New Orleans Voodoo Doll

In order to make a “classic” Voodoo doll, you will need the following materials:

• 2 sticks
• Pieces of cloth
• Glue
• 2 buttons of beads
• Needle and thread
• Hair, nails or clothes of a person for whom you are performing the ritual
• Spanish moss

As you can see, there’s nothing out of the ordinary with the listed materials. Problems can occur only when searching for the Spanish moss. The Spanish moss plant is widely common in New Orleans, but might not grow in the area where you live. If you cannot find Spanish moss, replace it other fillers (straw, cotton), as the most important thing here is not the material – but the energy that is being put into the Voodoo doll.

Before creating a Voodoo doll, remember the following:

• Strangers or people who you do not trust must not see the process of doll making or the ritual performance. It is best to do it privately.
• Don’t forget about the lunar phases when creating your Vooodoo doll.
• Avoid negative thoughts or saying bad words during the making of a Voodoo doll. You run the risk of filling your Voodoo doll with negative energies.
• Make sure to thoroughly clean the Spanish moss or other fillers from dirt and insects before using.

Make a cross from two sticks and tie them together. Wrap the Spanish moss around the cross, starting from the middle, to the head, hands and then again to the middle and down to the legs of the doll. If possible, use large pieces of moss when wrapping to avoid gaps. Ideally, it is best if you manage to wrap the doll with one piece of moss. If this isn’t possible, wrap a thread or a rope on top of the moss and firmly tighten it.

Now cut the cloth to long and narrow pieces and cover the doll’s body with it. The top of the head and the tip of the hands should be open and not covered. Tie the cloth or glue it to the Voodoo doll’s body. You can use both glue and threads so that the Spanish moss will be tighter on the body.

Give the doll a face. Eyes can be made out of buttons or beads, while the mouth can be out of stitched thread. Next, you will have to characterize the doll to correspond and be related somehow with the person for whom this doll is for. It is an important step which some take for granted. You can use the person’s hair, cloth or anything else you can think that might represent him or her.

And at last, your Voodoo doll is complete. Now you can go ahead and perform a Voodoo Purification Ceremony on the doll to give it a name.