Magical Effigy Making
Effigies of people, animals, spirits and deities have been used for spiritual or religo-magical purposes since palaeolithic times. The many cave paintings tend to allude to this, although we will never be 100% sure.
The earliest humanoid figurine discovered dates is believed to be some 40,000 years old and resembles that of a lion-headed being known as the "Lion Man", although the gender is somewhat uncertain - that is, if there was a gender in the first place.
Similarly, the earliest known entirely human figure is the "Venus of Hohle Fels", which dates from the Upper Palaeolithic era. Like other so-called "Venus" figurines, these of the female form, often with large belly and breasts. While no one knows exactly what these figurines were made for, theories have emerged that they may have been used for fertility magic. Alternatively, they may have represented a matriarchal ancestor or even a goddess.
One of the earliest recorded spells involving effigies dates back to the second millennium BCE where a Mesopotamian clay tablet records a healing spell for a dog bite that involves creating an effigy of a dog from a piece of clay that had been rubbed on the bite wound. After reciting some words over the figure, it is to be left in the sun to dry. as the effigy dries, so the wound was believed to have healed.
In more recent times, many of us are familiar with the word "poppet", which stems from the Middle English word popet, meaning a small child or doll.
One of the earliest written mention of a "poppet" with respect to witchcraft dates to the 10th century where a widow and her son were charged and had their land confiscated for putting an iron nail in an effigy of someone.
In more recent times, thanks to misconceptions and Hollywood sensualisation of Vodou practices, the term "Voodoo doll" is often associated with poppets, where pins are stuck into effigies in order to curse another. In reality, this was never the case.
Today, magical dolls, whether you refer to them as "poppets", "effigies" or even Voodoo dolls, are crafted for a multitude of purposes. You are invited to join us on Sunday, 29 June 2025, where we will be crafting our own fabric "poppet" as part of the June Gathering Around the Cauldron. Depending on your "desire", most (if not all) materials needed in its construction will be included.
There are strictly limited places available, so if you would like to know more, then click on the button below. Take note that registrations will close Thursday, 26 June 2025, if not before:
