Since the dawn of time, humans have been practicing magic as a way to help them and others achieve their goals in life. Even today, widely practiced religious rituals that are in the name of Jesus Christ once began as magical rites. There is good magic, bad magic, and even types of magic that stand somewhere in between. Voodoo is one of those that kind of sit right in the middle. Voo Doo is now and always has been one of the most widely practiced types of magic on the entire planet. There are many different sects of Voodoo, and they all believe and practice differently, but there is one common link between each of them: the voodoo doll. In this article, we’ll discuss the who, what, when, where, and why of the voodoo doll.
Believe it or not, the voodoo doll is not quite what you may be thinking of. In pop culture, the voodoo doll is often displayed as a tiny, almost cute, yet crude little replica of the person it is supposed to represent. It is typically fashioned from a little piece of cloth wrapped over two sticks set in place to resemble arms and legs. It is then stuffed with a lock of hair, fallen eyelashes, nail clippings, or any other type of tangible, disposable part of the physical of the person it’s supposed to represent. After that, it’s adorned with feathers, glitter, little beads, or other embellishments, and the end result is that of a little puppet. With this puppet, you’re supposedly able to bring about whatever you want on the person it stands for. Or, if you hate this person, you can stick pins in it or break its arms, and that person will then end up breaking their arms or feelings as if they have pins in their chest, too.
Unfortunately, this is a whitewashed European idea. Europeans began creating these stories of little puppet-like creations when they wrote stories. For some reason, the idea stuck, and since then, this has been the common assumption among most people. In actuality, voodoo dolls aren’t even called voodoo dolls at all. They’re called Pwen dolls, and they’re typically used to invoke the god of protection rather than inflict pain or discomfort on others.
In Haitian culture, they’re given to people who have dangerous professions such as being enlisted in the military, fire rescue workers, police officers, and even government officials who are known to be subject to types of black magic and other harmful kinds of spells or spiritual assaults. They are also given to people who are entrepreneurs or artists who are on the rise so as nothing gets into their path to success. In addition to that, Pwen dolls don’t even necessarily represent other people. Oftentimes, Pwen dolls are manifestations of whatever the person who is crafting them is feeling at the time. If it is a doll, that’s how the voodooist was feeling at the time. Pwen dolls resemble everything from little maracas adorned with beautiful chains of beads and even large, elaborate carvings and works of art. No matter what they look like, though, they are always for protection and bestowing goodness.
While anyone can be gifted with a Pwen doll, they should keep it in a place that is safe and also important to them. They should not toy with it or try and instill other types of magic with the Pwen doll. Doing so could be incredibly dangerous. Using an actual Pwen doll is something that is best left to highly experienced and credible voodoists.
In conclusion, it’s insane to think that most of everything we know about Voodoo dolls as a modern culture has been wrong—even down to the actual name of them. Instead of being used to inflict pain or hardship on someone, they’re actually used for the complete and polar opposite. It goes to show that before you dabble in anything—especially the art of magic---you should conduct the most thorough amount of research possible. In some sects of Voodoo, one main belief is that the reason the world is in a state of near wreckage is because inexperienced people have dipped into magic improperly. Thus, opening up portals into other realms that should not have been opened; releasing dark and harmful energies onto the earth. Consider yourself warned.
