Wand Lore in America

Hello. I am an American Harry Potter fan who carves wands on the side. These are my head canons and notes on American Wandlore based on my experience. 

[wandloreinamerica]

PSA

I am back to a degree.

I’ll be posting some stuff and it may be somewhat patchy. Mostly some wood breakdowns and focusing on wandlore in the USA. I will not be analyzing wands. Full stop. That is exhausting for me and I will not take them.

If anyone has questions please drop them in my in box.

[wandloreinamerica]

I know I just asked you one but I have been working on a Crepe Myrtle wand (surprisingly firm for such a genteel flowering bush) and am curious if you have worked with it and if you have any thoughts on crepe myrtle?

I have not worked with it before. I think it’s a beautiful tree, but I am horribly allergic to it, or at least it’s pollen. If I can find and work with some, I’ll definitely do a write up (assuming I’m not allergic to the wood too)

[wandloreinamerica]

Hello, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on tulip populars?

Indeed I do. One of my first posts was comparing poplars. In brief, if you are an American and you walk into your local Lowe’s/Home Depot, this is what you will find labeled as poplar. It’s not a true poplar, but the wood is marked similar to true poplars.

Personally, I think it’s a bit underrated. It’s a nice lightweight wood that carves well, takes stains, dyes, and paints easily, and burns well too. The grain is subtle, but can be interesting. It is just so common and mostly thought of as a utility wood. And the colors you sometimes see are mineral stains so the do fade pretty quickly. Still a great wood.

[wandloreinamerica]

Hello my name is Cynthia I am wondering about rose wood wand or staff..🤔thanking your kind heart...😇

Thank you Cynthia, but I’m not sure what you are wondering about. Any elaboration would be appreciated.

[wandloreinamerica]

Can I ask about Elder and Silver Lime? It's so hard to find information about these wood types

Just so we are starting firmly in canon

Elder

The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company; it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time. The old superstition, ‘wand of elder, never prosper,’ has its basis in this fear of the wand, but in fact, the superstition is baseless, and those foolish wandmakers who refuse to work with elder do so more because they doubt they will be able to sell their products than from fear of working with this wood. The truth is that only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and on the rare occasion when such a pairing occurs, I take it as certain that the witch or wizard in question is marked out for a special destiny. An additional fact that I have unearthed during my long years of study is that the owners of elder wands almost always feel a powerful affinity with those chosen by rowan.

— Given that this is a very rare wood, it does not surprise me that there isn’t a lot of information about it. I personally have not worked with it. The one person I can remember talking about working with it noted that the smaller branches have a pith core. While this might make it easier to insert a magical core, it does present durability issues. If a solid wood wand is desired, this wouldn’t mean that it has to come from either a fairly large branch or the trunk proper. This in turn limits how much wood can be obtained from a tree.

Silver Lime

This unusual and highly attractive wand wood was greatly in vogue in the nineteenth century. Demand outstripped supply, and unscrupulous wandmakers dyed substandard woods in an effort to fool purchasers into believing that they had purchased silver lime. The reasons for these wands’ desirability lay not only in their unusually handsome appearance, but also because they had a reputation for performing best for Seers and those skilled in Legilimency, mysterious arts both, which consequently gave the possessor of a silver lime wand considerable status. When demand was at its height, wandmaker Arturo Cephalopos claimed that the association between silver lime and clairvoyance was ‘a falsehood circulated by merchants like Gerbold Ollivander (my own grandfather), who have overstocked their workshops with silver lime and hope to shift their surplus’. But Cephalopos was a slipshod wandmaker and an ignoramus, and nobody, Seer or not, was surprised when he went out of business.

— This is the canon description. If you are in the Old World, outside of the British Isles, you might look for this and related woods under the common name Linden. In North America, it is most commonly called Basswood. In any case these woods belong to the genus Tilia and are very very similar physically. Below the cut, I have included my own thoughts on the genus.

The canon description of silver lime has always puzzled me. Tilia woods are an off white when freshly worked and age to a pale tan or yellow, if unfinished. The grain is very faint, and the wood is light weight. This makes it a fantastic hand carving wood. It’s workability made it one of the premiere woods for carving in the medieval ages and today.

This workability could account for the “unusually handsome appearance” as a silver lime wand may have been exquisitely carved. But the fact that dye is mentioned as being used to trick people indicates that color not carving is the identifying factor. This is a might perplexing as I would not compare Tila’s color with tropical hardwoods valued for color like redheart, ebony, rosewood or canary wood. Nor would I compare it to temperate woods like black walnut, black cherry, Holly or yew.

With respect to arcane properties, I find these wands more aligned with protection, justice and the law, and healing. But that could be because I use basswood not Silver Lime.

[wandloreinamerica]

Just out of curiosity, is there any interest in me continuing this? If I do post it would probably be in batches. And if there is interest (outside of wand analysis) what would you like to see?

[wandloreinamerica]

What would be the Alaskan counterpart to a cedar wand with a dragon heartstring core?

I actually think the heartstring core would be available, failing that dragon feather should produce similar results.

For the wood, if you’re trying to keep it local, it becomes harder to match. I think the closest might be Fir, but if anyone else has a suggestion I’d love to hear it.

[wandloreinamerica]

What would be your analysis of a magnolia wood wand with a thunderbird core?

Magnolia wands noted for preforming best on their home territory, where they and their bearers can be surprisingly resilient. Regardless of location, spells cast with a magnolia wand are generally noted for their beauty. Thunderbird feathers bring some aloofness and a protectiveness. This particular combination may result in a reluctance to leave the comfortable and familiar. But that may be counter acted by flexibility and length.

[wandloreinamerica]

Would you do an analysis of my wand? It's hazel with a Veela hair core, 10 inches, and fairly bendy?

Hazel works best for masters who are in tune with and who can control their emotions. Paired with a Veela hair, this wand could be emotionally volatile. That being said, I do think the temperamentally attributed to Verla hair can be mitigated if the hair was freely given and from a relative. Even if that is not the case, I don’t see this mage as being ruled by their emotions as the length indicates a focused person and the flexibility points to a large degree of mental adaptability

[wandloreinamerica]

PSA

I am sorry but I’m closing the ask box. I am working to answer all questions previously received. I am still trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with this blog. Thank you all for your patience.

[wandloreinamerica]

I would love to hear your ideas on what the different areas of America have on the personality of the wood. Such as, what do the woods tend to be in Maine vs New Mexico? or just general areas. Are there intrinsic qualities related to place?

So I’m not prepared to say that wood taken from the high desert of Wyoming is going to be hardier than wood from the green hills of south eastern Pennsylvania. But the species of wood in different regions can shift “personality” to a degree. But this is within the broad description of each wood. For example: I would expect to see more yellow pine wands in the South and more white pine wands in the North and West simply because those groups are native to those regions. And as I have noted previously, I do think there are some differences between the two groups, but they are both inherently pine.

With regards to specific places, this is different. I have previously stated that trees that grew overlooking the sea might make wands with a more nautical bent than otherwise expected. But I think this is a very minor shift at best. I would think that wood harvested from locations of significance may have somewhat unusual properties. The exact properties would depend on the location of course.

[wandloreinamerica]

Hello yes I would like you to know that I love you and you are the best

Thank you!!!

[wandloreinamerica]

Are there any differences between Cedar and Fir? There meanings seem to be very similar.

I am somewhat puzzled how exactly you came to this conclusion. I would say both woods favor strong personalities, but the type of personality is different. Cedar likes preceptive and loyal mages, while Fir prefers focused and strong willed mages.

[wandloreinamerica]

Hi, so I'm really enjoying your blog so far - it's been very helpful - but regarding your Claro Walnut post, I'm fairly sure that slow-minded is a slur

Thank you for the feedback. When I wrote the description, I was looking for a euphemism for someone with a lower IQ, as a contrast to the “highly intelligent” mages walnut usually selects. By no means was this intended as a slur. 

[wandloreinamerica]

Hi, would you please analyse my wand? Cherry wood, white river monster spine core, 12 1/2 inches, rigid.

Hi, would you please analyse my wand? Cherry wood, white river monster spine core, 12 1/2 inches, rigid.

Cherry wands are powerful, and need to be paired with mage who is self controlled. Paired with the White River monster spine, it suggests a mage with an elegant casting style, and whose spells pack a punch. The length is fairly neutral, and the flexibility indicates a mage who seldom changes their mind.

[wandloreinamerica]

I am not sure how much you follow all the various other wand makers on the internet, but when you see their different styles do you type them in your head? Like this wandmaker practices the Charleston style and so on, this one the Appalachian, and so on.

I do follow quite a few wandmakers. But I generally don’t type their work. Partially because I’m not sure where they are, or where they were raised. And secondly, when I envisioned the styles, it went deeper than just the appearance of the wand. It also involved how it was carved, the materials selected, how the core was inserted, etc. I can’t tell that from just looking at a picture.

[wandloreinamerica]

Hi I just found your blog and love your content. I was wondering if you still do wand readings? If so its manzanita for the wand wood, Púca whisker for the core, 11.75 inches in length and with a hard flexibility.

An unusual mix of Old World and New World. Manzanita is generally thought of as a healing wood, but a tenacious wood. The wood can be difficult to season, and if paired poorly it can crack. I would think the puca whisker would help with transfiguration, and may soft the flexibility a bit. The length is just shy of “average”. This could indicate a slightly more concise casting style. The flexibility reinforces this reading, as it points to a mage who seldom changes their mind.