The Wand

In our rituals, the eastern weapon of Air is the Wand, symbol of the Word, and the magician’s Will. Rather than being charged telesmatically, our wands are ensouled with the voluntary gift of the life force of a dryad, and are thus said to be formed of "live wood."

Of all the magical weapons, the wand is most associated with the art magical.

This weapon is symbolically aligned with Path 12 on the Tree of Life. It is the staff of Aesculapius, which links it with Raphael the Healer, the staff of Moses, vivified with the fohat of Eheieh, the staff of Merlin, cut from a tree from ancient Atlantis, and the thorny staff of Joseph of Arimathea, taken from the same tree as the Crown of Thorns, and thrust into Wearyall Hill.

The Hermetic Axiom states that the superiors and the inferiors are linked. This is reflected by the wand, an object with its roots in Malkuth, and its branches in Kether. It is therefore a symbol for the manipulation of the Great Magical Agent, achieved by the exaltation of human consciousness. "May I so apply myself to the Great Work, that in due course I may aspire to be more than human."

Prepared by Emmanuel Rose
Ó Emmanuel Rose 2001