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I'm not the master of poppets (*beat*), but I can throw out some bits'n'pieces:
Generally speaking, working with poppets (or doll-babies) is usually considered to be sympathetic magic: whatever you do to the doll, directly or symbolically, happens to your "target" (who need not be an enemy). So, if you're doing enemy work you hurt or twist the poppet - or freeze it, bind it, bury it, etc. Or, if the poppet represents the Other in a love spell, you treat it nice, talk sweetly to it. You can also dress the poppet with oils or powders you don't have an opportunity to touch your target with directly.
You're right, though, about the importance of using "personal concerns" (e.g. blood, hair, sexual fluids, a bit of worn clothing, or at worst a name-paper) in forging a connection between the doll and the target - and it can be difficult or impossible to make an effective connection without it.
Many hoodoos say that the best stuffing material for poppets (regardless of the kind of work) is Spanish moss. Don't know why. : P
In addition to the moss, though, some recommend stuffing specific parts of the doll's body with herbs or other substances that represent the effects you desire (this is especially true for enemy work, with hot peppers in the head, knotweed in the stomach, etc., though I could imagine a poppet stuffed with herbs for protection or calmth).
A doll-baby representing a person can be given to a dead person to "hold" by burying it in a cemetary. Don't do this unless you mean it, and be sure to pay the dead properly.
I don't know too much about the use of poppets as spirit-houses (or mojo bags as spirit-houses, for that matter?), but I'd be interested to hear from others on the subject.
Back to you, Sekhmet.
~L |
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