If you were a wizard or a witch in Harry Potter's world, you would not be complete without a magic wand. You would use your wand to cast spells; the wand would channel your magic powers. If you were a very powerful wizard, you might even be able to work magic without a wand. However, without a wand, you would find it rather difficult if not impossible to perform a powerful or focused spell.
Does the wand increase your magical ability? No, it is actually more correct to think of the wand as a focus for your magic. In this way the wand is like a magnifying glass, and your magic like sunlight. Sunlight can burn leaves when it's focused through a glass.
You would probably buy your wand from Ollivander, who is renowned as one of the greatest wand makers alive. But if you live in Europe, you might instead buy your wand from the venerable Gregorovitch. However, Ollivander's family has been making wands for a very long time... since 382 B.C., in fact.
Your wand would be fashioned from a single piece of wood, and it would have some special substance as its magic core. If you bought your wand from Ollivander, it would either contain a unicorn hair, dragon heartstring, or a phoenix feather. Gregorovitch and other wand makers use other materials, though; veela hair would not be uncommon.
You would not choose your wand; the wand would be the one to choose you. Wands are funny things that have their own laws and personalities. Wands are loyal to the wizards they choose. If you happened to lose or break your wand, you could borrow another wizard's wand, but it would not feel natural. Wizards and witches have the most success with their own wands.
Your wand would probably reflect some facet of your personality, or perhaps reveal something of your powers. This is common. Hagrid's wand was made from oak, a very strong tree. Dolores Umbridge is short, and so is her wand.
The wood of your wand might correspond with your date of birth according to a Celtic calendar. True enough, for each month in the Celtic year is represented by a tree, and each tree is associated with certain qualities and powers. It's a lot like the zodiac that way. Consider Harry's wand: It's made of Holly, and it corresponds with his birthday on July 31st. Holly is a symbol for protection, luck, and death and rebirth.
Now if you were to attend a class on wand lore at Hogwarts, you would probably receive full marks!
If you'd like to learn more about wands or find one for yourself (or maybe as a gift for a Harry Potter fan), be sure to visit Harry Potter Wands on Squidoo.
About the Author
Victoria Neely is a freelance writer. You can read more articles by Victoria at Squidoo.