Wand Making for Dummies!

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 :)

Perrych you can believe whatever you want! That's the wonderful part about being an individual is it not? I don't care if you think that I am not Cherokee. But why in the world would anyone "roleplay" that they are Native American? There are far more exciting heritages. Mine is rather sad, many family members died in the Trail of Tears, including my great great grandmother.

I think that the wand article was very well done. I believe what FallenStar means by "reject" is that the energy of the wood may not be in harmony with your own energy. This would make it rather difficult to channel energy through if that were so. And it would take more effort. Some people like to sleep with a tool, amulet, or talisman under their pillow, on their bedstand or even carry it around with them (if possible) so that their personal energy becomes a natural part of the object before consecrating it for magickal purposes. I've done the same with stones. Some of them are very hard headed! Oops, bad pun =)

Hi, I'm new here. I thought this was an interesting thread. I too, am
native American. Our family is extremely traditional and yes, I agree that there are many things that are not public. My grandfather educated my in our tribes form of shamanism and it differs greatly from the modern interpretation. The one thing that confuses me us that alot of people think that we as native Americans take everything we use from the ground. In our form of shamanism, it's perfectly acceptable to take a branch from a tree to use to make a wand or whatever. There is no need to thank the tree spirit like many say. I don't think that was originaly part of our belief system. My grandfather taught me to take from nature in moderation. The earth is our mother. It provides for us. Our ritual chimes our made from turtle shells that we killed. Not just ones we randomely find dead on the ground. In fact, all of our tools were taken from the beings themselves. With animals, yes we do say prayer bt not for trees. Whiteraven, I would be really interested to hear more about your tribes views on this. As for the charged sticks with crystals attatched to the front, I don't think youre talking about shamanism.

What tribe are you from? That makes a huge difference. My family was from the Cherokee "twister" or long hair tribe. My great grandmother's hair was down to her ankles! My mother's hair was to her knees. The longest I had mine was past my waist. I don't like pinning my hair up and if it were any longer and I would sit on it and hurt myself. Lol

I am not a shaman nor do I profess to be. I train to be a medicine woman which takes years upon years and I'm far from attaining that full title. Shaman is a word that now spans the whole world and represents the spiritual healer in many cultures, including Tibetan. So I shy from it. I don't believe in taking from a tree when I can take what it freely let's go. If I truly need something and it isn't on the ground, I will ask, take, and thank. But that's all up to personal opinion I think. Some take respect to nature farther than others. Some like to thank the plant/tree/animal. This is also what I was taught. I also thank the plant and animal when I eat a meal. It is my way of showing thanks to the spirits that I share this world with.

Hello;
I enjoy reading whatever there is about wands. And, this is an interesting post on wands. If, I may suggest, out of the many articles and books I have read on wand making, there is a practical and not too complicated in reading guide that helped me out in constructing my wand which is about what a wand is, what a condenser is, wood choices, metal choices, different ways of charging one, why to have a personal name for a wand and, that is only 11 pages long it is; "The Magic Wand" by Franz Bardon, it is extracted from "The Practice Of Magical Evocation" by the same author. If you Google it, you can download it free from various websites in a .pdf file.
After reading Franz Bardon as a guide, I did this;
I drilled a hole in the shaft of my Hazel wand (choose whatever wood feels right to you), with a 9/16 in. wide, 16 in. long drill-bit a bought at Home Depot. I drilled a hole for a 12 in. copper tube that I also bought at Home Depot at the A/C section, I stuffed the copper tube with amber powder then, I stuffed the tube into my wand shaft. I can go on. If you have any questions on how to make one, I have read many articles, as this is my hobby. I have made many mistakes too (I can help you fix a mistake, ha-ha). However, I do not want to focus on myself. Just if you want some creative ideas. I custom made my wand with a portable drill, a corded drill, a dremel tool for wood-carving, and a wood-burner for various symbols for instance, a celtic knot design all along the shaft of my wand from the handle to the tip. It took me about 2 years off and on as a hobby to play around and work with designing my wand. I can share the benefit of my experiences if you want to. I DO NOT CLAIM TO BE AN EXPERT IN CONSTRUCTING WANDS. I can only give you advice or guide you in a direction so you can create your own wand design. And, I may not be able to give you an answer because, I DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT MAKING WANDS. But, I just might have an answer for you. Anyway, I hope this helps. Also, I am just a student in the Magickal Arts and, I will always be a student. There is just SOoo much to learn!

I find alot of quartz and fools gold where I live. Would that be good on staff or wand?