The wand, as the books have it

Everything on this page is quoted. The grimoires say what a wand is cut from, on what day, and with how many strokes; the Bible has the rod that became a serpent and the rod that budded; Homer has the wand that closes eyes in sleep and the wand that made men swine; the folklorists have the hazel and the divining rod. Under each wood the shelves name, three authorities give it a planet — Culpeper, Agrippa, and the Key of Solomon — and they do not always agree. Nothing here has been summarised, and nothing has been added from any modern book: the library holds none, and says so at the end.

The making of the wand · The woods · The rod in scripture · The wands of Homer · The divining rod · In time · How this was made

The making of the wand, as the books direct it

The Key of Solomon: the staff and the wand

The Greater Key of Solomon, Book Two, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.) · p. 19 · also p. 119 of Key of Solomon the King

The Staff (see Figure 68) should be of elderwood, or cane, or rosewood; and the wand (Figure 69) of hazel or nut tree, in all cases the wood being virgin, that is of one Year’s growth only. They should each be cut from the tree at a single stroke, on the day of Mercury, at sunrise. The characters shown should be written or engraved thereon in the day and hour of Mercury. This being done, thou shalt say: ADONAI, Most Holy, deign to bless and to consecrate this Wand, and this Staff, that they mav obtain the necessary virtue, through Thee, O Most Holy ADONAI, whose kingdom endureth unto the Ages of the Ages. Amen. After having perfumed and consecrated them, put them aside in a pure and clean place for use when required. Figures 63–65. Page 99 The Key of Solomon Figure 66. Swords are also frequently necessary for use in Magical Arts. Thou…

The Key of Solomon: a wand of hazel, cut at a single stroke

The Greater Key of Solomon, Book Two, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.) · p. 34 · also p. 133 of Key of Solomon the King

After this thou shalt cut, with a single stroke, a wand of Hazel, long enough for thee to form a Circle therewith; take also a cord spun by a young maiden, and small stones or pebbles from a brook, pronouncing these words: O God Adonai, Holy and Powerful Father, put virtue into these stones, that they may serve to stretch this parchment, and to chase therefrom all fraud, and may it obtain virtue by Thine Almighty Power.

The Key of Solomon: the woods of the seven spirits

The Greater Key of Solomon, Book Two, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.) · p. 41 · also p. 139 of Key of Solomon the King

they should be made of wood which hath some quality referring especially unto the Spirits invoked; as juniper or pine unto the Spirits of Saturn; box, or oak, unto those of Jupiter; cornel, or cedar, unto those of Mars; laurel unto those of the Sun; myrtle unto those of Venus; hazel unto those of Mercury; and willow unto those of the Moon. But when we make sacrifices of food and drink, everything necessary should be prepared without the Circle, and the meats should be covered with some fine clean cloth, and have also a clean white cloth spread beneath them; with new bread and good and sparkling wine, but in all things those which refer to the nature of the Planet.

Abramelin: a wand of almond

The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Book II, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.) · p. 23

You shall also have a Wand of Almond-tree wood, smooth and straight, of the length of about from half an ell to six feet 50 And ye shall keep the aforesaid things in good order in the cupboard 51 of the Altar, ready for use in the proper time and place. Here followeth the manner of ordering oneself and of operating. The Sacred Magic 62 THE TWELFTH CHAPTER. how one should keep oneself in order to carry out this operation well. HIS Operation being truly Divine, it is necessary once more to treat of and distinguish the present Consecration into diVerent periods of time. You shall then understand that during the two Wrst and two second Moons, no other Consecration must be performed, than that of which we have already spoken in the Seventh and Eighth foregoing Chapters, 52 unto the which I refer you, so as not to be too prolix.

Waite, on the rod and staff of the art

The Book of Ceremonial Magic (illustrated edition), Arthur Edward Waite · p. 131 · also p. 116 of The Book of Ceremonial Magic

§ 3. Concerning the Rod and Staff of the Art The great mystery of practical magic is supposed to be centred in the Magic Rod, and Éliphas Lévi, who claims to have reconstructed the primitive ceremonial, but seems rather to have over-edited his materials, supplies a highly sensational account of its powers and an elaborate method of its preparation. For him it is the sign of the transmission of the magical priesthood, which has never ceased since the darksome origin of pseudo-transcendent science. The operator is overwhelmed with precautions concerning the secrecy which must be maintained in regard to it and might well be dejected by the difficulties of its consecration. In view of such imputed importance, it is curious that De Abano and pseudo-Agrippa omit all mention of this tremendous instrument, while the Key of Solomon dismisses it in a few lines of easy instruction. It would appear, however, that a staff and rod are both necessary, especially in Goëtic operations, though their distinctive provinces are in no p. 162 case described. According to the Book of True Black Magic, the staff should be of cane and the wand or rod of hazel, both virgin-that is, having no branches or offshoots. 1 They must be cut and trimmed on the day and in the hour of the Sun, while the following characters must be inscribed upon the staff, but on the day and in the hour of Mercury: 2 - - If engraved with the "sacred instrument," it will be so much the better. 3 In either case, let the following words be recited when the writing is finished:--O ADONAY, most Holy and most Powerful, vouchsafe to consecrate and bless this Staff and this Rod, so that they may possess the required virtue, O most Holy ADONAY, to whom be honour and glory for ever and over.

The Grand Grimoire: to make the divining rod

The Grand Grimoire, Unknown author · p. 20

To make the divining rod and make it work At the moment the sun appears on the horizon, take your left hand a virgin branch from the wild hazel tree, and cut it in three strokes while saying: I collect you in the name of ELOHIM, MITRATHON, ADONAY and SEMIPHORAS, so that you have the virtue of the rod of Moses and Jacob, to discover all that I will want to know. To make it work, hold it tightly in your hands by the two ends which make the fork, and say: I command you in the name of ELOHIM, MITRATHON, ADONAY and SEMIPHORAS to reveal to me, etc. To Enchant Firearms Say: “God has a share in it and the devil has the exit’, and when you fire, say the following while crossing your left leg over your right: ‘non tradas Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.

Lévi: the wand, a branch of almond or hazel

Transcendental Magic: Ritual, Eliphas Levi · p. 52

The magical wand, which must not be confounded with the simple divining rod, with the fork of necroman- cers, or the trident of Paracelsus, the true and absolute magical wand must be one perfectly straight branch of almond or hazel, cut at a single blow with the magical pruning-knife or golden sickle, before the rising of the sun, at that moment when the tree is ready to blossom. It must be pierced through its whole length without splitting or breaking it, and a long needle of magnetized iron must occupy its entire length. To one of the extremities must be fitted a polyhedral prism, cut in a triangular shape, and to the other a similar figure of black resin. Two rings, one of copper and one of zinc, must be placed at the centre of the wand; which after- wards must be gilt at the resin and silvered at the prism end as far as the ringed centre; it must then be covered with silk, the extremities not included.

Lévi: a single bough of hazel or almond

Transcendental Magic: Ritual, Eliphas Levi · p. 91

We must afterwards (1) profane the ceremonies of the cultus in which we believe; (2) offer a bloody sacrifice; (3) procure the magic fork, which is a branch of a single bough of hazel or almond, cut at one blow with the new knife used for the sacrifice. It must terminate in a fork, which must be armoured with iron or steel, made from the blade of the knife before mentioned. A fast of fifteen days must be observed, taking a single unsalted repast after sundown. It should consist of black bread and blood, seasoned with unsalted spices or black beans and milky and narcotic herbs. We must get drunk every five days after sundown on wine in which five heads of black poppies and five ounces of pounded hemp-seed have been steeped for five hours, the infusion being strained through a cloth woven by a prostitute: strictly speaking, the first cloth which comes to hand may be used, should it have been woven by a woman.

The woods

Every wood the published volumes name in the same sentence as a wand, a rod or a staff, counted across all 2,756 of them, with three of those sentences and the planet each authority gives the wood. The Key of Solomon's list is its own, for the woods burnt to the seven spirits, parsed from the passage above: pine — Saturn; box — Jupiter; oak — Jupiter; cornel — Mars; cedar — Mars; laurel — Sun; myrtle — Venus; hazel — Mercury; willow — Moon.

The rod in scripture

The King James Version of the Bible

Genesis 30:37And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. p. 38 · Jacob's rods of poplar, hazel and chestnut

Exodus 4:2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. p. 71

Exodus 4:3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. p. 71

Exodus 4:4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: p. 71

Exodus 4:17And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. p. 72

Exodus 4:20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. p. 72

Exodus 7:9When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. p. 75

Exodus 7:10And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. p. 75

Exodus 7:12For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. p. 75

Exodus 14:16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. p. 86

Exodus 17:5And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. p. 90

Exodus 17:6Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. p. 90

Numbers 17:8And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. p. 199

Numbers 20:11And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. p. 203

Psalms 23:4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. p. 686

Isaiah 11:1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: p. 805

Micah 7:14Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. p. 1061

The wands of Homer

Homer: the wand of Hermes (Pope's Iliad)

Iliad of Homer, Homer · p. 927

Then grasps the wand that causes sleep to fly, Or in soft slumbers seals the wakeful eye: Thus arm’d, swift Hermes steers his airy way, And stoops on Hellespont’s resounding sea. A beauteous youth, majestic and divine, He seem’d; fair offspring of some princely line!

Homer: Circe's wand (Pope's Odyssey)

The Odyssey, Homer, 751? BCE-651? BCE · p. 119 · also p. 93 of The Odyssey Rendered into English prose

Instant her circling wand the goddess waves, To hogs transforms them, and the sty receives. No more was seen the human form divine; Head, face, and members, bristle into swine: Still cursed with sense, their minds remain alone, And their own voice affrights them when they groan. Meanwhile the goddess in disdain bestows The mast and acorn, brutal food!

The divining rod, and the hazel

Andrew Lang, The Divining Rod

Custom and Myth, Lang, Andrew · p. 104 · also p. 113 of Custom and Myth New Edition

THE DIVINING ROD. There is something remarkable, and not flattering to human sagacity, in the periodical resurrection of superstitions. Houses, for example, go on being 'haunted' in country districts, and no educated man notices the circumstance. Then comes a case like that of the Drummer of Tedworth, or the Cock Lane Ghost, and society is deeply moved, philosophers plunge into controversy, and he who grubs among the dusty tracts of the past finds a world of fugitive literature on forgotten bogies. Chairs move untouched by human hands, and tables walk about in lonely castles of Savoy, and no one marks them, till a day comes when the furniture of some American cottage is similarly afflicted, and then a shoddy new religion is based on the phenomenon. The latest revival among old beliefs is faith in the divining rod. 'Our liberal shepherds give it a _shorter_ name,' and so do our conservative peasants, calling the 'rod of Jacob' the 'twig.' To 'work the twig' is rural English for the craft of Dousterswivel in the 'Antiquary,' and perhaps from this comes our slang expression to 'twig,' or divine, the hidden meaning of another.

Herbert Mayo: the divining-rod described

Popular Superstitions, and the Truths Contained Therein With an Account of Mesmerism, Mayo, Herbert · p. 3

THE DIVINING ROD.—Description of and mode of using the same—Mr. Fairholm’s statement—M. de Tristan’s statement—Account of Von Reichenbach’s Od force—The Author’s own observations. Dear Archy,—As a resource in the solitary evenings of commencing winter, it occurred to me to look into the long-neglected lore of the marvellous, the mystical, the supernatural. I remembered the deep awe with which I had listened, many a year ago, to tales of seers, ghosts, vampyrs, and all the dark brood of night. And I thought it would be infinitely agreeable to thrill again with mysterious terrors, to start in my chair at the closing of a distant door, to raise my eyes with uneasy apprehension towards the mirror opposite, and to feel my skin creep through the sensible “afflatus” of an invisible presence. I entered, accordingly, upon a very promising course of appalling reading. But, a-lack and well-a-day! a change had come over me since the good old times when fancy, with fear and superstition behind her, would creep on tiptoe to catch a shuddering glimpse of Kobbold, Fay, or incubus.

The Sacred Tree: the divining-rod an offshoot of tree-worship

The Sacred Tree; or, the tree in religion and myth, Philpot, J. H., Mrs. · p. 15

They also make use of the divining-rod, which is an offshoot of tree-worship, and certain Taoist medals, like the talismans worn in Java, bear the familiar symbol of the sacred tree.[29] In Japan certain old trees growing near Shinto temples are regarded as sacred, and bound with a fillet of straw rope, “as if they were tenanted by a divine spirit.”[30] Japanese mythology tells of holy _sakaki_ trees growing on the Mountain of Heaven, and of a herb of immortality to be gathered on the Island of Eternal Youth. Amongst the semi-civilised races which border upon these ancient states the tree is still almost universally regarded as the dwelling-place of a spirit, and as such is protected, venerated, and often presented with offerings.

The Folk-lore of Plants: the hazel

The Folk-lore of Plants, Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (Thomas Firminger) · p. 26

Another tree held sacred to Thor was the hazel (_Corylus avellana_), which, like the mountain-ash, was considered an actual embodiment of the lightning. Indeed, "so deep was the faith of the people in the relation of this tree to the thunder god," says Mr. Conway,[5] "that the Catholics adopted and sanctioned it by a legend one may hear in Bavaria, that on their flight into Egypt the Holy Family took refuge under it from a storm." Its supposed immunity from all damage by lightning has long caused special reverence to be attached to it, and given rise to sundry superstitious usages. Thus, in Germany, a twig is cut by the farm-labourer, in spring, and on the first thunderstorm a cross is made with it over every heap of grain, whereby, it is supposed, the corn will remain good for many years. Occasionally, too, one may see hazel twigs placed in the window frames during a heavy shower, and the Tyroleans regard it as an excellent lightning conductor.

Frazer, The Golden Bough: divining-rods of mistletoe

The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 11 of 12), Frazer, James George · p. 196

On Midsummer Eve people in Sweden make divining-rods of mistletoe, or of four different kinds of wood one of which must be mistletoe. The treasure-seeker places the rod on the ground after sun-down, and when it rests directly over treasure, the rod begins to move as if it were alive.(717) Now, if the mistletoe discovers gold, it must be in its character of the Golden Bough; and if it is gathered at the solstices, must not the Golden Bough, like the golden fern-seed, be an emanation of the sun’s fire? The question cannot be answered with a simple affirmative.

In time

The volumes quoted on this page, in the order of their printing. This is the history of the wand as these shelves can give it: not a narrative, but the dates of the witnesses.

• 1751Goblin Tales of Lancashire, Bowker, James oak
• 1835Thaumaturgia; Or, Elucidations of the Marvellous, Oxonian oak
• 1852Popular Superstitions, and the Truths Contained Therein With an Account of Mesmerism, Mayo, Herbert Herbert Mayo: the divining-rod described
• 1863The Age of Fable, Bulfinch, Thomas olive
• 1872Tradition, Principally with Reference to Mythology and the Law of Nations, Arundell of Wardour, John Francis Arundell, Baron ebony
• 1877Isis Unveiled, H. P. Blavatsky bamboo
• 1878Isis unveiled, Volume 2 (of 2), Theology, Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna) bamboo
• 1880Phallic Worship A description of the mysteries of the sex worship of the ancients, with the history of the masculine cross. An account of primitive symbolism, Hebrew phallicism, bacchic festivals, sex, Jennings, Hargrave, 1817?-1890 pine
• 1882The symbolism of Freemasonry, Mackey, Albert Gallatin acacia
• 1884Custom and Myth, Lang, Andrew Andrew Lang, The Divining Rod; peach
• 1887Isiac Tablet Of Cardinal Bembo, William Wynn Westcott lotus
• 1887The Gnostics and Their Remains, C. W. King palm
• 1888Key of Solomon the King, S. L. Macgregor Mathers The Key of Solomon: the staff and the wand (second copy); The Key of Solomon: a wand of hazel, cut at a single stroke (second copy); The Key of Solomon: the woods of the seven spirits (second copy); cane
• 1889The Student's Mythology A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies, White, Catherine Ann ivory
• 1889The Folk-lore of Plants, Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (Thomas Firminger) The Folk-lore of Plants: the hazel
• 1891Oracles Of Nostradamus, Charles A. Ward laurel
• 1893Custom and Myth New Edition, Lang, Andrew Andrew Lang, The Divining Rod (second copy); peach
• 1895The Hero of Esthonia and Other Studies in the Romantic Literature of That Country, Kirby, W. F. (William Forsell) willow
• 1896Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum, W. Wynn Westcott (ed.) cedar; myrtle
• 1897The Sacred Tree; or, the tree in religion and myth, Philpot, J. H., Mrs. The Sacred Tree: the divining-rod an offshoot of tree-worship; mistletoe
• 1897The Odyssey Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original, Homer, 751? BCE-651? BCE Homer: Circe's wand (Pope's Odyssey) (second copy)
• 1898Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena, Soo, Chung Ling ebony
• 1898The first philosophers of Greece, Fairbanks, Arthur fir
• 1899Iliad of Homer, Homer Homer: the wand of Hermes (Pope's Iliad)
• 1900The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Book II, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.) Abramelin: a wand of almond; almond
• 1900Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, S. L. Mac Gregor Mathers almond
• 1902The Adventures of Ulysses the Wanderer, Thorne, Guy cedar
• 1902Evil eye in the western Highlands, Maclagan, Robert Craig rowan
• 1903Prolegomena to the study of Greek religion, Harrison, Jane Ellen bay; reed
• 1908The Elder or Poetic Edda; commonly known as Saemund's Edda, Bray, Olive mistletoe
• 1911A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718, Notestein, Wallace hazel
• 1911The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (Walter Yeeling) yew
• 1911The Religion of the Ancient Celts, MacCulloch, J. A. (John Arnott) yew
• 1913The Book of Ceremonial Magic (illustrated edition), Arthur Edward Waite Waite, on the rod and staff of the art; hazel; cane; cedar
• 1913The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 11 of 12), Frazer, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: divining-rods of mistletoe
• 1913Bulfinch's Mythology The Age of Fable; The Age of Chivalry; Legends of Charlemagne, Bulfinch, Thomas ivory
• 1913The Book of Ceremonial Magic, Arthur Edward Waite Waite, on the rod and staff of the art (second copy)
• 1916The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races: An Interpretation, Brown, Sanger pine
• 1916The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races, Sanger Brown pine
• 1917The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 02 of 12), Frazer, James George rowan
• 1919Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland With sketches of the Irish past, Wilde, Lady elder
• 1920Encyclopaedia of Occultism, Lewis Spence myrtle
• 1922Canadian Fairy Tales, MacMillan, Cyrus willow
• 1922A Book of Giants: Tales of Very Tall Men of Myth, Legend, History, and Science., Lanier, Henry Wysham oak
• 1922Legends of Our Lady Mary the Perpetual Virgin and Her Mother Hanna, Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir almond
• 1923The sacred dance, Oesterley, W. O. E. (William Oscar Emil) vine
• 1923Crystal Vision Through Crystal Gazing, Frater Achad ebony
• 1926History of Witchcraft and Demonology, Montague Summers rowan
• 1944Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Pike, Albert palm
• 1955Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine, Spence, Lewis willow
• —Transcendental Magic: Ritual, Eliphas Levi Lévi: the wand, a branch of almond or hazel; Lévi: a single bough of hazel or almond
• —Gerald Massey's Lectures, Gerald Massey palm
• —The Greater Key of Solomon, Book Two, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (trans.) The Key of Solomon: the staff and the wand; The Key of Solomon: a wand of hazel, cut at a single stroke; The Key of Solomon: the woods of the seven spirits; cane
• —The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together with Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales, Grant, James (Archaeologist) hazel
• —Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome, Berens, E. M. olive
• —Heathen mythology, Illustrated by extracts from the most celebrated writers, both ancient and modern, Various vine
• —Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism With an Essay on Baal Worship, on the Assyrian Sacred "Grove," and Other Allied Symbols, Inman, Thomas vine
• —The Mythology of the British Islands An Introduction to Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and Romance, Squire, Charles yew
• —The Journal of American Folk-lore. Vol. VI.—July-September, 1893.—No. XXII., Various peach
• —The Grand Grimoire, Unknown author The Grand Grimoire: to make the divining rod
• —The Odyssey, Homer, 751? BCE-651? BCE Homer: Circe's wand (Pope's Odyssey)
• —The Æneid of Virgil translated into English prose, Virgil, 71 BCE-20 BCE cornel
• —The King James Version of the Bible, Anonymous the rod of Moses and of Aaron
• —Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable, Bulfinch, Thomas ivory; olive
• —The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion, Frazer, James George bamboo

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