Thursday, January 24, 2013

Shaman Journey Wand


Tip of Shaman Journey Wand #oa3, by Tree Pruitt
The tip of the wand is shown here.
 A White Oak branch felled by lightning on a Full Moon night inspired the creation of a small series of Native or Druid style wands years ago. This handmade 13" wand is accented with a genuine horse hair tassel to represent the spiritual journey and guide a path. It is topped with a deep purple natural amethyst crystal for the magic of sleep and dreams. Powerful energy of the spiral also comes into play through the coiled wire, and wood burned accents call to the Four Quarters or Four Directions.

 The oak wood had been carefully hand polished for a pleasant feel and attractive look. No power tools were used except for the pyrography burning tool; all work was done by hand. The entire piece took three months to craft overall. This wand is no longer available.

Shaman Journey Wand, #oa3, by Tree Pruitt
The entire wand is shown here.

The name of this wand: Shaman Journey Wand, #oa3

Main Materials: White Oak wood, amethyst crystal point, horse hair tassel

Length: 13"

  
* 13 Steps to Making this Ceremonial Magick Wand
1. Felled branches were gathered.
2. Branches were cut into lengths and cleaned of bark and small out branches. Cleaning was done with a ceremonial bowline knife that is only used for ritual crafting.
3. The new "naked" wands were spread out on a tray and low temp baked in an old oven to remove bacteria; sterilize.
4. This individual wand was then smoothed down with various grades of sandpaper to remove the chip carving feel of the de-barking process.
5. After examining the wand, inspiration and Spirit took over. A gem stone crystal that matches the form of the end of the wood was selected. It needs to not only fit the physical shape but also the spiritual function of the piece.
6. The wood was carved out by hand using eye measurement to allow the stone to fit as tightly as possible.
7. Once the shapes were right a small amount of very strong glue was added before the pieces were joined together. Making sure the fit is tight, the piece was allowed to dry.
8. After several days drying the glue I swelled the wood around the crystal. Small amounts of water were carefully allowed to soak into the grain of the wood, causing it to swell. I checked the stone to test tightness and go on to another drying. The wand was again baked at a low temp to remove the moisture I added. This causes the wood grains to tighten up more than before; like tempering.
9. The next step was to add decorations with the wood burner and finish off the surface of the wood. Instead of sandpaper this time the wood was smoothed with various pieces of natural sandstone rock.
10. The horse hair tassel was then added. The hair was gathered and secured with a hand weaving, then tacked in place with a small amount of the same strong glue.
11. The piece was varnished with environmentally friendly varnish.
12. At the next Full Moon after varnishing the wire accent was added during a welcoming ceremony.
13. Step thirteen, sacred number to the Goddess, was for the wand to find it's home.