Wands by Tree: September 2011

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Deer Mink Oak Wand

A white oak tree had been struck by lightning on a Full Moon night felling a branch to the ground. I was able to ethically and spiritually collect the wood to craft into a variety of ritual tools. This project was a Native American inspired style wand of that oak wood with a raw amethyst crystal tip. The pommel end is a sturdy fusion of a Pacific Mule Deer antler tip with the wood. I accented it with hand trimmed mink fur and a supple leather tassel with vintage ceramic glass pony beads in purple and white.

13" Amethyst, Oak, and Mink Wand by Tree Pruitt

Below is shown the natural irregular crystal form of the genuine amethyst tip. This richly colored stone was not heat treated for color -- I know because I cleaned the soil from it myself. It was quite exciting to use a gem specimen that I'd collected in America for a Native American inspired wand; it felt good for the project overall, and the owner was quite pleased too.

The final photo below shows the pommel end more closely; The pencil is shown for size comparison. Trimming the long dark hairs from a strip of reclaimed mink fur exposed the soft cocoa colored fluff of the undercoat. The antler is held onto the wand by a pin on the inside. I hand drilled a hole into each of the materials and inserted a small metal rod with some adhesive to join the halves very firmly into a whole. The antler was finished off by trimming and sanding to smoothly match-up with the diameter of the wood. It is not an easy thing to cut antler by hand! After having crafted this wand I gained a greater respect for those crafters who'd lived before the advent of power tools, but as always it was well worth the effort!

Starting with Blanks

I start all of my wands with ethically gathered sticks and branches that I've cut to length. Most will be set onto a tray for baking at a low temperature in order to sterilize them, especially if the bark will be left on the sticks.

The ends may be carved, rounded, or left in the raw. Small branch off-shoots make great places to tie on thongs of leather with feathers, charms, or beads for an owner to create personal touches.

This image shows unfinished wands. Some keep the tree bark on, some are de-barked, and some have twists or a spiral created by a partner vine having grown around the branch, such as with the honeysuckle wand shown in this photograph.

Wood types shown on this page are white ash above, twisted honeysuckle, oak, pin oak. Because I craft with wood that Spirit brings my way, rather than cutting trees apart, availability of species varies a lot. I enjoy the extra challenge that adds to creative flow and, it gives Spirit a greater opportunity to work through me, reaching out to that someone in need of a special ritual tool.

Handmade Wooden Wands

Welcome! The wood that I craft my wands from is always ethically gathered, such as those that the wind has brought down or that come from general yard maintenance; no trees are ever harmed for harvesting. I do not use power tools; all of the work is done by hand. I only use branches and twigs that are free of disease, and not previously "dead", so that the wood remains strong. Because they come from Nature no two of my handmade wands can ever be the same. All of the spiritual ritual tools that I craft are worked on in a positive environment with a ritual mind-set using the highest quality materials possible for heirloom quality authenticity.

What's A Wand

Choose a wand based upon the feelings inside you; it can be a tool, a partner, and a friend. A magick wand is typically made of wood and is a stick usually no longer than 24" inches. A "stave" is a word used to describe a wand blank -- one that hasn't been crafted yet. In its most basic sense a wand is used to direct energy raised during ceremonial magick and religious ritual. Though usually one continuous piece of wood, wands are crafted from many different types of materials and have different parts.

The tip that points energy out of a wand -- sometimes capped with a crystal -- is the projection end; when directed with intent it projects the energy outward. The other end that is gripped like a handle is known as the pommel. Sometimes the pommel may be capped with a crystal or gemstone too, but the purpose is to hold energy until released by the wielder of the wand. Some wands may have a core of special ingredients or a wrap of copper wire to aide in conducting energy. Wands can be used for many different purposes, and indeed a person might choose to own several, such as having one for healing ceremonies and another for general Circle casting or wands that correspond to holidays. Wands that are not used on a regular basis should be stored in such a way as to protect them from not only dust and debris but also from any ambient energy influences.