Nuts, bolts, and pipe fittings can be “screwed” onto the shaft of your wand. Go for the thinner wires as much as possible because they’re easier to bend around the wood. You can buy copper, brass, or steel wire in a variety of different thicknesses. Zinc: Protection, fertility, love, prosperity, and banishing magicĪn excellent place to get affordable wand supplies is your local hardware store. Gold: Beauty, love, abundance, success, and money Silver: Psychic abilities, protection, and moon magic Here’s a list of magical properties of different metalsīrass: Communication, resilience, protection, abundance, and money Consider using any personal trinkets that hold meaning or family heirlooms to decorate your wand. Gather materials that support the magic you plan on doing with your wand. You can make an all-purpose wand or you can get more specific such as a wand specifically for money spells, love spells, abundance spells, or heightened spiritual awareness spells.ĭo some research on the different magical qualities of materials.
Pine: Protection, cleansing, healing, and mental clarityĬedar: Healing, spirituality, and prosperityĮlder: Protection, prosperity, and healing Decorating Your Wand With Magical Materialsīefore you begin, think about what you’d like to use your wand for. Maple: Love, abundance, money, and health Oak: Defense, strength, courage, luck, and longevityīeech: Binding work, love, and friendshipīirch: Protection, grounding, and cleansingĬherry: Mental clarity and decision making Here are some basic magical properties of different types of wood: Use sandpaper to smooth out any rough spots on the wood, especially on the ends. If you’re not comfortable with using a knife, you can skip this step and keep the bark intact. If you prefer the look the wood without the bark, carefully remove the bark with a knife. Once you’ve selected your stick, you can choose to decorate the wand with or without the bark. Remember to thank the trees in that space for providing you with wood. Does it fit comfortably in your grip? Does it have an appealing kind of energy to it? What drew you to that particular piece of wood? Check your local laws to make sure you’re allowed to remove wood from your area. When you pick it up, notice how it feels in your hand. The most important thing is to trust your intuition when selecting a stick. Make sure there aren’t any soft spots on the wood. You’ll want a stick that feels dry, sturdy, and in good condition. If you’re using wood, I recommend taking a walk in nature and looking for a good wand stick.
Wooden wands are most common, durable, and easy to decorate but feel free to use any other materials you think would work for your wand. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend an evening, wand-making is a wonderful activity to do on your own or with your witchy friends. As far as crafts go, making a magic wand is a lot of fun, and will probably make you feel like a kid again. This creates a strong bond between you and your magical tool, which will make your spells all the more powerful.
Learn more about the Mac Gems Superguide.I’m a big advocate of making your own magical tools, that way you can infuse the tool with your own personal energy and power.
It’s available as a PDF download, PDF on CD-ROM, or as a printed book. Our 186-page Mac Gems Superguide is a veritable greatest hits of Mac Gems. Want to stay up-to-date with the latest Gems? Sign up for the Mac Gems newsletter for a weekly e-mail summary of Gems reviews sent directly to your inbox. That said, Sumo Paint is a great free option for fixing photos, designing graphics, and painting, and I’m having a lot of fun with it.
I experienced some quirkiness with certain tools and layers, and the Text tool won’t let you edit copy once you lay it down. Sumo Paint isn’t perfect: it works only with JPEGs, PNGs, and GIFs and saves only in JPEG or PNG format. There’s also a nifty Curve tool, which works something like a simplified Pen tool, helping you shape rounded objects and corners more easily. Explore the Gravity option for some intriguing effects.
Sumo Paint is also a gifted graphics and painting app, packing in some interesting shape tools, cool brushes (the basics, plus fun stuff-like 3-D brushes and animated ones), and a Symmetry feature that makes designing elements easy. Sumo Paint is a Web-based program with a Photoshop-like interface.