Wands?

[Velvet_Angel]

I want to make my own wand and i live in australia, So i was just wondering, what materials would it be best to make my wand out of? And What did you all make yours out of and like?

Thanks..

[Siarlas]

I don't have one, but I suggest visiting one of our wonderful National Parks (where abouts are you if you don't mind my asking?) and finding a straightish piece of wood.
That would be my preference.

[Silverfern]

I've got several wands that I made myself with wood I found in the park. I used sculpy to decorate them. I have a copper wand too and used sculpy on this one aswell. I say whatever you feel comfertable with. You can but crystal wands or use woods stone etc. One of my friends made her wand out of a long flat rock she engraved it with her dremmel and it looks stunning.

[Silverfern]

Here's another one

[Silverfern]

and another one

[Silverfern]

the last one

I've used crystals in all my wands depending on what kind of wand it is Like my general use wand and my fire wand a wand just for beltane etc

[Velvet_Angel]

Hey thanks :) your wands look berry pretty ..

Is there anything you shouldnt' do with the wand? like anything that will make it less effective or something?

[Silverfern]

Well dont go chopping of half a tree but only take what you need if you have to take it of a tree. I usually get wood that I find in the park thats fallen off I dont like taking wood of a tree. But for the rest you should do what you feel is right.

The first time i made a wand for myself I had my cousin over for the week she was only 6 at the time. and after I had made her a wand she told me I didn't work, and that she wanted to do it herself, after I got all my crafty stuff out. And I have lots she stuck just about everything I had that was pretty in her eyes on the wand mainly glitters, lots of glue and little shiny stars. But after that the wand worked.

So I guess that if it feels right to you its right

[Scarlettvixen]

Hi Velvet Angel


I don't have one, but I suggest visiting one of our wonderful National Parks

just a word of warning dont take the wood from a National Park - even dead fall - or the rangers can charge you.
Go to an area of non-national park bush land if you want wood! lol

My wand is a stone flute that i bought at the markets and decorated with crystals and feathers

My husband bought his at a local newage market - its a copper rod body with leather and feathers and crystals embedded both ends

Welcome to MW btw - from a fellow ozzie

[Leviyah]

If you want to set a crystal on your wand use super glue, that's what most wand makers use.

I know a lot of people like to use "natural" wood, but I used a small piece of dowel. I twined some ribbon around it and set a quartz crystal on top....

[Sovaan]

I'm in the process of making my own wand so I've been doing lots of research on wand-making lately. I've found more than a few contradictions. I just posted a question in the "Arts & Crafts" forum about wand-making.

In spite of the fact that I've got lots of questions myself, I have found a few good links.

Here's info on the type of wand used by the Farrars:
http://www.wicca.utvinternet.com/wand.htm
http://www.geocities.com/fullmoon_magic/tools.html

In Raven Grimassi's book _The Witches Craft_ there's a fairly detailed discussion of how to make and consecrate a wand.

In some traditions, the wand must be cut in the Spring. I'm not sure if I can reveal the details behind the tradition. In other traditions, Samhain is a good time to cut a wand. In still other traditions, the wand must be cut during the New Moon (and completed by the Full Moon for final consecration.) The Farrar's say it should be cut on a Wednesday morning at sunrise.

You could go all out and cut your wand in the Spring during a New Moon at sunrise on a Wednesday morning--just to be on the safe side--March 5 or April 2 of next year would fit that. But that might be overkill.

In some traditions, wands must have a metal component. Some witches hollow out the wand and insert a metal rod. (I imagine that would take a lot of skill.) Many traditions wrap the wand in copper, iron, and/or silver wire. One person told me that the reason for this is that the wand must be able to conduct electricity. I don't know why a wand would need to conduct electricity, especially since ancient pagans didn't know about electricity, but there it is. The same person told me to use copper wire because copper is "grounding"--just like the ground wires in your house.

In many traditions, the wand is tipped with a pinecorn or acorn. Many people today like to use crystals. Use what works for you. Whatever you choose, you're going to have to drill a hole in something, either a pinecone or acorn (don't crack it!) or the wand itself. I'm not a woodworker, so I'm afraid I don't have any pointers on how to drill the holes. I'm still trying to figure that out myself.

In my opinion, a basic rule of magic, and this applies to wand-making as well, is that you should use an internally consistent system of magical correspondences. For example, in some systems of magic, iron has powerful magical properties. In other systems, iron disrupts magic and only non-ferrous metals like copper and silver should be used. Pick a system and stick with it.

It's certainly possible to combine different traditions and systems of magic, as long as the end result is internally consistent.

In addition to carving their Craft name and/or other magical symbols into the wand (using runes, Ogham, or Theban scripts), many witches decorate their wands with ribbons, beads, feathers, bones, and/or fur. I would advise against using a decoration just because it looks pretty. Whatever decorations you use should be symbolically meaningful to you and should be consistent with whatever system of magical correspondences you are using. Is your wand an expression of your intellect? Of your will? Your emotions? Figure out what the wand symbolizes for you and decorate it accordingly. Don't mix symbols that clash with your intentions.

Some people hollow out the wand and fill it with herbs. Choose herbs that correspond with the wood and your intentions.

Here are some links to professional craftspeople who make quality wooden wands. You may be able to get some useful ideas here.

http://www15.brinkster.com/kiwisearch/Wand%20making.html
http://dragonmother.com/
http://home.earthlink.net/~alferian/WANDS.HTML

I hope this was helpful. I'd love to see further discussion on this.

[Sequoia]

I don't normally really use a wand, or anything. . . but if I did, I would use a particular piece of driftwood I found at a beach once, several summers ago. It fits perfectly in my hand, and while it isn't exactly "wand-shaped" as you might think, it seems to conduct my energy really well. The ocean also wore out several places where I think crystals would fit well, should I ever decide to fully claim it as mine and make it into a "wand" *smiles*

As for now, I just call him "stick" :p

[Sovaan]

Oooh! I can see why stick would make a great wand. The shape is actually quite perfect for collecting, concentrating, and directing energy.

Check out what Dragonmother said about the shape of wands in this thread:

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?threadid=21385

Whether you choose to use stick as a wand or not, I suggest that you oil him to keep him from drying out. Ideally you would consecrate him with essential oils in an almond oil base, but if you're not sure you want to go that far you could just buy some food-grade mineral oil at any cookware shop. You could also use "Holland Bowl Mill B's Oil"--it's a food-safe wood preservative containing beeswax meant for salad bowls, cutting boards, wooden utensils, etc. Tung oil, which you can buy at a the hardware store, will give a strong, hard finish. I'm not a wood-worker though, some I'm just making some guesses here.

--Sovaan

[Velvet_Angel]

thanks for that post Sovaan it was brilliant (Y) thanks!!

[Flar's Freyja]

I have only used one of my wands once. I feel I have to have tools but I rarely, if ever, use them. I do enjoy making them myself. The only tool I regularly use is a besom for cleansing ritual space.

My first two wands were interesting and almost identical. I made one out of oak to represent the god. It was very simple, just tipped with a quartz crystal and wrapped in gold ribbon with a feather. The other was my goddess wand, and it was made from willow and wrapped in silver ribbon and I also attached a feather. The willow was dumped in my yard from a neighboring tree after a good windstorm, and I found the oak branch on my sister's property in the country.

I recently made one in a study group that I wrapped in purple suede and attached amber and quartz gemstones. I attached the crystal with wire, and criss-crossed the wire all the way down to the end. You'll find that it's recommended that your wand be the length from your fingertip to elbow. It was someone's suggestion that the wire would conduct energy by being all the way down the entire length of the wand. I also attached bells to the ends of the suede strips. This one was very fancy and I called it my "uptown" wand. My fiance's mother mentioned that she needed a magick wand, and I gave that one to her as a gift last time she visited :)

[Sequoia]

Originally posted by Sovaan
Oooh! I can see why stick would make a great wand. The shape is actually quite perfect for collecting, concentrating, and directing energy.

Check out what Dragonmother said about the shape of wands in this thread:

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?threadid=21385

Whether you choose to use stick as a wand or not, I suggest that you oil him to keep him from drying out. Ideally you would consecrate him with essential oils in an almond oil base, but if you're not sure you want to go that far you could just buy some food-grade mineral oil at any cookware shop. You could also use "Holland Bowl Mill B's Oil"--it's a food-safe wood preservative containing beeswax meant for salad bowls, cutting boards, wooden utensils, etc. Tung oil, which you can buy at a the hardware store, will give a strong, hard finish. I'm not a wood-worker though, some I'm just making some guesses here.

--Sovaan

Wow! That's some great advice, thank you!

I was feeling a tad better today (not enough to go shopping though :( ), so I took some oil to him. It's actually my bath/body oil, but all that really is is soybean oil base with one of my favourite scented oils mixed. I figured I'd try this, just as a sort of preliminary thing. It really darkened the wood, but if sticks can make happy sounds, this one would have been purring! :D the wood is a lot sleeker now and shiney. I rubbed the oil in well, then rubbed all over it with an old t-shirt to collect the excess oil. It looks beautiful. I have a piece of jade that I've had a long time, and I have this feeling that I want to put it into one of the little worn-out holes in the wood. So I'm going to do that in a little while, and use a small strip of leather to hold it. This might only be 'make-shift' for now, until I figure out exactly how I want to do things, but I'm pleased with how it's going. Thank you so much for those ideas! :)

[Sovaan]

Heyla Puma,

I'm delighted I could be of help. I should have warned you that the oil would darken the wood. Stick may lighten up a bit in a few days, unless he was really dry to start with, in which case oiling him probably restored him to something closer to his natural color.

If you were using food-grade mineral oil, the rule is oil once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, then once a month for a year, or whenever the wood seems dry. Soybean oils and other vegetable oils are a bit thicker than mineral oil, and will probably gunk up and get tacky if you used them that often. (Incidentally, if this happens, wash the wood in soapy water--use a gentle soap like Ivory dish liquid or Murphy's oil soap--and dry it thoroughly.) The point I'm trying to make is that you may need to re-oil the wood periodically, but don't overdo it.

I'm glad to hear that stick is happy! Blessed be.

--Sovaan

[Jazzmine]

I have 2 wands. The first one I made out of pine. I have pine trees all around my property. I found it laying on the ground. I sanded it and glued a pine cone on the end of it. On the other end I hollowed it out a little and glued a pointed prism in it. It's not real showy, but I made it myself and I like it. This one I use on my Esbat rites.

The other one my husband made me. He used dowel rod and then used a dremel to cut a leaf design that goes all the way down the shaft and painted the design green. He then put a pointed prism in one end and used a white and silver cord and wrapped it around the other end. This one looks really cool. And I use it for my Sabbats.

[Jazzmine]

Crap, You know I have another one too. He bought me one from a store that I absolutely love called Earth Magic. This one is about 5 inches long and is made of pewter and has colored stones on it and a design down the shaft. It has a crystal in the end. Oh, by the way, the he is my husband. Anyway, its really cute, but I don't use it during any rituals. This one I just leave laying out on my Altar as decoration.

[tazz11]

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[tazz11]

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[RubyRose]

Velvet Angel, I'm from Perth, Western Australia. I'm not sure what tree it was that the branch came from (I think it may have been a eucalyptus [as when I was sanding it down, that's what it smelt like] ) but, I just picked it up off the ground, yes the branch had fallen, from a section of bush, that was near Rhyce's (fiancee) house. It's yet to be finished. Due to money, and my ideas of what I want the finished product to look like, keep changing. It's sanded, but I have yet to dress it. But so far, I'm happy with it.

[tazz11]

...sorry to have wasted your time ,