I Made a Magical Poppet today.

Poppets

A Useful Magical Diversion

Why I did it.

I have a few days off so I've been around the house and getting more productive writing done than I did in the previous two months. Yay productivity!

I have been extra stressed (only for the last three months or so) and that stress isn't going to disappear without a few miraculous events. I just have to live with it. Except I don't have to just live with it. I can get to work and make something. I can make a poppet.

What I used.

There's always fabric laying around my house. Literally piles of fabric. That is not to say I have any skill with fabric. I know how to thread a needle.

Poppets can be made out of anything. You don't get extra points for material cost or skill. They are traditionally made out of materials laying around the house. Extra points for innovation.

There's a long tradition in European folk magic of poppets. My experience is the same as everything else. It's limited to what I've done and what I've studied. I stick with the methods that work for me. I prefer improvisation and going with what feels right over tradition.

How I did it.

I cut out the front and the back. I stitched the head then turned it inside out. I did a running stitch around the rest of the doll and left enough space to stuff it. Then I stuffed it and stitched it closed. That's it.

There's the magical aspect of empowering the object with energy but that's personal. It's optional. If you get what you're looking for from making the poppet then the job is done.

Why do it at all. (You can skip this part if you don't like existential muck)

The act of making the poppet can be relaxing because making things can be relaxing. No pressure on the result. All power to the process.

Can a simple object take on magical strength? Is it just that it makes me feel better to feel like I have control? Will I ever write without stumbling into an existential internal debate?

I know it helps me. It would be foolish to assume I'm not a skeptic because of my beliefs. I believe and I question because I want to believe but I want truth and that can only be found by never accepting an answer and continually striving for answers.

Will I find enlightenment from a little toy? No. I have a cute little toy to help me with my stressy streak and a new idea for my novel.