A Small Wand Analysis Blog

★ any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -- Arthur C. Clarke, acclaimed author and Muggle ★ /// a little inactive wand analysis blog, since people don't seem to do that so much any more? I am trans and jk rowling is actively trying to make my 3 year wait for a first appointment even longer; please think before giving her more money. wand requests are [closed], other questions [open] for now

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hi! I got a bunch of asks, and I figured I should (after 5 years) finally give an update.

unfortunately, though I enjoyed this for a long time, the hobby of writing faux-academic analyses of wands has long been soured for me bc I am, yknow, trans in the uk. I don't want to help sustain positive and neutral attention on jk rowling and contribute to the money she is using to fund and spearhead uk and us movements against trans people. It is truly wild to have reason to have beef with a famous children's author but here we are. Years later, these movements are still using that harry potter money and social cred to try to make questioning trans people's existence seem like a liberal free-speech common sense position that's unfairly targeted by radical, hysterical trans activists.

(Here is a tracker of the rise in current legislation restricting trans peoples' participation in public life in the us; the current uk prime minister made a jab against trans people this week in parliament, unknowingly in front of the mother of a trans teenager recently murdered in a hate-motivated attack, part of his customary appeal to right-wing culture war rhetoric. This is, as that first link points out, not his first public joke lampooning trans people, and as the stonewall link below mentions hate-motivated crimes against trans people have increased over 150% in the last few years, but only in the aftermath of a girl's murder has labour pushed back against our identities being part of a national debate.)

Interacting with people still into harry potter feels like a real toss-up. It feels depressingly likely, given what I see online and the beliefs of some of my coworkers, relatives and acquaintances, that I'm writing for someone who thinks nonbinary people are fine as long as they aren't too scarily masculine-looking, and trans women are fine as long as they're really nice and never say anything challenging and make themselves as small and cis-acceptable as possible and only react to people's cruelty with self-sacrificing grace, and trans men are fine as long as they are cute and don't look like neckbeards and are suitably disdainful of masculinity but also not too trender-y, and this whole thing about harry potter is kind of overblown but you can't say that because trans people looove to cancel people. I don't want to write stuff for people who hold these beliefs if I can avoid it! Writing non-harry potter related stuff is the best way to avoid it right now.

If some of these statements feel challenging to you - I was there once too, as a confused angry teenager who felt like gay people were trying to make me feel bad about myself. The social media landscape genuinely makes change more painful than it has to be. Personally, working to humanise and listen to people I was unthinkingly taught to disregard, ignore, disdain or pity has been one of the most rewarding projects of my life, even though by definition it will probably never be complete, and also it can be difficult and vulnerable. I hope you can find it rewarding too. If you're mostly like 'wow, I for real didn't hear about any of this', happy for you, there are links below so you know what's up and can identify some messages you might have absorbed without knowing it.

I won't be updating this blog with any more analyses. Thanks for reading, especially if you had to push through discomfort or fear to do so, and for liking my analyses enough to follow! If you have questions, here are some good resources to look at:

the basics of 'what does trans mean, like, practically?';

a great primer on what we actually know about trans people in britain (useful for outside-of-britain questions too);

a video introducing jk rowling's contribution to anti-trans movements and the discussion of whether to separate the art from the artist, and, if you're interested, a dry but short video about some of her direct links to conservative anti-trans and anti-gay groups in the us and uk

if you have more questions after looking at these, the facebook group 'You Might Wanna Learn More About Trans People' is an active group where you can ask them, anonymously if you want to.

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Hi! This isn't a request, just wanted to say I hope you're doing okay and that your finals are going well! I really like your blog and it's the only one of it's kind I've seen, and I can't wait to see more! ♥️ Have a good day

! thank you!! it means a lot to me that people like the stuff I make here enough to hang around while I cram for exams, and like, getting lovely messages like this on top of all that just? lifts me up. thanks! I hope you have a good day stored up for when you need it. (I’m going to keep the other wonderful messages I’ve been sent in my inbox where I have to look at them when I’m looking at requests but You Too, Thank You So Much). 

That said, there are some really awesome wand analysis & wandlore blogs out there that have been going much longer than mine! I’ve by no means conducted an exhaustive survey & this is mostly just what I can remember (if you run a wand analysis blog or know a cool one & feel like it then please add onto this - aside from anything else I’d appreciate the knowledge), but I’m going to shamelessly use this post to rec some, because I cannot resist even the slightest opportunity to share stuff I think is cool. 

active, with analysis or wandlore (don’t send them asks without checking they’re open though!): thecloveryone, wandloreinamerica, wandmore

no longer posting analysis or wandlore, but with a great archive: analyze-my-wand, wildwanderingwands, acagoldsmith, wandcraft, yourwandchoseyou, thepostmodernpottercompendium.

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pls analyse this wand: brick with goblin tooth core

I would have considered this a prank owl if not for the physical evidence that this client presented to me, traces of the brick still on my shaking fingers as I type this.

Additional information given by this shady becloaked witch who certainly hasn’t been loitering outside my door for days:

None.

If I do not publicly analyse this wand, I am a coward, and she will come for me.

A thorough study of goblins’ anatomy is yet to be published in human wizard circles, which is perhaps unsurprising given goblins’ traditional (and justifiable) disinclination to share possible vulnerabilities with humans (though considering the persistent tradition in pureblood households of collecting various preserved goblin appendages, I’d have expected some eccentric bestiary author to take some notes and measurements).

I suspect, however, that this client has some inside knowledge of goblin anatomy. Of course the tooth could have been pilfered from one of the aforementioned pureblood mansions, but I have an inexplicable certainty that this tooth was obtained by fulfilling one of two requirements: first, a rare trust or bargain between goblin and wix; second, an unhappy and specific combination of magical power and amoral cunning not seen in this form since the 16th century in Yardley Platt. The second option is too terrible to consider, so I must congratulate this querent on their enviable connections. (A third option would be that the client was two goblins disguised as one tall witch. Unlikely, since two goblins of average height would produce a 2.4 metre-tall figure, but possible). Therefore her mysterious assertion that the tooth in question is a wisdom tooth bears serious consideration.

Wisdom teeth are so named for their late emergence, but the term dates back at least to the fourth century BC, with a mention in Aristotle’s History of Animals of painful sōphronistêres. The gaining and losing of teeth can be used to mark important milestones in our lives and correspondingly occupy our thoughts, myths and dreams, from Muggles’ milk tooth-offerings for the Tooth Fairy to the iconic post-mortem skeleton’s grin. We seem to have a fairly firm idea of what teeth should be like, and when our expectations are confounded we often respond with horror and fascination, like one might upon being presented in the dim lamplight of one’s porch steps with a brick by a grinning stranger. This is, I would argue, what has made the Tudor propaganda regarding Richard III’s full set of prenatal teeth a subject of such enduring interest.

But what specific significance do teeth have? What particular magical resonance would a goblin wisdom tooth offer? Teeth seem to only occasionally feature specifically in folklore relating to magic, but where they do they are often connected to both bodily and magical power. The common dream of tooth loss is often interpreted as a loss of personal or magical power, or even a warning of death, and some Swedish magic users consider teeth the seat of magical power, with strong or prenatal teeth conferring greater power and lost teeth corresponding directly with lost magical aptitude. 

I feel safe guessing that this has the potential to be a powerful amplifier (though more on power and control later), and that more speculatively verbal and close-range magic might be areas to which a goblin tooth wand would be well suited. However, much of the tooth’s power in belief and practice seems to be to do with the link between a person and their own teeth, and as with most materials from sapient creatures individual character has a lot of influence - possibly even more so in the case of a wisdom tooth, taken when the individual’s personality has had time to become realised and settle - so it seems a fair guess that this tooth’s aptitudes will be greatly affected by two things:

the maker and wielder’s relationship to the goblin whose tooth was used;

the goblin themselves, and their particular magical signature and aptitudes.

I can’t help you with these. Ask the goblin.

A brick ‘shell’, while almost certainly not as precise a focus as a more streamlined, pointed traditional wand, will nevertheless provide some measure of control with its geometric shape and precise dimensions. A brick takes the malleable, creative power of clay (in this case enchanted clay, perhaps even from a construct) and makes it solid, dependable, unmoving. However, there’s only so much a single brick can do to control the blunt power of raw magic channelled through a goblin molar. Additionally, a sapient core with a man-made shell is an innovation with implications unknown, though I could hazard some speculations. Focii other than the traditional rod-shaped, usually tapering wand, and other departures from the ‘naturally occurring enchanted wood shell’-‘magical creature/being body part’ tradition, are valid as wand alternatives in principle and in practice, but in this case I doubt this is the continuation of a tradition or the outcome of a sequence of rigorous testing.

In short: this seems like a wand with unforgiving, blunt power, suited to short-range spells without finesse or requirement for adaptation, possibly cast through contact, probably with a shape or pattern to the magic that carries between spells. However, given the lack of research on non-wand focii, the non-traditional materials used and the lack of information on their origins or precise composition, the frankly haphazard construction and the fact that even now I hear her fingers upon the windowpane, I give this analysis with the caveat that this is really outside my realm of expertise. I’m frankly left with more questions than answers. If you’d like clarification on any part of this analysis, do owl, non-threateningly, during normal office hours. I will be strengthening my wards.

N.B. It should be noted that, as part of goblins’ intricate network of debt and belonging beliefs, the tooth in this wand may be game to be reclaimed by the original goblin, or indeed by any goblin. Conversely, the wandmaker’s status as its creator may take precedence, leaving them the right (under some goblin custom) to repossess the wand at any point. 

(P.S. I found some cool stuff researching this one, so though I usually try to keep to stuff I can link inline, I figure if you’ve read this far you probably ARE likely to be pretty into teeth and/or folklore. Trollkatt kindly provided sources for the Scandinavian tooth beliefs they posted about (sources in Swedish). Jeri Tanner’s The Teeth In Folklore has a basic but intriguing overview if you’re interested in more Tooth Concepts and want some quick leads to follow, while Of The Teeth focuses specifically on toothache beliefs and The Folklore of Teeth… focuses on milk teeth, with plenty of useful citations. Starkaðr’s Teeth seems a thoroughly wonderful look at a specific Norse hero and his legacy. This cool site introduced me to the term AFOL (Adult Fan Of Lego) and to Tolkien’s dislike for Wagner’s myth retellings. Finally, though by no means trivially, edda-for-dummies is a really cool educational project on the Norse Poetic Edda with rad art and thoughtful writing. Thanks for reading!) 

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Hey! New followers!

Seeing so many new icons and asks is amazing, and unexpected. And daunting! I’m used to maybe a couple of asks per month (renewed and enduring appreciation to you if you’ve been here a while), and all this interest is something I both appreciate and am completely unequipped to handle. I love all the cool wands and thoughtful queries (!) that have been sent my way. Thank you for sending them, or for signing on to see some of them answered.

It’s finals month for me, and while I’d honestly like to devote an hour or two a day to carefully making my way through my requests I’m not sure I’ll have the time or available brain space to get through these as fast as I want to. But you guys have really made me want to get back into the groove. I want to have time for fun stuff like this, and I’m going to try and work to make that happen. I’ve updated my about to reflect this new situation. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for the interest! 

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Hello! I’m not sure if you’ve already done a post like this, but what’s the most common wand for slytherins? I’m a slytherin and I’d love to know what we tend to have! Thank you so much! Xx

Hey! I thought I had, but on looking I think I only posted it to an unsearchable forum several years ago, so I’ll just refind the source instead. 

Obversa (I think @acagoldsmith on tumblr!) has painstakingly compiled some really cool Pottermore-related polls on r/harrypotter over the past few years, and they’re a great resource for finding out how commonly Pottermore issues particular woods, cores, lengths or patroni, and to which houses. I generally use these when talking about commonness of elements, though selectively as they do occasionally contradict the canon (for example, pheonix feather cores are canonically the rarest of the three major wand cores, but Pottermore seems to issue them much more commonly than dragon heartstring. Gotta love that wacky wand quiz).

According to their biggest survey (to my knowledge, linked), dragon heartstring is most commonly given to Slytherins, though I don’t know if it’s the most common Slytherin core (unicorn hair is the most common across houses). This earlier survey also notes that “The most common wand woods for Slytherin are Maple, Sycamore, Black Walnut, and Ebony.” It also has some cool analysis that’s worth checking out if you’re interested in links between these and Slytherin traits!

Thanks for the question, hope this helps!

Edit: outside of pottermore results, I don’t know, sorry :’) I don’t have a big enough sample size to get useful info from my requests, and they’re a unlabeled mixture of pottermore and other results. Once I’ve made my way through some more analyses I might start seeing some trends, though, I’ll keep you posted!

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h-hewwo? Awe yu still doing wawnd a-anawasis??

Hello, querent! There’s no need to sound so querulous (if you’ll pardon the pun). I am still analysing wands, though very slowly at the moment. Thank you for asking! If you, or anyone else, has an interesting wand-related question or even perhaps an actual wand that I might be able to shed light on, please do send in an owl and/or ask.

please.

[fanonical]

ok but the idea that all the spells in the hp universe are latin is actually really interesting to me

because basically, the reason why we here in the english-speaking western world conflate latin with the idea of power is that back in the day, the people who knew latin were the educated. first there was church latin, the language of God, and given that a lot of universities here have their roots in churches and monasteries and such this then became the language of Knowledge, and subsequently Power. rich people spoke french, learned people knew latin, and the common folk spoke english. (english wasn’t considered worthy enough to write in until chaucer started writing in it in the 1300s, but i digress)

and all of this would imply that wizards have the same associations? they split from the muggle world around the late 1600s iirc so it’s plausible that they kept this association, but it makes me want to see a world where the wizards decided ‘nah screw that we’re doing spells our way’ and all of the magic being in middle or even old english, because that’d be fun

(also, you know, i’d love to see wizards who aren’t white english people using other languages in their magic, because there are so many languages that are way older than latin)

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Hope you're still doing this :)) dogwood, 12 1/2", phoenix feather, and hard flexibility.. (I'm a ravenclaw btw)

Now as it happens I’ve already written an analysis similar to this in all respects but the core – you can find it here, if you haven’t seen it already. This’ll be a little briefer than the usual, then, focusing on differences brought about by the phoenix feather core.

DOGWOOD & PHOENIX FEATHER

Dogwood and phoenix feather is an odd pair in a wand, but has a distinct personality and certainly some potential as a duelling wand for a cunning wielder – or for a skilled trickster. The lean toward the Dark that dragon heartstring exacerbates is ameliorated by a phoenix feather’s Light influence, and though a dogwood user may still be careless and thoughtless in pursuit of their ideals and amusements, the wielder of a dogwood and phoenix feather wand will at least be more likely to be pursuing the Light as this happens. If dragon heartstring allows dogwood’s initiative and tendency to act without its wielder’s command, phoenix feather actively encourages it; this wand, when well-paired, can act as an excellent partner-in-crime, though likely after a possibly lengthy adjustment period of unpredictable magic that may prove rather undignified for the wielder. I’d recommend learning to laugh at yourself, and perhaps more importantly making sure you regularly think on your life and actions with a serious mind (and/or obtaining some down-to-earth friends to aid you).

I’m compelled to add a less professional postscript: perhaps it’s a ‘my own non-representative impressions’ hunch rather than actual meaningful intuition, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is a wand casually wandering toward a very particular flavour of tragedy. I could give reasons and ideas; really, though, this is too vague to be called anything but an inkling. Let me know if you want to chat about details and maybe get closer to figuring this out!

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Hope you're still doing this! My wand is cedar, dragon heartstring, 12", brittle. If it helps I'm an intj, slytherin, thunderbird, right-handed w/ thestral patronus.. thanks :))

If the previous analysis I did of this wand wasn’t you I count this a particularly bizarre coincidence! Here it is.

Slytherin is the most common house for this wand’s wielders. Your thestral patronus makes it likely that at least some of the difficult patches you’ll encounter in life will involve close encounters with others’ deaths (but that’s hardly unusual, don’t worry too much over it). You probably know more about thestrals than I do - maybe you can find some further symbolic links?

(I’m going through my inbox and sorting out duplicates and so on. Sorry for the delay!)

[themonsterblogofmonsters]

What are some monsters that could make good wandcores and are native to the western part of the US?

Urm. 

Look, Nonny, darling, I’m from the UK and I honestly am pretty shit at Geography and beyond that there’s like the whole thing where different bits of the US like to consider them North/East/West/South/their state predominantly, which makes this like. Not at all simple. 

It’s also worth noting that wandcores are something which can be traded - while a wandmaker is going to want to select the wood themselves, as only some woods can work for a wandwood, and they must therefore inspect the tree personally, the cores are required as a magical item by which they may channel magic through the wand - the wood directs, the core channels. Finding suitable wood is the hard part, the core is a much simpler thing, and, in cases such as dragon parts, is an object with legal restrictions on trade, and therefore one which cannot be collected in person. Therefore, many cores are traded, so a core from the western part of the US might be found up in Canada or on the east coast instead.

I’m going to go over canon cores and then cores from headcanoned creatures and you can pick ones which seem interesting and see if they’re found in the area you’re looking for, ok? I’ve organised both lists in the rough order of most to least powerful as a wandcore.

Canon

Dragon heartstring - In America this could utilise the Heartstring of the dragonish-occamy-ish Snallygaster [monsterblog post], or Heartstrings from my American Thunderwing dragons, Florida Swamp Dragons, or Canyon or River Dragons.

Thunderbird tail feather - [monsterblog post] A cousin to Firebird-type birds, though not of the type themselves, the feather of a Thunderbird makes for a powerful, though difficult to master core, with a knack for Transfiguration.

Phoenix feather - From the American Eagle-Phoenix, most likely, though sometimes traded from other specimens. You can read about the specifics of its tendencies as a core over Here on @wandmore .

Rougarou hair - [monsterblog post] Though strongly linked to dark magic it is more that this core is very capable. Highly self-aware and very powerful, it takes a certain measure of will to manage such a core but, once managed, is the most loyal helpmate one could ask for.

Veela hair - [monsterblog post] While reputed to be a temperamental core, cores of Veela hair are nonetheless powerful and are capable of being especially loyal if in the hands of someone related to the Veela who donated a hair.

Horned Serpent horn - [monsterblog post] Very rare. Preference for Parselmouths and resistant to magic cast on it by way of Parseltongue. Likes the intelligent.

Wampus cat hair - [monsterblog post] Very powerful cores, the hairs of these creatures can only be collected by Cherokee wixes who have spent time studying the creatures and how to safely interact with them - due to this, many wandmakers who use this core maintain cordial relationships with Cherokee wixes so as to maintain the trading relationship, though these interactions have been strained (and outright called off) at several points in history due to the behaviour of MACUSA.

Unicorn hair - [monsterblog post] Due to various reasons, Unicorns were introduced to America by immigrant wixes and, to this day, the hair is used in wandmaking due to it’s power, loyalty and reliability.

White River Monster spine - [monsterblog post] Very nearly only found in inherited wands, these days, it makes for a wand of force and elegance. In recent years, since the death of wandmaker Thiago Quintana, who knew how to lure the creatures, wands with this core have only been made using found spines, washed up on dead specimens.

Kelpie Hair - [monsterblog post] Often, though not always, imported, the hair of Kelpies is most usually a wandcore found in imported wands, though this hasn’t stopped more experimental wandmakers experimenting with it.

Jackalope antler - [monsterblog post] a lively core but not the strongest. Nonetheless popular with some wandmakers, as it is known to help liven up more quiet woods.

Kneazle Whisker - [monsterblog post]As one might suspect, not the strongest of cores, and rather an aloof and tricky one at that. Often obtained from a wixes pet and used more as a practice wand than anything else.

Troll whisker - [monsterblog post] A very weak core, nonetheless, one found and occasionally used, depending on region.

Headcanoned

Wendigo Spinal Cord - An incredibly rare and dangerous core, most wandmakers who are willing to use it will only bind it to a peaceable wood, lest it select too dangerous a wix and lend the wix means to do more harm than good. Not actively malicious, the core nonetheless likes those with a certain level of viciousness and a distinct strength of mind.

Vampire Venom - Usually only found in wands for the children and grandchildren of vampires, on some very rare occasions a vampire may donate a fang for the wands of their human bloodline. A very quick and subtle wandcore.

Dryad Hair - be it of the American Tree Dryad, or the splintery tendrils of the Swamp Dryad, these hairs are used as wand cores which do not “flavour” the wood, leaving the wood with the same personality, unaltered by the core.

North American Swamp Nixie Hair - Usually only donated to those who are actually related to them, they may sometimes give bundles of hair as part of alliance or trade agreements to “anchor” the promise. These hairs are usually then made into wands for the children of those who made the agreement. 

Pacific Moon Serpent Rib - Very rare but surprisingly powerful, the ribs of these creatures make for solid wands with a knack for reflective magics.

Winged Horse Feather - Be it from Volucens, Azazelan, or another breed kept in the USA, the feathers of these creatures are occasionally used as wandcores.

Griffin Feather - Usually from the Krizogryph, also called the Mississippi Heron Griffin, Pheasant Griffin (not the strongest) or the Rocky Mountain Griffin, these wandcores have a noble tendency.

American Hellhound Sinew - A dangerous wandcore in the wrong hands, it is, thankfully, not as powerful as some other cores on this list. However, when bonded to a sweet-natured wandwood, it makes for the most loyal helpmate a wix could ask for.

Ball-Tailed Cat Hair - Distant cousins to Wampus Cats, Splintercats and Cactus Cats, Ball-Tailed Cats are not as magically powerful as the former, though they are more powerful than the latter two. Prone to making for stubborn wands.

Splintercat Spines - Spines of these creatures make for accurate and almost sharp wands, though not as risky as Cactus Cat.

Cactus Cat Spines - Cactus Cat Spine cored wands have an unfortunate tendency to occasionally turn on the wix handling them, if they disagree on what to do, sometimes burning a wixes palm. This, however, is nothing compared to what they will do if a wix tries to steal them.

Chupacabra Spines - Wands made with this core are playful but curiously loyal, in that they will express as much loyalty to one their master willingly loans them to so long as the wix offers no threat to their true master.

Hidebehind Hair - Rather like Demiguise hair, this core can be very hard to see and is very hard to obtain. Despite this, it is not very powerful, hence it’s lack of popularity.

Hodag Horn - Not particularly remarkable, Hodag Horns rarely grow large enough to be of use.

Chama-lincis Whisker - Often very resistant to magic it is rare to find a whisker suitable for wandmaking.

Magical Raven Feather - Be it from Nebiros / Curious Raven, Valravn, or Nachtkrapp, these wands are not the most powerful but are not uncommon (though this varies depending on source), as they are wonderfully reliable. 

Ceribim Feather - Usually collected from pet specimens, such a core is not especially strong but can be interestingly flamboyant.

Argopelter Hair - Very rarely used due to sheer weakness and the trouble one must go to obtain, these hairs make for playful wandcores.

Warpgle Feather - Useful for those who might wish to enchant objects, but otherwise not particularly powerful enough.

Boletum crinis Tendril - A cheeky wandcore, these tend to enjoy working on jinxes, hexes and pranks, but rarely anything to do actual harm unless truly willed by their master or part of a wand with a more vicious wandwood.

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Do you think Mulberry or Buckeye woods would make good wands?

What a fun question! This is such an interesting question that I am going to neglect my analyses still further to answer it. 

What makes a ‘good’ wandwood must at some level consist of the power and reliability of the wands it creates, themselves hugely variable depending on core, rigidity, length and other less heavily weighted factors, and of how commonly and well the wands it creates match well with magic users, a factor that is extremely difficult to determine. While wand cores’ effects on the power and overall nature of a wand are almost always immediately evident, wandwoods’ effects are, as a very general rule, both subtler and potentially more complex. Perhaps this is partially because the variability in effect between individual silver birches is less than the variability between individual phoenixes, so we find the subtleties of silver birch use easier to study.

Nevertheless! I’ll discuss the viability of these woods as wand materials (assuming, of course, that you could find some that bowtruckles have willingly settled in), and give some predictions as to their characters as wandwoods. BUCKEYE

‘Buckeye’ is a broad term, spanning at least six hardwood North American species in the genus Aesculus (lit. ‘edible acorn’). As far as I can tell, two of these species are used at all for lumber, and then only rarely, as it’s one of the weakest, softest hardwoods native to the US. It’s prized for specially and individually made objects, though, due to the striking dark-on-light discolourations that can be seen in its burls. A buckeye wand might be unique in appearance, if taken from the burl, but it would need careful upkeep to resist rot and everyday wear; wand polish would be more or less compulsory to avoid a fuzzy surface and a lifetime of only a few years, and it would incidentally very likely smell very unpleasant during processing, though once dried this scent is barely perceptible.

What could justify going to the trouble of making a fragile, unpredictable buckeye wand? Intellectual curiosity aside, buckeyes are trees with a rich and peculiarly recent folkloric history, and their peculiarities when used for wandwood would be well worth further study – the more I read the more interesting a wood it seems. As an overview, I’d say this is not a wandwood to pick on a whim, or because of its appearance, but rather that its best results might be gleaned locally on the basis of a pre-existing connection to the tree, and such results could only be meaningfully assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Now, I am British and not American, so bear with me if I say anything that seems very obvious! My first instinct regarding Aesculus-genus woods would be that they might have some minor aptitude for forceful or blunt duelling spells, just because of their long association with the practice of conkers, that traditional autumnal entertainment, but as it turns out that’s really a British thing outside of Nova Scotia, a few other areas in Canada, some parts of New York and one specific town in Massachusetts, in which one large horse chestnut tree in the town common provided all the necessary conkers for the town. The tendency of this tree to link to a specific location, though, seems like a common trait, with buckeye species tending to be restricted geographically - the yellow woolly buckeye, for example, is narrowly endemic to Texas (and, beyond the moniker ‘buckeye’ but within the same genus, the Japanese horse chestnut is endemic to Japan); Ohio is known as the ‘Buckeye State’, for their association with luck, wood cabins and several local historical and folk figures. If that horse chestnut from Leicester, Massachusetts was viable as a wandwood source, I can confidently predict that its magic would be intrinsically linked to that particular tree and its location in the physical and social landscape of the town. This… makes its characteristics even less predictable. But the implications of a strongly location-specific wand, as can be seen to a lesser extent with some English Oak wands, are very interesting. I would doubt such a tree would give wands anything less than a sociable outlook, possibly influenced by the generations of children playing with it to something of a dogwood-like mischievousness, or to a parental investment in community and familial duty. But then I’ve never met the tree! Certainly the fact that every part of the tree is mildly toxic could be indicative of something of a resistance to an unsuited wielder’s will, and possibly of a knack for low-level jinxes.

Buckeye’s seeds (sometimes erroneously called ‘nuts’) give it its name and are also the locus of much of the folklore associated with it – generally used as a good luck charm in games and gambling, and to stave off more everyday, persistent aches and pains. Again, not indicative of quick outbursts of power, but more of a steady, earthy, beneficent power, gained by long use and familiarity. The more I read about this wood the more it seems associated with very local tradition, often down to the family level, and used as a link between generations – from good luck charms to conker traditions to ash soap. I’d expect spells and charms connected to the everyday rituals and rhythms of the community to come particularly naturally to this wand, possibly even to the point of tacit casting as a common feature, under these specific conditions. For a magic user with a strong connection to a home, family or community in a buckeye area, and without huge ambitions, this could be an excellent wand.

Here’s an excellent post I stumbled on while researching this: https://newworldwitchery.com/2012/04/11/blog-post-154-buckeyes/ MULBERRY

I would love to see a mulberry wand! Wands from fruit trees are always very interesting to me. The history of mulberries, as far as I can tell, is one of secrecy and dispute, and there is no way I will be able to do it justice with the amount of time I have to research trees. Mulberries were brought to Britain by the Romans, and, like most fruit trees, have been used to treat ludicrous numbers of ailments over the years – in this case, particularly stomach problems, especially tapeworm ('it purgeth the belly and driveth forth worms’, says a British book of herbal remedies, 1597). Black mulberries have been cultivated so long in southwestern Asia that their exact origin is unknown, red mulberries are native to North America and white mulberries are native to northern China, but true to the tree’s tendency to spread individually each of these have been grown and cultivated widely throughout America, Asia and Europe, with the white mulberry now considered invasive in North America.

Mulberries, with their strange, crooked, writhing shape and their delicate, bloody fruit, can live for hundreds of years in rare cases, and have had more of a political role than many trees can aspire to, representing as they did the lucrative silk industry. James I attempted to wrest away the French silk monopoly in the 1600s, but planted the bloody black mulberry rather than the sweeter, blander white mulberry, which grows better in the British climate, and the British struggle to compete with the Chinese silk market continued through the 1800s. What strange, fertile imagery this tree provides! Merely for that I’d be tempted to recommend it. It really only gets more interesting. A white sap sometimes present in unripe fruit and green parts of the tree may be 'toxic, stimulating, or mildly hallucenogenic’. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe accounts for mulberries’ colour by claiming the fruits are stained with the star-crossed lovers’ blood, a tale possibly dating back to ancient Babylonia. It has considerable potency as an antidote to some snake venom, especially the venom of Russell’s viper. Ancient German folklore says the devil used its roots to blacken his boots. In some Chinese tradition mulberry is strongly associated with the rising sun, as the perch of the Sun Bird. All these suggest possible wand characteristics and strengths – an aptitude for illusion or brewing antidotes, perhaps a preoccupation with romance or tragedy – but in the interest of keeping this at a length I can fool myself into thinking somebody might read I won’t go too far into it. Suffice to say, mulberry is certainly a serviceable wandwood, with good workability and durability to wear and weather, and its (many, varied) particular abilities will likely unfold themselves to a wielder in the same gradual, unexpected way the tree grows. Might have to come back to this one!

Thank you for the question and sorry for the rambling. I hope this helps, and if you want something more specific let me know!

[amandaherzman]

A guide to identifying magical wandwoods. 

Ollivander’s notes on wandwoods and their magical characteristics can be found here. This is a follow up to my Harry Potter herbology series. 

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LEPRECHAUN HAIR & HORNBEAM, 16 1/4" // Ravenclaw Hornbeam is the wood of Ollivander's own wand, and of that of Viktor Krum - not surprising, perhaps, given that it chooses magic users with one passion, vision or obsession that they will do their best to pursue the whole of their lives. Wandmaking is Ollivander's; Quidditch is Krum's; what is yours, do you suppose? If you're not sure, your wand may well know before you do, and, intelligent as it is, may subtly (or less subtly, given the prone-to-independent-action leprechaun hair) lead you toward it. Hornbeam wands are without question the most personalizable and tameable of wands, adapting so quickly to their wielder's style of magic that they will quickly become borderline unusable by others. The wielder's code of honour will also be rigorously upheld by said wand, whatever it may be, to the point that it may resist actions the owner knows to be against their principles. Otherwise known as 'ironwood', this wood does have a tendency to become stuck in its ways, as do its wielders - but with such an occupation to follow, and such a perfectly tuned instrument to follow it with, why worry about such peripheral concerns? Said pursuit will no doubt come to fruition; this match of wand and magic user is perhaps the best way to make sure something gets done and done excellently, though what exactly that thing is is of course up to the magic user. Hornbeam is actually a fairly common wandwood, found mostly amongst Slytherins (apt for its attraction to singular focus) and hardly ever amongst Gryffindors. A Ravenclaw wielder is not unusual, again unsurprising, though a more general interest in learning or scholarship is a more common Ravenclaw trait than the single-minded obsession with one subject this wand indicates and encourages. Hornbeam is described by Ollivander as more 'sentient' than most others; this may be apparent in that a hornbeam wand can begin to act almost like a conscience for its wielder, or like an extension of themselves or some part of themselves in a way not quite matched by most other wands. This wand may remind you of things you have forgotten, more actively than hornbeam wands usually tend to due to the leprechaun hair's influence, or physically manifest your stronger emotions. This may become inconvenient in situations when you'd prefer to hide them, or indeed in situations where you'd prefer not to have knocked that vase off its pedestal. However, with the addition of leprechaun hair, this wand, though it may act when you do not, will likely never do anything you did not in some way want to do in that moment; most foresight will have to come from you, rather than a calmer part of yourself manifested in your wand. Cultivate calm and positive thoughts and try and stop envisioning others' fiery demises and you will have considerably less to regret as a wielder of this wand. With hornbeam's malleability (figurative, not literal), the core will have a larger impact on the wand's character than usual, though given the nature of the wood this character is likely to align very closely with the wielder's. Leprechaun hair is versatile yet stubborn in its principles and inclinations, with a particular strength in charmwork and illusory magics, and a slight weakness in divinatory spells. It tends to choose those with Irish ancestry, though such a tendency is not universal, and prefers an answering level of mischievousness or contrariness in its wielders, as well as loyalty to those the wielder considers true friends, if any. This wand will be an admirable partner-in-crime, responding to your ideas as you think of them and sometimes adding a little more. This wand will be incredibly useful to you whatever your ethical alignment, and so I suppose I should include the stock warning that it will resist Dark magic only if it goes against the wielder's personal code of honour or, sometimes, personal interest. However, it won't lead you toward darkness unless the Dark Arts are in some way pertinent to your passion in life, and if that's so I doubt a wand analyst's caution would deter you. There is little else to say about this wand given its extreme level of adaption to its wielder - and I suspect you'd be more qualified to predict its behaviour in that case - so here's some stuff about leprechaun hair and its implications for character from the previous leprechaun hair analysis: "Although much of the information to do with leprechaun hair wands is folklore rather than fact, they're said to favour charming and persuasive wielders in addition to their more well-known preference for mischevious wielders. It's also said that they gravitate toward magic users with a fox or weasel Patronus (though do take this with a pinch of salt). Its wielders are more often Hufflepuff or Gryffindor than Ravenclaw or Slytherin, despite its preference for cunning; a Ravenclaw wielder may have a particularly hot temper or mischevious bent." As I added to moonstone55 in response to their inquiries by owl, a Ravenclaw being chosen by a leprechaun hair wand is made more likely if their secondary house is Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw wielders are hardly uncommon enough to be called rare.

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CHERRY & PHOENIX FEATHER, 14 1/2 in., brittle. As I've said before, cherry wands are particularly difficult to analyse for me. I like to think this is because of the inherent mystery that is a hallmark of cherry wandwood but honestly it's probably because I'm as far from a cherry wielder as you can get. A lot of things about this wand will probably make more sense to you than they do to me! That said -- Cherry is a powerful, often subtle, sometimes lethal wood, and with phoenix feather this power is accentuated without losing its subtlety. Not as powerful nor as bloodthirsty as the cherry with dragon heartstring, this wand is nevertheless extremely powerful with Dark magic as well as Light, and the phoenix feather's initiative may prove irritating for a wielder who most likely prefers to have control over themselves and their immediate surroundings. One who has learned to work with this wand, however, will find this a particularly useful trait when duelling, an art cherry wands are already especially suited for, and this combination would make a particularly good wand for an Auror (or, it must be said, one who fights for less noble purposes). This wand, above all, will be hard-won. Both phoenix feather and cherry are very picky when it comes to owners and may reject those they deem unworthy, and both are amongst the rarest in their categories. This quality may well be shared by the wand's owner, who is likely to tend towards pride, and certainly a measure of arrogance when given the power this wand will provide. If won from the wielder in combat, especially by an individual as well or more suited to it, this wand will happily and without much hesitation select that individual as its new wielder, and may even perform better than before in their hands if appreciated, but to avoid danger altogether in fear of this happening is to deny one of this wand's greatest strengths, and it may grow sullen. Respect your wand and treat it like a partner, or at least follow your goals and ideals with determination and a certain measure of ruthlessness and lack of compromise, and this wand is more likely to work well with you, though honestly the mysteries of this wand are best explored by the wielder. Confidence in the face of danger is this wand's speciality, and dangerous conditions - whether that danger is perceived by others or not - are often those under which it will perform best. Neville Longbottom owns a cherry and unicorn hair wand, while Gilderoy Lockhart owns a cherry and dragon heartstring wand. You occupy an interesting medium between the darkest and lightest of the common wand cores, with phoenix feather's versatility leaving the direction of this wand's singular intensity up to the wielder. This is perhaps one of the most challenging wands to 'tame', and requires a strong wand-wielder bond, but if you are successful in learning to work with it you will be in possession of both plentiful raw magical power and the ability to subtly direct it in any direction you choose - as long as you do choose, and choose decisively according to your preference or purpose - leaving almost no truly powerful spells beyond your reach. Now, a brittle cherry wand is strange, though not unheard of. In this case it may represent a vein of sensitivity in the wielder, useful for divination (which cherry already aids greatly) and for the other subtle magic that this wand can excel at. The opinions or actions of others may influence this wielder more than they let on, and this may conflict with their desire to assert their individuality. Though this sensitivity provides many more opportunities for the wielder to go dark, it also provides them with the ability to more accurately gauge when they are heading in a direction they did not intend, and may help to keep them grounded. ...It will also likely aid any love spells produced, making them more subtle and more difficult to detect than practically anything on the market, while not sacrificing their potency. I will reiterate some of the more relevant aspects of my previous cherry analysis: cherry seems to be drawn to those with powerful secrets and a strong sense of self and purpose. Take care not to deceive yourself when attempting to deceive others: this wand will not help you uncover your mistake, and it may well be your downfall. Good luck!

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DOGWOOD & DRAGON HEARTSTRING, 12 ½ in., unyielding // Ravenclaw

Dogwood is a wood for, if not adventurers, those who find excitement in the everyday; typically outgoing and energetic pranksters, though of course there are exceptions to this rule, dogwood wielders tend to view rules as optional and certainly exploitable, though this exploitation tends to be for purposes of entertainment rather than of greater import – and if said transgression happens to confer personal benefits, all the better. This attitude would seem to indicate a preference for Slytherins, yet dogwood wands are fairly evenly distributed amongst the houses, with no apparent strong house preference.

Dogwood’s native mischievousness makes it one of the most fun to match, and its wielders are often easy to like, but dogwood wielders do tend to take things lightly and this can quite easily extend to the Dark Arts. Dogwood wands, beneath their quick responsiveness, have a hidden vein of violence and can be all too eager to wound or make light of another’s pain. The dogwood’s history is one of beauty but also of violence; the name ‘dogwood’ is said to come from Middle English ‘daggewood’, or dagger wood, for what its thin hard branches were used to make, and its white petals carry traces of red, leading to its association with the Crucifixion.

The dragon heartstring core will not curb this leaning toward the Dark – it will, in fact, encourage it – but as with any wand, Darkness is by no means a foregone conclusion. …This wand will make it pretty easy to choose to go dark, though. The dragon heartstring will realise the dogwood’s already decent potential for powerful spellcasting, on large and small scales (though its true gift will remain in minor cantrips and hexes used cunningly), and the heartstring’s temperamental nature paired with dogwood’s mischeviousness makes ‘accidental magic’ – magic issued by the wand itself – almost a certainty. On the other hand, you’re likely to know exactly when this has happened, either from the shrieks or by the noise your wand itself will no doubt make. Dogwood wands are hardly quiet even when paired with unicorn horn, and as well as a strong aversion to non-verbal spells that borders on a complete refusal to learn them this wand will be noisy and rambunctious, delivering spells with celebratory crackles, puffs of smoke and other flamboyant touches natural to dragon heartstring.

This wand is resilient and sturdy, easy to care for and very difficult to ignore. Keep yourself busy and entertained and your wand will most likely follow suit.

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WILLOW and PHOENIX FEATHER, 12 ¼”, slightly yielding // Ravenclaw

Willow is an uncommon wand wood, bordering on rare, and due to the nature of the wood willow wands are always fairly flexible, relative to other woods. Perhaps appropriate to their reputation for choosing those of greatest potential (though that’s rather unfair to us and the Puffs), willow wands’ wizarding wielders are found almost exclusively within Gryffindor and Slytherin – a Ravenclaw wielder is really very rare, and speaks very well of your potential and humility. Willow wands are often attracted to those with a strong vein of insecurity, often unwarranted, and especially when paired with phoenix feather its wielders are likely to be somewhat ethereal, otherworldly or distant – but its pairing with phoenix feather will also provide a healing wand of uncommon, if irregular, power. Only the most grievous wounds will bring out the true power of this wand, while smaller maladies may prove far more difficult to attend to. This wand is an apt surgeon’s tool, able of acting with delicacy and certainty, though its wielder may have to overcome their own uncertainties before a true partnership between wand and wielder can be reached.

A willow wand will be an object of envy amongst your peers, both for its rarity and its beauty. Its renowned ability when it comes to wandless magic can’t hurt either. This wand will do serviceably in most areas of magic, especially charms and with water- or moon-related magics, though more straightforward, flashy, gaudy or brute-force spells will be more difficult to learn and overall less supported.

Willow wands and their wielders can grow rather cheerless, even slipping into melancholy, if they become isolated from meaningful friendships or only befriend those of similar temperament, so… look out for that! Remember, you too are powerful when applied to your strengths, and there are more of those than you might know.

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Hi there! Can you do some analysis on cedar wood wand, dragon heartstring, 12", brittle.. I'm right handed and an INTJ if you need other info. Thanks!

CEDAR and DRAGON HEARTSTRING, 12”, brittle // right handed INTJ

Cedar is a wood of more or less average rarity in wands, and as you probably know dragon heartstring is one of the three most common Ollivander-issued cores; however, this particular combination is at least new to me. The vast majority of the cedar wand studies I’ve seen have analysed it paired with phoenix feather – granted, this may be because those who’ve looked into their cedar and dragon heartstring wands and seen that they share a wand with Professor Slughorn have immediately lost interest. Though those who share wands with far more unsavoury characters tend to pursue their wands’ meanings, an association with a merely obnoxious person seems to prove a rather effective deterrent. I’m glad you asked about it though! Although this analysis is a little shorter than usual, this is an interesting pairing – the dragon heartstring core supports some aspects of cedar while outright opposing some others, resulting in a wand that seeks those who prefer at least a degree of familiarity in their surroundings, routines and worldviews, and then persistently refuses to leave such familiarity unchallenged. This apparently self-contradictory wand fits what many see as an INTJ’s inherent contradictory nature, though I’m definitely not qualified to talk about that!

A cedar wand indicates a strong personality as well as a strong personal code; cedar wielders tend to be particularly loyal, as well as gifted with a keen eye. This perspicacity usually manifests in an uncanny ability to read others, whether for potential or intention, though cedar has been known to select those who are perceptive in other respects. Your possession of a cedar wand makes it likely that you are a dangerous person to cross, at least when it comes to things, people or – given your type – ideals that you really care about, and the dragon heartstring core only increases this possibility. Cedar wands can be found in all four houses but, perhaps surprisingly given its attraction to loyalty, that classic Hufflepuff trait, primarily in Slytherin.

Cedar also has a talent for occlumency, and though the dragon heartstring may make subtler memory spells more difficult, obscuring your calmer thoughts from others should be easier than the norm. Lighter, less in-depth healing spells are also favoured by cedar wood wands. More importantly for you, though, cedar wand wielders have a tendency to achieve comfortable, fairly quiet lives; any intrigue you get caught up in is likely to be of the non-dangerous kind, though, again, that destabilising dragon heartstring core may throw a few unpredictable events into the mix. The brittleness indicates that such upheavals will probably be fairly difficult to handle emotionally, but get through them and you’ll at least have enough experience to deal with it better next time.

Sorry this took a while, hopefully the results are still interesting to you!