Hi, my loves and welcome to WiccaNow. Recently I’ve been covering an eclectic array of topics such as Ostara, candle magic, this abundance spell and most recently a topic many of you have expressed a keen interest in, namely witchy altars. I’ve written a post with tips on how to set your own witch’s altar up and also one about common altar decorations. While writing these posts, I realised that I hadn’t talked about one of the most commonly recognised witch tools, namely witch wands!
While this may seem like something popularised by movies (I’m looking at you Harry Potter), witch wands are a commonly used tool that many practitioners will choose to incorporate into their practice.
Today I want to answer some commonly asked questions about witch wands and their uses as well as giving you some tips on how to make your own witchy wand and what materials you might want to use. So, let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
The History of Witch Wands
Wands are speculated to have been objects of power for a very long time with Stone Age paintings showing figures holding wand-like objects. The figures in these paintings are theorised to have been leaders, with the wands representing their position of power.
Fun fact: In certain formal ceremonies in Britan, specials officials are allowed to carry a “wand of office” which is a representation of the power that they hold.
Surprisingly, there are written records of witch wands as early as 1200AD when wands were mentioned in a Latin book called “The Oathbound Book of Honorius”. Many of the ideas in this book formed the basis of the more famous book “The Key of Solomon” which was written in the 1500s and has been a popular resource for occultists since then. The 1888 version (it was finally translated into English) is what inspired modern Wicca founder Gerald Gardner to incorporate wands into his own practice.
What Is A Witch Wand And How do Witches Use Them?
Witch wands are used to channel and direct magickal energy. They are thought to contain gentle power which is often used to invite and encourage rather than command. Witch wands represent both the air and fire elements and are often used to cast circles for rituals and spellwork.
If you read my previous post on altars, you’ll know that having a balance of the male and female on your altar is important. Due to its phallic nature, a witch’s wand is considered a masculine tool, along with the Anthame. These two tools have quite similar uses, the main difference being the force of their powers. Anthames command, wands encourage.
If you are incorporating either of these tools into your practice, consider what it is that you want to achieve and with how much force you want to achieve it. For example, witch wands are generally used if you’re trying to summon spirits because it’s best to invite them rather than to command them to attend.
What does a Wand Symbolise?
A wand is symbolic of a witch’s power, and is seen as an extension of the witch using it. It’s also symbolic of masculine power and the air and fire elements. Because of it’s stronger association with the air element, it’s symbolic of communication, logic and intellect.
What is a Witches Wand made of?
Witch wands can be made from any material that you feel drawn to. Traditionally they are made from wood, with different woods making wands that can be used for different aspects of magick. A willow wand, for example, is an excellent wand for healing magic.
Wands can also be made from crystal, plastic, metal, rock or anything else you feel drawn to.
A lot of people choose to make their own witch wands because it gives them a chance to decorate and form the wand into something that feels powerful for them. Making your own wand will also form a bond between you and the wand which will help you to cast more powerful spells. What you decorate your wand with can increase the power or intention of it so always make sure you do everything in an informed and intentional way. More on that below.
Which is the best wood for a Witch Wand?
Different woods hold different energies and this is something you should keep in mind when you select the wood to use in your wand. In saying this, however, I’ve found that going out and finding a branch or stick that draws me to it forms a stronger bond than simply going on wood type.
If you love the beach, next time you’re there, pick up a few pieces of driftwood and see if any of them feel like they belong in your hand. If so, then you’ve found the wood for your wand! The same goes for the forest, the bush or wherever you might find your wand.
When you are trying to find wood for your wand, make sure that you always remember to do as little damage as you possibly can when harvesting. If you want to take a particular branch, don’t just rip it off the tree, as that will imbue your new wand with negative energy instantly (violence is never the way). Consider only looking for fallen branches, or branches that are already damaged in some way. If you have a garden and prune your fruit trees, you can use one of the pruned branches as a lovely wand.
Whenever you prune, cut or find wood or branches for a wand, make sure that you thank the tree for giving you the wood. It’s a really nice way to acknowledge that nature has once again provided for you and also to give thanks for the tree’s sacrifice or gift.
Different Woods and Their Magickal Properties
| Alder Wood | Courage, strength, communication with the other side, determination and protection. |
| Apple Wood | Healing, love, fertility, prosperity, beauty and abundance |
| Ash Wood | Healing, protection, purification, wisdom, prosperity. This is a good all-round wood for a wand as it amplifies almost all kinds of magick. |
| Bamboo Wood | Luck, protection, prosperity, stability and strength. |
| Beech Wood | Creativity, Imagination, love and friendship. |
| Birch Wood | Grounding, cleansing, protection, fertility, rebirth and inspiration. |
| Cedar Wood | Wisdom, protection, purification, longevity, cleansing, prosperity and love. |
| Cherry Wood | Healing, love grounding, creativity, prosperity, passion and divination. |
| Elder Wood | Wisdom, healing, prosperity, banishing, communication with the other side. This is considered a sacred wood and should never be cut or burned. It’s best to try and find a branch that’s fallen naturally and make sure you only ever use this wood for benevolent magick. |
| Elm Wood | Protection, healing, transformation, love, connection with nature spirits and knowledge. |
| Eucalyptus Wood | Healing, cleansing, purification and exorcism. |
| Hazel Wood | Wisdom, clarity, psychic work, nature magick, water magick and knowledge. This is also a good all-rounder wood. |
| Holly Wood | Protection, peace, strength, courage, and luck. |
| Maple Wood | Strength, power, vitality, travel, communication, learning, beauty and abundance. |
| Oak Wood | Strength, power, wisdom, truth, endurance and protection. |
| Pine Wood | Creativity, prosperity, purification and protection. |
| Rose Wood | Love, knowledge, psychic work, healing, compassion, fertility and protection of loved ones. |
| Willow Wood | Moon magick, healing, love, divination and grief. |
| Yew Wood | Longevity and complex magick. |
Other materials can you can use for your Witch Wand and their magickal correspondences
There are endless possibilities here and you can really decorate in any way that makes you feel good! In saying that, there are certain materials that may help to enhance the power of you wand in a way that would help you with a certain branch of magic. For example, if you wanted to make a wand specifically for healing magick, you might choose to make it from willow and then add some amethyst crystals with copper thread. Immediately you have a wand that has very strong healing powers.
Common materials which can be used as decorations for your witch wand and their meaning
| Amethyst | Healing, sleep, psychic communication and knowledge. |
| Brass | Communication, abundance and protection |
| Citrine | Healing, prosperity, abundance and luck. |
| Clear Quartz | Power, protection and general magic. |
| Copper | Healing, prosperity, love and luck. |
| Dried herbs or plants | Check out this botanical witchipedia for a comprehensive guide to what magickal properties different plants have. |
| Emerald | Clarity, abundance, prosperity and love. |
| Gold | Beauty, prosperity, love and courage. |
| Jade | Prosperity, luck, protection and love. |
| Oil | Use essential oils to imbue your wand with the magickal properties of the plant it’s made from. This will also help to keep the wand in good condition, just rub in your chosen oils liberally with a soft cloth. |
| Peridot | Protection, abundance and love. |
| Rose Quartz | Love, friendship, and peace. |
| Selenite | Cleansing, purification and clarity. |
| Silver | Protection, healing, divination and psychic work. |
| Sodalite | Wisdom, peace, healing, divination and intuition. |
| Steel | Strength, healing, and protection. |
| Symbols | Consider carving symbols into your wand. Check out this post about common symbols for more info. |
| Tin | Luck, prosperity and divination. |
How long should a Witch Wand be?
Traditionally, a wand is between 30-50cm but it’s common to customise the length of a wand so that it measures from the crook of the elbow to just past the middle finger.
The length of your wand is really up to you as it’s an extension of your own power. If you want to make it really short, go for it! If you plan on drawing a lot of casting circles on the ground with it, consider making it much longer (more like a staff) so that you don’t have to bend down to draw your circle.
If you are making your own wand, I’d advise making it longer than you think you’ll want to start with and then shortening it until it feels just right. It’s really easy to remove length but much harder to add it back on!
How do you activate your Witch Wand?
This is such a great question! A wand isn’t magickal all on its own. It gains its power from you and is a tool to help you focus and strengthen your intentions. Because of this, there isn’t really such a thing as “activating” your wand. That being said, before you start using your wand there are a few steps you might like to take so that your wand works as the best extension of you that it possibly can.
These steps are:
- If you’ve made the wand for something specific, consider it ready to use. By making the wand you have already imbued it with a lot of your energy and it will be charged with your intentions for it i.e. if you made a healing wand, you will have been thinking about how and why you are making the wand the whole time you are making it.
- If you choose to use a piece of wood that you’ve found, consider trying to figure out what kind of energy that wood contains before you start using it. To do this, simply find a quiet minute to yourself and sit down with your new wand in both hands. Take a few deep breaths and then ASK the wand what energy it contains. Close your eyes and take note of what feelings come to you, as this will be the wand telling you what to use it for. Be open-minded and prepared to do a bit of interpreting here, as it may not be 100% clear straight away. You might think about food, which might mean that the wand in your hands is destined for kitchen witchery.
- Cleanse the wand before you use it. The simplest way to do this is to light a smoke cleansing bundle and pass the wand through the smoke a few times.
- If your wand is completely new and you don’t know where it’s been before it arrived to you, consider purifying it before you start. You can do this by bathing it in salt water and then passing it through a flame (obviously don’t pass it through flame if it has flammable parts on it). After you have done this, hold your wand in both hands and imagine your own energy as a bright white light flowing into the wand from your hands. Try and keep this stream of energy flowing for as long as you can. When you’ve charged your wand, say “With my energy, I charge you. I will use you only for good. So mote it be”.
How to use your Witch Wand?
You can use your wand for a multitude of things. Some of the more common are:
- Activating crystal grids.
- Drawing casting circles for rituals and spells.
- Writing intentions (you use the wand to spell out what you want in the air in front of you).
- Directing your intentions and energies.
- Cleansing yourself and your home.
- A masculine, air or fire element on your Altar.
So my loves, I hope this gives you some clarity on how to make your own witch wand and why you might have a wand at all.
Sending health, peace and love and until next time,
Blessed be,
Amaria