Staffs are wonderful things
to have and very useful. If you are not using them for
spellwork, they can be used as a walking stick,
something to poke awake a sleepy student or a
large baton to practice twirling.
There are many staffs that are famous -- if only
because of the wizards and witches that wielded them.
If you desire to have a staff, the same principles apply
as making your wand. The wood, the designs on it,
the coverings and/or core -- all the symbology is
still there, you just have more of it.
My own staff is a work in progress.
Over the past couple of years I have become aware
that I wanted a staff. My wands are wonderful, but
for some things a staff is more effective. I thought
about buying one, but always hesitated; it didn't seem
the thing to do.
In the spring of 2006 I was walking where some trees
had been fallen in order to make way for a road. I was
communicating with the spirits of the trees and plants
whose bodies had been 'destroyed' by a Muggle who
hadn't even had the courtesy to tell them what was going
to be done. I was shown, by the surviving plants and
the spirits of the downed plants and trees, to walk to
a certain area and up a hill.
There, lying in the grass and mud, was a portion of
the severed trunk of a young tree.
It was about 6 1/2 feet long. The smaller end of it was
bigger around than my hand could grasp while the
larger end was rather huge, and I had to hold it with
my two hands.
The message was clear and implicit -- this was my
staff. I was not even certain what kind of wood it
was; now I believe it is alder but am not certain.
Most of the trees cleared from that area were
alder, and the bark had that appearance but there
were no leaves for a final identification guide.
I picked up the piece of wood, my staff, and carried
it home with me. It was hefty in weight; it'd been
sitting on the ground absorbing rain water for a
while. (While it didn't start out being heavy, it
certainly seemed to have doubled in weight by
the time I got home!)
Obviously, my staff needed some treatment to
become handy and useful. It needed to dry out
on a flat surface. I needed to take the bark off
and shorten it to my height.
I laid it on the railing of the front porch, where it
would get some evening sun and be on a flat
surface. It remained there all summer long.
Some of the bark lifted away but nost of it
stayed on.
A few months later (in October, 2006) I scraped away
most of the bark. I used a saw and shortened
it to 5' 5" (my height), only cutting the narrow
end down a couple of inches to remove any splitting
of the wood and taking away most of the excess
from the larger end.
It stood by the bookshelf in the front room for a year or so.
Then one day in Autumn 2007 I had an internal signal that I
am ready for a staff. I started smoothing it down and reducing
the diameter with a wood planer. It is still a little large for me
to grasp so I smooth it down more whenever I have an urge
to do so, to reduce the diameter. I've no idea of what it will
look like when 'finished'. I don't know if I'll stain the wood,
bleach it, draw on it or what. I guess I'll find out when it's done.
