Wandlore

I finally finished my re-read of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was lots of fun! This time around, I was particularly struck by the discussions surrounding wandlore – the study of the magical properties of wands. So what do we know about wands?

First, they are used to channel and perhaps control magic. Children who have magical ability but have not yet received wands can “do” magic although it is clearly limited and in some cases uncontrollable. In Book 1, strange things happen around Harry that seem triggered by his subconscious during times of stress. In Book 7, the young Severus explains to Lily that they are let off by the Ministry of Magic if they are not of age (eleven) and do not yet have wands. Without a wand, a wizard or witch is almost powerless – thus the efficacy of disarming one’s opponent with Expelliarmus!

Second, there is a special synergy between the wand and its bearer or owner. When Harry first steps into Ollivander’s shop he is told that “the wand chooses the wizard”. If one is not the proper owner of a wand, it does not work as well – the spells cast seem weaker and/or less efficacious. When Harry’s wand is broken almost beyond repair, and he uses the blackthorn wand that Ron obtained, it seems not to work as well for him. His original wand “chose” him because it recognized his relationship to Voldemort through his scar and Horcrux-connection. How the wand recognizes this is unclear. Perhaps there is a connection to how the Sorting Hat works in that it recognizes synergies between the wearer and the traits of a particular Hogwarts House.

Third, wands have a core magical object that presumably is the main component responsible for channeling magic. Harry and Voldemort both have phoenix feathers from Fawkes. Unicorn hair, dragon heartsring and veela hair are also mentioned as examples of core objects. The physicality of the wand seems to also have a superficial connection with physical characteristics or personality of its owner. In Book 7, when asked to identify wands that Harry has won or captured at Malfoy manor, Bellatrix’s wand is described as “unyielding” and Draco’s is “reasonably springy”. Hagrid’s wand was very long and Umbridge’s is short, in accordance with their relative physical sizes. The different wood used may also have significance but it’s unclear to me what the connections might be.

Fourth, wands have differential relative power. This is clearly the case for the Elder Wand. If the bearer is indeed the true owner of the wand, it cannot fail to win a magical duel, at least according to the Tale of the Three Brothers. After defeating Voldemort (it is unclear who is the true owner at this point), Harry is able to use the Elder Wand to repair his original wand where other wands could not. Ollivander even had declared his wand beyond repair.

Fifth, wands can change allegiances if the winner has properly bested the loser in some sort of a magical duel. The question of ownership and allegiance is explored in Book 7, although clearly it is complex and Ollivander admits there is still much that is not understood. Certainly wandmakers have been studying the secrets and delving into the mysteries of wandlore, and in this regard they sound like scientists – in fact I might even venture that they are chemists (or perhaps alchemists) of a sort. Chemists try to make materials that have certain properties and sometimes the properties of the synthesized material are not quite what one would have predicted theoretically – which makes things even more interesting and worthy of further study.

Let’s explore this a little further: How would one go about being a wandmaker? If the purpose of the wand is to channel magic (and I’ve speculated that it may involve manipulating EM radiation), then it needs to have something that focuses the magic – thus the core magical component. The core component must be embedded in appropriate wood of an appropriate size and shape. Presumably some combinations work and others do not, and these different variables can be arranged to fit certain wizards or witches. Maybe there is a synergy between the core component and the magical aura of a witch or wizard, and they interact in some way. The connection though is made through tests – let a new eleven-year old “try” a wand, and go through several until you see some evidence of such synergy. With experience, one can start to detect patterns.

Wandlore seems to be a branch of magic that is still being pushed in further study – advanced magic of a sort. There is probably a guild of wandmakers that study and perhaps share such information amongst themselves. The brilliant young Dumbledore is said to have corresponded with notable magical practitioners in his day. Maybe if there was some sort of Magic graduate school (is that what comes after N.E.W.T.s?) wandlore might be one of the topics. The guild system in the middle ages is probably the forerunner to graduate training, and perhaps that is how the magical world still operated.

Will we ever be able to make wands? Actually Nyko makes them – and they might work well if we were simulating a Harry Potter adventureland, perhaps like this one advertised in Poland. I should read up to see what the participants thought about their experience. Maybe there will be something interesting for a follow-up post.