Poppets

Question: What are poppets? How were they used? How might you use one? 

'Poppets' were/are figurines or small dolls used in sympathetic magic, which works on the principle of similarity/associated contact. They were/are often made of clay, wax, wood, or fabric. In order to represent a particular person, items would be included in the making of the poppet to signify that individual - a taglock, such as material taken from clothing once worn by the person, a sample of handwriting or a photograph, personal items such as a lock of hair or nail clippings, and even bodily fluids such as blood, semen or saliva. The important thing is to create a link between the poppet and the intended recipient of the spell or work. Once made and magically charged, any action performed upon the poppet is thought to cause or effect a similar reaction on the person or object it represents. The use of poppets in magic dates back to ancient times and occurrences of their use have be found in India, Babylonia (Chaldaea), Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. 

A poppet was/is often used to represent someone considered to be the source of some kind of trouble. Magic was/is worked against that person using the poppet, perhaps by binding or piercing it. Poppets were/are also used for healing and/or as protective charms, either carried on the person, or placed in the home, particularly by doorways and windows, although some were/are concealed and kept secret, or even destroyed. Poppets were/are also used to represent sacrificial offerings to the spirits/deities. Today poppets are more likely to be used for protection, prosperity, luck, love, health and happiness. However, as and when a need has been identified, they can also be used for banishing and binding to prevent harm. 

Egyptian poppets were commonly made of wax, which could be easily modelled into the required shape, although stone, wood, and clay were also used. Alternatively, two sticks tied together to form a cross, which was then padded with cloth to give the general shape of a human. Execration figures, such as inscribed kneeling clay figures representing enemy states, were used in official governmental magical ritual, and were broken at the end of the ritual. Figurines were also often included with grave goods, thought to offer protection and vitality for the after life.

In Mesopotamia, clay was often used for the figurines, which were then painted with coloured gypsum. Others were made of dough, wax, or tallow, and were burnt/melted on hot coals. And a third type were made of something edible, such as suet or dough, and, it is said, fed to dogs. 

In Greece, poppets might be made of clay, dough, wax, or lead. There is evidence that some were inscribed and others bound and/or pierced, while others were left unmarked. 

My initial reaction was that I would not use a poppet. However, I do see that I could perhaps use a poppet for beneficial purposes, especially regarding someone I have long been estranged from (their choice not mine). 

The taglock would need to be some of my own blood, as I have nothing else that now links me with the person, and the figure - made of cloth - could be stuffed with herbs and/or the stuffing infused with oils suitable for reconciliation, such as allspice (a catalyst), althea (persuasion), balm of gilead (protective healing), bay (protective and commanding), betony or geranium (to banish negative energy), borage (to conquer and restore), frankincense (for masculine energy), frangipani (to draw towards), hyssop and/or lavender (to cleanse), peppermint (to create change), rosemary (for binding memories), thyme (for positivity), vetivert (for uncrossing, cleansing, protecting, and refocussing), and violet (for truth).

To charge the figure, the following could be said: 

Small one, I made you

and now I give you life, naming you (persons name).

Their body is your body, their breath is your breath, 

their passion is your passion, their blood is your blood.

Though separate you were, now you are one.

Each day for 17 days, at the same time, a candle may be lit and the poppet held above it while the following is said:

I melt your heart as I melt this wax.

(Name), even as this wax flows,

so your brotherly love for me flows stronger.

I melt your heart as I melt this wax.

(Name), even as this wax flows,

so you remember your bond of kin-ship to me.

I melt your heart as I melt this wax.

(Name), I call you to forgive, I call you to truth,

I call you back to me.

I melt your heart as I melt this wax.

So mote it be.