Creating a Soul Doll

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Various reasons have been given for Inanna's descent to the Underworld: one version claims She went Below to rescue her Beloved, Dumuzi (repeated in Greek myth in the legends of Persephone and Hades, and in Psyche and Eros, among others); another version brings Dumuzi into the story only at the end, when He must go Below to serve as Inanna's proxy in the Court of Ereshkigal. While the first version has merit, and is certainly the most frequently related narrative, the second version seems to instill more power in Inanna's purpose. Working from a matrifocal pantheon where Ereshkigal and Inanna are sisters, but in different and separate realms, the antagonistic elements of the rescuing Dumuzi story do not quite fit. It would seem that it is just as likely that Inanna would go Below to seek out Her sister as a friend, and not as an antagonist.

Jungian-based psychology postulates the existence of an interior self that mirrors our outward appearance and behaviour, but is of the opposite gender. Humanistic psychologists who work in the area of mythology and sacred psychology have done much to explore and expand upon the idea of this psychic twin that we carry within each of us. Of particular note in this matter is the hypnotic-journey textbook, The Search for the Beloved by Jean Houston (J.P.Tarcher Inc.: L.A. Calif., 1987), which emphasizes the connection between the ideal self and the object of affection, in the form of the anima or animus. However, from an occult and wiccan background, we can contact and work with our animus or anima through the contruction of a little soul doll, a poppet constructed to house the spirit of this inner self.

The poppet has a long tradition of use in occult practices. Written references to the use of images to perform magick have been discovered in Akkadian-Chaldean (Mesopotamian) inscriptions, dating in the second millenium B.C.E. Medieval grimoires and witch-hunting manuals describe the use of wax figures by witches and magicians. Traditional African and Carribean magicians are well-known for their use of voodoo dolls. Modern witches have a long history of poppet use behind them; it is not surpirising that they are still in use today.

Poppets can be made from a wide variety of materials, from corn husks or straw, wax, clay, or cloth rags stitched together. The doll can be as small or as large, and as complex or as simple, as the witch desires. The only real limitation is based on the witch's ability to create the doll itself.
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