A Wand, Is A Wand, Is A Wand.

   We all remember the times we've read story books, or have seen movies, where all of the witches, warlocks, mages and magicians have some type of wand that they wave in the air, and make things happen. They conjure up a spell. They make inanimate objects move. They cause things, and people, to appear out of thin air. That's movie/book magic for you. Great stuff to help you enjoy a lazy afternoon, or rainy day indoors. Not so great, however, if you are a member of any one of the Pagan belief systems. Here's why: It's not real. The wand, in and of itself, is real. The illusions that are created from the wand in movies, and books, are not real. Not only are they not real, but they never will be real. A wand is simply a small hand-held tool that allows the user to create larger amounts of Kinetic Energy. That's quite literally all a wand is for. You can decorate the wand(s) until the cows drive home in Cadillacs. It will not change the properties, nor the results, of the wand, and its uses. 

      I've known some people who were almost obsessed with wands. They would spend days, weeks, and even months, searching for 'just the right wand'. The only thing that went through my mind when I heard this nonsense (and that's exactly what it is to me) was: 'For the love of Gaia....WHY?!'. I can understand it if the person enjoys collecting them. After all, we all have our little things that we do love to collect. The human species, as a whole, is a species of collectors, and as such, I can perfectly understand it when someone's reasoning for the wand stash is in along the lines of: 'Because I just enjoy collecting them, especially unique ones'. When someone's reason for the elongated searching process is: 'Because I need the right wand for the right spell', my initial reaction is to do everything in my power to physically restrain myself from smacking them in the head to try and wake them up. My secondary reaction (which is the one I take most often out of nothing but pure politeness), is to smile and then proceed to wonder what color the sky is on that person's planet. I say nothing, but my mind is filled with a million questions, most of which start with the phrase: 'You're serious?!'.

   I'm also going to point out that while wands can obviously be purchased from many shops, it is not the wand, but rather the user, that makes the want become more than a fancy stick with decorative stuff on it. Here's a little hint for all you novice practitioners out there. Elders and Crones usually don't use store bought wands. When they need additional Kinetic Energy to be produced, they go outside and pick up the first stick they find which will be suitable to use. After they are done, they either choose to keep the stick for future use, or they put it back outside where they got it from. Some elders, such as myself, will simply throw the stick into the wood stove (or, fireplace, as the case may be). Not because we feel there is any 'power' remaining in the wand, but rather because sticks just so happen to make for really nice 'fire fodder'. You know, kindling. 

      This brings me to my next bit on wands, and that is 'wand power'. Just as a trained blade master knows that the sword is seed as nothing more than an extension of the arm, so too does an elder understand that the wand is nothing more than an artificial extension of the fingers. This is the real world people. This isn't Harry Potter, OK? You are not going to stumble upon some strange looking, Victorian era, wand shop where you walk in and 'just the right wand' flies off the shelf and hits you in the face. NOT going to happen! You are not going to be browsing on line and see an image of a wand that literally 'speaks to you'. If you do, you need a psychologist, not a wand. This is yet another term that many novice practitioners tend to misunderstand. The term is: 'Speaks to me'. Novices have to learn (and most of them these days learn the hard way) that when an elder practitioner says the term 'speaks to me', they are not referring to an inanimate object literally speaking to them. The term refers to the fact that the object 'appeals' to them. Life isn't a Disney fairytale, where the candle sticks start singing about the dishware. There is no tool that is going to pop out of the cabinetry and start waltzing its way across the dinner table. Picking a wand is akin to picking a spoon. You pick the one that you feel will get the job done for the moment. 

 When you pick a spoon out of your drawer, you're not going to throw it out when you're finished using it. You're going to wash it, and put it back in the drawer, so that it can be used again. Elders do the same thing with their wands. If they don't need fire fodder, more often than not, they simply put the wand away to be used again at a later time. Heck, they might even use it to stir their coffee with before they wash it off and put it in a drawer, or cabinet. In other words, most well-seasoned elders, and crones, don't have one single bit of emotional, much less psychological, attachment to a wand. To us, it's akin to the spoon. Really, it is. Now, I know some die hard practitioners who honestly believe that if you use a wand, there is a 'proper' and 'necessary' process that has to be gone through in order to 'safely dispose' of a wand. If that is what they believe, then by all means, they can go right on ahead and take care of the 'proper, and necessary, wand-disposal process', and they can take all the time they need in order to do this. It really doesn't matter to me. What DOES matter to me is when these very same die hard practitioners will instruct any novices to follow the same 'wand disposal ritual' - "Without question"!

      When this happens, I will say something. Not to the practitioner, but rather, to the novice. The Pagan path is ultimately a very personal path. Everything in your life is a personal choice. Novices are in the learning stage. The bulk of them don't even understand Kinetic Energy, much less how a wand has anything to do with that production. The last thing an elder, or crone, needs to do is confuse the poor souls even more than they already are. So, to all you novices out there: When picking a wand....pick one that will get the job done. Never mind the fancy decorations, wire wrappings, stone placements, metal over-lay works and unique eye-candy appeal. Just go outside, pick up a stick that looks like it will do the job, and be done with it. If you want to start collecting 'really cool' wands later on, fine. For now, just stick to the basics and learn how to use the tool(s) properly. Remember, everyone crawls before they can walk. So too is the process of tool use.