Runic Wands (Gandrs)

Runic Magic
Because they involve all your senses, runes are powerful magical devices. Through sound, color, image, number, and divine powers they provide ways of moving energy toward an intended purpose. Traditionally, people used runes as talismans, charms, on rings, in candle magic, and in ritual. Because they are compact, easy to use, and versatile, runes continue to be invaluable in magic. They are also easy to carry and conceal.

When you do magic, you are creating or influencing a pattern of energy. In fact, magic can be said to be the practice of noticing and influencing synchronicity through intention, expectation, and merging. When you practice magic, you intentionally thread and weave fields of energy together in an effort to create positive change. You will it to be so, and then you act upon your intention.

Magic begins with intention and expectation, together with desire. This, when merged with the divine, unleashes energies both within the individual and within the cosmic forces of Oneness. When you learn to use the power of your expectations to become clear about what you truly desire, you become more aware of the synchronicity continually taking place around you. This synchronicity is a result of the connection between everything in Oneness. By understanding these connections, you give your magical patterns added power. It's the difference between having a map showing you how to get to your destination and stumbling around blind, hoping you might get there. Synchronicity is a road map to Oneness and magic is a process of getting where you want to go.

Fields of energy, called morphogenic fields, surround the human body. We are all powerhouses of psychic energy that emanates to and from us in all direction. Magic is being aware of and influencing these patterned fields. This means that inside you exists a great power that you can cultivate and extend. This psychic energy has the potential to influence things, and the more focused and congruent we become at gathering and directing this energy, the more successful our magic.

Knowing this, we can have faith that things will turn out the way we intend. This is our magical field of intention. We can set our field of energy to have a certain magical effect by systematically extending it, reaching new heights of experience. The strongest energy field prevails, which is why it is important to remember that we are influencing energies-not manipulating people-with magic. Keep in mind that everything you expect and turn your mind to, you bring into being, whether it is positive or negative, conscious or unconscious. In this respect, it is wise to master your thoughts.

Magic influences synchronistic change on an energetic level as well as on a physical level. The energetic level is felt in terms of your state of consciousness. The way you think has a profound effect on your reality. The physical and energetic interact constantly and affect one another, so change on one level influences change on the other. Change displaces energy, moves it around, and we can make use of this shifting of power in magic.

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything affects everything else. When doing magic, we need to be aware of our intentions and expectations, to take responsibility for our actions. We need to become more aware of how these intentions and expectations affect our life and the world as a whole.

Making A Gandr
1) Select a wood with the qualities you desire.

Types of wood and its magical properties:
Alder - The "battle witch" of trees, it represents truth, as in purification by fire.
Ash - The "guardian tree," dispenser of justice. The first man was an ash. The world tree, Yggdrasil-synonymous with the yew-is commonly referred to as an evergreen ash. Ash bark is deadly to snakes.
Beech - Tree of the Three Norns, its bark is also deadly to snakes. Runes were written on thin beech boards.
Birch - Called the "birth-tree," and associated with the Mother Goddess, it has been used in healing and for magical besom brooms. It also
symbolizes the return of spring. Traditionally you consecrate it to Thor. The birch protects you against lightning.
Elder - The "thirteenth tree," represents the Great Goddess and is associated with Berkana.
Elm - In the Northern Tradition, the first woman was shaped from an elm. This tree also is associated with the Mother Goddess, the light elves,
and healing.
Hazel - The tree of wisdom, the hazel cuts away impurities to see the self honestly.
Laurel - The oracle tree of Delphi, this tree represents victory and honor.
Oak - The "Forest King" of endurance, tree of the Norse god Frey, and the primary wood of the sacred fire of the Goddess, the oak is associated with fertility, ancestry, and love. Its fruit, the acorn, is a symbol of
the Goddess.
Pine - Representing the cycle of life and rebirth, the pine is called "Tree of the Manifest," the sun. Pinecones are its fruits and symbolize the Goddess.
Rowan - Called "Tree of Runes" and "Wood of the Sorcerer," the rowan's pliability is thought to aid in magic. The tree branches
are tied with red thread to protect your home or property from enemies.
Silver Fir - The fir is associated with the Moon, representing feminine rebirth.
Willow - The traditional tree that wands are fashioned from, the willow is flexible and excellent to use for magic and enchantment. This tree draws its power from water.
Yarrow - Also called Milfoil, this is a popular wood for divining wands. It is also a healing herb called "the medicine of life."
Yew - Yew is a poplar wood for runic talismans and wands. It is also a tree of death and rebirth and is associated with Yggdrasil, Odin, Ymir, Uller, and the Valkyries.

2) After choosing the type of wood to use, locate a living tree from which to cut your wand.

3) When you find the tree, communicate with it. Sit under the tree and feel its bark supporting you. Touch the tree with the palms of your hands. Look up at the canopy and notice how the branches weave out from the trunk.

4) Walk around the tree three times sunwise (clockwise), asking if you may have a branch from its body. You will receive some sort of feeling at this point, whether or not to proceed with cutting the wand. If it is positive, the tree will help you select the best branch. if you feel a negative response, find another tree and repeat the procedure.

5) Dig a small hole in the ground at the base of the tree and make an offering such as mead and bread or plant food, and then thank the tree. Say to the guardian, or "wight," of the tree:

"Hail to thee, wight of (insert tree name),
I pray to thee give this branch of your body!
Into it send thy speed,
To it bind the might of the bright runes.
(insert the names of the runes to be used on your wand)"

Then cut your wand, while chanting to toning the runes, preferably on a day of the new moon or during the waning moon. Timing the cutting in this manner will ensure the proper amount of time-an entire moon cycle-for "curing" the wand. Traditionally, wands were snapped off the tree, not cut with metal blades. Staffs are larger and are usually cut. If you are going to cut the branch with a metal blade, use your magical knife or sword, and take appropriate safety precautions as you proceed. Protect the tree by painting the cut area on its trunk or branch with a small amount of bituminous paint or seal it in another way.

6) Once the wand or staff is cut, thank the tree wight for its magical gift by saying:

"Wight if (insert tree name), accept my thanks.
Henceforth may your might be in this branch!
Magically bound to the bright runes (insert rune names),
Working my will with speed and wisdom."

7)Begin to shape the branch's personality. Use your wand to strip off the bark, collecting and keeping the bark shavings on a cloth or piece of newspaper. Sometime during the next 28 days (a moon phase), go back and sprinkle the bark shavings around the base of the tree in a sunwise (clockwise) circle. While doing this, touch the tree with the palms of your hands and thank it again. Create a simple blessing song or chant for the tree, and sing it as you walk around the base of the tree three times sunwise.

8) Leave the stripped runic wand in the sunlight and moonlight for an entire moon cycle, while working with it each day to perfect its shape.

9) After the runic wands skin has dried, you can paint, write, or burn runes into the surface, but ideally cut them into the wood. When carved into the wand, the runes infuse the tool with supernatural and divine strength.

The "ristir," meaning "cut," is an extremely sharp wood carving tool customarily used for the cutting of runes. You could also use a wand. The cutting of the runes into different materials is an act of magic, one requiring your full attention. Call in the appropriate divine energies as you work, making an effort to sense the rune before you cut it. State the purpose of the rune and sense the direction of the energies. This will help you decide where to start the cutting. When in doubt, use your intuition. Chant the runes or the corresponding Galdr song with each rune that you cut into the wood. If the runic wand has a magical name, carve it on the shaft.

Besides cutting runes on your runic wand, you can also use consecrated oil or the ashes of burned runes to trace the symbols. Take time to think carefully before marking the tool irrevocably with the runes. Be sure the runes match the tool's intended use. The purpose of putting runes on the tool is essentially to bless and dedicate it to a specific task. The runes make the tool's attributes purer, stronger, and more reliable.

10) After carving them, the next step is to redden the runes. Traditionally, "Tiver" extracted from the madder plant, is used. As an interesting side note, the word tiver means "magic," and the color red symbolizes magic and active energy. Red runes stimulate the circulation of the blood and the senses. You can also use red ocher, minium (red lead), dragon's-blood resin, or another reddening substance. These reddening pigments are ground with linseed oil, in a sacred manner, while you are chanting, "Laukaz, Laukaz, Laukaz," before you begin. Laukaz invokes the fertility of nature. To apply the red dye to the runes, a special tool called a "galdrstaf" is customarily used. Inscribed with the appropriate runes, it is a small veneer-thin piece of wood cut into the shape of an isosceles triangle that can easily be held in your hand. Chant or sing the runes as you redden them.

11) Use consecrated oil or beeswax to seal your runic wand. Match the magical qualities of the oil to the intended purpose of your wand. For example, a wand sealed with honeysuckle oil would give it qualities of protection, abundance, and strength.

12) Complete your runic wand with natural materials like silk ribbon, feathers, and shells, or mount a quartz crystal in the tip. The hinder (bottom) end of the gandr is rounded or blunted.

Source:
Runic Magic