bad luck on behalf of a client or the client's selected target. When undertaking long-distance bathing of this type, some rootworkers use a plastic doll that can have the head removed and reattached. The spiritual practitioner will stuff the doll with herbs, roots, curios, photos, name papers and other objects to personalize the doll to the target, then name and baptize it before the bathing work is performed. Bathing a doll-baby in this manner can take as long as thirteen days to complete, the same length of time that a hoodoo practitioner might devote to an in-person client who requires a full uncrossing bathing ritual. After the work is completed, the doll may be retained by the rootworker for future use, if necessary, or it may be ritually disassembled in a respectful and grateful manner.

The specific styles of commercial doll that a hoodoo conjurer uses in spell casting for a client will depend on the nature of the work and the rootworker's personal aesthetics. Classic associations with certain types of dolls lend themselves to specific work, such as Ken and Barbie dolls for love spells or gothic "dead dolls" for crossing and cursing spells.

Hoodoo rootworkers who perform protection work or blessing spells on behalf of pets may choose to work with a hollow ceramic figurine that closely resembles the client's beloved animal companion. Such figurines are usually hollow, with a hole in the bottom, enabling the spiritual practitioner to load the statue with personal concerns and protective, blessing, or healing herbs as required. The figurine will then be named and baptized for the animal. Once the work is completed, the figurine may be retained on the altar or, at the client's request, it may be given or sent to the client, where it can be displayed on a knick-knack shelf or mantelpiece, with no one the wiser that it is now actually a powerful container spell.

Linking the Doll to the Target

As the rootworker crafts the doll, it is prayed over, sometimes with every stitch. Upon completion the practitioner gives it a name, baptizes it, causes it to be linked to the target, and commands it to follow all instructions given to it. What is told to the doll will be heard by the target. What is done to the doll will be done to the target. Wherever the doll is sent, the target must go.

Working with the Doll

Once the doll has been linked to the target, the rootworker will proceed to the actual work of spell-casting on the doll, which may include actions such as blessing with a spiritual bath, binding or restraining with cods or string, sticking with pins to cause pain, or burial in a coffin to bring about death.

When figural candles serve as dollies they are often hollowed out at the base and loaded with personal concerns of the person to whom they are linked. After having been prepared, they may treated exactly as regular dolls would be handled, but the rootdoctor also has the extra option of choosing to finish the spell work by burning them as candle-dolls.

When the Doll is Sent to the Client

In some cases, a prepared doll-baby may be sent to the client for his or her use. This is particularly the case with love spell dolls and ceramic figurines prepared as secret container spells intended for display in the home. In the case of love-dolls, your hoodoo rootworker may give you extensive personal instructions, through a spiritual telephone consultation or magical coaching session, instructing you on how to "love up," speak to, and fondle the doll, and how to keep it hidden amongst your intimate apparel when not in use.