How to Make a Voodoo Doll

Making Voodoo dolls can be a lot of fun. It is an activity that elicits laughter and is food for some great and potentially therapeutic conversation among family and friends. Invariably, the stereotypical reasons as to why people make Voodoo dolls comes up, and you have an opportunity to discuss who pissed you off, hurt you, and who deserves a good hexing. What a great forum for a self-help group!

Now, I am the first to admit that there are people in this world who deserve as much bad luck as is humanly and spiritually possible. Child molesters, rapists, sadistic and cruel parents, partners, and world leaders, those involved in the trafficking of women and children for prostitution, my ex-husband...I could go on and on. But, I choose not to engage in such practices because they are spiritually toxic to myself, my family, and the universe. There are other, more constructive ways to make an impact that won't subject you or those close to you to the dark forces of the collective shadow of humanity. Few are prepared to deal with such energy. Moreover, there is the law of three that governs our fate as related to our behavior and the choices we make; in short, everything we do will come back to us three-fold. Therefore, be forewarned: these instructions are not in any way intended to encourage the use of Voodoo dolls in a negative fashion, or in any way to cause ill-harm to fall upon anyone. To do so subjects you to karmic forces of your own making. and I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ILLNESS, UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, DEPRESSION, CONFUSION, BAD LUCK, OR DEATH THAT MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF ANY ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAKING OR USE OF YOUR VOODOO DOLL.

One of the first things to consider for this activity is what type of Voodoo doll you want to make. As you can see from perusing the Mystic Voodoo website, there are countless types of spirits and purposes to inspire the creative process. Here, I will present instructions for making an all-purpose Voodoo doll.

The following instructions are based on the traditional manner of constructing Voodoo dolls as done in New Orleans. Keep in mind that there are as many ways of making Voodoo dolls as are people making them! Nonetheless, here are a few basic guidelines to get you started.

7 pins with heads in the following colors: red, blue, green, purple, yellow, black, white

1. Gather your materials. Make a cross shape with your two sticks. Tie them together with your string. Hemp cord or waxed thread is better than regular string as they tend to be stronger.

2. Take the Spanish moss and wrap it around the sticks, starting at the middle for reinforcement, and going up around the head, down to one arm, back across to the other arm, back to the middle, and down to the bottom. If possible, use moss that is connected together in a big enough piece to cover the sticks without breaking it apart. The idea is to wrap the doll in one continuous motion. I find that the result is often times a stronger doll. If you break the moss apart and have to use more than one continuous piece, that is okay. However, you may have to wrap string around the moss to keep it from falling off. If you wrap tight enough, you shouldn't have to use string over the moss.

3. Take you fabric strips and wrap around the moss. Make sure to leave some of the moss showing, such as on the head (for hair), at the ends of the arms, and at the bottom. Secure with tacky glue. You may want to reinforce with a couple of stitches with your needle and thread.

4. Make a face. Take your beads and attach them with the needle and thread for eyes, or glue 2 black eyed peas to the face for eyes. Add a button or bead for the mouth. I used a small plastic flower for the mouth of this doll.

5. Dress your Voodoo doll. This step is entirely optional. However, I always add details like clothes to my dolls because they begin to speak to me and tell me what they want to wear, whether they are male, female, gay, lesbian, or androgynous, and what types of items they want to carry, such as a mojo pouch or gris gris bag. Sometimes they are made to look like a person you know, in which case you should have some hair or a piece of clothing or other personal item that belongs to that person in order to charge the doll with that person's energy.

Take some yarn or contrasting material and wrap it where you want it for accent. You can make a belt or use it for hair, for example, or make some clothing. I made a skirt for this Voodoo doll, who has turned out to be a female spirit. I added some dark, courser Spanish moss for her hair, gave her a lace shawl, and wrapped her head in an orange kerchief. Because she is a domestic guardian Voodoo doll, she also wanted a broom talisman, so I made her one of those to carry.

Because she is a domestic guardian Voodoo doll (don't ask, she just turned out that way!), she also wanted a broom talisman, so I made her one of those to carry. In Louisiana, the broom typically symbolizes good health and fertility. This broom is made of sweet grass and sage. I added an evil eye bead to ward off negativity, a white dove for peace in the home, a gold coin for blessings of bling, and a heart, which signifies the Goddess Spirit that is at the heart of the home.

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