Wand Making for Dummies!

This thread has been moved to General Info from Herbalism.

Actually the wand is used in native american practice but it is not used in the same light. They are called "sticks" and rightfully so they were sticks!.

The most common is the talking stick and it was passed from person to person in a circle. The one who held it was the only one allowed the power to speak and all others would listen until the stick was passed to them. It was adorned with feathers and stones that were very personal to the tribe. I used this in my family often and it would allow us to convene and speak without the fear of interruption or a heated debate. Just like the wand of a witch that gives them the power to focus their magick, a talking stick gives the holder the ability to focus and speak their mind peacefully.

Medicine men would also use sticks with crystals attached or for a better word "wands" as focus points for their magick as well as rattles, "rain sticks" and such when healing or creating their sacred space. In fact when a medicine man held a wand, he had his "sacred space" right there in his hand!

Wands were also used in the form of smudge "sticks".

There are many forms of "wands" in native american practice! They were just referred to as "sticks". Native americans were very simple with their words and didn't add special "cool" words to things like other magickal groups have.

Ummmm, no. The talking stick was actually just symbolic. I actually have an authentic native American talking stick and it's easy to see that it's been cut. While there might be some similarities between native American stick like objects and wands, they are not the same. A wand is a tool for directing energy. A talking stick is a symbolic tool to help keep order. Yes, I know there's many deeper explanations as to what it represents. Smudge sticks are definately not wands. They serve different purposes. As for your statement about them useing sticks with crystals attatched, I'm not so sure about that one. I have found no information of the sort at all on the web or in my reading. The "rainstick" and rattles, to me, they appear more similar in nature to modern ritual bells and batteries. Please note that your concept of the wand evolved from the grimoires.

"The Staff should be of elderwood, or cane, or rosewood; and the Wand of hazel or nut tree, in all cases the wood being virgin, that is of one year's growth only. They should each be cut from the tree at a single stroke, on the day of Mercury, at sunrise. The characters shown should be written or engraved thereon in the day and hour of Mercury."

The Greater Key of Solomon

"On the eve of the great enterprise,  you must go in search of a wand or rod of wild hazel which has never borne fruit; its length should be nineteen and a half inches. When you have met with a wand of the required form, touch it not otherwise than with your eyes; let it stay till the next morning, which is the day of operation; then must you cut it absolutely at the moment when the sun rises; strip it of its leaves and lesser branches, if any there be, using the knife of sacrifice stained with the blood of the victim. 1 Begin cutting it when the sun is first rising over this hemisphere, and pronounce the following words"

The Grand Grimoire

"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
William Shakespear "Romeo and Juliet"

You can throw down any quote you like and claim that Native Americans did not use sticks used to focus magick...is that not what a wand is? The culture was not influenced by every other culture around them like that of the East and Europe, so it was not a carbon copy of their neighbors.

This doesn't mean that they did not share many many similarities with other cultures. Magick, civilization and religion has ties between them regardless of geographical location.

Do not all cultures have homes? They may be called various things, come in all shapes and sizes, but a home is still a home. Language is a boundary that we take for granted in this modern age when translation is as simple as copy, paste and enter. You can read about another culture in your language with simplicity! But before all of that, people had to compare things in order to figure out that this word, meant that thing, which was a "home". People didn't take as much time to decipher the native american culture because they were considered "savages". I'm sorry you cannot find things about Native Americans online, but I AM Native American and I know people that still are an active part of the reservations...

Just as a rose is still a rose regardless of whether it is a wild rose, a red rose, or a white one, every culture has ties between them. Do not forget, those who connected to the spirit world all connected to the SAME spirit world, it was merely perceived through their own personal perspective, which gives us our diversity in belief.

Native Americans used nature around them. They were not as advanced as other civilizations, so they could not make the best magickal tools. They didn't want to! The ones they made from plants, animals, wood, and stone were what they liked. And any talking stick that you purchased has been created for monetary reasons. Unfortunately, many reservations must get by through creating what should be sacred objects for profit to make a living. Or some even run casinos...it's sad. They are not made with the same care as their own personal ones. Even in creating a dream catcher, one is to weave a spell into the hoop. The ones you buy in stores are nothing but pretty decorations. No magick in that. Dream catchers you buy will be made of metal hoops as bases...do you think they did this originally? No! It was made from green wood that they would bend and let dry out in a circle shape, 100% natural.

I'm very sorry for the disrupting FallenStar. I really enjoyed your post and I only wanted to add a small note for those who may not know about found magickal items. As you all know, my reasons here are to be helpful and perhaps even gain a few friends. I'm not sure why my opinions and cuture are being put under such scrutiny.

Ok, great. Now your just putting words in my mouth. I saw absolutely no purpose for your above post. I'm not sure if your trying to change the subject or if you just really didn't understand my last post. Let me try and explain it this way. A broom is a stick, and so is a flagpool, but they have two very different functions. Just because the bative Americans used "sticks" in their work does not mean they used wands. The origin of the wand as I said, was the grimoires hence my quotes. In grimoiric magic, the wand/staff was ascociated with the sephira Chesed in the Kabbalistic tree of life and the dagger/Sword with the sephira Geburah. The wand staff/ represented wisdom and the sword/dagger represented power. Over time, as magic grew more and more "fluffy" as some people call it, the ritual tools used by the magicians change. Now, we have all this junk floating around about "energy" and the "astral plane". While you might say that the magicians of old had these concepts too, they just didn't think of them the way we do. Let me give an example, many modern ceremonial magicians believe the be all and end all of magic is the LBRP. Crowley greatly exagerated it's importance and many of us begin every day with it, begin and end every evocation with it, and then do it again before going to bed. While the LBRP is a great exercise, the ancients had nothing even remotely similar to it. It's a simple exercise, nothing more. Is a similar way, the modern wand is very different in use from anything before. Magic has changed with the times.

By the way, I'm Chinese but that doesn't mean I can't randomly go on and make up a bunch of stuff to prove my point.

@WhiteRav3n:

Thank you for your clarification about the things of the Native American ways. I understand your points and they are quite helpful.

@perrych:

White-raven never said that the wand of the grimoires were the same as Native American sticks. She merely said that they were similar and could be seen as a different version. For example: some people use a staff to direct their magickal energies...other people use a crystal point version of a stone. In that likeness, I can say that the crystal point stone and the staff are used for the same thing; this IN NO WAY means that I have said that the two are one and the same. Yes, you make a good point that the "wand" of typical medievil magick was indeed NOT the same as the Native American "sticks", this does not mean that the two never had similar purposes. I agree that the "talking stick" was not the same as a wand, BUT the point is that in the same way that a wand was used to direct the willpower of a magician, the talking stick was used to direct the sole thoughts of ONE member of the tribe. Do you see the similarity? Now, as far as the crystals adorning a medicine man's stick... it seems that due to the fact that White-raven _is_ a Native American, she has access to information that may not be found online. Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, she got the information IN PERSON?? If she says that they had sticks and crystals attached, then listen to her; don't argue about the flippin' Internet not having it...not everything online is true is a good note to remember. The rattles on a rainstick were to help call the rain into being. Think of it being similar to a stone pouch [with stones elementally charged] being attached to a staff. They simply helped with the energy; how many times do you use [charged] crystaline stones as "bells" and "batteries"?? (The correct answer is that you shouldn't!) As far as the "smudge sticks", I am sure that White-raven is not stupid and is experienced; therefore, all she was saying about a smudge stick is that it LOOKS similar unto a wand, therefore in the sense of APPEARANCE ALONE could be seen as one. Understood?

Now, I believe that we should go back to the original topic of "Wand Making for Dummies" , in that respect, both you Perry and White-raven got off the topic, and began a debate on what a wand is! That was not the topic, just merely how the heck you should make one! Thanks.

--THUNOR

Wah doh Thunor! Thank you!

The medicine stick is "big medicine" which is the Cherokees way of saying "powerful stuff"! Medicine men and women carried it with them. It was earned and then carefully made. Some called them "spirit sticks" because they called to and channeled the energy of all spirits to heal or protect. I feel I have yet to earn the right to own my own medicine stick and that very few in this world ever do earn that right. So I do not talk about them nor have one. They are gorgeous though!

The Cherokee and most Native Americans are very quiet about their ways. It is not "magic" to them. It is life and nvwati "medicine". They will not share with others until they gain their trust or if they are themselves Native American. They try very desperately to keep their ways and their bloodline sacred and intact.

Again, my sincerest apologese to Fallen Star. I didn't intend for this to happen.

The thing is that there's no reason to believe whiteravens claim of being native American. I certainly don't find any good reason to believe her. Now granted, I'm not calling her a liar or anything, I'm just saying, it's possible she's making it up. If people can claim to be half firedemon and half vampire, they can also claim to be native American. I'm Chinese bit I could have easily said, Well I'm also native American and we live on a reservation with a genuine shaman etc. My point originaly was that cutting a branch off a tree to make a wand isn't as bad as many people believe. It really doesn't harm the tree and in the past, they didn't have any problem doing it. In school nowdays, from what I understand, you need to raise your hand before speaking. Raising your Gand does not help channel your energy into speaking or whatever. The talking stick is just to show who's talking. It serves no "magical" purpose. Anyhow, in the spirit of getting back on topic. The original poster claims that a wand can reject you and not to feel sad if it does. Now, Brysing is always going on about how many roleplayers get their claims from Harry Potter and as a result, I am very surprised he didn't notice that. I really don't know where to start. The whole wand rejection thing us purely from Harry potter. As sacred a tool a wand is, it is still an animate object. Wands are tools to help us in magic much lime a hammer is a tool to help carpenters. If I go to home depot to get a hammer, there is no way that hammer is going to reject me. I've been practicing magic for a while and before Harry potter, I've never heard of a wand rejecting you ever. People on this site seem to look up to brysing and with good reason. I'm sure he'll agree with me.

I think, as branches do not fall every day, your branch is all the more worth waiting for. When the time is right, the right piece will come your way, - same as feathers, fircones and all gifts from nature. I would not dream of cutting from a tree, unless it was for the purposes of helping the tree thrive in it's life :)