That One Time A Voodoo Doll Almost Killed Our Dog
Ahh, the teenage years. Remember them? Riddled with angst, self-loathing, and a general dislike for everyone and everything. No one understands you. No one knows the very real sorrow and despair that fills your soul every waking moment. Adults expect you to behave responsibly yet treat you like a child. Nothing is fair, and it will never get better. Sound familiar?
For my younger sister’s thirteenth birthday I found a gift to remedy the injustices that she would surely fall victim to: a voodoo doll kit.
I found this particular gift at our local bookstore (now closed – it’s a shame how difficult it is for bookstores to stay open, the world needs more books, or at least more readers). Among other books on alternative spirituality, the occult, and spells, there it was! A lovely box with a plastic window displaying an homogenous, mass produced doll. It included pins and a guidebook on how to use it. Perfect.
Now, before I continue, I admittedly know nothing or next to nothing about the practice of voodoo. My understanding is that it is a mix of Catholicism and African shamanism. That’s the extent of my knowledge on the matter and please correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve seen the films “The Serpent and the Rainbow” and “The Skeleton Key” but we all know that Hollywood isn’t a trustworthy source for information on anything.
Do you see where this is going?
I’ve since learned that it isn’t wise to dabble with things you know nothing about, even if it is “all in good fun.” Magick, spells, prayers, tarot and the like aren’t toys. Period. They’re just not, and they shouldn’t be treated as such.
Well. The birthday girl enjoyed her gift from her cool older sister (moi) and left it sitting out on the couch in the living room after taking the contents out of the box. I don’t remember how much time had passed before we noticed something was wrong – the doll and its corresponding pins were missing. Had it moved on its own? Did some spirit take hold of it? Was it on its way to exact revenge upon some unsuspecting miscreant? Nope. We looked over at the family dog and noticed that he was chomping at something in his mouth in a rather unusual way. That’s right, our dog ate the doll, and we could see some of the pins stuck in his mouth. SOME of the pins.
To make a long story short we rushed our dog to the vet and an x-ray revealed nine pins throughout his digestive system, with one or two of them being dangerously close to piercing his intestines. He had emergency surgery which thankfully saved his life, but if it had taken us a few minutes longer to discover what had happened, it might not have turned out so cheerfully.
So what’s my point, why am I telling this unpleasant tale?
My point is twofold. First of all, as I mentioned, don’t dabble in magick that you don’t understand or respect even if you don’t believe in its authenticity. Magick of any sort isn’t to be taken lightly, and when not done properly it can have very negative, unintended outcomes. Secondly, Karma is real. What you put out into the world will return to you. What was the intention of that particular voodoo doll? The intention was to inflict harm or pain on someone else. What did it do? Not only did it inflict harm upon an innocent (our dog), but it also caused myself and my sister an indescribable amount of fear, worry, and tears.
Hopefully you can learn from my mistake rather than make a similar one of your own. This happened about eleven years ago, and I’m happy to say that I haven’t had a repeat incident. I’m also happy to report that our dog is still alive and well, and bringing smiles to everyone that he meets.
Oh! A final takeaway. If you decide to ignore my advice and think it doesn’t apply to you, at least pick up after yourself. Your pets will thank you for it.