All right, this may seem like a strange question, but what is the history of the magic wand? What I mean to ask I guess is, when did we start to see the classic black wand with the white tips?
This is just a question that popped in my mind as I was making a new wand and thought I would post it, and in the mean time get a history lesson.
All coments are welcome.

Magic Jim

I am not the authority on this by any means, but one story I like to recall is that the wand is the symbol of the magi's power... to laymen. While in actuality, the wand is a useful tool for misdirection. It seems as though I remember hearing that the white tipped wand was also utilized for misdirection purposes (color wise), but I could be wrong and certainly not above correction. I believe the black and white wand is a more modern representation as "traditional" wands were hand crafted from hard woods.... again, not above correction.

As for the work I do, I prefer a stick of wood myself.

I think you're right on the white tip thing. I bought a very nice wooden wand (an impulse buy, I admit) that had a light center with ebony tips. It's just not the same... The dark tip just doesn't have the same "impact" and from a distance the wand looks very much shorter than it really is. All they really see is the barrel, not the ends.

William V. Rauscher has written a very nice booklet on the subject. I bought one directly from him recently, and found it to be very informative and him to be a very friendly gentleman.

http://www.mysticlightpress.com/index.php?page_id=105

One legend that some people have quoted is that the wand was plucked from the swamp by Merlin the Magician, thus proving that the original wand was a stick in the mud.

Personally, I don't believe this one bit.

Archeological evidence suggests that the magic wand has its origins in the lunar calendar stick, dating back 50,000 years.

Eugene Burger briefly discusses the lunar calendar stick and the origin of the magic wand on p. 85 of his book, "The Experience of Magic". He cites a passage from "The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth" by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor, and says of this book, "This is an extraordinary book that will turn your head around."

I believe Leonard Shlain discusses this a little in his new book, "Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution"--he did mention the lunar calendar stick in a recent interview on the public radio program "To the Best of Our Knowledge".

This doesn't involve the history of the wand, but it is info on the use of the wand in the history of magic. One of my heros in magic, Charles Bertram, had quite a bit to say on the use of the wand in magic. You can check out his thoughts on the subject in "Charles Bertram: Court Conjurer" by Edwin Dawes.

Rick

I wonder if Moses' usage of a staff qualifies as a magic wand. Here's a quote from exodus 4:2

2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied.
3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

Close there, the bit where you take a staff and change it into a snake dates back to ancient Egypt. We don't have much recorded history from earlier cities and empires.

The use of a staff by Shepherds and Shaman goes way back to pre-Egypt. Think 10,000 years + ago.

For anyone interested, there is a great article with photos of different famous magicians' wands in the new issue of MAGIC.
Rick

There was a burial site in the UK, believed to be a druid priest. Buried with him was a broken rod of ivory. Although they didn't elaborate, I wondered if the white tips might relate back to these wands.

Deerbourne

I wonder if the broken wand might have roots there, as well.

One of my wands is in that article.

This topic was discussed in the food for thought area.
One of my posts has some links, some are humorous. The April 21st post has a link to Professor Granrose's work on the history of wands. It is very interesting.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=27

Cheers - El Lamo

MarcoM quotes this in his book Lord of Legerdemain, The Renaissance Magick of MarcoM the Mountebank. He follows with "and Pharaoh spake unto Moses, saying, "Dost thou do childrens parties?"

And Moses replied unto Pharaoh, "Nay, your majesty. I would rather make bricks without straw."

That's pretty funny Bill. Also, I want to tell how great the wand is that I just got from you at the TAOM Convention. The weight and feel is perfect. It is exactly the wand that I've needed. Of course it did come from a cups and balls guru. BTW How do you sell them so cheap? I guess that's the real secret. Thanks again.

I saw a gaffed magic wand that was used by Dai Vernon who totally fooled Slydini with the effect. Wish I could say more, but...

Let's see...the wand.

Well, if you read into legend & lore, a wand was designed to be the tool through which the conjuror would channel the forces of the other world, and there were very strict rules which had to be observed in the crafting of one. Talent alone wasn't enough to create magic. Just as a painter may have great artistic talent, but nonetheless requires a brush & oils to create his/her "magic"...so did a magician require a wand. One unconfirmable anecdote regarding the custom of wands goes thusly:

A wand was crafted from young white wood such as holly or birch (whittled away from the bark that is). Whenever two magicians / conjurors / enchanters etc. met, there would usualy follow an exchange of ideas or perhaps even a duel. By 'duel' it's not meant that they would hurls fireballs at each other or some such nonsense, rather they would perform their tricks and illusions, and see who could out-do or out-imitate or display more / better skill / knowledge than the other. The losing magician then had a choice. He could simply accept the loss and go on his way, OR he could surrender his wand to the winner, and agree to sign on as the winner's 'apprentice' or assistant for a while (usualy 3-8 months) and at the end of the loser's service, the winner would teach him that one effect, draw a black line of charcoal down the wand, leaving about 2 inces at the end (Where he was holding it) and return it to the magician. So, if you ever ran into a magician whose wand was TOTALLY black with a white tip.....you knew that this guy had picked up ALOT of tricks from others and was probably something of a master.
A different version has the winner burning a thin line down the length of the wand rather than drawing it.

What fried me was I "thought" I invented the L.A. Street Wand. A dowel with 32 cal spent bullet casings on each end... so in MAGIC Magazine it showed Willard the Wizard's wand... a stick with bullet casings on the ends... oh well, creative memory?

Oh, Pete, we love when you tell these stories. Is their more to it?