On this page, you can read about the first four mystical crystals commonly used in crafting a wand as described in the book Magical Wands - A Cornucopia of Wand Lore:

• Amber
• Amethyst
• Black Moonstone
• Black Onyx
• Other Commonly Used Wand Crystals

Amber Wands

Amber wands contain one or more pieces of amber: a large one for the wand’s end cap, a small one at the wand’s tip, or small ones along the wand’s length.

Amber

Amber is a fossilized tree resin that ranges in age from 1,000 to 250 million years old. Baltic amber, the most common type, came from evergreen trees in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries and is from 28-54 million years old.

Most of the world’s amber is found in the Baltic region of Poland, Estonia, Finland, and Russia. Amber has also been found washed up on the coasts of England, Norway, and Denmark. Other localities include the Canada, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Romania, and the USA.

Amber comes in a wide range of colors. Most amber is the color of honey when clear or butterscotch candy, a color often referred to as amber, when translucent. Amber is often yellow and sometimes clear or a deep read. More rare is green amber, and the rarest of all is blue amber from the Dominican Republic. In addition to its color, amber can be transparent, translucent, or opaque.

Illustration: Faceted, Cabochon, Polished, and Natural Amber

Amber has several interesting properties. It will occasionally hold a well preserved bug that had been trapped in the sticky resin. Amber will develop an electrical charge (static electricity) when rubbed by a cloth. Amber is a good insulator of heat and therefore feels warm (skin temperature) when touched.

Amber has electrical properties when rubbed with a cloth, attracting lint/dust. It also has an aroma, and is warm to the touch. The Greek word "electron" means amber. This is where the word "electricity" comes from.

Amber has been called Freja’s Tears, Hardened Honey, Sea Gold (because it is typically yellow and often washes up on beaches), Straw Thief (because of electrostatic attraction), Sun Tears, Tears of the Haliades (from a Greek myth), Tears of the Tiger, and Tiger’s Soul.

Mystical Properties and Uses

Viewed from a magical standpoint, amber is an extremely unusual substance. Should it be treated as a magical “wood” because it is a fossilized tree resin? Or should amber be treated as a mystical “crystal” because it was either mined or found washed up on a beach after eroding from an underground deposit? The answer is that amber is to some degree both. When used in the crafting of wands, amber both strengthens spells like a magical wood and focuses spells like a mystical crystal. In this book, we shall include amber with the other mystical crystals because it does a slightly better job of focusing spells than strengthening them. However, we could just as easily have listed it with the magical woods. Through a happy coincident of spelling, amber is appropriately addressed after the other woods and before the other crystals.

Amber has the following mystical properties, depending on their color and degree of transparency:

Elementals

Amber has the elementals Air, Fire, or Water depending on their color.

Clear amber has the elemental Air, and clear amber wands work best when focusing air spells from the following spell set:

• Have Extra Sensory Perception – Clear amber wands excel at casting spells that enable their targets to perform divination or give them clairaudience, clairsentience, clairvoyance, or telepathy.

Yellow, butterscotch, and red amber have the elemental Fire, and their wands work best when focusing fire spells from the following spell sets:

• Control Electromagnetism – Amber is an excellent source of static electricity. This enables amber wands to excel at casting spells that create or control electricity or magnetism.
• Control Lightning – Because it is such an excellent source of static electricity, amber wands excel at casting spells that create lightning or protect their targets from lightning.
• Control Temperature – Amber is somewhat warm to the touch. Amber wands excel at casting spells that increase or decrease the temperature of their targets.

Green and black amber have the elemental Earth and therefore their wands work best when focusing earth spells from the following spell sets:

• Control Stone – Black amber wands excel at casting spells that create, move, or destroy stones or things made from stone.
• Create Forest – Because it made by trees (as fossilized resins), green amber wands excel at casting spells that create individual trees, small stands of trees, or entire forests if the spell is extremely strong.

Blue amber has the elemental Water, and blue amber wands work best when focusing water spells from the following spell set:

• Control Water – Blue amber wands excel at casting spells that control water such as creating it, moving it, or even drying it up.

Phases

The phase of amber depends on whether it is transparent, translucent, or opaque. Transparent amber has the phase Light, and wands with transparent amber work best when focusing light spells from the following spell sets:

• Be Healed – Wands with transparent amber excel at casting spells that heal their targets from illnesses, injuries, or dark maladies.
• Be Lucky – These amber wands excel at casting spells that bring good luck and prosperity.
• Be Prosperous – These amber wands excel at casting spells that bring wealth and prosperity.
• Eliminate Negative Emotions – These amber wands excel at casting spells that remove negative emotions such as anger, distrust, fear, greed, hatred, jealousy, or sadness.
• Improve Mind – These amber wands excel at casting spells that improve the minds of their targets by, for example, improving their concentration, intelligence, intuition, knowledge, memory, or wisdom.
• Promote Positive Emotions – These amber wands excel at casting that promote such positive emotions as inner peace, serenity, fulfilment, optimism, friendliness, generosity, happiness, love, and loyalty.
• Protect – These amber wands excel at casting defensive spells that protect people and valuables from harm due to dangers such as poisons, curses, and theft.
• Reveal – These amber wands excel at casting spells that reveal evil actions and intents, especially lies and deceptions.

Translucent amber has the phase Twilight, and wands with translucent amber work best when focusing twilight spells from the following spell sets:

• Endure Longer – As fossilized tree sap, amber has endured for millions of years. This is why all amber wands excel at casting spells that make their targets live longer.
• Protect – Wands with translucent amber excel at casting defensive spells such as spells to make one invisible, disarm attackers, and reflect offensive spells back at attackers.
• Reveal – These amber wands excel at casting spells that find hidden or lost objects and make the invisible visible.

Finally, opaque amber has the phase Darkness, and wands with opaque amber work best when focusing dark spells from the following spell set:

• Be Unlucky – Wands with opaque amber excel at casting spells that eliminate good luck or actively cause misfortune.

Genders

Amber has the genders Feminine and Masculine, and they work equally well focusing spells for both witches and wizards.

Famous Wands

The following famous witches had one or more pieces of amber on their wands:

• Angéle de la Barthe (1230 – 1275 CE) – yellow amber
• Luminitsa Camomescro (1821 – 1883 CE) – clear and yellow amber

Additional Magical Uses

In addition to their use in wands, amber has the following magical uses:

• Amulets – Amber is used in the crafting of amulets that protect against diseases, madness, injuries in battle, pain (e.g., during childbirth and teething), and general misfortunes. While amber amulets (like other amulets) are typically worn (e.g., as necklace or ring) or carried, amber they are sometimes buried in the foundations of houses and other buildings to protect them against damage or destruction.
• Charms – Amber is quite commonly used in the crafting of general purpose good luck charms. Amber is also used to craft charms for good health and prosperity.
• Talismans and Staffs – Amber talismans (and jewellery) have been found in Stone Age archaeological sites, as well as in ancient burial chambers. Amber talismans and staffs have essentially the same magical properties as amber wands.
• Potions – Amber is used in the brewing of many healing, good luck, and longevity potions. When brewing potions, a piece of amber is sometimes placed in the cauldron, while other times amber powder is used. On rare occasions that do not require heating, potions are even brewed in amber bowls. In addition to amber itself, the following substances derived from amber are also often used: Balsamum succini (amber balsam), Extractum succini (amber extract), and Oleum succini (amber oil).
• Other Uses – Amber has been used in jewellery for at least 13,000 years. Ancient Germans, who called amber brenstein (“burn stone”), used it as pine-scented incense. Larger pieces of amber have been made into small statues. amber bowls are sometimes used as scrying bowls and the biggest pieces are sometimes used to create amber wands.

Amethyst Wands

Amethyst wands contain one or more pieces of amethyst: a large one for the wand’s end cap, a small one at the wand’s tip, or small ones along the wand’s length.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a variety of quartz that is primarily made from silicon dioxide with traces of iron giving it its purple color. Amethyst may exhibit one or both of its secondary hues (red and blue), especially when faceted. The best amethysts outside of Faerie can be found in Siberia, Ceylon, Brazil, and the Far East.

Illustration: Faceted, Cabochon, Polished, and Natural Amber

Mystical Properties and Uses

Amethyst wands contain one or more amethysts: a large one for the wand’s end cap, a small one at the wand’s tip, or small ones along the wand’s length. Although they typically use faceted amethyst gemstones because of their beauty and better focusing ability, wand makers occasionally also use amethyst cabochons.

The most royal of mystical crystals, amethysts have the following mystical properties:

Amethyst has been called the Bacchus Stone because Greek mythology states that the goddess Diana turned a nymph whom Bacchus loved into an amethyst. Its association with the royal color purple has led it to be called the Royal Beauty.

Elemental

Amethyst has the elemental Water, probably due to their color being somewhat bluish. Thus, amethyst wands work best when focusing water spells from the following spell set:

• Control Precipitation – Amethyst wands excel at casting spells that control various types of precipitation such as spells to create, change, or put a stop to rain, snow, or hail.

Phase

Amethyst has the phase Light, because they are bright transparent crystals. This is why amethyst wands work best when focusing light spells. Interestingly, amethyst’s focusing ability is more pronounced with regard to light spells (phase) than water spells (elemental), especially if the amethyst is a pale rather than deep purple.

• Be Healed – Amethysts are primarily known for their healing properties. Amethyst wands excel at casting spells that heal their targets from illnesses, injuries, or dark maladies.
• Intuit – Amethyst wands excel at casting spells that increase their targets’ intuition.
• Protect – Amethyst wands excel at casting defensive spells that protect people and valuables from harm due to dangers such as poisons, curses, and theft.

Amethyst wands also work best when focusing twilight spells from the following spell set:

• Protect – Amethyst wands excel at casting defensive spells such as spells to make one invisible, disarm attackers, and reflect offensive spells back at attackers.

Genders

Amethyst has the genders Feminine and Masculine, and they work equally well focusing spells for both witches and wizards.

Famous Wands

The following famous witches had one or more amethysts in their wands:

• Hekate (ca. 1050 – ca. 1000 BCE)
• Marie Laveau (1784 – 1881 CE)

Additional Magical Uses

In addition to their use in wands, amethysts have the following magical uses:

• Amulets – Amethysts are used in the crafting of amulets that protect against attack, theft, personal losses, and the grief of lost loved ones.
• Charms – Amethysts are commonly used in the crafting of good luck charms for achieving about wealth and success. Amethyst is widely used in amulets and charms to provide happiness, calm, and contentment.
• Talismans and Staffs – Amethyst talismans and staffs have essentially the same magical properties as amethyst wands.
• Potions – Amethysts are used in the brewing of healing potions, the most famous of which provides an antidote against drunkenness and hangovers. Other healing potions include those for general healing and pain relief.
• Other Uses – Very large amethyst crystals have historically been carved into goblets that when properly enchanted neutralize most poisons.

Black Moonstone Wands

Black moonstone wands contain one or more pieces of black moonstone: a large one for the wand’s end cap, a small one at the wand’s tip, or small ones along the wand’s length.

Black Moonstone

Black moonstone is a form of feldspar that is primarily black to dark gray interspersed with the same kinds of shimmering iridescent highlights found in the more common white moonstone. These opalescent highlights are caused by light diffracting within regularly spaced microscopic layers of feldspar.

Illustration: Cabochon and Natural Black Moonstone

Mystical Properties and Uses

The most mysterious of mystical crystals, black moonstones have the following mystical properties:

Elemental

Black moonstone has the elemental Earth because of their dark stone-like color. This is why black moonstone wands work best when focusing earth spells from the following spell sets:

• Control Creatures – Black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that control terrestrial creatures such as mammals, reptiles, and crawling insects.
• Control Plants – Black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that control plants such as controlling their growth or movement.
• Create Geological Disasters – Black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that cause earthquakes, landslides, and cave-ins.

Phase

Black moonstone has the phase Darkness, because of their dark opaque nature. Black moonstone wands work best when focusing dark spells from the following spell sets:

• Be Dark – Black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that make it darker or blind their targets.
• Promote Negative Emotions – Black moonstone wands excel at casting dark spells from this spell set.
• Sleep – Black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that cause their targets to sleep, have nightmares, or fall into comas.

Black moonstone wands also work very well when focusing twilight spells from the following spell sets:

• Change Visibility – Black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that make their targets visible or invisible.
• Transfigure – Perhaps because of its relationship to werewolves, black moonstone wands excel at casting spells that transfigure their targets, for example by changing their shape or appearance, turning them into something else, changing them into animals, or reverting them back to their human form.

Genders

Black moonstone has the genders Feminine and Masculine and therefore work equally well for both witches and wizards.

Additional Mystical Characteristics

Black moonstones are especially powerful when incorporated into werewolf wands and when used during the darkness of the new moon or the thin light of a waxing or waning moon.

Famous Wands

The following famous mages had one or more black moonstones in their wands:

• Circe (1206 – 1168 BCE)
• Miriam Hebraea (345 – 290 BCE)
• Johan Weyer (1515 – 1588 CE)
• John Dee (1527 – 1608 CE)
• Urbain Grandier (1590 – 1634 CE)

Additional Magical Uses

In addition to their use in wands, black moonstones have the following magical uses:

• Amulets – Black moonstones are used in the crafting of amulets that protect against attack by dark creatures, especially werewolves.
• Charms – Black moonstones are rarely used in the crafting of good luck charms because their phase gives them a tendency to produce bad luck.
• Talismans and Staffs – Black moonstone talismans and staffs have essentially the same magical properties as black moonstone wands.
• Potions – Black moonstones are used in the brewing of potions to prevent or minimize an afflicted person’s transformation into a werewolf.

Black Onyx Wands

Black onyx wands contain one or more pieces of black onyx: a large one for the wand’s end cap, a small one at the wand’s tip, or small ones along the wand’s length.

Black Onyx

Black onyx is a solid black form of chalcedony, a variety of quartz. It can be extremely shiny, with a sateen reflection. Its primary sources are India, Brazil, and Uruguay. Since ancient times, it has been carved into jewelry, typically as beads or a cabochon. Occasionally, black onyx is also faceted. Care should be taken when buying black onyx because much of the black onyx is actually another shade of onyx that has been died black.

Illustration: Faceted, Cabochon, and Natural Black Onyx

Mystical Properties and Uses

The darkest of mystical crystals, black onyxes have the following mystical properties:

Elemental

Black onyx has the elemental Earth due to its black stony color. This is why black onyx wands will work best when focusing earth spells from the following spell set:

• Create Geological Disasters – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that cause earthquakes, landslides, and cave-ins.

Phase

Black onyx has the phase Darkness, because of their dark opaque nature. Black onyx wands therefore work best focusing dark spells from the following spell sets:

• Be Dark – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that make it darker or blind their targets.
• Sleep – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that cause their targets to sleep, have nightmares, or fall into comas.
• Summon Evil – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that summon evil beings, daemons, spirits, or beasts.
• Use Necromancy – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that enable their casters to perform necromancy including summoning, raising, controlling, and speaking with corpses, ghosts, and other spirits.

Black onyx wands also work best focusing twilight spells from the following spell sets:

• Change Physical Properties – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that change the physical properties of their targets such as their size, shape, and weight.
• Change Visibility – Black onyx wands excel at casting spells that make their targets visible or invisible.

Genders

Black onyx has both genders Feminine and Masculine and therefore work equally well for both witches and wizards.

Famous Wands

The following famous mages used black onyx wands:

• Tiresias of Thebes (ca.1200 – ca.1150 BCE)
• Erichtho of Aeolia (98 – 21 BCE)

Additional Magical Uses

In addition to their use in wands, black onyxes have the following magical uses:

• Amulets – Black onyxes are used in the crafting of amulets that protect against dark spells.
• Charms – Black onyxes are seldom used in the crafting of good luck charms because propensity for Darkness gives them a strong tendency to produce bad luck.
• Talismans and Staffs – Black onyx talismans and staffs have essentially the same magical properties as black onyx wands.
• Potions – Black onyxes are used in the brewing of various sleeping potions, poisons, venoms, and toxins.

Other Commonly-Used Wand Crystals

Other commonly used wand crystals described in detail in the book Magical Wands - A Cornucopia of Wand Lore include:

• Bloodstone
• Blue Sapphire
• Citrine
• Diamond
• Emerald
• Garnet
• Hematite
• Obsidian
• Opal
• Peridot
• Rock Crystal
• Rose Quartz
• Ruby
• Topaz
• White Moonstone