The Pagan's Magic Wand

Wands made of (top to bottom) Wood, Clay, Copper, Brass, Silver and Pewter

The Magic Wand is used by Pagans to focus the magical energy gathered in a spell or ritual toward a specific purpose. Of all the ritual tools, the wand has the most commercially available variations. Although they are most often made of wood, but they can also be made of metal, clay, crystal, or a combination of these. A wand can be plain, decorated with carvings, painted, or decorated in other ways.

The purpose of your magic wand is to focus your energy. It is therefore most important that it fit you and your personality. You should be able to hold it comfortably. It should be light enough that you can hold it up and gesture with it for a relatively long period of time. It should also be thin enough to grip comfortably, but thick enough that you are not worried about breaking it. This is a problem that I have had with many wands - I have relatively large hands, so that many mass market wands feel like small twigs to me. I solved this by making my own wand (several, in fact). My favorite was made from Florida Wild Orange.

Some things to avoid when looking for a wand are:

• Plastic of any sort (it is very difficult to conduct energy through plastic)
• "Toy" wands, especially Harry Potter wands
• The type of wand used by stage magicians
• Wand made by someone who won't answer simple questions about the wands (like "what kind of wood is this?" or "are these made by hand or by a machine?")
• Highly elaborate wands that are sold as costume accessories
• Any wand that doesn't speak to you, no matter what anyone else says

Creating A Wand

Wands made of (left to right) Willow, Oak, Ebony and Lignam Vitae

In my opinion, the wand is actually the least least versatile ritual tool. It is also (along with the Athame) one of the most focused on by beginning witches and curious outsiders. In spite of this, it remains a very important and valuable tool. In the Wolf and Raven Path, we believe that every initiate should create their first wand from wood collected from nature. Unlike many traditions, we do not generally cut live wood for this (White Willow being a notable exception). Instead, we use woods gifted to us by the trees, collecting freshly fallen branches.

We remove the bark and smaller twigs using simple hand tools. We then sand the surface smooth and make any decorative carvings we desire. Although we sometimes leave the wood unfinished, we usually use a beeswax polish to seal and protect the wand. It is then cleansed and consecrated for magical use.

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