A common tool for spellcasting.
General[]
Wands were used by many Practitioners for casting, controlling, and maintaining spells. Not all Practices were associated with wands, but it appears that they were practical and versatile enough that their use had been widely adopted by many groups of Practitioners.[1] They were very common within hermeticism and witchcraft. Some Practices or Practitioners seemed to prefer daggers or other items.[2]
Construction[]
All known wands were made of wood. They were usually short enough that they could be worn on the inside of a jacket or within the sleeve, i.e. no longer than the user’s forearm. The wand was more effective if the user had crafted it themselves, but it was still possible to use another person’s wand.[1][3]
Usage[]
Wands were primarily used as a tool for focus during spellcasting. They were especially helpful in maintaining spells and for transferring the focus of a spell from one person to another. A healing spell that depended on donated blood could have the wand moved from one donor to another.[4] A spell that shared what a bird saw could be moved between different people.[5]
They were seldom used during rituals, when setting up wards, or when crafting potions. Some spells do not appear to have had a need for wands, and used other types of focus. One example was the spell that opened any lock or chain, which depended on a simple key as a focus.[6]
Supernatural Practitioners appeared to have little need for wands.[3] Very skilled human Practitioners could also cast and maintain complex spells without wands or other external foci.[7]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Authenticity”
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 7
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Personal Demons, chapter 20
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 10
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 15
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 17
- ↑ Personal Demons, Prologue