Every single wand is unique and will depend for its character on the particular tree from which it derives its materials. Only a minority of trees can produce wand quality wood. The following notes on various wand woods should be regarded very much as a starting point, for this is the study of a lifetime.

 

Apple

Applewood wands are not made in high numbers. They are powerful and best suited to an owner of high aims and ideals, as this wood mixes poorly with Dark Magic. It is said that the possessor of an apple wand will be well-loved and long-lived, as customers of great personal charm find their perfect match in an applewood wand. An unusual ability to converse with other magical beings in their native tongues is often seen among apple wand owners.

 

Box Elder

Box Elder is a sacred wood, and reacts poorly, or not at all when used for the Dark Arts. As an excellent wood for defensive magic, it seeks a companion for healing and protection. It is most excellent for banishment charms.

 

Cedar

Those who carry a cedar wand possess a strength of character and incredible loyalty. It’s been said, ‘you will never fool the cedar carrier,’ as the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there are perspicacity and perception. You wouldn’t want to meet the owner of a cedar wand whom you’d care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them.

 

Cherry

This rare wand wood creates a wand of strange power, most highly prized by the wizarding students of the school of Mahoutokoro in Japan, where those who own cherry wands have special prestige. The Western wand-purchaser should dispel from their minds any notion that the pink blossom of the living tree makes for a frivolous or merely ornamental wand, for cherry wood often makes a wand that possesses truly lethal power, whatever the core.

 

Cypress

Cypress wands are associated with nobility. Many owners of cypress wands would go on to die heroic deaths. Fortunately, in these less blood-thirsty times, the possessors of cypress wands are rarely called upon to lay down their lives, though doubtless many of them would do so if required. Wands of cypress find their soulmates among the brave, the bold and the self-sacrificing: those who are unafraid to confront the shadows in their own and others’ natures.

 

Elm

The unfounded belief that only pure-bloods can produce magic from elm wands was undoubtedly started by some elm wand owner seeking to prove his blood credentials, despite the countless matches of elm wands which are no-majs. The truth is that elm wands prefer owners with presence, magical dexterity and a certain native dignity. Of all wand woods, elm produces the fewest accidents, the least foolish errors, and the most elegant charms and spells; these are sophisticated wands, capable of highly advanced magic in the right hands (which, again, makes it highly desirable to those who espouse the pure-blood philosophy).

 

Fir

Wands of this wood are said to be ‘the survivor’s wand,’ as their owners have passed through mortal peril unscathed. There is no doubt that this wood, coming as it does from the most resilient of trees, produces wands that demand staying power and strength of purpose in their actual owners, and that they are poor tools in the hands of the changeable and indecisive. Fir wands are particularly suited to Transfiguration, and favor owners of focused, strong-minded and, occasionally, intimidating demeanor.

 

Lignum Vitae

Lignum Vitae is one of the hardest woods in the world, making it strong and durable. This robust wood favors healing and protection spells. The energies within the wood would also be excellent for divining information from far away as well as close to home.

 

Mahogany

A well-balanced wood, Mahogany seeks an owner with both strength and energy. While excellent for protection spells, this pliable wood is especially exceptional for Transfiguration.

 

Maple

Those chosen by maple wands are by nature travelers and explorers; they are not stay-at-home wands and prefer ambition in their witch or wizard. Otherwise, their magic grows heavy and lackluster. Fresh challenges and regular changes of scenery cause this wand to shine, burnishing itself as it grows, with its partner, in ability and status. This is a beautiful and desirable wood, and wand quality maple has been among the most costly for centuries. Possession of a maple wand has long been a mark of status, because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers.

 

Oak

Wood from this steadfast tree is associated with truth and wisdom. A wand of this wood favors confident and optimistic. Wizards who wield a wand of this wood are said to possess great inner strength and a deep well of knowledge.

 

Orange Osage

Osage Orange derives its name from the Native Americans of the Osage Nation. This wand wood is thought to offer protection to its wielder by blocking unwanted forces. The owner of a wand of this wood is believed to be reliable and is especially gifted with both protection and healing spells.

 

Pecan

Pecan is a powerful, strong and versatile wood. It provides balance and nourishment and is suitable for spirituality. It's high in energy and very well suited for alchemy and potions.

 

Pine

The straight-grained pine wand always chooses an independent, individual master who may be perceived as a loner, intriguing and perhaps mysterious. Pine wands enjoy being used creatively, and unlike some others, will adapt unprotestingly to new methods and spells. Many wandmakers insist that pine wands can detect, and perform best for, owners who are destined for long lives, as the master of a pine wand isn’t known to die young. The pine wand is one of those that are most sensitive to non-verbal magic.

 

Plum

Plum wood evokes powers of great reserve and protection, the setting of boundaries, and the ability to dissolve them. The wood itself is strong in protection magic and inclined to Charms.

 

Purpleheart

Purpleheart seeks a wise and practiced companion. Valuable in eliminating negative energy, this wood is best suited to protection spells. It finds a partner that is both compassionate and generous, compelling it toward emotional as well as physical healing.

 

Redheart

Containing an overall bright and carefree energy, Redheart is an excellent wood for those seeking to focus more on the "here and now" rather than dwelling on past or possible future events. It allows one to follow their whims, set aside their fears, and move their life in an overall positive direction. It does not distract one from real threats but instead removes the fear and doubt that can cloud one’s judgment. This wood will aid its owner in finding their truth, free of self-deception. Redheart is a resilient wood that is good at both conducting and holding energy.

 

Rosewood

Rosewood lends a boost to intuitive thought and feeling and is thus excellent for Divination and Scrying. Highly spiritual, Rosewood boosts intuition and is a  healer of non-physical ailments. Owners of this wood are often motherly, spiritual and nurturing. This wood is equally suitable for love spells, but only those conducted with maturity and wisdom. Frivolous energies will not be enhanced by this wood.

 

Russian Olive

This wand wood favors witches and wizards who are observant, insightful, wise, intelligent, generous and peace-loving. Wands made of Olive wood promote insight, which makes them ideal for Divination.

 

Sycamore

The sycamore makes a questing wand, eager for new experience and losing brilliance if engaged in mundane activities. It is a quirk of these handsome wands that they may combust if allowed to become ‘bored,’ and many witches and wizards, settling down into middle age, are disconcerted to find their trusty wand bursting into flame in their hand as they ask it, one more time, to fetch their slippers. As may be deduced, the sycamore’s ideal owner is curious, vital and adventurous, and when paired with such an owner, it demonstrates a capacity to learn and adapt that earns it a rightful place among the world’s most highly-prized wand woods.

 

Walnut

Highly intelligent witches and wizards ought to be offered a walnut wand for trial first because in nine cases out of ten, the two will find in each other their ideal mate. Walnut wands are often found in the hands of magical innovators and inventors; this is a handsome wood possessed of unusual versatility and adaptability. A note of caution, however: while some woods are difficult to dominate, and may resist the performance of spells that are foreign to their natures, the walnut wand will, once subjugated, perform any task its owner desires, provided that the user is of sufficient brilliance. This makes for a truly lethal weapon in the hands of a witch or wizard of no conscience, for the wand and the wizard may feed on each other in a particularly unhealthy manner.

 

Yellowheart

Yellowheart is somewhat chaotic in nature. This irritable woods may react negatively when frustrated or upset. As such, wielders of such wand woods are most often forceful, strong-willed, productive and passionate. With the proper owner, Yellowheart is a generally positive wood as it is highly influenced by luck. Yellowheart is excellent for Occlumency and Legilimency.

The following represents a summary of research into each wand core. Readers should bear in mind that each wand is the composite of its wood, its core and the experience and nature of its owner; that tendencies of each may counterbalance or outweigh the other; so this can only be a very general overview of an immensely complex subject.

 

Horned Serpent Horn

Horned Serpent Horn is an exceptionally powerful wand core. It is capable of warning its owner of danger by emitting a low musical tone and is known to be sensitive to Parseltongue. This core favors the intelligent.

 

Jackalope Antler

Jackalope cores are difficult to obtain as they are surprisingly vicious creatures, but can be lured by a good whiskey. They were frequently used in the past, but are incredibly capricious and temperamental cores. They can be great transfiguration and charms cores when they don’t throw a hissy fit. Jackalope Antler is popular with some wandmakers, as it is known to help liven up more quiet woods.

 

Rougarou Hair

While Rougarou Hair wand cores are rumored to have an affinity to Dark Magic, it is not inclined toward the Dark Arts of its own accord. They are capable of the highest range of magic and tend to learn more quickly than other core types.

 

Snallygaster Heartstring

Not quite dragon and not quite a bird, a wand with snallygaster heartstring is considered a jack of all trades, with a penchant for defensive spells. If powerfully intrigued, this wand may let out a train-like whistle and try to nudge its owner to investigate the source.

 

Thunderbird Tail Feathers

Particularly prized by Transfigurers, Thunderbird Tail Feathers are somewhat temperamental and are more prone to accidents than other cores. They will sometimes act of their own accord and are challenging to master. While it takes a great deal of time to tame and personalize them, they are capable of the most potent and most exorbitant spells.

 

Wampus Cat Hair

Wampus Cat Hair cores produce the most consistent magic and are the most loyal. It is near impossible to change their allegiance once won. The hairs of these creatures can only be collected by the Cherokee who have spent time studying the creatures and how to safely interact with them - due to this, many wandmakers who use this core maintain cordial relationships with the Native American Tribe so as to keep the trading relationship, though these interactions have been strained (and outright called off) at several points in history due to the behavior of MACUSA.

Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair – although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core, and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique.

 

Quite Bendy

A wand of this flexibility is renowned for being shockingly loyal or disloyal to its owner and is known for doing the unexpected. Its owner usually adapts well to sudden change.

 

Surprisingly Swishy

This wand flexibility presents a bit of a challenge for its owner as it displays hesitance when given an order. Owners of this wand flexibility are most often perfectionist with a desire to appear perfect at all times. This fear of making mistakes usually gets in the way of their potential for success as they forget what it is they want for themselves.

 

Swishy

Owners that are matched with wands of this flexibility are known to be sociable and fun-loving with a penchant for mischief-making. They are usually very bright and prefer not to commit to any particular way of thinking.

 

Slightly Springy

A wand of this flexibility won’t initially take well to new owners. As time goes on, this wand will become increasingly more troublesome for any owner until finally, it stops working altogether. Owners matched with this wand may be very cheerful and optimistic, but most of all, they have overactive imaginations as their thought patterns tend to be outside of the box.

 

Fairly Bendy

Wands of this flexibility will make themselves challenging to work with, but with time, they will eventually warm up to their owners. Owners of a fairly bendy wand are well-liked but pride themselves on trying to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, some of them may be quite susceptible to peer pressure, usually brought on by being in a group considered "different" from others.

 

Very Flexible

A wand of this flexibility is happy in just about anyone's hands. Owners of this wand flexibility come with a wide variety of personalities, but they do share a very high level of adaptability to just about any situation and easy-going nature.

 

Quite Flexible

This wand flexibility presents little to no difficulty to whoever possesses it, except for owners it considers restrictive and boring. The owner of this wand is usually very likable as a result of being diplomatic and able to see all sides of a situation.

 

Supple

A wand of this flexibility needs a little time before it will warm up to its owner, but once it does, it becomes exceptionally loyal. Supple wand owners are usually gentle, warm, humble and kind-hearted. They must be careful to avoid burning themselves out in an attempt to please everyone.

 

Reasonably Supple

Reasonably supple wands take even more time than a supple wand before warming up to its owner, it eventually becomes extremely loyal to its owner. Owners of wands with this flexibility are patient and kind, but they have their limits. They are also less likely to burn themselves out in an attempt to please everyone, but it is still possible.

 

Pliant

A wand of this flexibility will warm up quickly to just about anyone, although its full potential will not be realized until its owner has reached their full potential as well. Pliant wand owners are eager, enthusiastic, and tend to be very easily impressed and naive. They often have a zest for life that is rare and unrivaled in most populations.

 

Brittle

A brittle wand has a tendency to attach itself quickest to owners who are insecure, and its level of loyalty is often dependent on the loyalty of its owner. As they break easily, their owners should be careful to avoid magic that is unnecessarily flashy or explosive. Owners are typically contemplative, clever, and somewhat cynical; they tend to be an "underdog" type and perhaps even a tad unlucky, which could lead them to becoming resentful of their more successful peers.

 

Hard

A hard wand is very difficult to work with and its loyalty is not easily won. This type of wand is best suited for wizards and witches who are gifted, stubborn, and persistent. Owners of this wand also have a tendency to view things in absolute black or white. Some people may find them intimidating or difficult to approach.

 

Solid

A wand of this flexibility will become extremely loyal to one owner and one owner only, usually people of great moral integrity. Owners of this wand are generally known for their reliability, friendliness and character. They may find it difficult to understand views that differ from their own but are able to politely disagree.

 

Stiff

Stiff wands are extraordinarily stubborn, often going against its owner’s wishes in favor of its own. Owners of this wand flexibility are known to be introverted, shy and lonesome. These people find it difficult communicating with others and are easily overlooked or pushed aside.

 

Rigid

A wand of this flexibility will only give its complete loyalty to an owner who has faced great personal tragedy. Rigid wand owners are cautious and have difficulty trusting others. Generally, they prefer to be left alone to do as the desire regardless of what anyone else says.

 

Unyielding

Unyielding wand owners tend to be confident in themselves and/or their beliefs. They are intelligent, somewhat cynical and usually possess well-defined principles that they will never stray from. Sometimes, this combination can lead to arrogance as they insist on how right they are without considering other points of view or whether or not they might be wrong.

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Slightly Unyielding

A wand of this flexibility will initially resist new owners, but if the owner is persistent, it will warm up eventually. Wand owners with slightly yielding wands are often kind and compassionate, but they prove reluctant to trust others.

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Unbending

An unbending wand is unique in the fact that it remains apathetic to anyone who wields it. It possesses little if no bias and will do as it is told. Wielders of this wand flexibility tend to be frequently successful in their careers as they are good at managing others, meeting goals, and being relentlessly goal-driven.

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Whippy

A wand of this flexibility is renowned for being uncooperative and nearly impossible with which to work. It is known to backfire quite often, bringing great harm to its owner. Those most frequently in possession of this wand flexibility are prone to unusual shifts in mood, energy and activity levels.

Many wandmakers match the wand length to the size of the witch or wizard who will use it, but this is a crude measure and fails to take into account many other, important considerations. While longer wands might suit taller wizards, they tend to be drawn to more prominent personalities, and those of a more spacious and dramatic style of magic. Neater wands favor more elegant and refined spell-casting. However, no single aspect of wand composition should be considered in isolation of all the others, and the type of wood, the core, and the flexibility may either counterbalance or enhance the attributes of the wand’s length.

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≤ 8”

Exceptionally rare. Abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized.

 

9” - 14”

Most wands will be in the range of between nine and fourteen inches.

 

≥ 15”

Exceptionally rare. A physical peculiarity may demand an excessive wand length.