Amulets by Merlin's Blog

Some time ago Skyler contacted me about a special project.
He has made his circle’s emblem for him over the years,
however he wanted a special piece piece made for him: a Wand.
Over the years I have made several,
each a special commission designed for the person’s needs.

Skyler was no exception,
after multiple emails and phone conversations
he developed his ideas in several drawings:
Labradorite as a pummel, set into a cluster of his emblem,
the wands handle was to be composed of several bands.
The actual Heart of the wand was to be of a wood which pulls his local environment:
he decided on manzanita.
Being in the Las Vegas area,
one of the local woods which grows in his area is the very gnarly wood.
The business end is a stone he selected for his own purposes.

Wand

To protect the wand
he wanted a sheath it could slide into and carry with him
on the long trek into the wilderness.
So to accomplish this we decided on a copper tube
with a threaded top for the wand to screw into.
He then sent me sketches and the wood he selected
for the heart and give me instructions to augment the design as I saw fit.

To begin with the over all patterning of the heart was to be of a serpent:
to carry the theme throughout the design
I incorporated snakes binding the handle on each end:
pulling the personal symbols into the piece
and then extending into the coupling of the wand to the walking stick.

Pummel

The handle itself is a series of snakes
wrapped around the rod in a clock wise fashion
(we are north of the equator.
In this hemisphere one uses the “local current” and go with the flow).
Instead of biting it’s tail,
the serpents are crossing their tails:
one way it draws,
the other way it pushes).
Each serpent holds a diamond in it’s head:
the third eye, providing in inference of Vision and clarity in one’s work.
Between Skyler’s emblems are two seven point stars,
one pointing up and one pointing down,
again allowing a push and draw.

In order to expand the design
I set the tails of four snakes into the collar
which then loop into each other.
Because I was dealing with a multilevel design,
parts of which are (shall we say)
inferred into the negative space of the center,
the flair out about the wand’s heart.
Each piece was sculpted in wax,
then cast into bronze,
mounted on brass tubing and sealed with sterling silver.
For the tube of copper,
I cast a footing in bronze which holds several serpent and personal symbols.
The shaft was the hand engraved
– diamond cut strokes for light to flash when seen in firelight.

The base of the Cane

The last revision to the design was to include his personal seal to the sheath;
hand engraving the monogram on the outside of the tube.

Once all the parts were calculated,
carved and cast;
the next step was to shape the heart of the wand.
I removed the layers of bark so characteristic of manzanita,
providing depth and focus for Skyler’s primary design.
Enhancing the drawing by allowing the natural color of the wood
to accent the flow of the wand.
At the tip of the wand I carved jaws in the wood,
hallowed out in the shape of the stone for setting:
the last step in activating the piece.

Skylers scroll was set into the handle’s tube
and the the emblems were used as prongs for setting the stone.
The inside of the wand’s collar it is threaded
for the wand to be placed securely into the sheath.

With all of my work, each piece is designed for potential,
not “pre-charged”.
Each amulet, talisman, seal, wand, atheme (etc)
holds the emblems and symbols of the people who commission the to charge themselves.
In this case toe process of placing the stone
in the tip was the moment of activation.
All of the serpents,
seals and symbols are there for him to bless,
enhance, and use.

I provide the conduit.

A wand concealed within a walking stick,

designed by the client, developed and created by Merlin.

If you are interested in having a wand made for you,
please visit my how to order custom page.