Part One

Organic Wands–Woods

People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results.

—Albert Einstein

Wood. It's the generic term that we all use to denote anything from trees to shrubs to building materials. It's the fallback when we can't think of what else to call something large, green, vascular, and organic. We go to the woods. We build our houses with wood. In golf, even though now they are made of alloys, the fairway clubs are called woods. We create plywood from other pieces of wood. However, how many of us actually think of the kinds of wood that are lumped together to create plywood?

When we go to the lumberyard, do we consider that the framing wood we purchase for home projects are usually No. 2 or No. 3 pine? Do most of us even know the difference between yellow and white pine? Do we realize that the ponderosa or western yellow pine is larger and slower growing than its cousin the white pine?

And what about the oaks, another multiple species? Do we realize that red and white oaks are both specific types and generalizations of groupings? There are over six hundred different oaks, but when we go to the craft stores, there is only one sign for red oak. And without looking at the leaves and/or bark, it's impossible to tell the difference between the types. Even stores that stock specialty woods call their oak Quercus rubra or red oak. Nothing more—just red oak.

As witches, we are very specific about our spells and our rituals. We demand the finest tinctures and oils, the purest herbs, and if possible, we grow everything ourselves. We fill our bookshelves with tomes that explain in detail each and every ingredient that will go into our brazier or cauldron, but when it comes to wands, the books usually say, "walk among the trees and find a piece of wood that suits you." Really? "Suits you?" Would you dress for ritual in whatever suits you without some research or discussion? I think not, although I have been wrong in that thought before.

Order

When we begin looking at wood we must identify what is usually referred to as some form of vascular plant. The highest classification, or taxonomy, that we will work from in this book is the order. The order of a large number of the vascular plants is Fagales. This order encompasses many of the best-known trees that we derive our working stock from to create our wands.

Family

In the case of oak the family is Fagaceae, which is the beech family. Some of the other families that we will work with are Betulaceae, the birch family; Casuarinaceae, the she-oak family; Juglandaceae, the walnut family; Myricaceae, the bayberry family; and Nothofagaceae, the southern beech family. We will also look at subfamilies such as the Caesalpinioideae, which has as one of its members the heart tree.

Genus

Now back to the red and white oak. The next level under family is genus. The genus of oak is Quercus. All oaks will start with Quercus and then differentiate by species.

Species

Earlier I talked about red and white oaks and how there were a number of different types of each. That is an example of species. The species will give the type of oak, so a Quercus nigra, or water oak, which is a white oak will be different than a Quercus marilandica, or blackjack oak, which is a red oak.

What does this mean to a witch who is looking for a white or red oak? It means that there are specific differences between the two, and there are easy ways to tell those differences in the wild.

The last area in preparation to beginning your reading is how the trees and shrubs are listed in groupings. For this I am deferring to Carl E. Whitcomb's Know It and Grow It II: A Guide to the Identification and Use of Landscape Plants, which as far as I am concerned is the definitive book on trees and shrubs. Although not as widely used as Michael A. Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Lives, I find that it is a better guide. Therefore, I shall break the organic part of this book into the following sections: Deciduous Trees; Deciduous Shrubs, Vines, Grasses, and Roots; Broadleaf Evergreens; and Coniferous Trees.

Format of Individual Choices

There must be some commonalities and structure to any book, and this book is no different. Each entry will begin with the common name of the tree in English. Beneath that will be the order, family, genus, and species. Next comes the Janka hardness scale rating, if available (more on this in a moment), followed by the metaphysical properties of the wood or metal—the energy (masculine or feminine), corresponding elements (earth, air, wind, and fire), the corresponding Celtic ogham (if applicable), and finally any Gods or Goddesses attributed to the wood.

A brief discussion of the general characteristics of each plant will follow, and I will explain its benefits, locales, reasons for use, and reasons for caution.

A note on the Janka scale for those who are unfamiliar: The Janka hardness scale is performed by pressing a .444-inch steel ball into a sample of wood until one half of the ball is embedded. Using a specific formula, a rating number is derived from 0 to approximately 5,000. The higher the number, the harder the wood. This rating is usually in relation to flooring and how well a wood will hold up to dents, scratches, and general wear and tear. Another good reason to look at the Janka is because most wands will be turned on a lathe and the hardness of the wood is important to the tools and finishings necessary.

Most of the wooden wands are turned from a piece of stock 16 inches long and ¾-inch square. The wands that cannot be turned can be hand-fashioned. There shall be no attempt to standardize the shape of the wand other than making it be thicker at the base and tapering the head; the wood will call out its own ultimate shape, however, the tools shall be consistent and the sandings will range from 40 grit to 220 grit dry sandpaper. Each wand will then get a light coating of Scott's Liquid Gold Wood Cleaner and Preservative to maintain the moisture of the wood and keep it from drying out. No other oils or lacquers will be applied to the wand.

The metal wands will be made in the same manner and roughly the same length, although they will probably be thinner.

In the text you will find the history of the tree, common areas it is found, characteristics specific to the tree, commercial use or value of the tree, and any myths or legends associated with the species. After that will be the reason the wood is important. Rituals and spells will be mentioned, and any magical preparation of the wand will be included, such as turning your ebony wand at the darkest hour of the new moon. There will be no popular culture references of phoenixes, unicorns, or...