Here’s a comment I received on my paper doll post. It went into moderation because it included a link. I still haven’t “approved” it and, well, I see no need to now. I won’t name the person here, but say only that he’s never made his presence known on this blog before. For all I know, he was a first-time visitor.
And if you’re reading this, friend, well, ya bugged me. You REALLY bugged me. But I’ll get to that.
On to the comment first.
(And the “definition” in this comment is where I simply cut and pasted the link he used as corroboration that I apparently worship dandelions or practice voodoo or WORSE!!)
Here we go:
I’m concerned you may have re-invented the “Poppet,” a device commonly used in Wicca and Santeria.
Definition: A poppet is a small doll or figure that represents a person in a ritual or spell. These items are NOT evil things for you to stick pins into. Poppets are frequently used in healing spells, and are usually hand-sewn and stuffed with the appropriate herbs. Magick of this kind is common in Santeria.
Of course, the purpose is prayer, not magic, but the similarity is, at least on the surface, disturbing.
Although it has to be said that Pagans do a lot of things Christians also do, such as prayer, fasting, eat, drink, et al. The mere presence of an equivalent in a non-Christian religion doesn’t mean they are one and the same thing. Must think about this…
Ya know, friend ….. thanks for your concern and sorry you’re disturbed and all, but if you’re going to lay a charge like that at my feet, you’d better do your homework. Seriously. And I’m not buying the guise of benign, Christian concern, either. You come on my blog as someone previously unknown to me, and THIS is where you comment and what you choose to comment upon? Listen to your WORDS. You are basically accusing me of engaging in occult practices and I CANNOT tell you how offensive that is to me. And you offer, as substantiation of your concern, a single link to a page that contains ONLY that definition above? NOTHING more? You have no other proof than that? So I guess it’s just maybe I’m an occultist?? I know I’m laying into you here and I wish I could say I am sorry, but I’m not. I imagine I don’t sound too “nice,” but I see no call to “niceness” in Scripture.
We ARE called to speak the truth, though.
So in speaking to THAT, I did your homework for you. I’m sure you won’t mind if I demonstrate the difference between my doll and these poppets and giddily demolish your charge, will you?
First, “poppets” ARE used in healing and other spells. They’re used for specific intents — “healing” of illnesses, for creativity, prosperity, help with relationships, improvement in grades, pretty much whatever. Lengthy rituals surround the use of these poppets.
Here are a couple of personal stories on the creation and ritual of poppets that I gleaned from a site called Earth Witchery. Oh, and these are not MY personal stories, just in case that’s NOT clear:
For a friend who was addicted to cocaine… On a very windy day when the moon was waning, I made a poppet out of red wax, for life force and survival energy. I used a piece of amethyst as its heart to give her a clear mind. To make the poppet symbolize her, I used pieces of her hair and carved a small tattoo on the poppet representing the one on her body. Once I felt the poppet was united with her, I used knot magick to rid her of the need for coke. I then made the cord into a necklace and let the magick take its course. Between the poppet and an intervention of friends, my friend had turned herself into a rehab center. It must have been hard but she is better now.
(Yeah. And I’m SURE it was mostly because of the poppet.)
Anyway, here’s another one:
I propose to make a healing poppet for my mother. She is 81 years old, visually impaired and has recently moved to a hostel [aged care facility] (ed. here: um, I think she means “hospice.” Maybe she needs a poppet to get ‘erself some brraaaains. But Gammie in a “hostel”? Now, that’s funny) where she is not settling well.
I have asked for guidance and will make paper poppets. The first will be on grey paper. I will cut out a small poppet and draw grey hair, closed eyes, and a sad mouth. I will write the reasons why mum had to leave her home. I will set up a cleansed area similar to an alter (we know, hon) and have ready a green or white candle, a shallow dish and a box of matches. I will also have another paper poppet of green or white paper and also coloured textas. I will call on my guardian, my guides, and Kwan Yin to assist me. I will meditate and ask my mother’s higher self if she will accept this healing. If the answer is positive, I will proceed.
I will light the candle and use it to light the grey poppet, which I will place in the shallow dish to burn. As this poppet burns, I will use the coloured textas to write on the other poppet all the benefits of being in her new place of residence. I will say these aloud as I write them on the front of the healing poppet. On the back of the poppet I will use the ashes of the grey poppet to draw, with my licked right forefinger, the Rune – Nauthiz- the banishing rune. This will help turn frustration and stress to one’s advantage and will help turn a bad situation into a good one.
Finally, another elaborate description of one practitioner’s ritual:
I was going to work on a prosperity poppet, but decided to work on one for protection instead. I am constructing it out of dogwood twigs, lashing the twigs together with black thread, so the twigs will be like the “skeleton,” using an acorn for the head. I’m using nine herbs, cotton thread, cotton, eucalyptus, sage, thyme, oak leaves, parsley, some dogwood shavings, fern and birch bark. I began consecrating these items and grinding them last night, meditating on the purpose all the while. Also I have mixed in nail clippings, my hair and some blood. I will be mixing this over the next two nights, completing the spell on the 20th during the full moon. On a piece of birch bark I will draw the rune of “Ohl” with Dragon’s Blood ink, roll it up and tie it to the “torso’ of the poppet with black thread. I’m fashioning clothes out of an old pair of shorts beyond repair but dear to me and an old t-shirt. I’m applying my own hair to the poppet. I won’t be doing the face thing since I feel that there will be enough of my own energy within the poppet already between my own “body parts” and my favorite clothes .
On the night of the full moon I will cast my circle, sew my clothes onto the little guy and stuff him. After I’m done stuffing him, I will be anointing him with cedarwood oil and placing him on the pentacle on my altar. I will meditate in his purpose and then dedicate him to the south and do my incantation.
Whhhhhewww!
Notice a similar theme in these descriptions, friend? Besides the gross, exhausting, and nearly obsessive-compulsive ritual of it all? I DO. A poppet for another person is meant to symbolize the OTHER person — with pieces of her hair, her characteristics, etc. For these occultists, the poppet becomes that person. Notice how the one description spoke of the poppet being “united” with her friend? I can’t help but notice, too, that these practitioners call on “guides” and “guardians” and “higher selves” for assistance in these poppet rituals. They chant and burn and futz about with herbs and twigs because they actually believe there is power these THINGS.
MY doll was an image of me, NOT my friend, with some verses from Psalms on the back.
I did not chant over her or burn her or smear her with blood. I did not draw runes on her or anoint her or dedicate her in ANY direction. There were no twigs or fingernails or ratty old shorts involved in her creation. I did not call on guides or guardians or Kwan Yin.
Rather ….. I sat at my kitchen table, sick and depressed, frankly, and needing to reach out to someone ELSE. As I created this doll, I thought of my friend far away who was sick, too, sicker than I. Thinking of that put things in some much needed perspective for me. During the process of making this little thing, somehow, I recovered small bits of myself that I’d lost over many, many months. Frequently, I found myself thinking of how WONDROUS it is that, as believers, we have this bond through the Holy Spirit. A bond that crosses all boundaries and covers all distance, connecting me to my friend. It is transcendent. I do not even understand it.
While I worked, I prayed, yes. I prayed that my friend might be encouraged by this small token of affection. I prayed that the Lord might use even someone like me, who at that moment was a low, self-pitying wretch, but someone who needed, who HOPED to be used for something right then, no matter how small.
In a way, my doll was a greeting card, although more elaborate, pehaps. And, you know, every Christmas, millions of people send out cards with their pictures on the front and a joyful greeting or some Scripture on the inside. Maybe even a prayer for the new year. Still other people actually send get well cards expressing fervent prayers for the restoration of a sick loved one. I wonder if you, friend, have ever sent out something like these yourself? Or received such evils into your house? *Gasp!*
This was just a paper doll with my picture and God’s Word on the back. By itself, it had no special powers except that it cheered both the giver and the receiver.
So, really, really, how dare you drag a such a simple thing through the mud of your “concerns”? How dare you throw careless words around with no corroboration? How dare you suggest it was something occultic and sully everything it meant? How dare you, without even knowing me, assume the worst of me?
Comment on this post, if you choose, but then, please don’t come back here again.
(And ….. you know ….. just now …. after I mixed Dolly’s toenail clippings and blood from her chopped-off heads into a roiling smelly brew which I used to doodle random runes on her butt, she bubbled to life long enough to say, “Taa-taa and tooodles, Judgey-duuudles!”)
I am…just…uuuhhhhh…
speechless.
Some people simply amaze me.
Why don’t you give this person the phone number of your old pastor? I’m sure they’ll get along famously! =]
OH! And Joey!
Ugh…maybe it IS Joey!?
It *would* explain those demons :/
whaaaaaat????
you have GOT to be kidding me. how do you attract these kinds of people, T? the same post on my site would have gotten NUTHIN’, i am sure. wackos patrol sites that have the word “naked” in the title!
There’s a thin line between vigilant and crazy and I think your commentor crossed it.
Poppets…
popovers…
overalls…
banjos…
Deliverance…
pigs…
bacon…
eggs…
coffee…
BeanHouse…
Tracey…
Demons.
Ohhhh… Well, now it makes perfect sense. I can totally see how someone would come up with a TOTALLY FREAKING LUNATIC ASSUMPTION ABOUT SOMEONE THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW.
Should we all gather ’round the dunk tank now Jebediah? Maybe Tracey’ll float.
Gammie in a hostel???? HA HA HA HA!! I’ve stayed in my share of co-ed hostels and picturing a Gammie in one of those is SHOCKING and HILARIOUS at the same time.
Oh wow. I must admit I felt as sorry for your commenter as I did for the writers of those other paragraphs on the Poppies. How empty they must feel if that is their “religion”. My heart breaks for them. Because if my religion had anything do to with me and MY body, I’d be sunk for sure!!!
Poppets. Not Poppies. Sorry, I haven’t had my caffeine yet. ugh.
What a tiny stupid little brain that person has. Ew. I feel like I’ve been dragged thru the mud. That your beautiful little post of love and creativity would engender such a response is truly disheartening. I almost feel sorry for the guy. Unimaginative, stupid, and condescending. Yeah, you’re “concerned”. No, you’re not, bucko.
Great responding to him though, Tracey.
And yeah -“Gammie in a hostel” made me laugh out loud.
“So whatever, Grandma was dying. So we just sent her to a flea-ridden youth hostel with her sleeping bag and a bag of trial-size shampoos, and hoped for the best.”
Wow…what a way for someone to crap on another person’s nice gesture.
I fail to see how what you did with the paper doll is any different from someone else sending a generic Hallmark card saying “I’m thinking of you” (Well, other than the fact that you took the TIME and the EFFORT to actually make something rather than just going out and buying it.)
I’m guessing the person who wrote you that comment is of the same school of thought that prevents their child from watching cartoons, or reading fairy tales, or even reading the Narnia books, because they’re “insufficiently pure” in their religious perspective for the person’s sheltered child.
You know, there are a number of Christian (or other religious) groups that create “prayer quilts” or “prayer shawls” as gifts for people who are ill, or are facing some kind of big life-transition, or have lost someone close to them? The people pray for the person (or offer “general” prayers if they don’t know who the item will go to) as they work on it, and ultimately it’s given to the recipient in a sort-of ceremonial setting.
I wonder what your commenter would make of that? It makes me sad that people can convince themselves there’s evil in kind gestures when those kind gestures aren’t 100% in line with what the person limits themself to believing…
WG — Let’s push me off the cliff and see if I will FLY!!!
red — “So whatever, Grandma was dying. So we just sent her to a flea-ridden youth hostel with her sleeping bag and a bag of trial-size shampoos, and hoped for the best.â€
Hahahahaha! Let’s make the movie!!
ricki — Wow. Great point about the prayer shawls and quilts; that is true. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
It would make a good reality show, too!
Oooh, even better — “Hostel Gammie”!
And, AS, you are SO right about the name thing. It was an idiotic thing to choose. Look for a name change in the next several months ….
I would just like to say that the only reason I read your blog is for the voodoo and poppets. I mean, I honestly don’t konw what I would do without them and I DEMAND all poppet all the time!
That said, one has to wonder what satisfaction one gets out of writing something like that. “Um, just wanted to let you know that you might just have unwittingly opened the door to hell and that any moment the Chucky-esque creation you have unwittingly unleased might come searching for your soul!” What a spaz.
Cullen — I literally did a spit-take with my coffee on “what a spaz”! It just sneaked up on me. Hahahahaha!
What was that classic movie with Karen Black where the little voodoo doll rages thru her apartment? Member that?? hahahaha I mean … it’s so cheesy in looking back on it now – but it kinda wasn’t funny at ALL when I first saw it.
Tracey, please let us know immediately if your prayer doll comes to life, and toe-dances through your apartment like a vengeful ballerina of doom.
red — DRAT! I must’ve missed THAT one! And it’s stupid now, but you were scared witless when you saw it, weren’t you? Hahaha!
I was always kinda scared of Karen Black, actually.
And if the prayer doll does come to life, well, I’d have to get word long distance, but “a vengeful ballerina of doom”? I would so enjoy that!!
Oh, and red, I just Googled Karen Black. Do you know there’s a site out there calling itself “The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black”? That NAME just kills me.
Trilogy of Terror. I just remembered – it was a TV movie in the 70s and I had NO business seeing it.
hahahahaha That was the name of the movie. hahahahaha
It’s so ridiculous and cheesy. But man it scared me back then!!
Karen Black –
famous for being one of the graveyard hookers in “Easy Rider”, Jack Nicholson’s big-haired girlfriend in “Five Easy Pieces”, and that voodoo doll short. Then she sort of dropped out of sight.
She did have one of those scary, slightly vulpine faces. Very intense eyes, too.
A TV movie!? Wonder how it got on there??
I’m trying to figure how you got away with watching THAT! Little red and Trilogy of Terror! What a picture!
And “Trilogy of Terror”? A name that both promises too much AND smacks of apathy.
She’s also … uhm … a member of the Couch-Jumper’s cult.
Why I know these things is one of the tragedies of my personality.
tracey – Since I was the oldest child, I was often babysitting my younger siblings – probably when I was WAY too young to do so! But you know, different generation of parents. I was 11, they were right down the block at the cocktail party, we all would be fine.
Hence, I saw some late-night TV movies (like Trilogy of Terror) which I had NO BUSINESS seeing.
Sal — “Then she sort of dropped out of sight.”
Thank GOD!! Vulpine, yes. Kind of like my doll. Hahaha!
Now SHE always looked vagely possessed.
And why does everyone think I’m possessed?? I’m starting to get a complex about it all.
Okay – scariest, most disturbing thing you’ve ever seen on network TV? Theater movies don’t count. TV movies okay.
“The Eye of the Beholder”. Twilight Zone. Pig-faced race is giving a (to them) horribly disfigured girl (played by the lovely Donna Douglas) one last chance at plastic surgery before banning her to the colony of the Really Really Ugly. First glimpse of the pig-faces terrorized me to the point of not sleeping for several nights.
Hello,
So I need to make a couple of points about your post, I am not trying to be caustic or offensive I simply feel that something needs to be said. First off I am slightly offended, I personally am a pagan and all the implications, both in your post and in the comment that initiated the post, are rather impolite, no real pagan is in any way evil, or demonic, and I find the religion completely fulfilling. As someone with a solid familiarity with Christianity, I feel that the condescension toward paganism as a whole, is rather out of character. Lastly I thought that you should know that the name change thing is probably good, because it seems likely your site attracts pagans that believe in skyclad rituals(i.e. they perform rituals naked). Thanks for your time, and be strong in your faith, with love in your heart.
No, red, why you know these things is the utter sublimity of your personality, so ENOUGH with THAT!
Okay. She’s a Couch Jumper; that explains a few things.
Tracey – I don’t know why people think you are possessed. It’s baffling – It’s like:
They want you to do things their way. Not just surface stuff like: cook the lasagna my way, clean the house my way … but live your life MY WAY. They are disturbed by your openness. They want you to “calm down”. This is mainly because they have never “let themselves go” (emotionally) in their lives. The fact that you do not fit into a tight little square peg truly BOTHERS these people. You make them feel uncomfortable (not your fault – it’s just that anything outside their narrow little realm makes them uncomfortable). So they must label you – because no WAY could the problem be with them. It HAS to be Tracey – Tracey is possessed!!!
It makes me mad just writing it down. So strange!! Get a life, people!
This is my analysis – admitting that I literally know NONE of the people involved.
Sal –
I saw that Anthony Hopkins movie “Magic” on television when I was, maybe 11, 12 years old – and even though as I watched it I knew I would NEVER EVER be able to get to sleep EVER AGAIN I somehow couldn’t stop watching it.
For about a week afterward, every time I would close my eyes to go to sleep, immediately I would see that stupid puppet’s gleaming eyes.
Will — Thank you for your comment.
This is a blog written by a Christian. I do not support or advocate the beliefs of pagan practitioners.
You sought out a site with a Christian bent to it. I would not expect you to be anything less than offended, since our views do not mesh, but again, you seem to have sought out that offense.
As this is my blog, I hope I can be allowed to express myself as I choose.
Sal — Hmm. I gotta run now, but this is a great question! One is coming to mind, but I can’t remember the name! AHHH!
Does anyone know the name of that one Twilight Zone episode (the original series, not the dopey remakes), where a little girl has one of those “Momma” dolls that winds up causing all these accidents to her abusive parents? Man, that was a creepy episode and is I’m sure one of the main inspirations for Chucky.
Red — They want me to “calm down.”
How true!!! Hahahaha! I probably never will, either.
And that’s one of the tragedies of MY personality!!
I have similar problems, tracey … that’s why I have that whole kindred-spirit feeling with you. People have been waiting for me to “calm down” for over 20 years. That’s THEIR problem. hahahaha
cullen – I don’t remember seeing that one but it sounds terrifying.
There has to be something universally frightening about children’s toys coming to life and wreaking havoc on an innocent household. It’s so effective!
The clown scene in Poltergeist left me emotionally scarred.
hahahaha see what I mean??
Children’s toys come to life = Lifelong emotional scars.
I know just what you mean – that scene scared me half to death!!
The turn these comments have taken would make a very good blog post. Hmmmm.
Okay. I did some Googling to try to find that movie. It had Kate Jackson and it was cheesily called “Death at Love House.”
If this is the one I’m thinking of, there were some floaty “ghostly appearances” that really freaked me out … at the time.
Oh, and I remember being terrified of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come from A Christmas Carol, the Alastair Sim version. One night after watching that, I had to get up and use the bathroom. I walked through our living room and, TO THIS DAY, I would swear the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was sitting in one of our armchairs.
I literally SPRINTED to the bathroom! I needed to go anyway, but now I was SO scared I was about to pee my pants. Don’t remember how I made it back to my bedroom … okay, even just the memory made me a little scared just now …. picture him, everyone …. he’s sitting in your armchair, not moving, just waiting for you …..
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is something I still prefer not to think about when I’m by myself.
Nope.
Too scary.
Okay. I thought of something else. I watched a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” episode by accident a few years ago.
It had these god-awful creatures called The Gentlemen. They had gray, skeletal faces, huge grimacing mouths and dead sunken eyes. They dressed nicely in black suits because they were gentlemen, you see.
But the worst, THE WORST, was the way they got around. They didn’t walk or run. They floated slowly just inches off the ground. In pairs, like that. Only at night, of course. Oh, and they were coming to cut your heart out, too.
Awful. Shiveringly awful.
The post also inspired me to do a little Photoshoppery. Ladies and gentelmen, I present, the iDevil.
Tracey, I just submitted a comment with a link that’s pending moderations. Just to let you know. 🙂
I hate that they are called “The Gentlemen’ in the first place. It’s so formal … and terrifying.
Ooooh, Cullen, you’re going to hell ….
I think it’s a product with a lot of potential.
That iDevil’s hilarious, btw, Cullen. He must be listening to nothing but Z-HAG. “Got it made, got it made, got it made….”
“The Gentlemen” – wasn’t that the “Hush” episode, where nobody could use their voices? And The Gentlemen would slink to their victims in the middle of the night and feed on them without having to hear their screams?
Oh, I so did not need to remember that.
Shannon — Yes, I think it WAS called Hush.
Don’t think about it. Just …. don’t.
Anybody else notice it’s dark outside?
we should change the subject, I got the creeps now! *shivers*
Yeah. How many bizarre amalgam nightmares are we all going to have tonight?!
Here’s my vote for scary movies on TV – an old, black and white movie that ended up on TV “creature features” during my childhood – I would watch them until I couldn’t stand it, turn the channel (required getting up from the sofa back then!), walk away for a few seconds, until I couldn’t stand NOT watching, turn the channel again, and repeat every few minutes until the end of the movie.
Anyways, the movie is called The Haunting. There was a remake a few years back that no one – myself included – went to see. The original is TOTAL FREAK-OUT SCARY!!!! All without showing a single ghost, aparition, etc. Creepy lighting, creepy sounds, excellent story (in a total freak-out scary kind of way) was all that was needed to keep me from ever coming out from under the covers before daylight.
Professor Steve –
That was based on the novel “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. Just a photo representation of the opening scenes of the aging kid -whew! Turns up on everyone’s Top Ten Scary Movies List.
Red – original “Twilight Zone” had a ventriloquist dummy episode that was great. Dummies, clowns and monkeys – why are they so incredibly scary?
I mean, how frightening would a story called “The Doggie’s Paw” be?
look at all the comments! insane!
i didn’t mean to start anything about changing your blog name. i LOVE your blog name, but how about “Worship Scantily Clad?”
AS — Hahahaha! No I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. You didn’t start it, trust me!
I vote “Worship Under-clothed.”
Sal – oh, if we’re going to open shop on all the creepiest Twilight Zones, that is certainly up there. (Cliff Robertson was in that ep, right?) And the famous “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” where the aliens destroy the town with no other weapons but the fear and suspicion of the citizens. “One against the other! One against the other! One against the other!” Just the mechanical way he says that at the end, ewwwwww….
Hi,
I don’t comment often but thought I’d chime in. Here in England the word poppet is used as a term of endearment for children – meaning dolly, but in a sense of “lovely little one”……
I really enjoyed seeing your little paper doll and thought it was a lovely thing to do.
“Yeah. How many bizarre amalgam nightmares are we all going to have tonight?! ”
So these are bad dreams about dental fillings, then?
I think I’m going to have to pray a lot before going to bed, after only just reading about all those flicks y’all have watched – ugh!
Hi Tracey,
I found your page by accident and hope you don’t mind me dropping you a short note. On one hand, I completely sympathize with your reaction to this guy and his baseless and wobbly accusation. As a Pagan, I’m used to having my beliefs and traditions misunderstood, so it was interesting to see a non-Pagan so easily defend herself against the same sort of lame argument. On the other hand, because I am a Pagan, I took a little bit of offense at your jabs against some of our practices. Your heart and your research are in the right place, but keep in mind that all that sort of thing takes years to understand. I loved your little paper doll, and of course you’re right–it’s not a poppet but a very creative Get Well Soon card. Fanatics are freaked out by anything that resembles something they know nothing about. Have a great day!