Decoy Poppet Santa Muerte Magick

Center photo by Philippe Oursel on Unsplash

Primary Use

To attract negative energy away from an intended target. To serve as a spiritual decoy that can absorb negative energy on someone else's behalf.

Crafting Your Poppet

Poppets come in all shapes and sizes but they're generally crude representations of the human body. Think something like the 3D representation of a human stick figure and you have a basic poppet. You can make poppets out of just about anything you can mold into the shape of a person.

One popular way to make a poppet is by cutting out two human shaped pieces from a section of fabric, sewing the two parts together, and stuffing with soft material like cotton balls or fabric scraps. Don't sew all the way shut before you've included your stuffing!

Another way to create a poppet is with moldable clay. Use the kind that won't harden when exposed to air. Your clay poppet doesn't have to look like Michelangelo's David, just a simple human shape will work.

For our purposes here, use white fabric or white clay to craft your decoy poppet. If possible, craft your poppet in the light of a white candle at your Santa Muerte altar. As you create the poppet, try to focus and meditate on your ultimate objective of creating a magnet to pull negative energy away from the person that this poppet represents.

Incorporation

Incorporating something personal from the person you want to protect will help bring your poppet to life. Hair clippings and toenails are good, but often difficult to procure. In a pinch, a picture of your target will work well, as will a paper with the target's full name and date of birth. If you can manage to get more than one of these items incorporated into your poppet - all the better. Place items in a small red bag (to symbolize the poppet's heart).

Along with something personal from your target, you'll also want to incorporate all three of the following ingredients:

- Black Salt - to attract and neutralize negative energy.
- Basil - To promote health and healing of the target.
​- 1 Small Magnet - To further represent the magnetic nature of this poppet.

Add these three ingredients directly into the red bag, then sew the red bag into your cloth poppet, or mold the red bag into the torso of a clay poppet. Remember that LESS IS MORE - just a few pinches of the black salt, and a few pieces of basil, will do the trick.

Breathing Life Into Your Poppet

Once your poppet has been constructed and incorporated with personal items from your target, black salt, basil, and a small magnet, then your decoy poppet is ready to come to life. At your Santa Muerte altar, whisper into your poppet's ear:

"Bless this doll, Santa Muerte,
as a magnet to replace,
the person it represents,
for any curse or hex now sent.

Little doll, you magick twin,
keep now safe your human kin.
When under attack they / I be,
stand up as a shield between."

Using Your Poppet

There is not much you need to do once this kind of poppet has been constructed and brought to life. Whether you made this poppet for yourself, or somebody else, you can place this poppet on your Santa Muerte altar, or anywhere that would be considered comfortable, such as on a shelf, or near a window. Treat this poppet with the same love and respect that you would treat the person it represents, because any discomfort placed on the doll could result in discomfort sent to the target. 

Disposing of Your Poppet

When you no longer require a link to your target, you may dispose of your poppet using the instructions outlined in my post How to Dispose of Magick Trash.