A Witch's World of Magick (17 page)

In this example, the music, the mock revelry, and the lavishly decorated stick combine into an enticing distraction that lures the negative spirit away from the victim. Once the evil entity lets its guard down, it’s guided into the stick-made-decoy and captured, leaving the patient free from further harm.

In addition to enticement and distraction, confusion can also be employed in decoy magick. In an early twentieth century annual report from the Bureau of American Ethnology, Walter E. Roth writes about a practice of the Carib tribe of South America, describing how they use a string puzzle to confuse and waylay unfriendly spirits. The Carib string puzzle consists of two flat pieces of wood connected with a seemingly endless, winding string. When used for entertainment, the object of the game is to remove the string without untying any knots or making any cuts. The string puzzles aren’t just used by children, however. The Carib, if lost, might place one of these string puzzles in the middle of the path, believing that the spirit who is leading them astray will be distracted and enthralled by the challenging plaything, leaving the wanderer to continue on to the right path. Roth also mentions a similar practice witnessed in the lower Amazon regions, where a young boy braided a palm leaf, formed it into a ring, and hung it on a branch in the path for the purpose of confusing and thwarting any potentially dangerous or misleading spirits.
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The winding string on the string puzzle, and the twisted plaits on the palm leaf ring, serve a common purpose. The winding, twisting formations provide a complex path to traverse, thereby distracting and confusing any unfriendly spirits and diverting these energies away from their intended course.

Yet another example of decoy magick for spirit diversion might be found in the widespread practice of throwing stones toward grave sites in order to repel any unfortunate souls who might otherwise attempt to leave their grave and follow. From the Pennsylvania Germans in America to the Baganda tribe in Eastern Africa, the practice of pelting stones and other missiles at graves believed to be inhabited by the restless dead is a long-standing tradition. In an 1889 issue of the
Journal of American
Folklore
, W. J. Hoffman, MD, reports that the Pennsylvania Germans made it common practice to throw stones when passing by the burial sites of suicides and other victims of violent death, as well as places where bodies were buried on unconsecrated or otherwise unsavory ground. Failing to do so was believed to put oneself in danger, as a restless ghost might give chase if not diverted.
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Far away in Baganda, a landlocked country in eastern Africa, the practice was very much the same. In his 1928 work
The Vampire: His Kith and Kin
, Montague Summers cites an excerpt from
The Baganda
, a 1911 work written by Reverend J. Roscoe, which reports that the Baganda tribe had a practice of pelting the ground with sticks and clumps of dirt when passing by places where the bodies of suicide victims had been burned. Behind the practice was a belief that this action would prevent the ghosts from following, just as the Pennsylvania Germans reasoned when throwing stones
at graves.
⁹⁴

The practice was common in Madagascar and in southern Africa as well. Summers cites also an 1875 work by Fr. Finaz, S. J., published in
Les Missions Catholiques, vii
, in which Fr. Finaz offers accounts of the Marave, a tribe in southern Africa, throwing stones when walking past places where “witches” and other unfortunates had been burned. At some of these locations, large mounds of stones piled up over time, and Fr. Finaz conjectures that the Marave believed that the spirits might eventually become thoroughly trapped by these growing mounds of stones.
⁹⁵

In these various examples, we see the primary purpose of the stones, the clods of dirt, the sticks being the same—to momentarily distract any potentially lingering ghosts for long enough to allow the passerby to pass by unnoticed, without attracting attention and without provoking attack. Alternatively, it might be surmised that these missiles serve instead the purpose of “physically” harming the corporeal form of the ghosts, but this seems unlikely for several reasons. If the stones and sticks and dirt were meant to actually harm the invisible bodies of the restless spirits, it seems the people would attack these hostile spirit-inhabited areas a little more seriously, with their best weaponry and with the combined force of many warriors, not with individuals flinging mere clumps of earth. Also, if the cairn of stones that might arise on such spots is intended as a physical barrier that can indeed eventually keep an angry spirit in its grave, why wouldn’t the people simply pile up the rocks from the get-go, right after the body is burned or buried? Another thing to consider is that the grave sites are most likely already full of naturally occurring sticks and stones and earth. If these objects are on their own enough to harm or trap a ghost, why must they be handled and thrown in order to do the trick?

It seems rather that the magick here is in the decoy. The personal energy that becomes imparted to the stones or clumps of earth when they are handled and then tossed by random passersby is enough to distract the ghost so that the innocent traveler can successfully sneak past. The handling forges the energetic similarity between decoy stone and real-life passerby that tricks the spirit into heading for the false target; without that energetic similarity, the stone is no more than a stone.

Another widespread example of the decoy principle in action is the use of eye beads. The beads are typically made of glass, ceramic, wood, bone, or gemstones and fashioned to resemble the human eye. In Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and elsewhere, it’s believed that wearing such an amulet confers immunity against the evil eye and other dangers. Eye beads made their first appearance in western Asia, Egypt, and India, but their use eventually spread throughout much of Europe and beyond.
⁹⁶
In
The Illustrated Bead Bible: Terms, Tips, and Techniques
, the author describes the use of eye beads as amulets to guard against the evil eye:

The protective strategy is to distract the evil eye by making it look first at something other than your eye. The bead features a symbolic eye—a circle, dot, or natural shape like a cowrie shell—that is carved, molded, painted, or embedded into its surface.
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Here, the decoy works not through energetic similarity derived from contact or the inclusion of hair, blood, etc.; instead, the eye bead decoy relies on an energetic similarity acquired through sympathetic attributes. Just as a heart-shaped leaf can attract love since its appearance forges a sympathetic connection to the human heart, so too does an eye bead operate by looking like an eye. The sympathetic attributes shared by representations of the eye, and the actual eyes of the would-be victims, provide for an energetic similarity between the two. This allows the eye amulets or eye beads to act as decoys to distract and attract any ill intentions that would otherwise be cast towards the real eyes of the would-be victim.

In ancient Egypt, decoy magick was employed in a practice involving animal sacrifice. Just as was the case with eye beads, here also were sympathetic attributes at the heart of the magickal distraction. According to Elworthy’s
The Evil Eye: An Account of this Ancient and Widespread Superstition
, the Egyptians managed to bypass certain requirements to sacrifice humans by substituting animal sacrifices, instead. Elworthy writes that these unfortunate animals were marked with a seal bearing the image of a man, hands bound and kneeling, a sword held at his throat.
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This use of imagery creates a false sympathy between decoy animal and real-deal human sacrifice, and the newly created energetic similarity that results is enough to convert the animal into an effective substitute. Fortunately, we don’t go around sacrificing animals or humans for magickal purposes these days, but this same method of using imagery to create a false sympathy is still a valid technique in modern decoy magick.

Common Threads and New Perspectives

From the various examples in this chapter, we learn that decoy magick takes many forms, and that it can operate through a variety of magickal mechanisms. Decoys can function through enticement and distraction, as in the Wanika exorcism, through confusion, as in the example of the Carib string puzzle, or through energetic similarity with the intended target, as is the case with both the witch’s bottle and the eye beads. These aren’t the only ways in which a decoy can do its work, of course, but they’re indeed tried-and-true methods that can be used to veer a spirit or spell off-course in a flash. Let’s take a closer look at how each of these principles might be applied.

Confusion

Confusion is a technique used often in decoy magick, its purpose being to distract, engage, and ultimately contain or lead astray an undesirable spirit or spell. In the examples of the Carib string puzzle and the Amazonian boy’s braided palm leaves, we find the confusion rendered through the twisting, winding formations wrought into the design of the decoy objects. Just as jumbled and snaking writing might be employed in a binding tablet in order to diminish and constrain a foe, so too does the twisting, braiding, and looping sometimes incorporated into the physical form of a decoy object act to guide both spirits and magickal energies away from their intended destinations. As if stuck in a maze, the energy becomes disoriented and confused by the labyrinth structure and is forced to forgo its original course. In addition to winding, twisting shapes, jumbled sounds, masquerade, and a little raucous activity can also be useful in creating confusion.

Enticement

Sometimes all that’s needed to break a curse or banish a bad spirit is a little temptation. Useful in recalling spells both before and after they hit their mark, enticement can be an effective decoy that will distract both spirits and magickal energies away from current pursuits. In the example of the Wanika tribe’s exorcism ritual, music, dance, revelry, and the lavishly and colorfully decorated stick are irresistible to the offending spirit, and it’s tempted out of the body of the victim and into the stick where it’s trapped.

When using enticement to employ the decoy principle, you’ll need to think about the types of energy that might distract and attract the particular magick you are hoping to thwart or undo, then decide how you can incorporate those characteristics into the decoy to make it undeniably tempting.

Here are a few ideas to consider for inspiration:

For Mischievous Energies and Spirits

When you’re dealing with a spirit or magickal energy of a mischievous or playful nature, try using music, games, charade, bright colors, and movement as enticement. These whimsical, fun, and dazzling elements will distract the magickal energy and tempt it to leave its post and enter the decoy. Confusion is also effective against mischievous energies and spirits, and it can be used in conjunction with enticement to great result.

For Greedy Energies and Spirits

For spirits and energies of a greedy nature, shiny objects or other symbols of wealth and power work well. Use coins, blades, blood, or other similar enticements to lure away the unwanted magick.

For Malicious and Hateful Energies and Spirits

When you’re aiming to thwart a truly malicious and hateful energy or spirit, it’s emotion you want to impart to the decoy. Fill the decoy with love, spiritual brightness, compassion, or even feigned despair. Rub tears on it. Laugh into it. Empower it with sheer emotion. Through these or similar methods, the decoy can become infused with enough “life energy” to tempt the baneful energy into attacking it. Once the distraction has been made and a new target—the decoy—takes the brunt of the spell or curse, the original victim is freed from further harassment.

For Generally Pleasant Energies and Spirits

When trying to break a spell or ditch an energy or spirit that is generally not unpleasant, you’ll want to use similarly pleasant energies and elements in your decoy construction. Try incorporating energies similar to the energy or goal of the original spell. For example, suppose you’ve cast a spell to attract a new lover, only to decide a few days later that what you really need is some time to yourself. Instead of having to fend off all the would-be suitors that are likely to come your way, you can instead use the decoy principle to recall, or retract, your original spell post-cast. You would need to find a way to make the decoy appealing to the energy of the love spell, perhaps imbuing it with attributes that make it appear like a suitable courtier, or by simply infusing it with energies of love and passion. Loving energies distract and attract loving energies; a friendly ghost who has become a bit too friendly is enticed away by energies reminiscent of their own previous life. By attuning your decoy with the energy you are hoping to distract, the decoy becomes an attractive and tempting target through the principle of like attracting like.

Energetic Similarity