Wand or staff?

[chickenrice]

Hello everyone. I would like to do my own wand. But when I was looking on the internet. I found wands and staffs.

Pardon my ignorance but what is the difference? I know a staff is longer, but can it be used for magical workings as well? Is it used for different workings? im sooo confused. :confused: Thank you ;)

[Broomhilda]

either is a divination tool has no real power. Divination tools are used to focus energys if you feel more comfortable using a divination tool that is up to you personally and what divination tool you use.

[Cartoon Character]

Some Chinese magick uses a staff, along with a sword, which basically assumes the role of athame and wand. Whatever works.

[zero]

the wand and staff is an extension of ones will oh mighty is he who can use the wand though, the staff may help you in walking and perhaps in a fight though.

basically the same thing that shaolin said.

[Seehiah]

either is a divination tool has no real power. Divination tools are used to focus energys if you feel more comfortable using a divination tool that is up to you personally and what divination tool you use.

Divination tool?

How do you divine with a wand or a staff? Are you refering to methods like dowsing?

[Broomhilda]

there are hundreds of tools and hundreds of different types of divination and what it can be used for.
Divination for some people is like a extention of there being and some people cannot cast or use magics without it.
They can be anything from chicken bones and mirrors to Wands and Tarot and Staffs. There many many different things that can be used. I personally collect some items like cauldrons and athema's and tarots and runes and the family crystal ball.
I honestly believe we dont need em but eh" whatever floats your boat.:)
But yes Wands and Staffs would be divination tools and I dont mean to go find water with LOL.

[chickenrice]

Thanks for all your replies :)

I understand now. I love all of you and feel i learn a bit more everyday from this forum.
Im going to make a wand and im going to engrave some chinese writing in it, as my greatgrandad was chinese, and i feel very close to his spirit somehow. It makes me feel peaceful and relaxed when i think about him.

Regarding channeling magic through a sex toy... that would probably be cool to make sigils! ;)

Also, funny you should mention finding water with it as i was talking to a friend of mine who told me some people use willow rods (or something of the sort) to find water!:D

[Aradia]

Main difference: aesthetic

Frankly, you could channel magic through a pen, a baguette, or a sex toy, if you felt so inclined.

Essentially, either one is used to channel, focus, and direct energy. They have more uses, of course, but you could probably compile a small book on them.

You may also find it useful for your 'magical persona' i.e. making you get your head into the right 'headspace' to do stuff successfully. If your image of what you need (for youself) includes a wand rather than a staff, use it.

Well, personally, I don't think I would use a sex toy as a wand. I feel THAT would be highly disrepectful to the God and the Goddess. Not to mention rather gross, but, to each his own.

[chickenrice]

I truly appreciate your input, Iza. I know you are experienced and wise words are worth a million to me.
I read and know its more than just a divination tool in another tread about wands here in OF.

I would like to make one rather than buying one because its more personal, and i can call it my own. Im not experienced at all, and ive done a few things only. I tried doing a gnostic pentagram ritual before (It was my first time) but i feel it would have been more magical to have used a wand to draw the pentagrams instead of my finger. I dont know what is the best way or tool, but im looking forward to learn more from you all.

I think the sex toy thing was funny and i know nothing about tools, but i agree its very disrespectful.

Thank you:)

[Cartoon Character]

A tool is simply that, a tool. A hammer is also a tool, but it's up to the person using it to swing it. They are ways of helping to focus the mind, energy, Will and intent of the practitioner, I agree with Iza and Broomhilda that they really aren't necessary, but can be very helpful if and when one wants to use them. It's the same principle regarding any other area of occult or esoteric field such as divination: I'll usually just "know", but I will use the I Ching, for example, as a means of going deeper from time to time. Or I'll sometimes do things with talismans (which are also tools), and use a sword consecrated to the Immortal Lu Dongbin, as it's sometimes easier to "focus" on him when using a sword that represents his. But we are the ones that do the actual work, the tools are there to make that work easier.




I understand now. I love all of you and feel i learn a bit more everyday from this forum.
Im going to make a wand and im going to engrave some chinese writing in it, as my greatgrandad was chinese, and i feel very close to his spirit somehow. It makes me feel peaceful and relaxed when i think about him.

I think that is a great way to go about it, as it will definitely have more meaning and a personal connection to you. Do you know where your great granddad was from, or where his ancestral lineage/home is located? There are a number of Chinese characters and seals that you could potentially use to not only strengthen your personal connection in this respect, but also help your magickal workings by linking back to some of these ancestral areas.

[chickenrice]

Hi shaolin, my greatgdad was from macau. And im portuguese :D I know that in macau there is a mix of chinese with portuguese, but he looked very chinese. Im currently researching about the culture of this area, and its past (before it was macau). Do you know much about macau? I expect that from looking at your nick you are chinese? Thank you :)

[Cartoon Character]

I am not Chinese (in this incarnation, anyway), but I am part of a Daoist lineage. I know that Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, has special significance for Guangdong province and Macau. If your grandfather was from Macau, maybe doing something relating to Mazu as a deity could be helpful? If you have any other questions, I might be able to help with some of them.

[Cartoon Character]

Permission to quote, dear Iza?

[Cartoon Character]

a tool is not simply a tool, true we use our energy to charge the wand or staff, but when we work, i shall use the Golden dawn as an example the charge is also being charged by the Deities or Gods/Goddesses , and their energy is also in the wand or staff. now having said that, this is a good way to start, but as one progresses, you will not need all the wands and staffs, as you progress. however the wand or staff can be a powerful weapon in more ways than one. they can also be a magickian's protection as a flack jacket, and you never know, when the wand or staff needs to be used as protection. the Gods/Goddesses appreciate such as respect for them and do not look kindly on others who think of these "so called tools as sex toys." they are not as forgiving, but i digress. the wand or staff is a good protection, too much energy of an overload can literally bloat you, so these tools, send the energy out, and keeps you from being bowled over and is a protection in more ways than one.

Yes, this is true. I probably should have clarified my point. At certain levels and depending upon the purpose, wands; athames; etc. are not necessary. For most everyday things, for example, I usually don't use external sources, but I may use hand seals and such. For other purposes, however, more energy and protective measures are required, so I will use talismans, ritual swords, etc. for these things.

[chickenrice]

Hi! I think Mazu is ideal, i will follow your suggestion! :-)

Thank you all for your replies. Very helpfull everyone

[Cartoon Character]

Great. Glad to hear it. Mazu is a patron goddess, and if you're looking for a link to your grandfather's home in Macau, then that would be a good way to go.

[Seehiah]

Well, personally, I don't think I would use a sex toy as a wand. I feel THAT would be highly disrepectful to the God and the Goddess. Not to mention rather gross, but, to each his own.

Why would it be disrespectful? Is there something wrong with sex? Calling it 'gross' indicates that it's dirty somehow...

And given the wand/chalice intersection in Wiccan ritual, it seems odd to think that the God and Goddess would have a problem with sex.

What about other deities? Aphrodite, for instance? Bacchus? All the particularly sex-positive ones? Sex toys make very apt wands for some of them.
(Volvic was talking about using a sex toy as a wand, btw, not a wand as a sex toy. Bit of a difference- although the latter might well be relevant in sex magic, but that's a topic for the 18+ board.)

[zero]

its not necessarily want or the way one wants to do something as it is observing cause and effect.

a lot of times what happens is one with come up with there own way and in the end ether have something that is in essence the same or go back to the original.

in the beginning we are rebels and tear apart system after system and also the universe itself for what are these systems but representations of the universe micro macro.

I do agree there is a point that tool are not necessary for they are but aids to represent principles and/or ideas.

[Seehiah]

its not necessarily want or the way one wants to do something as it is observing cause and effect.

a lot of times what happens is one with come up with there own way and in the end ether have something that is in essence the same or go back to the original.

in the beginning we are rebels and tear apart system after system and also the universe itself for what are these systems but representations of the universe micro macro.

I do agree there is a point that tool are not necessary for they are but aids to represent principles and/or ideas.

I agree that after experimentation and trial-and-error one can reach the conclusion that "There's a reason it's a classic". And finding that out for oneself is better for personal understanding and development than a slavish devotion to a text or teacher. But there is no one single 'original' version or concept. There are traditions, which are always worth looking at, but they aren't the be-all and end-all of magical practice.

In the case of wands, what one's wand is physically is generally informed by what one considers it to be metaphysically. If it's the Wiccan conception of it as being symbolic of the Male, then a traditionally masculine wood like oak is often preferred to a more feminine birch.
If the wand's main role is to channel energy, then copper is a modern but logical option.

Also, I don't see how one can separate the practitioner from the practice.
"Do what feels right for you" can seem rather fluffy and vague, but "Do what feels wrong for you" is far worse, surely?
If magical kit is there to help the practitioner achieve their goals, they need the kit to be right for them. The best crash-helmet in the world won't be much good if it doesn't fit properly, and the most elaborate, crystal-encrusted silver birch wand, cut at the full moon, etc, etc, is unlikely to work well for someone who thinks it looks tacky.....

Wands, like the rest of the magical kit, get their power from the practitioner, so if the practitioner can power something up in a way that makes it act as a wand, it's a wand.

[Seehiah]

not interested. but you answered yourself, already. operative words VIEW and FLAWED. think about it.

That's not a very helpful or informative response.


Volvic, I can't see any inherant flaw in your views. I think I can see why some might disagree- not everyone is big on experimentation and/or they like the gravitas that historicity brings- but every extant tradition was a radical departure from the norm at some point...