Making a wand step by step

Making a wand can seem intimidating. The idea that I might do it wrong kept me from making my own for a long while, until one day a couple of years ago my new friend Stevie was visiting me on my birthday and the question came up of whether I had one. I said no, and in the next breath we were out in the yard looking at branches on a tree for what would soon become my wand. It took months for me to work on it, and I just finished it today, it was a slow process for me but it doesn't have to be for everyone. 

Why make a wand? A wand is an instrument that can help you direct and focus your energy on anything you are setting an intention for. When you make your own wand, you're multiplying the energy and power it carries for you because you have put yourself into it. 

Why use a wand? Rituals are symbolic behaviors that can be performed during, before, or after an event that's meaningful to us, and when we perform our own expressive rituals we're connecting more deeply to our spiritual lives and sense of higher self. Using a wand when we focus on an intention allows us to consciously shape and take responsibility for our lives, it gives us a sense of purpose and meaning. 

I created a simple step by step for how I made my wand and you're welcome to use it for making your own. 

Step 1 

Choose a tree with plenty of branches and come prepared with an offering of some sort, my offering was a silver archangel Michael.

Step 2 

Once you've chosen a branch give your offering to the tree and ask for it to withdraw its energy from this one branch. After a minute take your branch and thank the tree. Let your branch dry out for 2-3 weeks. If there is any bark that you'd like to take off after that period (I chose to keep mine) you can use a knife and gently remove any outer bark and use sandpaper to smooth out rough areas.

Step 3

Paint your wand with colors you identify with personally or have personal meaning to you. I used acrylic colors and chose turquoise, purple, blue, and white and decorated any knots with gold. This is completely optional. 

Step 4

After your paint is completely dry you can add personal items to your wand to enhance its power, the more personal the better. I used angel aura quartz and a feather, and I wrapped them with silver jewelry wire. 

Step 5

Sage yourself, athame*, and wand (if you don't have an athame, that's okay). 

Step 6

Use your athame to direct your energy into your wand. Think of it as charging a battery. 

Your wand is ready to use! Anytime you want to use your wand, use the sage and athame again to cleanse it for your new ritual. 

Popular types of wood for wands 

Oak - Defense, courage, strength 

Birch - Grounding, cleansing, protection 

Pine - Healing, cleansing, mental clarity 

Beech - Love, relationships, binding 

Maple -  Abundance, health, love 

Popular types of stones for wands 

Clear quartz - Protection, power, health 

Rose quartz - Love, health, relationships 

Smoky quartz - Protection, banishing, cleansing 

Amethyst - Relaxation, intuition, love 

Selenite - Protection, calming, activating  

Popular types of metals for wands 

Copper - Health, abundance, balance 

Silver - Moon magic, psychic abilities, protection 

Gold - Beauty, love, success

Other decorations

Painting - Use colors that are personal to you 

Feathers or other found objects in nature 

Jewelry - Use something you've worn at least a few times so it's activated 

Carve or draw symbols or sigils that have deep meaning to you 

How to use your wand to focus and direct intention 

There's something about writing your intention down that makes it more real so the first step is to find a piece of paper and write down what your intention is. 

Light a candle and set your written intention next to it. 

Cleanse your wand with sage if you've used it before.

Cleanse yourself with sage. 

Charge your wand by envisioning a figure that has a connection to your intention, for example if your intention is to publish a book think of an author you admire and hold them in your mind for the rest of the process.

Use your wand to make a circle around your feet, and a circle around your head. Then as you repeat your intention out loud, use your wand to cross over your body, from left foot up and across to the right shoulder, and then the right foot up and across to the left shoulder. Repeat as many times as feels right to you.

Take the paper with the written intention on it and burn with the candle flame til ash. 

Making and using a wand is an expressive way to connect our physical, mental, and spiritual bodies when we're setting an intention. You don't have to believe in Harry Potter style magic for it to be effective, it does help to believe in yourself and your own words though. Regardless of whether or not we use a wand to reach our goals it's important to remember we need to believe in ourselves first. 

Love and Light be with you 

*Athame- One of the four elemental tools of magic, an athame is typically a black dagger but can also be a black tool with a point on it. Athames are tools used to channel or cut etheric energy. In my case, my athame is a black obsidian point.