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The Magicians Magic Wand

February 17th 2008 03:14
asclepius rod
Rod of Asclepius
“So Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh, and they performed the miracle just as the Lord had told them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his court, and it became a snake. Then Pharaoh called in his wise men and magicians, and they did the same thing with their secret arts. Their staffs became snakes, too!”

-Exodus 7:10-12


Wands and staffs are special tools which are used in certain magical rituals. They can be used to collect, store, direct, and finally release energy to and from a certain point. Magic wands and wizards staffs help to concentrate and direct your own personal power. Ancient healers would often utilize a twig or small branch to help them cast out evil spirits from the bodies of their patients. These evil spirits were thought to be the cause of disease. Once the evil spirits were cast out the healer could continue to heal their patients with a variety of herbal remedies.

According to folklorists and authors Ernst and Johanna Lehner, the use of magical wands can be traced back to the bible: “In the Dark and Middle Ages, when the professional sorcerers usurped every bit of mythological belief and religious legend of miracles for their own use, they choose the rod of Aaron as the symbol of the magician’s efficacy. The rod became the magic wand for magicians of all times and all peoples.”

Greek God of Medicine

Asclepius, a Greek god of medicine renowned for his great healing powers, also had the power to bring the dead back to life. One of his symbols, which is known as Asclepius’ rod, was a long staff made from a rough hewn cedar branch entwined by a single snake. The caduceus, a symbol of the Greek messenger god Hermes, is a wand or rod, often made from a short piece of olive branch which is entwined by a pair of snakes and topped by a pair of wings. Hermes, who was known as Mercury in the Roman pantheon, used his magic wand to conduct the souls of the dead to the underworld. The caduceus was also supposed to turn anything it touched into gold.

A serpent encircled wand was a symbol often associated with herbalists and healers during the early Middle Ages. The serpent, which periodically sheds its skin to renew itself, is a symbol of immortality and renewed life. Both Asclepius’ rod and the caduceus are symbols used in the modern age by various medical organizations.


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