Neuromagick

Effectiveness is the Measure of Truth

A Complete System of Poppet Magic

Sympathetic magic is the practice of using objects and/or actions resembling an event or
person over which magical in�uence is sought. A common form of sympathetic magic
intended to impact a particular person is to use doll or “poppet” to symbolize the intended
(person or animal as the case may be). The most common �ctional representation of poppet
magic is to cause harm to the targeted person, by placing pins in various body parts for
example. A poppet used in that manner tends to be referred to as a voodoo doll in common
parlance, but such depictions are usually culturally and religiously inaccurate and tend to
promote negative stereotypes about African Traditional Religion. Suf�ce it to say that Voodoo
(Vodou, Vodun, etc.) is a comprehensive spiritual orientation (religion) that involves working
with a particular pantheon of spirits. The speci�c spirits involved are what makes a practice
Voodou, not the use of a poppet.

To addition, poppet/ef�gy magic has a long history in many cultures, and is currently practiced
within and without various religious contexts, depending on the operator’s orientation.
Poppet magic may be used for virtually any person-oriented goal (healing, love, business
success, prophetic dreams, etc.). As is true of any magic practice, the tools and techniques
themselves are neutral. Effects necessarily follow the operator’s intentions.

Any poppet magic procedure has three functional steps: 1) magically identify the poppet with
the target person, 2) enact a magical intervention on the poppet, and �nally, 3) disassociate
the poppet and person after a set period, or when the magic is deemed to have run its course.
That instruction alone is enough to develop personally meaningful procedures. What follows
represents one among many possibilities for how poppet magic might be implemented.
Po p p e t C o n s t r u c t i o n
Poppets can be made of just about anything that can be formed into human (or animal) shape. Common
materials include corn husks or raffa, twigs, paper or cardboard, wax, and clay. One of the most common forms
is a stuffed cloth doll, wherein the magical interventions will take the form of strategically-placed pins in select
body parts. That practice can be conceptualized as magical acupuncture by proxy (more on that below). A small
stuffed poppet can either be made from scratch or a blank muslin doll can be purchased at most craft stores.

To make a simple poppet from scratch, fold a suitable piece of fabric in half and draw the following shape (or
something similar) onto it. You can make the poppet as big or small as you like. About 5 inches high is common.

Cut out the shape. Be careful to keep the two pieces of fabric aligned while stitching the two pieces together
around the outer edge. Leave an inch-long opening around the neck-arm area. Turn the poppet inside-out, then
stuff it with cotton or other material. If you plan to add personal items belonging to the intended (optional),
don’t stitch the opening at this time. Otherwise, �nish by stitching up the opening and the poppet is ready for
the identi�cation process.

Po p p e t I d e n t i � c a t i o n