Wand opinions

[Valhalla]

Hey folks. Okay, well, it's not like I can buy a wand yet (soon, I hope), but I got into looking through them, and I think I'm pretty set on either a Hazel or Yew wand. The only thing is, I can't for the life of me choose one! Lol, so, I was hoping, perhaps some of you folks have insight into these woods and what is a good way to go about choosing? I know Hazel is supposed to be a good general-purpose wand, but I also feel drawn to Yew (probably not for the least of which reasons [proper grammar?] is that I am a practitioner of the Nordic path) for its energy, it's transientness. At the same time, the Hazel holds appeal for its magically-charged properties. I am leaning towards Yew I think, but wanted other opinions on this.

Also, is length relevant magickally speaking or is it just personal preference? And lastly, I'm looking at stuff from 13moons.com. Is that site good or is there something about their products I don't know but should?

Thanks!
-Valhalla

[Corvus]

Re: Wand opinions

Depending on where you live you could always make your own. I mean hazel is pretty common around here and it's defiantly cheaper.

[Caelia]

Re: Wand opinions

Let me put it this way with my little story about this. When I started out I tried to find a wand and went by the books I read (length of your forearm, natural materials, etc). I was getting frustrated because all the ones I wanted were way out of my price range. I ended up romping around the woods and found one that was perfect, along with a stone to go with it. Both have since left my life, but the point is the right wand will come along. Also, don't feel reluctant about making your own. My current wand is one I made myself.

[Valhalla]

Re: Wand opinions

I think I could manage to make my own Runes with a wood burner and some sort of electric saw, but I'm really not much of a crafter and can't see myself managing to make much of a wand, lol. Although, I suppose it is worth a shot... just hope I can find a Yew or Hazel tree around here! I am thinking, Yew wand/gandr, Hazel Runes... just thinking...

-Valhalla

[Corvus]

Re: Wand opinions

Yew is a pretty common tree and you don't need much craft skills to make a wand. Just break a branch off and then style as desired.

[Jembru]

Re: Wand opinions

I'm not much of a fan of shop bought tools to be honest. My wand has a bit of a sad story though. I got it from a sycamore tree near my home (it's wrong wood, wrong shape, wrong length.. actually breaks most the conventions the books insist on). I felt a real connection to this tree because of my wand, which I simply sanded down and then varnished. The tree was sadly hit my lightening and split in half a few years later. The local council found evidence of rotting wood and suspected it was diseased and would eventually die. So the poor thing had to be cut down and I was was really upset about it.

This has only strengthened my connection to my wand. It has real sentimental value and although I tend to favour the athame over the wand, I still like to have it on my altar. Well, when it fits, which it doesn't right now due to me living in very tight conditions ^^

I couldn't recommend more strongly, that you make your own wand.

btw, it might be visible on my photos in the altar thread.

[Caelia]

Re: Wand opinions

I think I could manage to make my own Runes with a wood burner and some sort of electric saw, but I'm really not much of a crafter and can't see myself managing to make much of a wand, lol. Although, I suppose it is worth a shot... just hope I can find a Yew or Hazel tree around here! I am thinking, Yew wand/gandr, Hazel Runes... just thinking...

-Valhalla

My current wand is made with a copper pipe, some industrial strength putty, and aqua aura. You really don't need to be talented to make your own.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Wand opinions

I sometimes make them. Here's one I have laying around the lab right now:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76590739...ragon-sorcerer

It's made of oak, copper, an agate, and turkey. I'm not entirely sure if there is any particular magical significance to turkeys, though.

For the oak (good for weather magic, if you're into that), I cut a sapling and seasoned it for a year, then cut & stripped it, and died it black.

If you decide to make one, Valhalla, I'd be happy to help. Drop me a line if you have technical questions.

[GypsySeaWitch]

Re: Wand opinions

All of my wands have been handmade by me. I like the way the ones you can get online or from a store look, but I know they wouldn't really suit my style of magick. I'm just not a fancy witch, I guess. My first wand was one I found. I removed the bark and sanded it down - that is it. Still have it somewhere floating around with my old altar supplies. Today, I make them for friends who don't want to go through the troubles of making their own wands. However, I make them pick out the wood, decide on the length, and any symbols they want wood-burned on it. I will add crystals or stones they hand to me for the wand, but after that I make them decorate them. When you do your own wand you are more in control on how they turn out, what items go into decorating or creating the wand, and more of your energy will be in the wand allowing for a better connection to the tool.

[Luke_Ironside]

Re: Wand opinions

I agree with a lot of the other people here when they say that you could always make your own any stick you feel you resonate with could work fine.

I have a number of wands myself, some of which I bought, others which I made myself. My favourite would actually be my polyresin wand which is inscribed with runes and the images of Aradia and Cernunnos. Not exactly traditional, but hey, it works fine for me!

[Taliesyn]

Re: Wand opinions

I have to agree with the consensus. Make your own. Take your time, walk through the woods, ask for guidance, and when you find a proper branch, or fallen stick, depending on your beliefs, well, thank the wood for the gift and then carve,sand or decorate to simply make it yours. You may decide that it needs no embelisment. Maybe you want to sand it a bit, to bring out the features of the wood. Seal it with some oil ( i use linseed oil- good for thwood, and linseed oil makes me think of creativity, cause it is used in oil painting)
i think it is more important to focus on the energetics of the tool than making it look cool- if you are connected to certian symbols, crystals, whatever, then you could use them- but be sure that adding them isnt hampering the energy of the original stick, only enhancing it.

[optanotu]

Re: Wand opinions

I always liked the straighter wands that you could buy but never saw anything that I really liked enough to spend the money they were asking. I'm also a candle maker any a musician and through trial and error I ended up using a drum stick as my stir stick for my melted wax. A friend was looking at my wax making setup with is on a rolling table. She commented on how the tools I use to make candles made the table look like an altar. A pot, drumstick, knife, and various scent bottles. She said it was like I had my cauldron, wand, athame and potions. Being a musician anyway I thought turning a drum stick into a wand was a fantastic idea. So I went and bought a set of drum sticks, cut the tip end off of it, sanded, wood burned a leafy vine into it and stained it. Viola! A nice new wand.
Plus you can get drum sticks pretty cheap at some music stores. It's maple, which I saw was an option at several sites selling wands. So while the raw material was purchased, I decorated and made it mine. Just the way I wanted it.

[Kabigo]

Re: Wand opinions

I'd like to make my wand by myself, it could take time but I think it's worth it. I think it feels more mine then...

[anunitu]

Re: Wand opinions

I sometimes make them. Here's one I have laying around the lab right now:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76590739...ragon-sorcerer

It's made of oak, copper, an agate, and turkey. I'm not entirely sure if there is any particular magical significance to turkeys, though.

For the oak (good for weather magic, if you're into that), I cut a sapling and seasoned it for a year, then cut & stripped it, and died it black.

If you decide to make one, Valhalla, I'd be happy to help. Drop me a line if you have technical questions.

When I saw the subject of this thread,you Corbin were the first person that came to mind.

[Jembru]

Re: Wand opinions

I always liked the straighter wands that you could buy but never saw anything that I really liked enough to spend the money they were asking. I'm also a candle maker any a musician and through trial and error I ended up using a drum stick as my stir stick for my melted wax. A friend was looking at my wax making setup with is on a rolling table. She commented on how the tools I use to make candles made the table look like an altar. A pot, drumstick, knife, and various scent bottles. She said it was like I had my cauldron, wand, athame and potions. Being a musician anyway I thought turning a drum stick into a wand was a fantastic idea. So I went and bought a set of drum sticks, cut the tip end off of it, sanded, wood burned a leafy vine into it and stained it. Viola! A nice new wand.
Plus you can get drum sticks pretty cheap at some music stores. It's maple, which I saw was an option at several sites selling wands. So while the raw material was purchased, I decorated and made it mine. Just the way I wanted it.

This has given me a great idea. As I'm pretty obsessed with all things Japanese, an ornamental chopstick would make a great wand and unlike my usual wand, it would actually fit on my temporary altar!

Thanks for the inspiration!