How to Make and Use a Santa Muerte Magick Poppet

Center image purchased at Canva.com

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Primary Use:

Poppets - sometimes called "Vodou dolls" - are powerful magickal devices that can help you when you need to cast a Santa Muerte magick spell that involves another person. The poppet acts as the symbolic representation of the person you want to influence and gives you a visual focal point for directing the magickal energies you want to raise.

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.

If available, construct your poppet out of materials color coded to the type of magick you want to perform, and construct your poppet at your Santa Muerte altar in the light of a candle also color coded to your magickal intent. Think about the ultimate intent you want to inflict as you construct your poppet. Click here to see a list of color correspondences for Santa Muerte magick.

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.

Incorporation

Incorporating something personal from the person you want to influence 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 any helpful herbs, oils, and ingredients relevant to the magickal energies you want to direct to the person represented by your poppet. Contrary to popular belief, poppets aren't just for cursing and hexing - they can also be used to send healing and protection energies. For example, you could make a poppet incorporated with "Law Keep Away" powder, to protect the person from police harassment, or a poppet incorporated with "Steady Work" powder, to help the person find work. If you wanted to direct positive and beneficial energies to yourself, you could even make a poppet that represents you. Add any herbs or oils directly into the small red bag with the personal items.

Sew the red bag into a cloth poppet or mold into the torso of a clay poppet.

Breathing Life Into Your Poppet

Once your poppet has been constructed, incorporated with personal items from your target, and incorporated with the appropriate herbs and magickal ingredients, your poppet is ready to come to life. At your Santa Muerte altar, whisper into your poppet's ear:

"Target's Full Name,
you are this poppet, and this poppet is you.
What I do to this poppet, may you feel it, too.
What I whisper to this poppet, may you think it true.
What I command to this poppet, may you jump to do.
Target's Full Name,
​you are this poppet, and this poppet is you."

Using Your Poppet

Poppets can be used anywhere, but you should always try working your magick at your Santa Muerte magick altar - the more you perform magick at your altar, the more of a magickal place it becomes. The most popular way to work with a poppet is by placing color coded pins at various points on the poppet's body. You can use a special set of Santa Muerte style pins like the ones located here, or you can use regular colored sewing pins.

String can also be used with your poppet. Wrap around the area of the mouth, to stop lies and gossip. Wrap loosely around the neck, to put the person on a short leash. Wrap tightly around the neck to suffocate and weaken. Bind the arms behind the back to prevent the person's hands from working against you. Hogtie the poppet to completely immobilize your target and gain obedience.

As you inflict the poppet with your intent, speak to it as you would a person - command it to be well, to be ill, to walk into money, etc. The energy you direct to your poppet remains in force for as long as any pins or string remain in place. The poppet is linked to your target for as long as the poppet remains whole. Feel free to use a poppet more than once, so long as it's used on the same person and for the same purpose.

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".