How to Make an Apple Head Poppet

Reecently, as I was surfing the world wide web, I came across an image that jarred my memory a bit. It was a picture of an apple head doll. Somewhere in my mind, I can recall my mother, who is extremely crafty and talented, making such a doll. When I asked her, she confirmed that she had attempted to make one, but it didn't really turn out well. Then she threw in something about mice enjoying them as a healthy snack alternative.

Apple head dolls have been around for a long time. It is said that the new colonists to America got the idea of making the dolls from the native people namely the Iroquois and or Seneca. As I was reading, there came an interview of a lady who knew much about the dolls and when asked how long they would last she said they would last 100 years as long as the mice didn't get to them. Again, with these pesky rodents. Despite the risk of full-on vermin attack, I decide to make my own apple head doll.

Apple head dolls are perfect for a witches and they can be used as poppets in all manners of magick from healing to harming (if you do such work). I think that they would be best in healing spells because as the old adage goes: "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Not only that but apples are the fruit of the witches. If you cut an apple in half horizontally you find a pentacle every time. Plus, the dolls have the added benefit, in my opinion, of being naturally kind of creepy with their dehydrated heads having minds of their own as they wilt (pun intended).

Things You Will Need

• any size apple (remember it will shrink to half the original size)

• a paring knife

• lemon juice

• salt

• two seeds for the eyes

• scissors

• hair such as yarn in the person's hair color (I used doll hair)

• crafting wire or a wire clothes hanger to make the body

• old sheet cut in strips to wrap around the wire to help form the body

• glue, tape or rubber bands to hold the sheets to the wire

• markers or paint to make the face and to draw symbols or sigils

• sealer to protect the apple head from mice (clear spray paint)

• doll clothes

• taglock (to connect the person to the poppet (like hair or nail clippings)

Begin by peeling the entire apple. While you are making the poppet you are going to concentrate on the person for whom you are doing the spell on and your intention regarding the work. Next carve the eyes, nose and mouth with the paring knife or some other carving tool. The instructions I read literally said that when you carve the dolls face "don't go to deep and don't go too shallow". It turned out to be sound, even if vague, advice. I would suggest carving your doll to look like the person you are doing the spell on. If the person has a round face, don't carve too much off the face but if their face is thin make it thin. Make the nose, eyes and mouth as much like the persons as possible. You may want to add some crow's feet and or smile lines around the mouth and lines on the forehead.

This next part is very important in preserving the apple head. Place the apple in a bowl of lemon juice. It doesn't matter if it is a fresh lemon or the pre bottled juice. I always have lemons on hand, so I used freshly squeezed lemon juice. The head should stay in the juice for approximately 2 minutes. Then you will sprinkle the entire head liberally with salt.

The instructions I read said to hang your apple with wire through the core for approximately 2 weeks to let it dry out. I found a much faster way and that is to place the apple in the oven on the lowest temperature for a day or two. You have to keep checking it or else your apple will burn. There really is no exact time to give because of variants such as temperature and humidity in accordance with where you live.

When your doll head is dried out, cut out a small hole in the top or back of the head and add your tag lock and herbs. Put the piece of apple back on top of the herbs and taglock with some glue. You may need to cut the piece of apple down to size a bit if it no longer fits. You can draw symbols and or sigils on the back of the dolls head with your paint and markers. Anoint your doll's head with oils that coincide with the spell you are doing.

Use your markers or paint to make the eyebrows, eyes, rosy cheeks and even lips if you like. Be sure the eyes are the same color as the person you are doing the spell on. Paint works better than markers for this purpose. Don't forget any identifying facial marks such as freckles and or moles. Seal the apple head to protect it with a quick thin spray of clear enamel paint or something similar.

Now you can glue on the hair you chose. If your tag lock is hair, you could incorporate it here as well. While you are letting the head dry, form the body with the wire coat hanger. These are the bones. I used welding wire. I left about two inches at the top to connect the head and body by inserting the wire directly into the apple head. Wrap the body with the sheets or rags until it is as thick or thin as the target in your work. You can even put a packet of herbs in the doll's body especially if it is a healing poppet. Then you would place the healing herbs in the exact place you are healing. Dress the doll and you are finished making the poppet.

You can now set about your work. Always start by naming the doll after the person it represents. Breathe life into your doll and give it commands as to its purpose. It is your duty to take care of your poppet and to keep it safe. And by all means, keep the poppet far from the tiny viscous clutches of any and all mice. When your work is done, sever the connection between poppet and person. Now it just an apple head doll once again and nothing more. Some people go through all the trouble of destroying the doll. I don't really think this is necessary unless there is negative energy involved like that of a curse. Negative energy likes to linger. Other than that, when you sever the connection, it is severed. As you speak it, so it is done. Know and believe that.

I love these apple head dolls not only because of their rich American history but because of the uniqueness of each doll. There is a level of child-like anticipation as the apple head is drying because you never know exactly how it is going to look when it is finished drying. This adds a really fun and interesting aspect that you don't get when making other types of dolls. It is almost as if they come alive and form their very own identities and personalities. For example, the first apple head I made was just to get a feel for making one and when I put it in the oven, I didn't think of it in terms of "he" or "she" but when it was finished drying, I instinctively knew this doll is a female.

Apple head dolls are easy, fun and very inexpensive to make. I think it is well worth the time and effort to make one as a poppet for use in your spell work as they add an awesome layer of power and energy. Or if you are like me and love all things witchy including witch dolls you can turn your apple head doll into an apple head witch just like I did.

The following link is to a video I made demonstrating how to make apple head dolls.

https://youtu.be/h022C5c2NGA