The Druid Magic Handbook: Ritual Magic Rooted in the Living Earth - John Michael Greer 2008

The Druid Wand
The Art of Enchantment
The Practice of Druid Magic

The basic method of enchantment used to make your circle of stones has many other uses in practical magic, but you should also learn how to do more intensive forms of enchantment. One of these draws on the solar and telluric currents and can be used to enchant the first of the three principal working tools of the Druid mage, the wand.

Wands and staves of various kinds appear frequently in Druid hands in the old Irish legends, and of course mages around the world have used wands of various kinds for many thousands of years. In the system of magic taught in this book, the wand is an essential working tool, the instrument used to direct and channel nwyfre in ritual.

Your first task, of course, is finding, buying, or making a wand that suits your needs and tastes. It should certainly be made of wood, should fit comfortably in your hand, and should be short enough that you can make ritual gestures and trace figures in the air in your usual working space without hitting the furniture or the ceiling. Other than those simple rules, though, the details are up to you. The wand I use most often for Druid magic—I have more than a dozen wands in all—is around 14 inches long, was crafted from maple by a professional wandmaker, and has a quartz crystal point set into the business end, but I have used wands ranging in size from 6 inches to 8 feet, and in complexity from branches picked up in the forest to intricate pieces worked with seven metals and magically charged semiprecious stones. Each one has its own energy, and the complicated ones are not necessarily better.

Once you have your wand, wash it in cold running water, preferably in a stream or river, and leave it in direct sunlight for at least an hour to cleanse it of unwanted nwyfre. You will need to make preparations for an ordinary grove ceremony. If you want to do so, you can enchant your wand on one of the eight festivals of the Druid year, or on some other day that is special to you, but this is not required.

Place the wand on the center of the altar, and set your grove stones around the outside of your ritual space, before you begin the grove opening. Open in the usual way. In the Sphere of Protection, call on the elements to fill the wand with their power, and banish any hindrance to the enchantment from the wand, the working, and the grove. When you finish the opening and take your seat, use white color breathing—the symbolic color of nwyfre—to prepare for the meditation, and then meditate on the wand as a symbol and a magical working tool.

When you are ready, rise and approach the altar. Say words like these: “O my wand, you have been crafted from the body of a tree that you may share in the work of Druid magic. Before you may take up that work, you must make a journey through the four elements.” Circle around to the east side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of air.” Pick up the wand and move it back and forth through the incense smoke from the air cauldron, so that every part receives some of the smoke. Say words like these: “In the name of Hu and by the powers of the realm of air I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the incense smoke is cleansing the wand and filling it with the powers of the element of air. When it feels right, return the wand to the center of the altar.

Circle around to the south side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of fire.” Pick up the wand and move it just above the flame in the fire cauldron, so that every part receives heat and light from the flame. Say words like these: “In the name of Sul and by the powers of the realm of fire I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the heat of the flame is cleansing the wand and filling it with the powers of the element of fire. When it feels right, return the wand to the center of the altar.

Circle around to the west side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of water.” Pick up the wand and hold it above the water cauldron, then dip the fingers of one hand into the water and sprinkle the wand with it, so that every part receives some of the water. Say words like these: “In the name of Esus and by the powers of the realm of water I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the water is cleansing the wand and filling it with the powers of the element of water. When it feels right, return the wand to the center of the altar.

Circle around to the north side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of earth.” Pick up the wand and hold it above the earth cauldron, and sprinkle some of the salt or earth from the cauldron onto it, so that every part of it receives some. Say words like these: “In the name of Elen and by the powers of the realm of earth I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the salt or earth is cleansing the wand and filling it with the powers of the element of earth. When it feels right, return the wand to the center of the altar.

Turn your attention to the land beneath you, and imagine the telluric current rising up from the heart of the Earth. Say words like these: “When the four material elements are in balance, the element of spirit appears in their midst.” Pick up the wand, and use it to trace an invoking heather pentagram over the altar, saying, “I invoke Spirit Below. Let the telluric current arise and bless this wand.” Place the wand on the altar, and imagine a shaft of silver light rising from far beneath you to shine on the wand. Make this image as vivid as possible, and maintain it for several minutes at least.

Release the image, then, and turn your attention to the sky above you. Imagine the solar current cascading down through space from the Sun. Pick up the wand, feeling the presence of the telluric current within it, and use it to trace an invoking oak pentagram over the altar, saying words like these: “I invoke Spirit Above. Let the solar current descent and bless this wand.” Place the wand on the altar, and imagine a shaft of golden light shining down from infinite space above you to illumine the wand. Make this image as vivid as possible, and maintain it for several minutes at least.

Pick up the wand again and hold it vertically with both hands above the altar, in the middle of the space where you traced the two pentagrams. Say words like these: “From above to below, from below to above, the two currents are awakened. I invoke Spirit Within. Let the lunar current be born within this wand and fill it with the power of Awen.” Imagine the golden solar current and the silver telluric current both shining into the wand at once, and then see them fuse into pure white light, the color of lightning, in and around the wand. Imagine the disk of the Moon surrounding your hands and the shining wand. Once again, make this image as vivid as possible, and hold it for several minutes at least.

Then hold the wand in your right hand, and say, “I take upon myself the power, the responsibility, and the burden of this wand. The power to awaken and direct nwyfre in accord with my intention; the responsibility to use that power well and wisely, in harmony with the great pattern of all things; and the burden of bearing the consequences if I fail to do so.” At this point the wand is enchanted, and the best way to make the enchantment lasting is to use the wand in its new role as soon as possible. For this reason, holding the wand in one hand, perform the Sphere of Protection ritual a second time. Trace the symbols with the wand, but only in the invoking form, and ask the elements to confirm and strengthen the powers of the wand. When you have finished, proceed to the grove closing ceremony.

Once you enchant it, your wand can be used any time you perform the Sphere of Protection or the full Grove Ceremony. Use it to trace elemental symbols and pentagrams in the air, and to direct and channel nwyfre for any purpose—for example, when charging water or anything else in a magical working, you can direct the nwyfre through the wand rather than through your hands. With practice, you will find that using your wand in this way improves the intensity and focus of the nwyfre you can place in a material substance. Expect to learn other uses for your wand as you continue to learn and practice magic.