Free shipping on all order of $35 or more! Every piece is shipped in a gift box.

I love making these wands! It could be used as a ceremonial wand, for dress-up, or even a pointer for reading. It measures 7 and 5/8 inches long with a polished Black Onyx point at one end and 3 Black Onyx crystal balls at the other with tiny Black Onyx beads woven into the base. The crystal balls spin freely in their settings. I created this piece with copper wire adding Black Onyx bead dangles. The dangles are on a clasp and can be removed.

This piece comes with a 24 inch rolo chain.

A Brief History of Magic Wands

Magicians, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and fairies all know that to give their magical powers a boost, they need a magic wand. These thin, hand-held devices were said to be the source of magic or, at the very least, served as a distraction away from a sleight-of-hand. It may be tempting to credit JK Rowling for the invention of the magic wand, but in fact, this power stick has a long and diverse background. Let’s look at the brief history of magic wands.

A Greek Invention

By all accounts, the first written references to magic wands come from the Greek writer, Homer, and appear in his works, The Iliad and The Odyssey. In The Iliad, he wrote that a magic wand, which he called a rod, was the tool used by the god Hermes to put people to sleep and then wake them up again. In The Odyssey, Homer wrote that the goddess Athena used her magic wand to turn Odysseus into an old man and then, with a wave of her wand, she made him young again. Later in The Odyssey, the goddess Circe also uses a magic wand. She uses her device to turn Odysseus’s men into pigs.

A Medieval Book of Magic

There are also references to magic wands in the 13th century Latin grimoire, or textbook of magic, titled The Oathbound Book of Honorius. This book mentions two types of magical sticks, the wand, and the staff. The wand is smaller and thinner and, as the book states, should be made from Hazelwood or the wood of another nut tree. It goes on to be more specific, adding that the branch must be virgin wood, meaning from new growth. It must also be cut from the tree using a single stroke and that this must occur at sunrise on a Wednesday. Only then will the wand be powerful.

Black Onyx History

The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail,” referring to the translucence of the white-colored layer of this multi-layered stone. According to myth, Cupid trimmed the nails of the sleeping goddess Venus. The Fates turned those clippings into stone to prevent even a part of Venus from dying.

The Romans were experts at glyptography (the carving of layered stones to reveal different colors) and crafted beautiful seals from onyx (white layer over black base) and sardonyx (white layer over reddish-brown base). The patterns were cut in negative relief. Engravings with a negative picture are called intaglios and those with raised image are cameos. In the Middle East, onyx was associated with sorcerers.

While ruby is the birthstone for July, black onyx is an alternative stone for the month and is associated with the Babylonian Zodiac sign of Capricorn.

Black Onyx Metaphysical Properties

Black has been associated with regeneration and new beginnings. Black onyx is thought by some to have protective qualities, making it advantageous to carry when traveling. It is said to be useful in fighting basic fears and helping to move beyond bad relationships–as well as to heal old emotional wounds. The Romans associated onyx with courage and it is thought to be useful when one is defending him/herself against unfair criticism.

Black Onyx Geological Properties

Onyx is a form of chalcedony, which is a microcrystalline quartz formed in the gas cavities of lava. Its multi-layered structure is similar to that of agates. When the stone has a black base and a white upper layer, it’s called onyx. (Black onyx is uniformly black chalcedony.) When the base is brown, it is called sardonyx while carnelian-onyx has a red base.

back to my page: www.nostoneleftunturned.etsy.com
to my tutorial shop www.nostoneleftunturned2.etsy.com
to my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NoStoneLeftUnturned/
to my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aletha_tjaden/

*legal blurb, Metaphysical and or healing properties of the stones are for entertainment purposes only, No Stone Left Unturned does not claim these stones will heal your ailments or make your life full of rainbows and unicorns. BUT they sure are beautiful to look at and calm my nerves :oD