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rom an historical sense, little seems to have been written about the wand in ancient Ireland. Yet the few clues that do exist, tantalize our curiosity. The most visible reference to wand is found in the opening paragraphs of Imram Bran (the Voyage of Bran).
Meyer translates the opening phrase; “Cróib dind abaill a hEmain” as “A branch of the apple tree from Emain.”
Obviously it is a descriptive phrase, but the venerable Meyer made a mistake often repeated by scholars. He tried to translate into the vernacular of the time without due consideration of possible spiritual considerations. The key word abaill he translates as apple. There are two problems with this. First, cróib translates as hand, fist or branch. Secondly, abaill (or abailt, if you refer to Meyer’s own footnotes) does not mean apple. Rather, it refers to death, perishing or transition to the otherworld. The word for apple is correctly spelled aball. Secondly, the apple is not native to Ireland, as it was not introduced into Ireland until the 12th century CE, 400 years after the writing of Bran’s voyage. Unfortunately, Meyer’s little oversight continues to be compounded by other authors right down to the present. Oops!
Ok, so what does that first line of the Imram Bran mean? Without laboriously going word by word, my translation goes like this A fist (hand)(that) points to death (transition) and the otherworld. Or in the vernacular, The upraised hand shows the way for entering into (or returning from) the otherworld. Now how could I be so far from Meyer’s translation?
Meyer was a scholar with a love of lore and mythology. Also, he was a Christian, which tended to color his views. I think he probably was a pragmatic individual and his intentions were good. However, he did not understand the spiritual aspect of the ancient Irish culture. My view is oriented toward the spiritual and to me the voyage of Bran is definitely other worldly and is therefor a tale of a spiritual journey, not a physical one.
By now, you should be asking what has this to do with the wand? Fair question and the answer is in the Gaelic language. We began our look with the word cróib. But that is just one of a number of synonyms that refer to hand. There are the words lamh, fleasc, slat and Luis. Lets take a look at them one by one.
1. Lamh: Hand, often taken as including the hand to the elbow, a writing hand or a measure. Figurative uses include control, help, guarantee, arrest, etc. A derivative, lamach, means hurling of weapons (such as spears).
2. Fleasc: Rod, wand, stick (of metal or wood), spear, bend, loop and wreath.
3. Slat: Rod, switch, wand, symbol of authority, rib, backbone, measure, a weaving tool, reed or slender branch. Slat Draoícht is sometimes used to mean magical wand.
4. Luis: Now here is a familiar word. It does mean Rowan, but it also can mean branch or hand.
As you see, within the language itself is an understood relationship between the hand and those tools used by the hand. We also see the reflection of a relationship between the human body and the tree and the hand with the branch. Obviously, the wand was considered an extension of the individual and the hand. But for what specific purpose?
Part of that answer lies in the specific material (or type of wood) involved. For example, lets look at Luis. Luis, the Rowan tree is well known for its use as wands right into modern times. For those of you who have studied your tree calendar, you know that each tree held certain attributes which were reflected in the use to which they were put to use. As examples, the protective oak was used for doors, the defensive reed was used to thatch roofs, the difficult thorn was used as protective hedge to the homesite, rods of furze were used to direct the horses, etc. Even the modern shillelagh (of blackthorn) is considered as a magical tool by the herders of sheep and the Luis (Rowan) marks the spiritually active second moon of the year. It is the time of the germination or insertion of spiritual life into the seed. No wonder then that there are numerous references to its use as a magical tool. But it is not alone.
Other woods associated with magical uses in the lore include the yew (Iodha), hazel (Coll), oak (Duir) and ash (Nion). Of these, only the oak seems not to have been used as a wand. However, pieces of the oak were carved with characters and used for divination. The remaining woods mentioned in various tales as being used for magical purposes, including divination, as well as wand material.
Another thing I would like to add here is that wands were not always a simple straight piece of wood (or metal). If you noticed, the definition of fleasc includes bend, loop or wreath. It seems that the ancients used a sort of wheel-like device (carved with magical markings) that when turned or rotated, could reveal the future. Then there were what may have been attachments.
Frequently in the myths are references to the beautiful sounds that accompanied the use of either the rod or wheel wand as it was used and the hypnotic effect that resulted. Such sounds are intimated in the opening stanzas of the Imram as well as in other tales. While I have yet to find archeological evidence of form and construction, a tantalizing clue may have been found in the excavation of a Celtic burial site in Germany dating to the 5th century BC. Included among the goods were a staff some 19 inches long, tipped by bronze balls with 8 inch chains terminated with bronze club-like devices. Now I’m always leery of using clues from one place to determine facts from another, but it occurs to me that such a device would likely make some sort of rhythmic jingling sound which could be rather hypnotic, if properly twirled. And a similar device would certainly fit the description of the wand in Imram, if we were to replace the bronze end pieces with pieces of crystal (glas).
Until more information is found, we can only speculate on exact form and dimension. Still based on what we do know, we can fabricate our personal wands sufficiently well for their intended purpose. To begin with, we know that the ancients seemed to prefer yew, hazel, rowan and ash. Now I am aware that there are old tales in England about how rowan arches and gates would keep away witches. Let’s get serious. Rowan was exceptionally sacred to the witches. I suspect they are the ones who planted to story. Then, they could walk right through the protection saying see, I must be all right. My personal preference would be either the rowan or yew (depending on availability) as both woods speak of spiritual connection.
We also have a measurement that seems reasonably practical, tip of elbow to tip of finger. For me, that equates to about 20 inches, not far from the find mentioned above. Of course, your wand length would differ according to your physical attributes. If you think about it, such a measurement seems to make sense. Such a length is not too awkward and easy to handle in confined quarters.
My final consideration would be in just what sacred symbols to use and attachments if any. For symbols, nothing is better than the runes. Just which ones each individual would want to use has to be a personal decision and sacred information.
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