Transcription
over all gloss finishPIN IS MIGHTIERTHAN THE SWORDALVARADOTHE—Doktor S nake, author of Doktor Snake’s Voodoo SpellbookWhen it comes to Voodoo, few things are more iconic thanthe Voodoo doll. Known also as conjure dolls, doll babies,dollies, baby dolls, poppets, fetich, fetish, and effigies, theyare servants of fast-acting, long-lasting magic. If you areseeking a new job or new friends, need to find your onetrue love or keep your lover at home, wish to be rid of yourenemies or protect yourself from thievery, in these pagesyou will find the doll and the spell to do just that and more.Drawing not only on New OrleansVoodoo and hoodoo traditions,Alvarado also presents dollspellwork from ancient Greece,Egypt, Malaysia, Japan, Africa,and the European grimoiresof old magic. You’ll learn howto make, use, and properly disposeof your Voodoo doll.Be warned: this is some of themost effective magic that exists,so be ready to reap what you areabout to sow—or in this case, sew!www.redwheelweiser.comISBN: 978-1-57863-554-2U.S. 21.95THE VOODOO DOLL SPELLBOOK“ D enise A lvarado is a true hoodoo mamba home girl whoburned hi-octane conjure in New Orleans where she grewup. Called by the spirits and taught conjuration by familymembers, she was working the goofer from five years old.That’s some serious heat. Denise is no pretender. She’s for real.She fixes the formulas, raises the spirits, calculates the mathematics, and works wonders at the old dirt track crossroads.”T HEVOODOO DOLLSOLLB OKPEA COMPENDIUM OFANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARYSPELLS AND RITUALSDENISE ALVARADOForeword byDOROTHY MORRISON,author of Utterly Wicked
This edition first published in 2014 by Weiser Books, an imprint ofRed Wheel/Weiser, LLCWith offices at:665 Third Street, Suite 400San Francisco, CA 94107www.redwheelweiser.comCopyright 2010, 2014 by Denise AlvaradoForeword 2014 by Dorothy Morrison.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewersmay quote brief passages. An earlier version of this book was published in 2010 as The Voodoo DollSpellbook: A Compendium of Ancient & Contemporary Spells & Rituals, Vol. 1 by Planet Voodoo.ISBN: 978-1-57863-554-2Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.Cover design by Jim WarnerCover photograph Shutterstock / Fer GregoryInterior by Deborah DuttonTypeset in Adobe CaslonPrinted in the United States of AmericaEBM10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1VoodooSpell forthpages.indd 44/11/14 3:21 PM
Disclaimer and Legal NoticeThe information contained in this book is strictly for educational purposes. If youapply ideas contained in this book, you are taking full responsibility for your actions. Magic, Voodoo, hoodoo, and energy work are faith-based systems, meaningif you do not believe in your own power to effect change, change is unlikely tooccur. Since these factors differ according to each individual, there is no guaranteeof your success or improvement level. The author and publisher assume no responsibility for any of your actions, whether you use the information for positive ornegative purposes.Much of the information contained in this book is drawn from folklore collections, recipes given to the author from family, friends, customers, medicine menand women, and healers over the span of a lifetime, recipes from 19th and 20thcentury formularies, historical accounts of African-based folk magic from slavesin the southern United States, objective evaluation of anthropological literature,and from the personal grimoires of the author. The information contained herein issubject to the interpretation of the author.The information contained in these pages is not meant as a substitute for theadvice of health or mental health professionals.Readers should use discretion before performing any rituals or spells.VoodooSpell forthpages.indd 134/11/14 3:21 PM
ForewordThe very utterance of the term “Voodoo doll” probably evokes more visions in themind’s eye than any other in the modern vocabulary. It doesn’t matter whetheryou’re a magical practitioner. It doesn’t matter if you believe in magic. Regardless ofyour spiritual path or what you hold true, it still conjures up visions of dark, steamybayous and oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, a weathered old Swamp Witchstabbing pins into an effigy, and a magic so powerful that nothing—not even theGods—can alter its course.But does that sort of magic really exist? And if so, is it still viable in today’smodern world? More to the point, though, can someone really learn how to use iteffectively?It does. It is. And you can.To start with, doll magic has a head start over other types. Why? Because thedoll—in and of itself, regardless of shape or form—holds a magic all its own. It’s asilent, timeless, irresistible force to which no one—not toddler, nor teen, nor evenadult—is immune. It tugs at our emotions and urges us to care for the doll, dressit, and occasionally, even confide in it. And since that sort of emotional response isthe driving force behind all magic, it’s little wonder that Conjure Folk find the dollxvVoodooSpell forthpages.indd 154/11/14 3:21 PM
to be such an indispensable basis for their workings. They simply add the properherbs, oils, symbols, charms, and personal items, couple those with firm intent andfocus, and—voila!—wind up with a spell so potent, it will stop at nothing to hitits mark. It’s quick and easy—and exactly the kind of magic geared to today’s busylifestyles.That’s all well and fine. But how do you know exactly which components toadd? Or how to be sure you won’t mess things up?Not to worry. The Voodoo Doll Spellbook has you covered. Written in aneasy-to-understand style, Denise Alvarado—an accomplished Conjure Womanand teacher of the magical arts—answers every question you could possibly ask,as well as a few that have probably never crossed your mind. She’s jam-packed thisbook with spells and recipes to meet every need, along with complete step-by-stepinstructions. What’s more, she’s provided you with all the tools necessary to takecharge of your life, change your circumstances, and finally become the person youwere born to be.So take the first step toward living that brand new life. Turn the page. And letthe magic begin!Dorothy MorrisonAuthor of Utterly Wickedwww.wickedwitchstudios.comxviVoodooSpell forthpages.indd 16The Voodoo Doll Spellbook4/11/14 3:21 PM
PrefaceI can’t guarantee the effects of Voodoo dolls. But if you believe in it, it willsurely bring some changes to your life.Yang MinSince the beginning of time, people have created and used dolls in an effort to control the situations, places, people, and things that surround them. Growing up inNew Orleans, I had the opportunity to hear many curious tales and beliefs relatedto the infamous Voodoo doll and I was privy to witnessing the same. Doll magickfascinated me then, and it fascinates me now.In this book, Voodoo doll is used as a catch-all term to describe dolls used inmagic and ritual throughout time and across cultures. Any old-time rootworker, however, will use the preferred terms conjure dolls, doll babies, dollies, and babydolls. In anthropology, one will find the terms fetich, fetish, poppet, puppet, and effigy. Still, the term Voodoo doll has reached academia as a means of denoting a dollthat is used for magickal purposes regardless of culture, and as an academic I amxviiVoodooSpell forthpages.indd 174/11/14 3:21 PM
following suit.1 Nonetheless, let me be clear that my use of the term Voodoo dolldoes not imply that all of the spells contained in this volume are doll spells fromthe New Orleans Voodoo and hoodoo traditions. There are spells from ancientGreece and Egypt, from Malay, Japan, Africa, the European grimoires, and plentyfrom hoodoo and New Orleans Voodoo. For each spell, I use the doll term thatseems appropriate for that tradition and context.The spells contained in this book are based on studies of doll magick and folklore across cultures. I have collected a large number of these spells for my personalenjoyment, and had planned on including all of them in this book. Once I beganwriting everything down, it was evident that my collection was entirely too big, andso I decided to split the work into two volumes. Thus, this book is Volume I.Many of the spells come from personal grimoires that contain rituals passeddown via oral tradition. Some I wrote myself. Many are derived from anthropological and archeological literature; several come from the Greek papyri and Egyptianhieroglyphics. Some are from European grimoires, and some are gleaned fromslave narratives. Still others are derived from old hoodoo advertisements from the1930s and later during the height of hoodoo commercialization. Some of the spellsare based on conversations with the folks running the old Witchcraft Workshop inNew Orleans many, many years ago.In addition to these various sources, I am grateful for the contributions to thisvolume by Doktor Snake of Voodoo Spellbook fame and Carolina Dean, assistanteditor for Hoodoo and Conjure magazine and coauthor of the Hoodoo Almanac 2012and Hoodoo Almanac 2013. I thank each of you for your generosity and creativity.If this book, which was written mainly for popular reading, provides entertainment and a bit of education for the audience, then I have done my job.May the warm winds of heaven blow gently on these pages and bless all whoread them.Denise AlvaradoRevised St. John’s Eve, 20121. Christopher Faraone, “The Agonistic Context of Early Greek Binding Spells,” in Magika Hiera:Ancient Greek Magic and Religion, ed. Christopher Faraone and Dirk Obbink, (New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1991), 3-32.xviiiVoodooSpell forthpages.indd 18The Voodoo Doll Spellbook4/11/14 3:21 PM
ONEThe Pin Is Mightierthan the SwordI once knew a man who spent half an hour every evening playing witha wooden doll, which was dressed to resemble a local woman who could“do things.” Time after time he would thrust the little image into thefireplace until the feet touched the glowing embers, and then snatch itout again. The expression on his face was most unpleasant. I am quite indifferent to the ordinary superstitions of the hill folk. I visit graveyards atnight, shoot cats on occasion, and burn sassafras wood without a tremor.And yet, something akin to horror gripped me as I watched the witchmaster’s sadistic foolery. I should not care to have that man burning apoppet wrapped in my undershirt.2If you woke up in the morning and found a little black coffin on your front porch,what would you do? Would you open it? What if you opened it and found a dollinside that had your photo attached to it?That’s exactly what happened to Commissioner Zenaida Denizac of Deltona, Florida, in the summer of 2008. As her husband headed out to her mailbox2. V. Randolph, Ozark Superstition (London: Oxford University Press, 1947).1VoodooSpell forthpages.indd 14/11/14 3:21 PM
early one morning, he stumbled upon a black plastic dish that contained a creepy,wax-covered Voodoo doll with a photo of his wife’s face attached to it. It wasburned, covered in black powder, and stuck with pins all over its body.You might say you aren’t superstitious, and that you don’t believe in magickand Voodoo. Commissioner Denizac did. “These are faceless cowards, people withsmall minds, trying to deviate me from the job I was appointed to do,” Denizac saidon the news. “I’m not afraid. I’m still going to speak my mind. Nothing is going toshut me up.”3Still, authorities considered the doll a threat to the safety and well-being of thecommissioner, prompting beefed-up security and a full-blown investigation. Noone believes in this Voodoo stuff, though, despite the fact that folks looked overtheir shoulders for a few serpents and rainbows for weeks following the incident.Seemingly more than ever, there is a pervasive fascination with the subject ofghosts and the paranormal, haunted and cursed dolls, and things that go “bump inthe night.” This fascination is generally attributed to Hollywood’s fusion of folklore with science fiction and the presentation of such images on the big screen.Nowhere is this more evident than with the prevailing public icon of the NewOrleans Voudou religion—the Voodoo doll. The image of the pin-stuck doll is soembedded in the collective psyche of the general public that the thought of usinga Voodoo doll any differently seems to defy all logic.Hollywood and the media are not the only ones to blame for the existing attitude, however. They simply took a longstanding stereotype and ran with it. In fact,the presentation of the evil Voodoo doll began with the enslavement of Africanpeople and subsequent attempts to dehumanize them. Part of the process of dehumanization included demonizing their religions.This book is meant to be a celebration of the ancient art of doll magick. It istrue that dolls are used now, as they were in the past, in a variety of religious, spiritual, and magickal traditions. Exploring the breadth and depth of these traditionsis in the very least interesting. At most it is fascinating. As you read this book, youwill discover that doll magick goes far beyond sticking pins in dolls for revenge.For centuries, cultures across the globe have used the ancient techniques of image3. “Local Commissioner Finds Voodoo Doll In Yard,” Orlando News, dooSpell forthpages.indd 2The Voodoo Doll Spellbook4/11/14 3:21 PM
magick, contagious magick, and sympathetic magick in combination with a doll oreffigy to control all aspects of life.Principles of Doll MagickThe various ways in which people have used dolls and effigies throughout history tocontrol their relationships to each other, the environment, and the spiritual worldare e
The information contained in this book is strictly for educational purposes. If you apply ideas contained in this book, you are taking full responsibility for your ac-tions. Magic, Voodoo, hoodoo, and energy work are faith-based systems, meaning if you do not believe in your own power to effect change, change is unlikely to occur. Since these factors differ according to each individual, there .
