Spirit dolls - or witch dolls - have been used for centuries in magick associated with ancestors and spirit.
They are crafted for various purposes, usually to connect with specific spirit beings, or even to use in order to summon a witches familiar, a spirit used to help assist a witch in their magick.
Making spirit dolls is not a quick process.
They can be made with wood, cloth, or any other material which resonates with the witch. The idea is to take your time, energy and full focus and intention into the crafting of the doll.
These dolls are often highly detailed and many have intricately carved faces, lavish clothing, hair, tattoos, scarification, charms and a variety of other magickal items as part of them.
Once created, the doll is imbued with energy through a birthing ritual.
There are a variety of ways of going this - either passing the doll through a large holed or hag stone, or taking them to a place of power, such as standing stones or a stone circle.
Sometimes simply filling your mind with the intention of what or who the doll represents, and breathing deeply into the doll, can also be used for this purpose.
Once “birthed” the dolls are placed in the home for a specific purpose.
It may be as a protective spirit who guards the home, or as an ancestral vessel used to connect with those who’ve gone before us.
These types of dolls are often placed on the witches altar, and food is offered, particularly if the dolls intended use is for ancestral magick.
Spirit dolls can also be charged with reiki energy and used for distance healing practises.
What’s fascinating about spirit dolls is the fact that their history doesn’t seem to belong to any specific culture or practice. They’ve been used for thousands of years by a wide variety of cultures and traditions - from Ancient Egyptians crafting wax dolls in order to connect with deities to Louisiana voodoo priestesses crafting dolls as effigies to connect to individuals in order to control them.
Spirit dolls continue to be used in a variety of ways now, even aiding in healing past traumas and PTSD, right through to mental health support and even for cancer patients.
Spirit dolls will continue to play an important role in magickal practise for a long time to come.
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