Wand Making 101: How to Create Your Own Wand and Why

It is a rather simple task these days to find manufactured ritual tools on the internet or by mail order, but even so many practitioners of the magickal arts feel the desire to create their own. While it is perfectly acceptable to purchase premade tools and anoint and consecrate them yourself, it is still considered by many that making your own is the key to creating more powerful tools. If you have been considering crafting your own ritual items you have probably arrived at the conclusion that the easiest tool of all for the beginner to make is the wand. Easily crafted from a branch the wand lends itself to the novice maker, if for no other reason than that mother Nature has already begun the process for you. In fact there are many witches and magicians who say they get the best results using wands that are merely natural branches cut to length. No matter what artistic lengths you choose to go to on wands, here are some basic guidelines for wand selection.

There are four types of wand that are common place on the market today, glass , metal, wood and gemstone. Glass is not that popular in most circles, but a glass wand can be a thing of great beauty, and if that is what calls to you then you should follow your own intuition in selecting it. Metal wands most often are constructed of copper and are sometimes highly adorned with decoration and stones. Wood wands are the most traditional and most revered wands. Gemstone wands are usually best suited for healing and massage and not for ritual, although many ritual wands regardless of material often include gemstones and crystal tips in their design. If you are handy either with glass or metal working you might want to create a wand from those materials, but for those of us who are better suited to crafting with wood (and for those who prefer the magickal attributes of wood) here are a few guidelines for selecting, crafting and consecrating your own wand.

Wood selection is one of the most important steps in fashioning your own wand. Like in any other wood crafting pursuit you will want to choose a sturdy and attractive wood, that will stand up to use. You will also want to consider size and weight when selecting a branch for your wand. Bear in mind that traditional Wiccan lore denotes that a witches wand should be of a specified length~ equal to the length of the practitioner’s wand hand from the bend of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. With that in mind here are a few suggestions to help you find the perfect wood for your wand, but remember to let your personal feelings and intuition be the ultimate guide!

Using trees from the Druid’s Celtic Tree Alphabet and their correspondences here is a list of favorable woods and their properties.

Alder is the first of trees, surging first into battle. An extremely revered wood.

Apple is a symbol of fertility and magick. The Isle of Avalon descends from Ynys Avallach or the Isle of Apples.

Ash is a much favored wand making wood, it is light in color and weight but very sturdy. It is considered the father of all trees and special spirits are said to reside within making it a special wood for healing.

Beech is a very smooth wood easy to work with. The magickal properties of beech include transmuting the wisdom of the past.

Birch is an ancient wood used mostly for cleansing and fertility.

Elder is an excellent wood to use in Faery rituals as it is sacred to fairy folk.

Elm is a wood that does not easily split. It is also sacred to the Earth Mother making it a precious wood for wands.

Hawthorn is often considered unlucky, but has great powers for cleansing and banishing.

Hazel is a flexible and beautiful wood that has been used for dowsing among other things. It is a wood of learning and wisdom.

Holly is very light with a very white and subtle grain, often the branches of the holly twist in very attractive natural ways. Holly is associated with sacrament, cleansing and divinity.

Maple is light and easy to work with if you don”t mind working with a sappier wood. Maple is known for it’s abundance drawing properties.

Oak needs little to be said of it. Oak is arguably the most noble, sacred and versatile tree, it is masculine in nature and uniquely suited to the fashioning of ritual objects.

Pine was known to the druids as the sweetest of woods. It’s physical attributes are well known. Magickal properties include great powers of rejuvenation and energy restoration.

Rowan is also called Witch wood, the berries have a tiny pentagram on them, aside from these physical attributes Rowan is prized for it’s properties of healing and divination.

Poplar is an extremely light and beautiful wood with a shiny sheen to it. Poplar is good for divination shielding and psychic work., be extra careful when choosing poplar to make certain it has dried to prevent excessive splitting.

Willow is a lovely wood that is sacred to the moon and suitable for all types of moon magick.

Once you have selected the appropriate tree for your use, and found that perfect branch you will want to cut the branch a little longer than what you need, so that you have some wiggle room to neaten up sawn edges or remove any chips or splitting that occurs in the drying process. Don’t forget to give thanks to the tree, or perhaps even a small offering! You will need to dry your wand to prevent splitting before removing the bark. To dry your wand simply place it in a nice dry place out of the way. Depending on the length , thickness and time of year you have chosen the wand drying times may vary greatly, so if you are not familiar with wood working just get to know what your wand feels and looks like now and you will be able to monitor the changes in the weight and color of the wood to know when it is completely dried and ready to be worked with.

When it comes to designing and decorating your own wand, be as creative as you dare to be. Many people prefer to simply use the wand as it came to them while others will remove the bark and lightly sand the wand to a smooth surface, while even others will want to decorate their wands with leather wrapping for a handle, crystal tips and stone ends, or even feathers and beads. Choose what is spiritually meaningful and feels mystical to you and you will not go wrong !

The final step in wand creation is consecrating your new ritual tool. To do this you will need a candle, a bowl of salt, a bowl of water and some incense. Choose a good energy building incense such as sandalwood , nag champs or frankincense. You will only need to begin a standard ritual, then light the incense. Place the wand on your altar and sprinkle it with salt. Invoke the God or Goddess of your choice, and then state your magickal intent. For instance I know invoke this wand in the name and service of (name deity here). Pick up the wand, envisioning it being freed of all negative energies and pass it through the smoke of the incense, repeat your intent at this time. Then take some water on your fingers, sprinkle it over the wand and repeat your intent again, do the same by passing the wand through the flame of a candle. This completes the process of consecrating your wand. Close the ritual as you would any other. Your new wand is finished and ready to be your companion in magickal workings for years to come.