Feeling Crafty: Wands

So, I wanted to make a wand and ended up making three.  It was just so much fun once I got started.  All of the wood was collected dead fall or in the case of the final wand salvaged from pruning sites.   Each was hand sanded then treated with three coats of coconut oil. 

 

This first one is just plain and unembellished, but the grain of the wood is so pretty I can't bear to cover it up.  It is made from Box Elder wood which according to multiple sources has no magical properties, but I really find that hard to believe.   Knowing where these trees grow and how much they have to overcome to grow there, I feel that the magic of this wood is strength and perseverance.  The marbled coloring on the wood is created when the wood is somehow damaged, on a branch this size the damage was most likely done by one of our fierce prairie winds.   

In the case of this second wand, I added the very simple embellishment by wrapping the handle with a length of raw wool yarn.  With this wand, we are looking at another "non-magical"  wood: Cottonwood.  One source I found went as far to say that Cottonwood was "junk" wood.  As you can imagine, I was indignant.  Cottonwoods are by far the most common tree here on the prairie.  They grow in stands along the creek bottoms and are often hauntingly twisted in form from being pushed and molded by the wind.  To me, the magic of the Cottonwood is resilience and adaptability.   Cotton wood buds are also used to make a healing salve and the pollen is used in gypsy magic to bring rain.

 

Finally, my fancy wand.  This wand is made from pine and wrapped in a strip of torn coral cotton embellished with a mid-frequency river rock, a barred feather, and re-purposed wooden beads.  Pine is known magically for the qualities of protection, prosperity, and fertility. 

A River Walk

The Yellowstone River on May 5, 2014

To open with a bit of truth, I've been feeling blah this week.  Not bad, just kind of here.  Yesterday started out particularly slowly and it actually took a great deal of  mental coaxing to just pull out my yoga mat.  Duh, that's almost as pathetic as being too lazy to start a pot of coffee! 

So, with a bunch of excuses and feet dragging, I finally got my day started.  My case of the blahs  must have been more serious than I thought though, because when I read my cards I was told on no uncertain terms to get my butt outside.  Without arguing I'm proud of myself on that one I got myself together and when Miss Busy got up from her morning nap, we set out for a river walk.

The dike separating town from the river is topped by an unmaintained, gravel road that is used mainly by local fishermen and is a tough route with the stroller.  Fortunately, what I found was more that worth the effort.  Not only did I receive the energy and grounding I needed out in nature, but it was also my first chance to really see what useful plants were growing locally.  I was excited to find both Alfalfa and Plantain which are known respectively as the "father of herbs" and the "mother of herbs" and will be great additions to my stock.   I also found plenty of dandelion, wild honeysuckle, two aspen trees, a juniper bush on an abandoned home site,   along with countless cottonwood trees.  As an extra bonus, I found a rusted metal joint of some kind beneath the railroad bridge (it will be cleansed and saved for spells needing rust shavings) and five new stones. 

As exhilarating  as the walk was, it didn't take long before life started catching up with me again here at the house.  I sat down with the good intent to write this post and the phone rang, then Superman needed something at work, I ran out of milk, etc....  Somewhere in all that, the exhaustion of walking 2.5 miles pushing a stroller over rough terrain settled in remember I am 5 months pregnant and I was spent. 

Today started out quite slowly again and my cards for the day have warned me to get it together and find my passion.  I guess I should start working on that.