Handcrafted large and curiously coloured apple wood wand,gently twisted by nature..and absolutley beautiful

This is apple wood..perhaps the first tree to be cultivated by man,and certainly a tree which has a very rich treasury of myth and lore associated to it..both in Germanic and Celtic cultures,appearing in the mythology of many cultures..even in christianity.

But this wand is no ordinary cultivated domestic apple wood..this is wild apple,what you might call crab apple,a tree native to Britain and the apple tree our earliest ancestors would have known.This is Quert,the apple tree of the Celtic Calender,a tree associated with the powers of love,poetic inspiration,health and destiny,ruled by Venus and the element of water.

Amongst many "Celtic wands"..this is the genuine article..a true Celtic wood grown on Celtic land,a wood that has never known the confines of a domestic garden.We use only wild grown woods in the making of our wands..as the name suggests.After all,a hedgewitch is meant to traverse the boundaries between this world and the otherworld..between the tame and the wild,and then to come back again.It's a little hard to do that in your own back garden.

The apple tree is the Celtic Tree of Life and Love ,of eternal youth,health and vigour...and abundance.An apple a day keeps the doctor away,so they say..and perhaps there is more to it than simple repetition of superstition.The apple tree  has given it's name to Avalon,derived from the Celtic words for Apple Vale and it's lore to the Island of Apples,and the magical apple orchard that is said to lie between this world..and Annwyn,the Otherworld.So this tree is closely associated with the Otherworld..and to the King of the Fairies,the hidden folk of the hollow hills,the ancient mounds and standing stones,the mountains,valleys and magical lakes...and to eternal youth,life unaffected by Time.

Between here and there..it is said in order to reach the otherworld,one must first cross the apple orchard that lays between worlds.A shamanic wood,one of the Sacred Nine Woods and a key that assists in shamanic journeys and the connection to the spiritual realms.Apple is the golden key that unlocks the doors to Annwyn.

Wild or crab apple possesses a wilder nature than it's domesticated cousin,a highly protective wood,and one that can deflect negative or dark forces during your shamanic wanderings.

In October the apples harvest is at it's most abundant.Samhain is also known as the Festival of Apples..and this tree,lying as it does between this world and that world still plays a part in modern celebrations of Hallow'een today..in the apple bobbing and divination via the skin or pips.But perhaps it's significance is deeper than that..because Samhain marks the cross over of the year..the death of the old year and the birth of the new..and the brief window of opportunity for both worlds to be aware of the other..when the dead might find a way back from Annwyn..or the shaman might find a way in.Food for the Dead..apples have been placed amongst the grave goods of ancient peoples as symbols of immortality..and resurrection.

A shaman's wand,for the crossing between worlds..and for the protection and vigour to do that

This wand ,like all Wyldewood wands is handcrafted from begining to end,and totally unique.The wood for this wand comes from a most remarkable tree,one that has grown curiously twisted and wizened..perhaps from age..perhaps from the company she keeps

To the Celtic shaman,the apple tree was the Silver Bough of belonging,the Golden Key of admission to an enchanted world,where the visible existed alongside the invisible.For the ancient Celts the crossing over of worlds was very real..the world was a magical place where anything could happen,where nothing was just as it seemed,where there were many gates between...should you know where to look for them.

The apples from this old Apple mother are reserved to be eaten at Samhain,when no self respecting Celtic shaman would mind being stolen away for a while...and the wood for this wand was gathered at the same time.It's said whoever eats one of these apples on Samhain eve secures the favour of the hidden folk for the coming year.

A very strong wand and quite unique,darker in colour,as result of the wood being stained when drying by the natural pigment of the inner bark.All our wands are naturally coloured..we don't use wood stains of artifical colours on any of our wands.Neither do we artifically straighten or shape our woods..what you see,in whatever shape,is always naturally formed..

This beautifully crafted piece measures 49cms in length,excluding twists and curves and is 5.5 cms in circumference,naturally tapering to apporx 5cms.It has been sealed with four coats of resin based varnish and polished with pure beeswax.No Wyldewood wand is made to be kept locked away for special occasions,but all are made as magical companions,meant to be used and related to,not simply admired with awe.This wand comes with a pure cotton handbraided cord so you might carry it anywhere with you.The cord to this wand is scarlet red and  emerald green.