1. How to start
1.1 Making your own wand
Making a basic wand is cheap and quite easy. A wand is a very personal tool to have. This is why I never went out to buy a wand. If you wish buy one later, or get one of the "collectibles" from any of the Harry Potter characters, but here you will find some instructions for making your own personalized wand.
1.2 The materials
Here you can see a list of possible materials for a wand. Of course which ones to get depends on how you will want to decorate each wand you make:
- Wood (a stick, a rod or a branch)
- Wire (copper or normal)
- Feathers
- Stones
- Beads
- Leather or something similar
- Aluminum foil
- Acrylic paint (plan the colours in advance)
- Stain and/or oil (same as above)
- Varnish or beeswax
Tools
- Sandpaper (rough and fine)
- Ruler
- Paintbrushes of different sizes
- Masking tape or Scotch tape
- Knife or cutter (with adult supervision)
- Wood glue or plain glue (white)
- Superglue
- Wood burner (with adult supervision)
- Rotary tool - Dremel (with adult supervision)
- Pliers
Security measures
- Face mask
- Safety goggles
- An adult (just if you are too young to use kinda dangerous tools)
Of course you won't need all this things to make your wand. Remember, which ones to get depends on how you will want to decorate each wand you make. So plan carefully. First thing you will need is to get the wood, as the other materials will be needed for lessons 2 and 3.
2. The wood
Of course, the basic material for a wand is wood. Picking out a purpose for your wand is the first decision to make. Like do you want it for healing, divination, protection, and so on... or you just want a pretty wand? So we will start studying the most common types of woods used in making wands. The next info was taken from the Sacred Celtic Trees and Woods and other sources.
Apple
Sacred tree to the Druids. Shamans and ancient poets are often described carrying apple branches as symbols of their office. Apple indicates choice, and is useful for love and healing magic. Especially suited for spells to do with horses or travel, illumination, enhancing any skill, love, harmony, and beauty, harvest, and magic of divine, shamanic madness or visionary experience.
Ash
A Druid sacred tree. Druid wands were often made of ash because of its straight grain. Ash wands are good for healing, general and solar magic. Put fresh ash leaves under your pillow to stimulate psychic dreams. One of the few surviving Druid wands of old, found in an archeological dig, was made of Ash with a sunwise spiral design, symbolizing Ash's links to the Sun. So generally magical is the Ash that it is the wood used in some traditions in the brooms of witches.
Birch
It is often associated with the beginning of the year. It is a tree of beginnings in general and of the Bards, as the first grade of the Druid order. Birch is also a wood with great powers to purify and discipline, to create the new forest in service to the great trees that will come after, such as the oak and ash and maple. Birch forest is young and so birch is linked to youth and all things new. It is especially suited to magic of new beginnings, spells of youth and fresh starts, bardic enchantment, creativity, renewal and rebirth, purification, and spells for discipline and service. Birch is an excellent wood for brooms. A Birch Wood wand will bring the wizard luck.
Blackthorn
Blackthorn is a winter tree. Its white flowers are seen even before the leaves in the spring. It is black barked with vicious thorns and grows in dense thickets. The wood is used in the cudgel shillelagh and Blasting Stick. Its thorns are used to pierce waxen images. Blackthorn indicates strong action of fate or outside influences that must be obeyed.
Cedar
Also known as the Tree of Life, Arbor Vitae, Yellow Cedar. Ancient Celts on the mainland used cedar oil to preserve the heads of enemies taken in battle. To draw Earth energy and ground yourself, place the palms of your hands against the ends of the leaves. Evergreen Cedar is sacred, like Juniper, for the promise of eternal life. Cedar is a wood of protection and preservation. Cedar is a protective wood. It will protect the wizard against evil. It is also used for money and love charms.
Ebony
Ebony is an exotic hardwood that comes from various sub-tropical climes. It is a wood that is used extensively for carving in Bali and in Africa because of its density and hardness. It is extremely difficult to carve, but the end result is a superb black wood (sometimes with lighter grain). Ebony is not one of the sacred woods of the Celts. Ebony is quite a popular wood for wands, and is unquestionably very handsome. It's presence and energy is very strong, and so it is not a wood for the faint of heart. Ebony is the most powerful wood for wands. Ebony gives the user pure, unlimited power.
Elder
Also known as Ellhorn, Elderberry, Lady Elder. Sacred to the White Lady and Midsummer Solstice. The Druids used it to both bless and curse. Standing under an elder tree at Midsummer, like standing in a Fairy Ring of mushrooms, will help you see the "little people." Elder wands can be used to drive out evil spirits or thought forms. Music on panpipes or flutes of elder have the same power as the wand.
Fir
Fir is a very tall slender tree that grows in mountainous regions on the upper slopes. Fir cones respond to rain by closing and the sun by opening. Fir can see over great distance to the far horizon beyond and below. Fir indicates high views and long sights with clear vision of what is beyond and yet to come.
Hazel
Wands made of this wood symbolize white magic and healing. Forked sticks are used to find water or buried treasure. If outside and in need of maigckal protection quickly draw a circle around yourself with a hazel branch. To enlist the aid of plant fairies, string hazelnuts on a cord and hang up in your house or ritual room. Magically, hazel wood is used to gain knowledge, wisdom and poetic inspiration.
Holly
A beautiful white wood with an almost invisible grain; looks very much like ivory. Holly is associated with the death and rebirth symbolism of winter in both Pagan and Christian lore and is important to the Winter Solstice. In Arthurian legend, Gawain (representing the Oak King of summer) fought the Green Knight, who was armed with a holly club to represent winter. It is one of the three timbers used in the construction of chariot wheel shafts. It was used in spear shafts also. Holly may be used in spells having to do with sleep or rest, and to ease the passage of death.
Maple
Maple's sacred bird is the Great Horned Owl who is herald of the coming Feast of Samhuinn with its magick and mystery. The owl is a bird associated with wizards and wisdom, and the bearing of messages in the night. Maple is a strongly masculine wood, somewhat rebellious and tough, but with a beautiful smooth grain; hard, yet excellent for carving. Well-suited to spells of sending and communication, binding, transmutations, creation, revolution, rebirth, healing, beauty, art, and abundance. Maple is a favorite wood for magical wands. It is the wood of longevity.
Oak
Oak has been considered sacred by just about every culture that has encountered the tree, but it was held in particular esteem by the Celts because of its size, longevity, and nutritious acorns. The oak was the "King of Trees" in a grove. Magic wands were made of its wood. Oak galls, known as Serpent Eggs, were used in magical charms. The Druids and Priestesses listened to the rustling oak leaves and the wrens in the trees for divinatory messages. Burning oak leaves purifies the atmosphere. It can be used in spells for protection, strength, success and stability; the different varieties will lend their own special 'flavour' to the magic. Oak is a potent magical wood. It adds potency to all charms, particularly health and money charms.
Rowan
Also known as Mountain Ash, Witchwood and Sorb Apple has long known as an aid and protection against enchantment. Sticks of the Rowan were used to carve Runes on. Rowan spays and crosses were placed over cattle in pens and over homes for protection. Its lovely red berries feed the birds in winter. The Rowan tree indicates protection and control of the senses from enchantment and beguiling. The Rowan was sacred to the Druids and the Goddess Brigit. It is a very magical tree used for wands, rods, amulets and spells. A forked Rowan branch can help find water. Wands are for knowledge, locating metal and general divination.
Willow
Also known as White Willow, Tree of Enchantment and Witches' Asprin. Once of the seven sacred trees of the Irish, a Druid sacred Tree. The willow is a Moon tree sacred to the White Lady, Its groves were considered so magickal that priests, priestesses and all types of artisans sat among these trees to gain eloquence, inspiration, skills and prophecies. Willow is favored for its general magical uses. It has strong protective qualities and is good for healing and love charms.
Yew
Also known as English Yew and European Yew. Another important tree to the Winter Solstice and the deities of death and rebirth. It is a beautifully smooth, gold-coloured wood with a wavy grain. The Irish used it to make dagger handles, bows, wine barrels and wands. The wood or leaves were laid on graves as a reminder to the departed spirit that death was only a pause in life before rebirth. The yew may be the oldest-lived tree in the world. Ancient yews can be found in churchyards all over Britain, where they often pre-date even the oldest churches. There are some convincing arguments for it being the original 'World-tree' of Scandinavian mythology. Yew is the Wood of Death.
Other kinds of wood
Of course there are other types of wood, so you can choose whatever kind of wood you want for your wand. In my case, I chose Besinanche for my wands, a wood from trees that only grow in the Yucatan Peninsula (you won't find it in any wood encyclopedia yet). So you are free to choose any from this list or, if you can't get the kind you want for your wand, take any available where you live and "rename" it with the properties of that wood.
3. The first step
3.1 Picking the wood
The first thing you need is some sort of rod or branch. Driftwood is a good choice because it is tough, the bark is already gone, it is worn smooth, and it is there waiting for you. Make sure it's sturdy, though. Humidity is bad for a wand (you don't want a hex to backfire on you, right?). The wrong piece can shatter and that's a no no. If you have no access to driftwood, look for a branch. You can go to a park or your school grounds where you can find branches lying around. Look for the straighter branches about the width of your forefinger or thumb and about 10 to 18 inches long. These branches are already cut for you and you only have to cut it to a proper length and clean off the twigs. If you can't find one of these, I suggest buying a dowel rod, mostly if in your area there is not the kind of wood you want for your wand. I don't suggest trying to trim a bush or tree yourself at a school or park to get a branch - many of these places don't like having their property defaced by those not belonging to a lawn care service. Fallen branches are fair game, but they may be too weak or rotted.
3.2 Preparing the wood
In case you've chosen a branch, first thing is to decide if you want to keep the bark to remain on your wand. In either way, you can sand it to smooth the surface or leave it rough.
For this workshop I've got 2 twigs from a tree that fell down in the hurricane Wilma. I've thought it would be good to give a fallen tree the chance to remain as a wand instead of only being chopped. So this is my choice for this wand in particular. I'll clean the wood just a little because I really like the texture of the wood.
If you've chosen a rod and want your wand turned (if you know a place where they can turn the wood for you), draw the design and try to make this as detailed as needed. (As you can see my drawing is a little different from the final turning). Some kind of woods are so soft that can't be turned in long sizes or very detailed designs. Of course you can choose to use a knife or a cutter and take away enough shaves of wood and give to your wand that special shape. It could be a rough wand but it will have a lot of character.
for each work with the next info:
