The Witch's Wand: The Craft, Lore, and Magick of Wands & Staffs

211 Pages·2015·3.862 MB·English

by  Alferian Gwydion MacLir

Alferian Gwydion MacLir is the Druidical name of Dr. James
Maertens, a master wandmaker, wizard, and writer. Handcrafting
wooden wands for clients worldwide, Alferian has also written
Wcmdlore: The Art of Crafting the Ultimate Magical Tool, the first
book-length treatment of real magic wands.
Dr. MacLir is a Druid Companion of the Order of Bards,
Ovates, and Druids (OBOD), the largest international British
Druid order. He is a Freemason and student of the hidden mys­
teries of nature and the human spirit. Presently the doctor lives,
writes books and articles, makes wands, and builds steampunk
gizmos at his home, Bardwood Lodge, in the Lake District of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. He abides in perfect harmony with his
wife, his daughter, his familiar Minerva, and a large collection of
extraordinary hats.
H.lf£riar} Sw ydiorj ^ a c k ir
Llewellyn Publications
Woodbury, Minnesota
Copyright Information
The Witchs Wand: The Craft, Lore e( Magick of Wands el Staffs ©
2015 by Alferian Gwydion MacLir.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or repro­
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and is illegal and punishable by law.
First e-book edition © 2015
E-book ISBN: 978073874683
Book design by Rebecca Zins
Cover design by Lisa Novak
Cover illustration by John Kachik
Interior illustrations by Mickie Mueller
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacLir, Alferian Gwydion, 1960-
The witch’s wand : the craft, lore & magick of wands & staffs /
Alferian Gwydion MacLir. - FIRST EDITION,
l online resource. -- (The Witch’s Tools Series ; # 2)
Includes bibliographical references.
Description based on print version record and CIP data provided
by publisher; resource not viewed.
ISBN 978-0-7387-4683-8 -- ISBN 978-0-7387-4195-6 1. Magic
wands. 2. Witchcraft. I. Title.
BF1626
133-4’3-dc23
2015029749
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Manufactured in the United States of America
Contents
introduction
l: What Is a Wand?
2: Wands in Legend
and History
3: The Wand as a Symbol
4: Wood, Bone,
Metal, Stone
5: How to Make
a Witch’s Wand
6: Wand Gestures
and Geometry
7: The Witch's Wand
in Specific Spells
8: Wands In Ceremonies
9: Wands in
Seasonal Festivals
The Last Word
Appendices
Bibliography
introduction
this little book in your hands is intended as an exploration of one
of the most intriguing of the witch’s tools— the wand. Though
one of the four elemental altar tools customary in today’s tradi­
tional witchery, the wand does not get a lot of attention, and it
should. Though I am not myself a witch, per se, I am a spell-
caster and trained ovate, one of the Druid grades with many sim­
ilarities to the traditional wise woman or cunning man found in
almost every period and culture of European history. While kings
wield swords and tanks and kill millions across the pages of Eu­
rope’s past, the unobtrusive country or village witch has gone
about her or his business as healer, diviner, midwife, adviser, at­
tuned to nature’s ways. The witch’s wand is a symbol of life, as
well as personal and cosmic will.
This book sets out to introduce the reader to wands from my
point of view as a wandmaker. I’ve made magic wands for witch­
es, sorcerers, Druids, and all sorts of magical folk. I always hope
that my wands, as they have gone out in the world to serve their
owners, contribute to the wonder and enchantment of our world,
empowering their owner with the divine light of the sun and the
moon.
The first chapter attempts to answer the question of what a
wand is in terms of what it does, and in the more abstract terms
of the philosophical elements, which are the basis of Western
magic. I also discuss wands in terms of the colors of magic,
which is another good system for classifying and thinking about
Witchcraft and magery.
The second chapter looks briefly at how magic wands have fig­
ured into literature and myth— the only places most people ever
get a glimpse of one being used. Twentieth-century films, books,
and television shows have represented wands much as in the old
myths and legends, and I discuss the misconceptions in some of
the more famous representations of wands at work.
Chapter 3 delves into the power inherent in a magic wand as a
symbol— or if you prefer, an astral reality, for on the astral plane
of existence (the plane of the moon) symbols are real things
themselves. Chapter 4 gets back down to earth by discussing
wood and stones and their magical properties, their usefulness
in making wands, and a bit about antlers and magical cores.
Chapter 3 introduces some methods for making your own
wand— a subject I have covered in a lot more detail in my book
Wcmdlore: The Art of Crafting the Ultimate Magical Tool
(Llewellyn, 2011). If you read this book and want more in-depth
wand information, then that’s the book for you.
Chapter 6 delves into how to use a wand through gestures and
the creation of geometric figures, runes, and magical symbols.
Following this, chapter 7 gives just a few examples of how a
wand is used in specific spells. This isn’t a spell book (there are
plenty of those), but some examples will give you the idea of the
many ways a wand can be employed in your Witchcraft, including
in meditation. Chapters 8 and 9 show how special wands can be
made and used in seasonal celebrations, sabbats, and cere­
monies of life.
My intention in all of this is to inform, instruct, and inspire you
to work with your wand if you are a witch, and to understand the
witch’s wand if you aren’t.
Blessed be!
[contents]

What Is a Wand?
When people ask me what I’m doing with all those sticks labeled
and filed away in my garden shed, I tell them “I make magic
wands,” and they say “Cool— what do you do with a wand?” This
book is my answer (though I usually just say “you do magic” and
leave it at that). At bottom, a wand is a pointing stick. It points
and power goes forth. A person holds it and possesses power,
authority, awesomeness.
It is a stick used to point at things or tap on them, to gesture,
and to express one’s desires through physical attitude. It is asso­
ciated with the will, one’s self-assertion of desire, that movement
from emotion or thought to action. The will is not just what you
wish for; it is what you go after. In other words, it is active, not
passive. One can daydream about finding treasure or the perfect
mate for hours a day but not be exercising the will, much less
performing magic.
A wand is directive, like the baton of a maestro leading an or­
chestra. It directs powers latent in ourselves and in the cosmos,
potentialities for creation. Just as the maestro’s baton causes a
response in the musicians of an orchestra, so the witch’s wand
causes a response in the spirits of nature, those underlying in­
telligences and forces woven together to create the infinite music
of causality. By tuning the vibrations of nature to her own will
and intention, a witch makes something completely new in a way
very similar to the way a musician tunes and manipulates the
vibrations of string or reed to create sounds.
When used as an altar tool for ceremonial purposes the wand’s
movements are usually slow and majestic. The wand may trace
symbols such as a pentagram or other geometric polyhedron, or