Tools: Wooden Wands, Staves, and the Qualities of Different Wood

Section 1: Deals with how to use wands and staves in magical practices, and is meant to aid those who don’t know what a wand does or how to use it.
Section 2: Deals with the different qualities of various common woods, and is meant to aid those who want the correspondences of different woods.

Types of Wands

There are basically three types of wands that are of use to us as magicians. The first type, and the most important, are wooden wands, which will be dealt with in this article. There is a second type which is a piece of crystal in the shape of a wand, known as a crystal wand or energy wand. These are generally associated with the new age movement and are very useful. Lastly there’s a type of wand that is hand made by putting gemstones and herbs inside of a hollow pipe. I’ll discuss these types of wands in future articles. There are other types of wands, most notably a metal wand, which some stores are now selling. These things are next to useless and a waste of money. You’re better off with either a wooden wand or a knife.

How to Use a Wand

Wands are one of the magician’s five elemental tools and are fire associative. Wood is great at quickly absorbing and easily working with large amounts of energy, and so wands are used to manipulate large amounts of energy easily. Note the following exercises assume at least a passing understanding of how to manipulate energy. Without this understanding your results will not be as impressive.

Soak and Radiate: This is not really an exercise. Just a comment about the nature of a wand. If you watch a wand you’ll notice that, all on its own, it will very easily soak up some of the energy around it. You’ll also notice that the wood will radiate this energy from it, as if it is slowly leaking out. This is the nature of wood and how it reacts with energy and why it is so good at manipulating energy as it does.

Moving Energy: Moving energy is easy enough. If you can find it in the room you can easily wave your hand to move it, or swirl it around, or whatever (you don’t even need a hand, but these things are always easier with physical aids). Now try these same exercises with your wand. You’ll notice you’re moving a much larger amount of energy around, and you’ll be doing it a lot easier than if you just used your hand.

Pulling Energy into the Wand: Put each hand on opposite ends of the wand and hold it horizontally at chest level. Now concentrate on pulling nearby energy towards yourself and into the wand. You should notice the wand works kind of like a magnet pulling in whatever stray energy may be around.

Raising Energy (Method One): This is the same as the previous method, except this time try to pull energy from more than just the surrounding area. You can also try pulling energy from out of the ground. You’ll notice you’ll pull a lot of energy into the area very quickly.

Raising Energy (Method Two): Pretty much the same as the last method, except instead you hold the wand in one hand and move the wand in an upward motion. This is typically the preferred method for raising energy from the ground. You can also prance around the room doing this because, um, some people like that sort of stuff. Not me! But some people.

Energizing (Screw Method): Swirl the wand over an object or person in a clockwise motion to push the nearby energy into it. Swirl counterclockwise to drain.

Directing energy: This is pretty much the same as moving energy. Hold the wand vertically and move your arm down until it is at a ninety degree angle with your body. All free energy should now rush towards whatever is being pointed at. Unless the energy is specifically charged for an act, this is generally an attack. You throw enough energy at a barrier and it will break. You throw enough energy at something living and you will kill it. It helps if the energy is aggressive and malicious, but an aggressive and malicious intent is usually enough to do it.

All of these methods are more dependent on will and intent than anything else. The motions are only meant to help focus the mind and one’s intent through physical action.

Staves

Staves work much the same as wands. They’re pretty much just really big wands. Anything you can do with a wand, you can do with a staff. The advantage of having a wand is that it is easier to carry around to rituals, it’s easier to store several of them, they’re easier to charge on an alter, they are cheaper and easier to make, and some woods can not be made into staves.

Staves have several advantages. For starters, they’re more inconspicuous, if you have a small, modest staff. If you have a ten foot tall staff with feathers and bells hanging off it, no it’s not inconspicuous. If you have a cane-like walking stick, you just use a cane to walk.

Staves are also bigger. Technically this means, all things being equal in regards to wood types and enchantments, they should be able to move larger amounts of energy. It’d be very rare though, with a properly enchanted wand, to hit a point where you felt you needed more and a staff would make much of a difference.

Also, being bigger, staves can hold larger charge for longer. This is actually the biggest advantage the staff has. Wood radiates energy, and so the charge is always disappearing. The more energy that enters a piece of wood, the quicker it will radiate out. A staff can hold a lot more energy though, so a staff will keep its charge much longer.

Because of this, and the ease of carrying it around as a walking stick, many people like to take staves to places with large amounts or unique energy in order to charge them. Properly done, this can result in a very powerful and highly charged tool when used in ritual.

Adding Gemstones to Your Wand

A lot of people like to attach gemstones to a wooden wand. Whether or not to do this is up to the practitioner and largely a matter of preference. A gemstone will hold a charge much better than wood, and so it can be used as a battery for the wand. Gemstones also amplify energy (meaning the energy coming off the wand will be increased). A gemstone may make it easier to manipulate and shape energy in a finer, less broad, way. And finally a gemstone will taint the wands energy to that of the gemstone. The exact taint is dependent on the type of gemstone used, and is beyond the scope of this article.

On the downside the gemstone will have its own personality (which you much be compatible with, in addition to that of the wood), and a gemstone will have a particular taint on the wand’s energy (which the wand ideally should be compatible with).

The Personality of Wood

Remember that wood was once a living thing, and as such each plant had its own personality, and that personality is going to carry on to the wood itself. That’s why it’s important to be sure that you are compatible with a particular wand or staff.

The Qualities of Wood

Broadly speaking, different types of wood have certain inherent qualities, and these will effect how any wooden magical tools made from them operate. Listed below are some of the most common, and also some of the most useful, types of wood you’ll find in magical tools and their general qualities:

Apple – Apple is associated with love and fertility, and is good for utilizing love and sexual energies. It works well with all sorts of love spells, lust spells, marriage spells, and fertility spells. Apple is compatible with deities of love, sex, desire, and courtship.

Ash – Ash is fire associative. All wands are fire associative, but ash is doubly so. Ash makes a very good battle wand. Its best use is for direct attacks against people and entities. It also does pretty well with death curses and with destroying crops (not really that useful in this day and age though). Because of its combative nature, it’s also good at most kinds of protection magick, like casting wards and barriers. Properly enchanted, ash can also do well in aiding all kinds of creativity. Ash is compatible to deities who are fire associative and deities of warriors and battle (Mars, Aries, Athena, Tyr).

Elder - Elder wood is very good at finding and absorbing negative energies. For this reason most people will find Elder, at best, difficult to work with in any kind of magick that doesn’t involve harm, vengeance, or cursing. Elder is also a very alive and vengeful type of tree, and Elder wood should never be taken off of a tree without permission from the tree, otherwise you may have to deal with the wrath of the tree. Elder wood will often work as a ward by itself, either because entities fear the elder wood, or because they fear that which is powerful enough to control the elder wood.

Elm – Earth associative, Elm is the opposite of Ash.

Hawthorn – A fae associative wood (and surprise, you can make alcohol from it). Like oak, this is an otherworldly wood, which makes it somewhat useful for evocations, but keep in mind that it comes from fae realms and generally connects to fae realms. Hawthorn is best for magick dealing directly with fae. Fae-kin may also find the wand very compatible. The wood’s nature may also make it a good choice for fae-like endeavours. Cutting down or otherwise destroying a Hawthorn tree that fae have laid claim to will often times make them angry and vengeful.

Hazel – Air associative. Hazel is a wood of wisdom and intelligence. Because of this, in spiritual work, many see hazel wands as a general good all-purpose wand.

Maple - Generally a wood of protection.

Oak - Oak is an ancient tree, the species is older than this world. Oak does not originate here, it originates in other worlds, and as such it acts as a sort of anchor to these worlds and their magicks. Because of this oak is a very powerful magical wood. Groves of oak trees are a preferred place for ritual because the area is anchored into other worlds. Oak also works very well when used to move through worlds (either going out via astral projection, shadowwalking, or dreaming) or bringing things in through evocation. Oak is also associated with lightning and is sacred to all lightning associated gods (Zeus, Thor).

Pine - A good wood for spells involving youth, the slowing of age and decay, immortality, and strength (when defined as resistance). Also a good all purpose wand for spells involving practical matters.

Poplar - Some confusingly think that poplar is good for protection spells, when in fact it’s that items made from the wood make excellent guardians. Your poplar wand isn’t so much going to be good at casting protection spells as it is going to be good at protecting you from attacks while you carry it.

Rowan - Rowan is an excellent absorber of energy. This makes the wood superior in all kinds of protection spells. In fact just having Rowan wood on your person may be enough to completely absorb all of the energy from a hostile spell. Likewise Rowan can absorb the radiant energy from the area and from dead spirits and stray entities, rendering them harmless and invisible. Properly enchanting and using Rowan wood will make magnify (and if done right filter) its absorption abilities making it more effective in these endeavors. Also due to its very high sensitivity in regards to absorbing energy they make superior dowsing rods.

Sandalwood – Sandalwood is a divine wood. It is associated with divinity, the gods, and all matters of a higher spiritual nature. Sandalwood is also an endangered and protected species, and there is a much greater demand for the wood than supply. Because of this most sandalwood is not true sandalwood, but of a related species.

Willow – Willow is water associative. It’s good for both healing spells and cleansing spells. It’s also good for exorcising spirits (which is technically a cleansing spell). This makes Willow an excellent choice for besoms and brooms. In actuality what Willow is good at is washing away that which is bad, improper, or old and bringing forth that which is new or a renewal. It is because of this that willow is sometimes associated with bringing the dead to their final resting place, however willow’s association is with exercising the dead and the resulting renewal, not with the land of the dead or with death energy. Willow can also work well with death spells under very limited circumstances. Due to willow’s nature of getting rid of that which is bad, improper, or old there are some legends that the tree will uproot itself and seek out and kill travelers.

(European) Yew – First off, make sure you get European Yew and not Pacific Yew (which is more common in North America). Yew is associated with the dead and the land of the dead. Yew is very good at utilizing death energy (this is the energy of the dead, not energy that kills). It’s also for bringing forth and controlling the dead. Ash is compatible with most Chthonic deities.

Magick 101: Matter and Energy

Update: I’ve added some additional entries to this list, so I bumped it back up on top.

A short overview of the different types of matter and how they effect energy.

Wood - Wood naturally absorbs nearby energy and tends to charge itself rather effectively. Wooden altars for spellwork are preferable in some traditions because the wood of the altar will absorb some of the energy from every working turning it into an enchanted object and energy battery that can aid in spellwork. For much the same reason, seance tables and spirit boards are most effective when they’re made out of wood. Wooden objects that are frequently present during spell and ritual work or are left on altars may end up enchanted and even sentient with no effort or even want on the part of the practitioner. Some practitioners and traditions prefer not to do ritual and spellwork over a hardwood floor because of the tendency of the wood to absorb the energy and become enchanted (many times it doesn’t take much effort to throw away a working altar because it’s becoming a problem, but tearing apart your living room floor…). In the form of a magickal tool wood is best used to broadly manipulate energy in general ways, such as absorbing it, raising it, and moving it around. Different types of wood each have their own small nuances and abilities, and may also taint the energy or be more effective when working with specific types of energy. Additionally the nature of the tree or vine the wood originates from may have some effect on the metaphysical qualities of the wood.

Metal - Metal is man made, and it’s very good at both sealing energy and manipulating it in finer more specific ways. Metal is very good at holding energy, even better than wood because much less energy dissipates from a metal object than a wooden one. However metal objects don’t naturally absorb energy nearly as well as wooden objects do, and so it is often up to the practitioner to personally charge the item or create a method in which the item can be charged. This isn’t to say that metal objects won’t absorb energy on their own, they will, just not to the degree wood will. As a magickal tool metal makes a good battery holding an available charge for the practitioner (as previously discussed). Also it may be used in general energy manipulation, however metal is considerably weaker than wood in terms of broad applications of energy manipulation, such as pushing energy and raising it, so much so that metal is nearly useless in this regard so long as a wooden alternative is available. However metal excels at the finer acts of energy manipulation such as opening portals and pinpoint attacks. As an example, if a practitioner were faced with an energy wall, they could use a wooden staff to raise a large amount of energy and then direct it towards the wall hitting it hard enough to knock it down by sheer force, or they could use a metal knife and, utilizing a much smaller amount of energy, slice a hole in the wall the practitioner could act through. Also because of its ability to be sealed, metal is good as an enchanted magickal object, and also as an object into which an entity is sealed. Much like wood, the various types of metal each have their own nuances and abilities, however unlike wood individual pieces of metal tend not to have specific personalities, at least not before they’ve been charged or enchanted, so a practitioner is able to simply take a specific piece of metal off the shelf rather than looking for the particular one that calls out to them.

Stone - Stones are energy manipulators. They’re almost as good as metal as far as sealing energy in goes, and they too are very effective as a battery, as an enchanted object, or for sealing an entity inside of it. They also act as energy amplifiers making energy stronger as it passes through. They can self-absorb energy, although not to the degree wood can, and they also tend to produce a lot of energy on their own. Different types of stones have different qualities to them, however, and how effective a particular stone is at any of the above abilities varies based on its type. Also stones have a taint to their energy based on the type they are with different types of stones tainting energy in different ways. For example turquoise stones tend to be tainted with dream energy, which makes turquoise very effective when it is being used as an aid for such tasks as lucid dreaming, dreamwalking, or keeping nightmares away. Stones tend to have very distinct personalities which can effect their overall compatibility with a particular practitioner, and so some care should be taken in choosing the right stone.

Quartz Crystal - Technically quartz crystal is classified as a type of stone, and it fits the above description of stone, but it has some unique qualities that make it preferable to any other stone in many situations. To start, quartz crystal is very good at amplifying energy, probably the very best stone at this particular task, and it’s also very good at effecting energy and moving it, once again probably the very best stone for this task. They’re also very good at absorbing energy and okay for sealing purposes (which in combination with their amplification abilities makes them a very good battery). And quartz crystal does not taint energy, an ability which is unique to it. They’re the blank page of stones. If a crystal has a significant taint to it, it’s because someone put something into it that made it like that. A crystal is only going to be what you make it. However, like other stones, crystals do have distinct personalities, and this can result in a small, although not very significant, taint, and so a practitioner should, as in other instances, take care in picking out the right quartz crystal.

Water – Water (and many water based liquids) have two very distinct and opposing qualities, it both absorbs and dissipates energy. As for its absorption quality, water will drain energy out of anything it comes into contact with, or even anything it’s near. Water is typically used in cleansings because of its ability to draw out energy, which may be negative energy or may simply be unwanted energy. Vampires typically have issues crossing bodies of water because of their hypersensitivity to vampiric like attacks and its strong draining ability. At the same time though water tends to shoot out the energy it collects on a constant. So even though water is used to cleanse, it can also be used for the exact opposite effect, to charge. One good way to do this is to have a container of water out during a ritual. The water will absorb the energy of the ritual, and afterwards an object can be put into the water in order for it to be charged with the ritual’s energy. Water’s dissipation effect also means that large stagnant bodies of water can develop into paranormal hotspots because they are constantly absorbing and spitting out large amounts of energy (an example being the Devil’s Hole in Nevada). Water is also very good at pulling in emotional energy although it will lose the charge very quickly. Because of its ability to both give and take water is also seen as a unifier and bonding agent that can bring two things together.

Synthetics – Various synthetic material such as cement, plastic, and man-made bricks do not hold a charge at all, and because of this can not really be used for any effect. Some practitioners and traditions prefer to do their rituals on a cement floor because the floor will not absorb the energy or become enchanted by the ritual. Although synthetics don’t hold energy they don’t block it either, and energy can pass through them as easily as it passes through air, and without acquiring any kind of taint. Synthetic tools are useless and offer the practitioner no benefit beyond their own natural ability. Some entities, given permission to do so, may be able to enter into and manipulate synthetic objects, although it isn’t possible (at least not without great difficulty) to seal them into the object to prevent their escape, or to aid them in staying inside of it.

Glass – For most purposes, glass is a poor man’s quartz crystal. Glass is very similar in its makeup to quartz crystal, and so it also shares a lot of the same qualities. Glass tends to be blank and without taint. It also tends to lack the distinct personalities of quartz crystals (which may be a benefit). It can hold some energy, thought not as well as quartz crystal, and it isn’t really that great of an amplifier. With magickal work the major drawback of glass tools is that they are fragile, and they tend to break if you put too much energy through them. Glass is usually used to make crystal balls, mirrors, and candle-holders, and the last one tends to break quite a bit with stronger candle magick spells (which is why I’d suggest using a metal holder). The one great, and somewhat unique, quality of glass is its reflective ability. To begin with, this obviously makes it good for scrying. The reflectiveness also makes it good for opening portals, banishing things from this world, and sealing entities into pocket dimensions.

Bone or Ivory – Bone and ivory are similar enough that they are almost exactly alike. Bone is unique because it is a piece of a dead animal, or even better a dead human if you can get one. It’s usually the bone of a dead whatever, and so a lot of people tend to use bone magickaly in order to access and manipulate death energy. This works, but there are better ways of going about getting death energy, and bone has a much better use, it tends to generate life energy. This in turn makes bone very effective in holding, sealing, and manipulating the souls of the dead. Sometimes the soul of the dead person or animal will still be bound to the bones, making it instantly enchanted with a dead soul. A lot of the times even if the original soul isn’t attached to the bones, there are ways to call it back into the bones. Bones also allow the dead greater power in performing actions on this plane.

Cloth – Cloth will absorb and hold energy. It’s not great at doing this, but it’s unique in the way that it is typically used. We wear are clothes all day. We shed skin and hair and fluids into our clothes. Because of this our clothes are very connected to us. Wearing someone’s dirty clothes gives a very strong connection to them, especially to an empath. Washing helps, but it usually doesn’t do enough. Cloth is also good at absorbing perfumes and incense and other smells, which in turn means cloth usually keeps a good memory of where it’s been. It’s a good idea to throw clothes away rather than giving them away or selling them, and it’s usually a good idea to buy all clothes new rather than used. The materials used in clothes are varied, and each is actually unique in its abilities, but most materials will also follow the general rules listed above. In my experiences I’ve found that leather (real leather) in particular is very good at absorbing energy, holding it, amplifying it, and projecting it outward. Leather things make great enchanted objects.

Buying a Crystal Ball (and not getting analy raped)

So I just got a new crystal ball, my fourth, and I thought I would lend some advice in getting a crystal ball. Crystal balls are very useful things, magickal tools with 101+ uses. Unfortunately most think they can’t afford a crystal ball, or that they’re just not worth the exorbitant prices. Unfortunately most people who sell crystal balls are scam artists using misinformation to sell items for more than they’re worth. If you’re looking into buying a crystal ball, and don’t already know much about them, please read this article and inform yourself. You may be paying $200+ for something you could buy for $30 (I’m not exaggerating either).

Now not everything we call a crystal ball is really a ‘crystal’ ball. I actually have one crystal ball. I have two balls that are laser cut glass, and one that is amethyst. There’s a big difference between these three choices, and they have very different prices.

Real crystal balls tend to be a bit pricey. One the size of your fist can easily go for $50-$100. Expect to pay at least $150+ for a descent sized one. Large ones can cost a whole lot. Things that can raise the cost of a ball include size, flawlessness, age, and occult history. Magicians are typically the only ones interested in these types of balls, there are cheaper options for decorative pieces. But do look around, sometimes you can get a good deal on a ball, especially a used one. Sometimes the older sentient ones are looking for the right owner, and they’ll drive away all prospective buyers, and their price, until the right owner comes along. Real crystal balls are worth every cent too. They’re powerful tools, and if you’ve ever used one you’ll see how superior it is to laser cut glass. If you can afford it, I highly recommend a real crystal ball.

If you can’t afford it, go with laser cut glass. It really is a poor man’s crystal ball. It’s not as strong as crystal, but it can do most of the things crystal can. It works great for enchantments and divinations. They’re always flawless. And although it’s not as good as crystal, with a little TLC laser cut glass balls can be powerful and invaluable tools and aids in magickal workings. And they generally cost a tenth of the price or less.

The problem is most retailers sell you laser cut glass at crystal prices. Most people can’t tell the difference between the two. Most people compare the price of laser cut glass to real crystal and think they’re getting a deal. It’s gotten to the point that almost every reference you find now has the higher price anyways, and most are dealing in laser cut glass.

With laser cut glass, a ball the size of your fist should cost less than $15. Expect to pay around $30 for a descent sized ball just about as big as a soda can, maybe a little more for one slightly bigger. One the size of your head should go for less than $70. The $120-$180 price range is really for gigantic sized balls.

You can usually tell laser cut glass because it’s flawless and perfect. Even the best crystal balls tend to have a few minor flaws if you look close enough. In fact, some actually prefer the flaws for divinatory aid. Also on a real tumbled crystal ball you can sometimes see the groves on the outside. Finally anything with a glass stand included is almost always laser cut glass (and such a stand shouldn’t drive the price up 1 cent from what I quoted earlier).

Now there’s also another category of ball, these are made from precious stones, and the prices can vary widely. Some are far more valuable than crystal. Some aren’t. You have to consider the size, the cost of the stone used, the demand for the stone (low demand can actually drive up the price), it’s beauty, and how good the quality is. Generally speaking, if a stone is jewelry quality, expect to pay more. If a stone isn’t jewelry quality however, it’s often times worthless to anyone except practitioners who can still utilize it for its innate quality. For example emerald is very expensive. You can get tumbled emerald for about a dollar a stone though. It’s because the emerald is such low quality, and so small, it can’t be used for any type of jewelry. It’s worthless to miners, except to tumble and sell to occultists. The same is true of these crystal balls. Also keep in mind these things are treasured by new agers, so they can get pricey. Depending on the price you can be looking at paying a premium over crystal.

If you’re looking for laser cut glass, check online stores and swap meets. These are the places where I’ve seen the best deals, but you have to look around, and be adamant about not paying too much. There’s no reason to spend what they’re asking, you can get a real crystal ball at those prices.

For balls made of precious stone, try the new-age stores. A lot of them carry them. And if you’re interested in a stone that has a low demand, a lot of times they have one sitting on the shelf that gets discount after discount and can be gotten at a bargain.