A Way with The Wand.
People ask me, “Grand Master Magus, how does one become a Magician?”
I often decline to reply because most of those I have instructed in magic face to face have grown to hate me, either because they failed, or because it worked. Magicians rarely get on with each other for long. The professional jealousy seems even worse than in science.
The answer to the question remains astonishingly simple, you simply pick up something you can designate as a wand and use it until it works, and then you keep on using it.
For many decades I have always carried a Pocket Wand and have recommend that all aspiring magicians first make such a magical sidearm for themselves. The work of the Wand never ceases, and the form of the Wand evolves with time. My current version, about my fifteenth, carries different symbols and consists of different materials from all previous incarnations of the concept.
The Wand concept has at least six components: -
I) The Wand as an instrument of INTENTION. In Magic as in Life, intention counts for everything. The carrying and waving and pointing of a Wand helps to focus both conscious and subconscious intention.
II) The Wand as an instrument of IMAGINATION. Forget about ‘willpower’, you only really succeed if you can summon your imagination to support a course of action.
III) The Wand as an instrument of INSPIRATION. Nothing has ultimate truth. Anything remains possible. Engrave it with meaningful symbols of knowledge and aspiration.
IV) The Wand as an instrument of IDENTITY. If you have a Magic Wand and invest belief in it, you become a Magician – simple as that. However, because you don’t immediately become a brilliant all-powerful magician a concealable pocket wand may prove a convenience.
V) The Wand as an instrument of INVESTIGATION. A Wand, like a person, remains sanctified through continual improvement, add fresh notches and symbols or completely rebuild it as needed.
VI) The Wand as an instrument of IMPROBABILITY. There seems little point in taking up Magic unless you want to achieve something extraordinary, but the Magician achieves the totally improbable by manipulating probabilities in steps rather than by attempting extreme violations of causality, at least to begin with.
A brief interdenominational ritual for the initiation of Wands and Magicians now follows:
The Preparation.
Find a suitable length of something that stretches from wrist to about the tip of the middle finger. A piece of wood seems a good place to start although I have made metal versions.
Decide on some meaningful symbols that you can remember and visualise for the following: -
The Ritual.
a) Contemplate the Wand awhile and what it represents. Add any additional marks and symbols to the wand as desired.
b) With the Wand draw a circle in the air to surround the participant(s). Say something meaningful about the circle.
c) Utter three or five times the immortal words of Paul Huson’s incantation: -
THIS IS MY MAGIC WAND – I HOPE IT WORKS!
d) Turn to each quarter in turn and at each quarter draw in the air with the Wand something to represent each quarter. Firstly, with open eyes, secondly with closed eyes visualising what you draw, and thirdly with open eyes attempting to visualise as well.
e) Above the circle draw and visualise something to symbolise your highest aspirations, whatever represents ‘the spirit’ of yourself or the universe to you. Pointing at the ground draw and visualise a desire you wish to earth and manifest.
f) Conceal Wand(s). Close Circle.
It doesn’t come much simpler than that, add any meaningful embellishments as desired.
In the Chaos Magic style, we tend to regard all symbolism as human made and with a power entirely dependent on its meaningfulness to the user. We also take the Sir Terry Pratchett bottom line on Magic (he knew more about it than any mere novelist has a right to) that anyone can do it with a bit of effort, belief, and imagination.