The Little Jester

     A while back my mother was dealing with a pesky spirit she called "The Jester." This spirit haunted her mind and often found its way into conversations with my mother. For years of her life she truly felt and endured this spirit haunting her. It followed her from place to place when she moved causing problems for her and occupants she shared the home with. 

    This went on for so long that it was just part of her everyday life. She became a practicing wiccan and knew how to deal with spirits now in her adult life. Yet this spirit always escaped her grasp. So my mom lived her life with this lingering petulant entity inhabiting her space. She'd tend to her altar and practice, while also working to keep this spirit at bay.

    Years of this pass, and I find my footing as an occultist independent of her. My mother asks me to give her a reading, and this Jester being comes up. I saw it lurking in her shadow, almost in her past but still holding on. This leads to a conversation about me potentially removing the spirit. She asks me to see what I can do to alleviate her of it, so I agree to do my best. 

    I take a few weeks to come up with a plan and decide upon binding the spirit to a doll. So I find some scrap black fabric and thread and craft The Jester's vessel to be. Filling his feet with stones to prevent his spirit from flying off once in the doll, as well as putting iron in his hands to make them heavy and blocked. A seal is crafted to represent The Jester in his bound form, which is sewn onto the doll upon completion. Using a taglock my mother provided I draw the spirit away from her and into the doll where it was bound by the seal devised prior. I then tightly wrapped the little black doll in wire, and set him aside for years. 

    My mother reported improved sleep and that the poltergeist-like activity in her home stopped. She was finally at peace and could move forward without feeling like that clown was haunting her. So the doll sat in my trunk of occult tools for years until I felt called to pull him out one day. 

    My practiced had shifted wildly since then, so looking back at my old work was interesting. Especially since this was something I had done with my mother, so that memory brought a strange energy to the object on top of the spirit's presence. Since my practice has taken a more animistic shift, I decided to honor my inkling to pull him out and put him on display. Slowly I started to build a conversational relationship with the spirit trapped inside. So I let the doll make it's was around my home, moving from room to room when I sensed a push to change his position. 

    Once when one of my witch acquaintances was over they took note of the doll. Asking about it's story because they sensed it's spirit which was distinctly unhappy. Which stood out when compared to some of the other spirit houses I had out. This lead to a conversation that sparked an interest in possibly releasing this spirit. After years of being held in a doll it might be time to let it go. 

    Since I am now entwined with a whole court of spirits I turned to them for guidance in how to proceed. I go down to the cemetery with the doll, call my court, and The Speaker comes forth. Whom I refer to as The Bunny-man, since he appears to me as a well dressed man with the head of a brown rabbit. The Bunny-man offers to take this spirit in under his wing, and to keep and eye on him so he bothers no one without reason. So I return home to prepare a send off ritual for The Little Jester, sensing his glee over his impending freedom. 

    Inspired by stories of gods being torn apart and rebuilt, I constructed this ritual around that same idea. The Jester was to be broken down, and built back up in spirit anew. This was his new form will be cleansed on what remains in the doll, better able to serve under The Bunny-man. I gathered the tools I'd need and proceeded to the cemetery again. 

    I went to my regular place of working at the cemetery and cast my circle. Then I conjured the Bunny-man to witness and lend his authority to this rite. The Jester was then brought forth and presented to Lord of the Cemetery before being pinned to the earth. Blessings were preformed, and The Little Jester was cleansed before being sent into his next form. I took some time to sit still before moving forward. 

    I unpinned the doll from the earth and began undoing his bindings. Starting with the wire. Realizing I forgot my scissors, I started cutting the wire with my blade. I proceeded to make a few cuts in the string with my knife before ripping at it with my hands. Which gave way to me ripping it open with my teeth. The ferocity of which I was tearing at the dolls flesh was trance inducing, my head beginning to spin with intensity. I tore off the limbs first, to free the spirit from it's flesh. Then ripped the whole doll apart, saving just scraps of his fabric flesh.  

    I could sense the moment of release where the spirit left the object and went into the air. At that point I preformed a binding, putting the newly reborn spirit under the tutelage of the Bunny-man. To be set free once the Bunny-man feels the jester's been thoroughly "tamed." Till then, The Jester will have work to do for me through the Bunny-man. Serving as an ally and quasi-famailiar. 

    Since letting the Jester out into the wild I've had a few dreams of him, and the Bunny-man has told me he's "on track." So everything seems to be going well from all this work. Years invested into this doll finally at their end, and it comes with a sense of peace. And satisfaction in magic well done.