Wands 101: Making Wands

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Get to know the wands and how to make them.

Specializations of Different Woods:

It is said that wands have many different specializations, according to the wood they made of. The wood of Yew has a specialization for healing, an Olive wood for bringing reconciliation, and the Rose for bringing love to its owner. Although the woods of the wand may posses these specializations, it is up to you what wood are you going to use.

Wand Making:

To make a nice and beautiful wand, you need an athame, said to be a small knife for wizards when making their own wand. Carefully pluck a straight branch from a tree you prefer and carefully remove its twigs and leaves. Then, using an athame, carve the branch of wood with the design of your choice and then you may add some varnish to the wood to look shiny and nice. You may also add some crystals in it to look gracious.


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Added to on Nov 01, 2014
Last edited on Jan 31, 2019
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Oct 27, 2019
does it have to be an athame, or can it be any knife?

Nov 02, 2019
I think that you can use any knife, just that an athame would be best.

Aug 31, 2020
Help me please, how do I get rid of a wand without making it angry?

Feb 21, 2024
In all honesty you can't make it 'angry'. It is a stick. A tool. Like a mechanic's wrench.

That said, as a tool that has helped you in your journey, there is nothing wrong with showing respect to it by recognizing how it has helped you on your way. Reflect on what he wand meant to you when you constructed it. What did it represent to you. What did you use it for and how did those events teach you new things. As you remove the decorations, wrappings, crystals, whatever you may have added to it spend time thinking about those components too. Qere they added for convenience? Because they represented some personal goal or task? Or just because they made it look pleasing/cool? (Nothing wrong with a wand being pretty, after all.)

Once it is apart and back to the individual pieces, consider what bits you might want to keep-be it for memories/nostalgia or to re-use elsewhere. Then if the wand is wood, and varnished, sand through the varnish to clean it off to bare wood then bury it. (Varnish isn't exactly eco-friendly) Or if you prefer you can place it into a campfire to burn and be released to the aether. Finally just properly dispose of the rest in the most responsible way you can.


Feb 18, 2024
I have just made a wand from a tree which fell in our side yard it was a Tree of heaven which is in the Sumac family. I did not cut it in annyway from the tree but retrieved it from the ground while clearing some of the branches from the yard. I was want to know if you knew anything about the tree. I have looked and cant find anything

Feb 21, 2024
The trick is to observe the qualities and traits of the tree, that will inform you of the types of things a wand made from the tree might be favorably inclined to do.

From what I have found, the 'tree of heaven' is an aggressive grower, it's flowers emit an unpleasant smell, and its roots secrete ubstances into the soil that are toxic to other plants.

So with those qualities considered, the tree seems adapted towards protecting itself by repelling or pushing away potential dangers and competition to aggressively lay claim to its space. If that 'personality' (for lack of a better term) were to be translated into magical workings I would wager it would have a predisposition towards protections and other acts of sending away or repelling unwanted energies/beings.

As a final note, though, you could use the wand for any task or act of will you feel the need to. Don't feel like you -have- to pair or limit specific woods to specific tasks. It just means such synergies might be easier to work. ...There is a saying I like that I think applies. It was coined regarding astrology and horoscopes but I feel that the words have a much broader meaning;

''The stars incline. They do not compel.''

Likewise, the nature of the wand (along with other tools) is the same. They incline towards their nature only.

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