How to Make a Voodoo Doll

 


Featured Customer Voodoo Dolls

Send me pictures of your Voodoo doll that you make by following this tutorial or purchasing a Voodoo doll kit and I will post them on this website and my Squidoo lens and my blog!

 

      

                           Voodoo doll by Teresa McCoy             Yemaya by Gwen Gibbs

 

Click here for more pictures of Teresa's Voodoo guy!

Click here for more pictures of Gwen's Voodoo doll!


Back to Top

 How to Make a Voodoo Doll Tutorial

Making Voodoo dolls can be a lot of fun. It is an activity that elicits laughter and is food for some great and potentially therapeutic conversation among family and friends. Invariably, the stereotypical reasons as to why people make Voodoo dolls comes up, and you have an opportunity to discuss who pissed you off, hurt you, and who deserves a good hexing. What a great forum for a self-help group!

Now, I am the first to admit that there are people in this world who deserve as much bad luck as is humanly and spiritually possible. Child molesters, rapists, sadistic and cruel parents, partners, and world leaders, those involved in the trafficking of women and children for prostitution, my ex-husband...I could go on and on. But, I choose not to engage in such practices because they are spiritually toxic to myself, my family, and the universe. There are other, more constructive ways to make an impact that won't subject you or those close to you to the dark forces of the collective shadow of humanity. Few are prepared to deal with such energy. Moreover, there is the law of three that governs our fate as related to our behavior and the choices we make; in short, everything we do will come back to us three-fold. Therefore, be forewarned: these instructions are not in any way intended to encourage the use of Voodoo dolls in a negative fashion, or in any way to cause ill-harm to fall upon anyone. To do so subjects you to karmic forces of your own making. and I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ILLNESS, UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, DEPRESSION, CONFUSION, BAD LUCK, OR DEATH THAT MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF ANY ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAKING OR USE OF YOUR VOODOO DOLL.

One of the first things to consider for this activity is what type of Voodoo doll you want to make. As you can see from perusing the Mystic Voodoo website, there are countless types of spirits and purposes to inspire the creative process. Here, I will present instructions for making an all-purpose Voodoo doll.

The following instructions are based on the traditional manner of constructing Voodoo dolls as done in New Orleans. Keep in mind that there are as many ways of making Voodoo dolls as are people making them! Nonetheless, here are a few basic guidelines to get you started.

 

HOW TO MAKE AN ALL-PURPOSE VOODOO DOLL

MATERIALS

2 strong sticks

Spanish moss

scrap fabric cut in 2 inch strips, 2 to 3 feet long (color of your choice)

yarn that complements or contrasts fabric

string, hemp cord, or waxed thread

2 beads to use as eyes

needle and thread in a color to match or contrast your fabric

tacky glue

7 pins with heads in the following colors: red, blue, green, purple, yellow, black, white

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather your materials. Make a cross shape with your two sticks. Ties them together with your string. Hemp cord or waxed thread is better than regular string as they tend to be stronger.

        

2. Take the Spanish moss and wrap it around the sticks, starting at the middle for reinforcement, and going up around the head, down to one arm, back across to the other arm, back to the middle, and down to the bottom. If possible, use  moss that is connected together in a big enough piece to cover the sticks without breaking it apart. The idea is to wrap the doll in one continuous motion.  I find that the result is often times a stronger doll. If you break the moss apart and have to use more than one continuous piece, that is okay. However, you may have to wrap string around the moss to keep it from falling off. If you wrap tight enough, you shouldn't have to use string over the moss.

 

 

 

    

3. Take you fabric strips and wrap around the moss. Make sure to leave some of the moss showing, such as on the head (for hair), at the ends of the arms, and at the bottom. Secure with tacky glue. You may want to reinforce with a couple of stitches with your needle and thread.

4. Make a face. Take your beads and attach them with the needle and thread for eyes, or glue 2 black eyed peas to the face for eyes. Add a button or bead for the mouth. I used a small plastic flower for the mouth of this doll.

              

5. Dress your Voodoo doll. This step is entirely optional. However, I always add details like clothes to my dolls because they begin to speak to me and tell me what they want to wear, whether they are male, female, gay, lesbian, or androgynous, and what types of items they want to carry, such as a mojo pouch or gris gris bag. Sometimes they are made to look like a person you know, in which case you should have some hair or a piece of clothing or other personal item that belongs to that person in order to charge the doll with that person's energy.

Take some yarn or contrasting material and wrap it where you want it for accent. You can make a belt or use it for hair, for example, or make some clothing. I made a skirt for this Voodoo doll, who has turned out to be a female spirit. I added some dark, courser Spanish moss for her hair, gave her a lace shawl, and wrapped her head in an orange kerchief. Because she is a domestic guardian Voodoo doll, she also wanted a broom talisman, so I made her one of those to carry.

 

Because she is a domestic guardian Voodoo doll (don't ask, she just turned out that way!), she also wanted a broom talisman, so I made her one of those to carry. In Louisiana, the broom typically symbolizes good health and fertility. This broom is made of sweet grass and sage. I added an evil eye bead to ward off negativity, a white dove for peace in the home, a gold coin for blessings of bling, and a heart, which signifies the Goddess Spirit that is at the heart of the home.

 

 

Viola! Add your 7 pins and you have created an all-purpose Voodoo doll!


Back to Top

Symbolism of the 7 pin colors:

yellow - success

white - positive

red - power

purple - spirituality

green - money

blue - love

black - repelling negative energy


Back to Top

Here are more pictures of what one creative Teresa McCoy did by following this tutorial:

    

    

Thank you to Teresa McCoy for providing pictures of her Voodoo guy that she made after following my tutorial.

If you would like to send in pictures of your Voodoo doll creations, I would love to see them. Email me at voodoomama@mysticvoodoo.com with your pictures and I will put them up on the website!


Back to Top

Here are more pictures of what one creative Gwen Gibbs did after purchasing a Voodoo doll kit:

    

 

     

Thank you to Gwen Gibbs for providing pictures of her Voodoo guy that she made after purchasing one of my kits and following my tutorial.

If you would like to send in pictures of your Voodoo doll creations, I would love to see them. Email me at voodoomama@mysticvoodoo.com with your pictures and I will put them up on the website!


Back to Top

Not sure what to do with your all-purpose doll? Click here for some free spells!

 

 

 

Not sure where to get all of the items needed to make your Voodoo doll? Well, have no fear! I have complete kits available that also come with three spells! Check them out!

 

 

 

 

Want to know everything there is to know about how to voodoo with Voodoo dolls? Then, you need this ebook! How to Voodoo With Voodoo Dolls

 

Also be sure to check out our sister site Planet Voodoo, for everything you ever wanted to know about Voodoo dolls but were afriad to ask!

 

ArtByUs.com - Contemporary Artwork from Self-Representing Artists and Serious Art Galleries.

 

 

 

© 2005-2008 Denise Alvarado, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

No part of this website may be reproduced or distributed without express written permission.