[Guide] Wand Making

[Lysine]

NOTE: This class/discussion is no longer taught/led by a teacher. However, please feel free to read through it and ask any questions that you may have or express any thoughts/opinions you have. Just please don't ask, "Can I join the class?" Because the answer is 'no'. Thank you.

Wands are a big part of Wicca for many people. They channel energy, much like the athame, into spells and rituals. Many prefer to make their own personalized wand - but how? The purpose of this guide - inspired by a thread in the main forum of this guild - is to show you several different techniques for making your own wand.

Contents:

Post 1: Intro and Contents
Post 2: Finding Materials
Post 3: Technique 1: Sand-And-Carve
Post 4: Technique 2: [Coming Soon]
Post 5: Technique 3: [Coming Soon]
Post 6: More Ideas
Post 7: Cleansing, Consecration and Care
Post 8: Reserved
Post 9: Reserved
Post 10: Reserved

[NOTE: This guide is currently UNDER CONSTRUCTION. You may post now, but it'll take me a while to perfect all the techniques and get the guide as a whole running smoothly.]

UPDATE June 23rd, 2008: The update that has been in the works for 5 months is nearly done! I mean it this time. I've been very busy, but I AM still here, and this guide is very important to me, so stick around! I really do think of this guide every day and have been working on preparing content for it. I hope that it will be well worth the wait.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or problems, please do post them. Thank you! : D

UPDATE June 23rd, 2008: Update (part 1/several) up! Go here for wood properties. : D  

[Lysine]

Finding Materials

Almost anything can be used to make a wand - ribbon, fabric, beads, crystals and stones, feathers - and, of course, wood.

Wood
The basis for any wand - save those made entirely of crystals or stones - is a good, strong stick. This usually calls for an excersion into a place where sticks are thick on the ground - the woods, a park, or under a specific tree. Examine every stick you pass - hold it, feel how it is in yor hands, check if the length or thickness would be unweildy, or if it is so thin that a passing wind would break it. Eventually one will jump out to you. The classic width for a wand is about the thickness of your thumb, and the classic length is from the crook of your elbow to the tip of your middle finger, however, whatever feels right to you is fine.
Remember: If you break a stick off of a living tree, BE SURE TO ASK IT'S PERMISSION AS WELL AS THE PERMISSION OF THE LAND OWNER FIRST. If there seems to be any resistence, stop immediatly, and DON'T break a stick off unless you know it's the right one.

Embellishments
Ribbons, fabric, feathers, crystals and stones, and many more can be used to give your wand more flare.
Feathers can often be found on a trip to the beach, or a park with a duck pond. Make sure the park or beach you choose allows people to take things they find.
Crystals and semi-precious stones can be found at most new-age stores, or failing that, picked up at a beach or creek (the same rules apply as for feathers).
Ribbons and fabric can be found at craft or fabric stores, or kicking around in your own drawers.  

[Lysine]

Technique 1: Sand-And-Carve

[Pictures Coming Soon!]

This is one of the simplest techniques for making a wand, save just picking a stick up and using it bare. This technique is great for very rough sticks that need to be more smooth.

YOU WILL NEED:
- The stick you want to use for your wand.
- A sharp knife (I used a steak knife; a pocket knife would work great too).
- Sandpaper.

WHAT TO DO:
- Start by taking the knife and, FACING THE BLADE AWAY FROM YOURSELF, slice off any protruding twigs or bumps that are in the way.
- Take the sandpaper and sand down the whole stick until it feels as smooth as you want it to be. (this took me about 5-8 minutes). Brush off the dust.
- If you want a hand hold on your wand, figure out which end is the point and which is the base. Take the knife again and start scraping off all the bark on a 4-6 inch space, starting about one inch from the base. Sand the hand hold.
- Take the knife again and carve magical symbols into your wand. I used 2 Futhark runes - which are easier to carve because of being comprised entirely of straight lines - one at the base which stands for protection, defence, and dependability, and one at the point which stands for strength and power.

And you're done!  

[Lysine]

Technique 2: [Coming Soon]

 

[Lysine]

Technique 3: [Coming Soon]

 

[Lysine]

More Ideas

[This is where I'll be putting ideas that other members post, or random things that come to me.]

Foxmore's awesome wand (willow)

Back on topic I thought I would post a pic of my wand so far. It was made using the carve and sand technique that was posted.

link

All I used for it was a pocket knife and sanded it with the sandpaper I tore off of my foot sander lol, then I put some lotion on it to make the wood be more hydrated and supple (it said it had mineral oil in it redface lol). Sure it was a bit unorthodox in the making, but it was a lot of fun and I think it will turn out nicely.

I am planning on putting a quarts or amethyst stone on the tip and maybe a sued-ish cord with beads and feathers under that.

 

[Lysine]

Cleansing, Consecration and Care

NOTE: The methods here are just what I, personally, use. There are many different ways to do this, so feel free to experiment and figure out what works best for you!

Cleansing
This part is very important, so take your time!

Technique 1: Elemental Cleansing.
Where: Anywhere! Outside is nice, but I did this at night in the rain, so I just used my room.
When: The new moon is great, but that's not always possible. Whenever works for you.

You will need:
Your wand (of course).
1 crystal/gemstone with cleansing properties. Clear Quartz works really well for this, but seeing as I seem to have lost my C.Q., I used Amethyst - which happens to be my favorite stone, so no skin off my Astral nose. xD Alternatively, you could just use a simple white rock.
Water. Pretty much any flowing water works, even tapwater. It was raining when I did this, though, so I just held it outside.
Yourself! Seriously. There are two goals here: 1), to 'cleanse' your wand, washing away any traces of negative energy, and 2) to make the wand 'one with yourself' so you can work with it smoothly, as if it's another arm...or something. So, I'm trying to make this method incorporate YOU (yes, you) as a tool as much as possible.
NOTE: All your tools should be already cleansed! You don't want to use an un-cleansed tool to cleanse another!

What to do:
Ok, so this is an elemental cleansing, which, obviously, means we'll be using the elements. If you wish, you can call the quarters and cast your circle first, but I feel that the cleansing is a circle casting in itself.
So! You can go in any order you like, but I went Earth-Air-Water-Fire.
EARTH: Close your eyes. Take your stone/crystal/whatever in one palm and your wand in the other. Breathe. Breathing is important. Let all other thoughts go to the back of your mind, not gone, but waiting on the sidelines. Once center stage of your mind is clear and open, slowly bring your hands together, letting the stone and the wand rub against eachother. Breathe. Visualize the negative energies flowing out of the wand and into the stone, then out of the stone and into the great vast Universe/Beyond/Wherever, where they float a moment before, with a little POP!, becoming positive energies.
Breathe. Draw your hands apart. Open your eyes and let your thoughts flow back into place. Compose yourself before proceeding to the next step.
AIR: This is all about breathing. Because breathing is important. And stuff. Yeah.
Anyway!
Breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Try and make each inhale fill you up like a glass of water, and each exhale drain the water. Close your eyes. Let your thoughts wander to the sidelines again. Inhale, exhale. Hold your wand in both hands. Let your breath flow out onto it, visualise the air spiraling around and around it. Let the negative energy be carried away on the wind, transformed into soft, tranquil air. Inhale, exhale. Open your eyes. Let your thoughts back into the center of your mind. Breathe.
WATER: Water is about emotions. It's a very tomoltuos element, so feel free to let it all out. x3
Ok! Take whatever water you're using. Hold your wand under it. Close your eyes. Let your emotion out through your hand, let them mix with the emotions of the wood, the core of your wand, let the running water combine them together. This is a difficult step to explain...you just have to kind of let everything flow and mix. Once it's all like a big soup, open your eyes and turn the water off/take it out of the rain/whatever. Breathe...again.
FIRE: This is my favorite part. Fire symbolises energy, so the goal here is to kind of weld your energies together with those of your wand. Wands are used to channel energy, so you want your energies to work as smoothly as possible with your wand's!
Dance. Or, if for some reason you can't dance, move. Move your mind, move your body, whatever. But move. Bring all your energy, spiritual and physical, tangible and mental, to it's full power. Let it sing. If you want, literally sing. Make noise - be that noise in a sense of huge masses of power, or...literally noise. All this time, you should be holding tight to your wand, feeling it's energy mixing with yours, latching on to yours, melding to yours.
Stop whenever you feel your energies are connected, and...you're done!
Congratulations, you've cleansed a wand. =)

[More techniques coming sooner or later!]

Binding (Optional, but a good idea if you're worried about your wand acting up).
Binding is generally associated with binding a person/binding negative energies/stuff like that. In this case though, it's really more like...sealing the sides of your wand, so the energy flows where it's supposed to, rather than leaking out the sides.
Where: Wherever you cleanse!
When: Whenever you cleanse!

You will need:
A length of ribbon/string/cord/spaghetti/piece of lint/whatever long enough to wind all the way around your wand.

What to do:
Take your ribbon/whatever and wrap it gently all the way around your wand. Don't wrap it too tightly, but don't wrap it too loosely either - the goal here is to direct the energy in a smooth course, but not to constrict the passage of the energy, so be careful. Make sure not to let the ribbon touch either end, we want to leave the ends open so the energy can flow through them.
Once you've got it all wrapped up, sandwhich your wand between your arms. Hold it there until you feel the sides of your wand are sealed. Now, remove the ribbon/whatever!

Consecration
This isn't so much to give your wand a Higher Purpose (TM), but more to make doubly sure it doesn't do anything it's not supposed to - wands are mischievous little things, and you have to keep a careful watch on them.
Where: Again, wherever you cleanse!
When: Again-again, whenever you cleanse! xD

You will need:
Words. They don't have to be spoken, thought works just as well, but this technique is built around the power of words. If you'd prefer another language, feel free to translate it! =]

What to do:
Hold your wand out in front of you with both hands, and say something to the effect of the following:
In the name of every deity ever immortalized, every tree ever sprouted, every stone ever chipped of the great boulder of the Earth, every flame ever sparked, every breath ever breathed, every sea ever swam, and every song ever sung, I consecrate you, that you may do only what you wish to do, and only what is right. Blessed Be.


--->CARE section coming soon! <3 <---  

[Lysine]

Using Your Wand

[Coming VERY Soon! Stay tuned!]  

[Lysine]

Wood Properties

More to come! I'll be adding more woods, elemental and planetary correspondences, and ogham symbols, soon!

ALDER
Leadership, courage, charisma, adventure, independence

ASH
Intelligence, knowledge, learning, scholarship, teaching, communication, curiosity, poetry, words, spiritual well-being, healing, prosperity, protection, weather

BIRCH
Cycle of life, leadership, patience, loyalty, peace, purity, beginnings, childhood, protection

BLACKBERRY
Prosperity, protection, binding, strength

ELDER
Wisdom, protection (esp. psychic), healing, creativity, imagination, flexibility, change,

HAWTHORN
Wisdom, knowledge, protection (esp. psychic), creativity, patience, peace, fertility, binding, prosperity

HAZEL
Creativity, art, wisdom, knowledge, optimism, love, spirit world, fertility, flexibility, change

HOLLY
Purity, strength, logic, level-headed thinking, focus, power, protection, healing,

IVY
Determination, focus, strength, optimism, communication, protection, healing

MAPLE
travelling, healing, intellect, knowledge, communication, art, love, prosperity

OAK
Truth, knowledge, protection, healing, intuition, observation

ROWAN
Healing. originality, creativity, empowerment, love, communication, divination, psychic ability, astral projection and dreamwork

WILLOW
Healing, love, psychic ability, divination, luck, emotion, cycle of life, change, protection, fertility  

[Lysine]

Reserved

 

[Lysine]

Ok! You can post now! We're still under construction, and will be forever as I keep learning and thinking up new things, but for now, I'm gonna take a break. sweatdrop
Tonight or tomarrow I'll probably be working on the Cleansing, Consecration, and Care section, so stay tuned for that!
Also, as soon as I can get more materials I'll start work on the other two techniques. I can't wait! >w<

Any suggestion or comments would be greatly appreciated! heart  

[PathlessPlot]

Is it necessary to carve runes in the wand, or can you paint it or just leave it bare?  

[Foxmore]

That is pretty much how I made my wand. Found a stick in my yard, carved, sanded, and buried an apple under the tree that the stick came from... just to give something back.

It is mainly the cleansing and consecrating that I am trying to learn about now.. and how to put a crystal on the tip. It's a lot harder than it looks.

@Rebo_Nicky: You can do whatever feels right for you. If you want to put runes on it, go for it. If not, don't.  

[Zsa Zsa]

OOOoo! Can you make a section about all the options of wood we could use, and then the different meanings, powers or strengths, pros and cons of each selection? OH! And I just thought, maybe you can add the correct Ogham symbol next to each.

Are there particular woods that is better depending on which element you are more in tune with?

Are there any we should avoid? I remember reading once (but I can't remember where and it's driving me nuts) that you shouldn't use one particular type of wood because it belongs to the Goddess. I believe it may have been the elder tree.

For example, I have a Rowan tree in my yard, I'm wondering if this is a good choice or poor one. I have heard from a few different sources that traditionally the Rowan was an anti-witchcraft wood.  

[Deletemeplease80]

Thanks for starting this topic! It's wonderful to be able to learn this kind of information from someone more experienced.

I'd be interested too in know about different kinds of woods and their meanings/elemental signifigance.

I'd also like to learn the best techiniques for setting stones into wands. Glueing them is the only thing that comes to my mind.

I like Foxmore's idea of giveing something back- I think thats a great idea. Very good signifigance.