Making a crystal tipped wand

It is common for wands tipped with quartz or other crystals to be used in circle in place of a bladed Athame when circumstances prohibit the carrying of objects liable to be deemed weapons. Merely gluing a stone atop a stick is unsatisfactory in use, as the adhesive is liable to detach especially when the object is dipped into liquid. When one is working with Quartz crystals, the worker’s personal bio-electric field influences the vibration of the mineral, necessitating a solid electrical contact between the hand of the user and the stone. Wooden wands do not conduct electricity, and therefore are not as versatile as metal-bodied wands.

A type of hafted tubular metal wand called the Atlantean Power Wand can be manufactured with simple tools in a home workshop. The author had been making such wands for some years when she discovered the identical object being marketed as the Atlantean Power Wand in a new age ad rag. To the best knowledge of the writer, this implement has no actual connection to Atlantis in any way, except in the minds of some confused visionaries. It is however a fair dinkum ritual tool devoid of any potentially offensive sharp and pointy hazards.

To make one, obtain a suitable crystal, hexagonal in cross-section, well pointed and fairly translucent; as well as a piece of metal tubing of a diameter to match the crystal. Choose brass, copper or precious metal over steel, aluminum or pot metal. Brass and copper are excellent conductors, take a fair polish and are ductile enough to work easily cold as well as being amenable to solder if necessary. Steel rusts and is hard to work, aluminum work-hardens too easily, becoming brittle, and neither metal is easily solderable. Don’t even ask about pot metal, it just wouldn’t do. One will also need a spool of brass or copper wire of 20 gauge or so, some Crazy Glue (cyanoacrylate), diagonal cutters, pliers, and a jeweler’s saw (or any small saw capable of making precise cuts in metal tubing; I often use a whizz wheel on a dremel tool). Some solder, flux and a soldering gun are optional for the detail-oriented.

To begin, make six cuts in the end of the tubing about an inch from one end. Each pair of cuts should be about a quarter of an inch apart to form three tines spaced equally to engage three opposing hexagonal faces of your crystal. Cut away the tabs of metal in between your three tines. Ideally, you will be able to place the stone securely so that these tines will hold the crystal in place. A drop of Crazy Glue on each tine will fasten the crystal in place for the next step. Using the binding knot typically used to keep a laid rope from unraveling (called a “whipping”), lay a bight of wire an inch long on a single tine of the wand. Coil-wrap the wire closely around the tines over the bight to secure the crystal in the tines. When you come to the end of the bight, cut your wire and insert the free end of the wire in the open loop of the bight; then grasp the other end of the wire (the end of the bight that passes under the coil) and pull the bight tight, drawing the free end of the wire under the coils where it won’t unravel. A little solder at this point can make the wire truly secure, and the crystal is hafted on the tubing!

That was the complicated part, such as it is. Anything else one might do is purely decorative. I often braid leather around the shaft of a wand, and I will secure the braid and cover the wire with Turk’s head knots. Sometimes I mummify a chicken foot with salt and natron and insert it into the end opposite the stone. I also have soldered interesting brass lamp finials, or the miniature figures from old trophies, on the handle. I also occasionally create double-ended wands with stones on both ends. Let your imagination be your guide, but don’t build flimsy tools; make artifacts that will stand up to use and be valued by those who inherit our traditions.