Dolls have been a part of our lives for many thousands of years. Way back in caveman days, dolls were made as depictions of deities, most often the Earth Mother. The doll as a toy dates back to at least 2000 BC is ancient Egypt. The first dolls with movable arms were found in ruins of ancient Babalonia.  Early dolls were usually made of clay or wood.
    Dolls are not always just toys. In addition to the ancient Earth Mother dolls, many primitive farming people made corn dolls that represented both the Great Mother or corn goddess and the seed as the child of the corn plant. In the Orient, they are more likely made from rice instead of corn. Even today, rice dolls are sometimes left at small shrines in oriental countries. 
    There is also the more evil side of dolls: the voodoo or magic doll that is usually intended to represent a particular person and the idea is generally that when the magician or voodoo priest does something harmful to the doll, the same thing will happen to the person or, at the very least, the real person will feel the pain from this activity. This probably works in many cases, not because of any magic in those dolls, but because the user of the doll believes in it's power.
    Dolls can also have spiritual symbology. The Kachina dolls of the Hopi is one of the best examples. These dolls are not toys. They are considered messengers from the world of spirits. To the person who has one, they are believed to bring good luck, friends, prosperity and spiritual guidance. The Hopi believe these dolls have much spiritual wisdom and power. 
    The Daruma or Dharma dolls of Japan are also spiritual. They represent Bodhidharma, founder of Zen Buddhism. They are symbolic of luck and perseverance. They are often given as gifts to encourage the person to set and achieve goals.
    In dream symbology, seeing a doll symbolizes child-like innocence. If your playing with dolls, it could indicate a desire to return to the innocence of childhood or an attempt to manipulate your childhood memories to create a more idealistic childhood for yourself. It can also mean your conscious mind is not communicating well with your subconscious. If the doll is the opposite sex, it may indicate that you treat members of the opposite sex in an immature way. The type of doll also changes the interpretation and gets a little to complicated for a blog post.