As far as Italian Witchcraft goes, what does it mean to obtain a wand from a fruit bearing tree? Does this literally mean a tree that bears fruit (apples, oranges etc. . .) or does it mean from a tree that bears anything, such as flowers, pine cones, etc. . . I know this may seem like an odd or pointless question to some, but I'm very interested in knowing. Cheers!!!
Hi Xirian. Sorry you've been waiting so long for an answer to your question. Unfortunately you might have to wait a bit longer as I don't think we have many people here who are experts in Italian Witchcraft (apart from Raven Grimassi, but he only visits the board once in a while) who could answer. I'm a Wiccan, not an Italian witchcraft expert by any means, but I would suspect "fruit bearing tree" means a tree that bears either fruits that we humans eat (apple, pear, etc.) and maybe also nut-bearing trees that produce nuts humans eat (walnut, etc.) All trees produce some type of seed, edible by humans or not, so I'm not sure that specifying fruit bearing trees means much if any seed-bearing tree (which is all of them) counts as a fruit-bearing tree. Some denominations of witchcraft undoubtedly do specify that their members use only certain types of wood for their wands but it's also true that witches have made wands from all sorts of woods too. Willow (which is not a fruit-bearing or nut-bearing tree) is one type of wood that I know has a long history of use for wands. I think the important thing is to use a wood that has symbolic meaning for you rather than just choosing a type of wood arbitrarily.
Thank you so much for responding. I was wondering about nut bearing trees because we have a walnut tree near here and I was wondering if that might apply. I understand that you don't feel you're an expert on this topic, but I appreciate your honesty. I think I might go with the walnut tree for my wand simply because that's what is near me. Thanks again!!! Cheers!!!
While it may be more convenient to make a wand out of Willow, ask yourself if that particular tree resonates with you.
If I may be so bold as to branch off from the original question a little... May I ask what a wand would be used for?
I have apple trees and need to cut suckers off this fall...which bore fruit this summer...and are long and straight w/o knots and I would think would make and excellent wand... My mother and aunt always used them for another purpose....which now looking back on it seems strangely ritualistic, involving chanting, some strange s&m connotations.... Anywho...I would expect there exist fruit growers in your neck of the woods as well... and I'll save some of my fruit bearing sticks and see if I can garner a local market....
In Western (English and European) magickal practice there are four primary tools that are used, which represent the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Earth is represented by a pentacle (usually a metal disc with a holy symbol inscribed on it, such as a pentagram.) Water is represented by a cup or chalice. Depending on your magickal training, air is represented by either the wand or the ritual knife or sword. In my own work I use the wand to represent air and the knife to represent fire. Others switch the two correspondences. The tools are used during rituals to consecrate space and to focus intention for ritual work. The four tools are present as the four suits in decks of playing cards. Diamonds are earth, and in some decks are coins rather than diamonds. Clubs are wands. Spades are the ritual knife, or swords. Hearts are cups (cups and water are frequently associated with emotions, particularly love.)
hey Ben, are those wands in your pictures at your site? like the ones in the movies & on disney that make trails when you wave them around. i want one of those that you make designs with, in the air, but where would you go to buy one? or is it more like some kind of fireworks?
I assume you're talking about the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bgruagach/sets/466486/ They're actually just regular sparklers that we waved in the air while taking photos with my digital camera. I had the camera set to "low light mode" which makes it take the photos with a longer exposure. That way there was a noticeable lag between the time I pressed the button on the camera to take the photo and the little "beep" it makes when the photo is done -- and the lag is long enough for people to do things like draw things as you see in the photos. One of those photos was published with an article I wrote that appeared in the Summer 2005 issue of Circle Magazine. In the article I talk about how you draw things in the air with the sparklers but can't see the finished design until you see the photo after it's been taken. I imagine if you had a toy wand that lights up at the end you could get the same effect taking photos at night with the "low light mode" on your camera. The sparklers are pretty cool though with all the sparks.
yah those are the pics. i thought it was a real wand not a sparkler. boy was i fooled. but there was this one wand i saw in a halloween movie this year where the little witch owned a wand (i think it was caspar ghost meets wendy) & the end had these short little sparks coming out of it constantly. it may have just been an animation in the wand but it did the same thing as a sparkler they way you caught it on film, by drawing designs in the air. so that is why i thought it was the same thing.
Anyone know some good wand incantations, besides kiddie stuff? Can someone provide me with links to different websites that contain spell books and incantations? PJ
What is a "wand incantation"? Is it something to empower a wand? There are lots of websites that provide spells. I would recommend you do a Google search for the type of spell you are interested in. For instance, "money spell" will turn up lots. http://www.cantrap.net/ is one of my favourite sites about basic magick. There's also a lot of information at http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/index.htm There are also lots of different spellbooks available in bookstores. "The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells" by Judika Illes is one of my favourites.
Thanks for the links! PS-an wand incantation is something you say before casting a spell i.e. "abra cadabra" PJ
Sorry, but you'll need to clarify. How is a wand incantation different from any other incantation? The words you say when performing a spell are the incantation regardless whether there is a wand involved or not.
The incantations thats what I call them: wand incantations. Thats what I always used to call them. Get it now? Sorry I didn't elaborate on that, I was in a hurry.
