Poppet

Poppet: A poppet is a Maiden or Mother Goddess figure; a doll used in harvest or other festivals to symbolize the fertility of the Earth and/or Goddess. In some instances dolls are used to represent the male gender instead of the female (scarecrows and the Wicker Man of the Druids are examples). Dolls are believed to be infused with life by their makers. The doll is a “little life,” symbolic of the inner person. Poppets are used in healing, fertility, and binding spells. In magick the doll can be made from a craved root, grain or corn shafts, fruits such as an apple or lemon, paper, wax, a potato, clay, branches, or a cloth image stuffed with herbs. The possibilities are endless. The use of poppets is known as “image magick.”

Museums throughout the world are filled with idols and figurines made of clay, wood, and metals. The figurines from Paleolithic and Neolithic times are dolls. Among royalty, dolls have been given as gifts since ancient times as tokens of goodwill. In rustic churches throughout the world there are saint-dolls. These saint-dolls are not only bathed on a regular basis and dressed in handmade clothing, but also “taken for walks” so they might see the conditions of the fields and of people, and therefore intercede with heaven on the human’s behalf. A similar practice was done in ancient Egypt with statues of the Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Also called Corn Dolly, Poppit, Poppet, and Pippy.