Western Morning News (Saturday)
Wise words from Dartmoor’s wand master
IWAS rummaging around in a cupboard the other day and came across a slim elegant box. When I opened it up, I was delighted at what I saw.
It was a wand. A very beautiful, interesting wand. And I’ve never attempted to learn about it, which is a shame.
It was made many years ago by John Vickery. I’d love to know what happened to this delightful man. When I met him some 15 years ago, he lived in the wilds of Dartmoor. He had been making wands, staffs, walking sticks and other pieces for many years and his craftsmanship was magical.
Finding the wand made me seek out my notes on him. “I have permission to trawl over 2,000 acres of woodland” he says. “Much of it includes the magical Wistmans Wood, which is really wonderful. But it’s not only permission from the landowner that’s important, it’s also permission from the tree. I will often be about to cut a branch and will get told ‘No’.”
Vickery doesn’t use any old wood. “I use about 30 different types of wood and there’s another 20 or 30 I could use if they’re suitable,” he says. Timing, it seems, is important for his work. “I cut between Michaelmas Quarterday at the end of September until Lady Day at the end of March, when the sap is down. Wood is never cut on a waning moon and some clients insist on wands being cut and collected at a particular time of the moon’s cycle. Other people, it seems, want a very specific piece of wood to be used and it can sometimes take months to find the right piece,” he said.
Then, Vickery was creating about 150 wands a year. It’s not just a question of cutting a piece of wood, sandpapering it and giving it a coat of varnish. Oh no. Once Vickery found his wood, he would take it into his 300-year-old cottage kitchen, where it would be stored for up to a year. Then it’s ready for him to begin his work. It’s carefully straightened, sometimes using several pieces of wood to make the same piece, wound round – as my wand is. They’re either left plain, or inlaid with crystal or brass, all meticulously crafted in his glorious workshop, which was like something out of a fairy story. If a goblin had popped up to help, I wouldn’t have been surprised. He even had a big black cat with gooseberry eyes who sat surveying me indifferently as I made notes.
For years, his beautifully crafted wares have been bought on the internet from all over the world. And, when the Harry Potter books became popular, John Vickery was inundated with work. “Lots of the wands I sold were to Harry Potter wannabees” he said. “Lots are sold at country fairs and I’m earnestly asked by the buyers, usually children or their parents, if I can give lessons on how to use them. Wizard I’m not! It was always amusing to see children use their wands to try to turn their parents into frogs or make them fly!”
“I tread a fine line between these buyers and the serious ones. I’ve great respect for those guying wants to work with. They use them for many things, including healing and conductors for positive energy. Those people will often specify the type of wood that they want. Hazel is good for divining and wisdom, holly for strength, yew for the cycle of life and death and so on.”
“I sometimes have no idea what to do with the wood when I start working with it, but I have a strong sense of intuition and let the wood speak to me,” he says. Despite being so seemingly in tune with his materials, Vickery does his best not to impose his will on the wand. “I make the hardware and leave the owner to provide the software” he chuckles.
So now I’m looking again at my wand – given to me by friends years ago. I wonder what the two types of wood are for? I wish I knew. Perhaps I should spend a little time researching wand usage. I Google it. “When trying magic out for the first time, start small. Don’t try levitation, it won’t work.”
Phew, well that’s a relief, I’d have some trouble trying to explain that one in Sainsbury’s. Instead it says “try to create a minor event or minor item in your reality. A magic want is usually used to activate the wizard’s magical state of mind/being”. Hmm, I can see I need to do a lot of work if I’m ever to get anywhere.
Sadly, the wand didn’t come with a handbook. What would I wish for if I could get the wand working? Now that would be telling. Maybe I should try. I’ve even got a black cat called Merlin – so named by the cat rescue centre. Perhaps I should get a pointy hat and a broomstick. By Halloween, I might just have learned to fly.
‘Some clients insist on wands being cut and collected at a particular time of the moon’s cycle’