Wands, Wood and Core

[jodel at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 43847

This particular discussion blew up on one of my other boards as well, and I 
thought that I would cross-post one of my replies on that one here since it 
is related. 

On that list (One of the Snape lists) someone writing a fanfic wanted to know 
whether anyone had suggestions for what Snape's wand consists of. Someone who 
already had a fanfic up mentioned it, her vote was for white cherry 
(deception) and dragon heartstring. I wasn't sure of that, myself...

My post follows (very lightly edited);
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Well if it is an Olivander wand -- and the probability is that it is -- then 
it would be limited to one of the three core types that Olivander states in 
Stone. Evidently he only uses those since they have proved out to be the most 
consistent and reliable. 

I agree with the general concensus that unicorn hair seems an unlikely choice 
for Snape. Actually, we have been given strong hints that unicorn hair is 
particularly suitable for charms work. Lily Evans, Charley and Ron Weasley 
have all been shown to have (or have had) unicorn hair wands, and I suspect 
that unicorn hair may be the core of choice for the whole Weasley family. 

The magical properties and strengths of dragon heartstring are still a bit 
uncertain. I think the only people who have been identified as having had a 
dragon heartstring wands so far are Hagrid. (Oak, 16 inches) and Victor Krum 
(cedar, don't recall length). It seems quite possible that dragon heartstring 
is simply a good all-round magical conductor, but it may have some specific 
strengths which have not yet been made clear. (If Hagrid is a typical 
example, perhaps it's strenths are in dealing with the natural world, 
Herbology, control of Creatures, healing, etc.) Hagrid himself admits that he 
was never very much of a wizard, even before he was expelled. But since he 
only went through three years of training his own particular gifts may not 
have surfaced by then. Fanon tends to regard dragon heartstring as the core 
of choice for Slytherins, but there doesn't seem to be any canon support to 
this interpretation. Possibly this view arose because unlike unicorn Hair and 
phoenix feather, dragon heartstring absolutely requires the death of the 
dragon. (A thing which looks suspiciously like a plot bunny keeps sniffing 
around my heels trying to convince me that IF Rowling is going in for 
symetry, since Harry uses phoenix and Ron unicorn cored wands, it stands to 
reason  that Hermione's would need to be dragon heartstring to complete the 
set. Since I am not a writer I keep kicking the creature away.)

Actually I wouldn't really be at all surprised to discover that also Snape 
uses a phoenix feather wand. Phoenix feather seems to be a natural choice for 
specialists in the sort of magic that deals with Change (Potions, Alchemy, 
Transfiguration) The snag to this is that it starts looking as though phoenix 
feather wands are a bit overly thick on the ground. Harry uses one. We know 
that Tom Riddle uses one. We are left to suspect that James Potter may have 
used one (Olivander states that his mahogany wand was "excellent for 
Transfiguration") and it's hard to imagine Dumbledore using anything else.

In all, if we are limited to only three core types, then it seems that the 
shadings and nuances of character from wand to wand of Olivander's output 
depends more upon the wood type than the core material. And there is an 
amazingly wide range of potential wood types. Some of them (like the canon 
authorized Holly and Yew) heavily loaded with symbolism.

On one of the lists (*Note: this one probably, but I'm too lazy to go digging 
to find the poster's name.) , someone made a reference to a site listing the 
symbolism of various trees. The main site, when I investigated, apeared to 
only be be regarding the Caledonian forest and various trees native to it.  I 
read through a number of the wood types there, and think a good arguement 
could be made in favor of Juniper. It is a bush or small tree, and native to 
the British isles (and much of the rest of Europe, I suspect.) Its most 
widely known use is of the fruit for flavoring liquor, and in addition, it 
has a reputation of being favored by people distilling illegally since the 
wood burns with very little smoke (steath brewing?) and, what is even more 
interesting, the smoke that it does produce is very aromatic and in folk 
remedies is used medicinally for purification. All of which sounded just 
terribly appopriate for a Potions Master. An added kicker is that it is 
commonly refered to as "Scottish yew".  But some of the other trees listed 
had some fairly interesting symbolism attached to them as well.

Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers lists Juniper as symbolizing Succour or 
Protection. Regular Yew signifies Sorrow. (No listing for mahogany in 
Greenaway, sorry.)

>From Greenaway, Holly symbolises Foresight. And although oak leaves are for 
Bravery the oak tree is Hospitality, white oak is Independence. 

There turn out to be several willows; 
creeping willow (probably not a tree) = Love Forsaken
water willow = Freedom
weeping willow = Mourning
willow herb (not actually a tree, I suspect) = Pretension
French willow = Bravery and Humanity (somehow one suspects that Weasleys' 
wands are French willow. Lily Evans's wand was also stated as being willow.)
(Quillusion's white cherry is also listed as "winter" cherry in Greenaway's 
list. This could be a typo.)

A few more from Greenaway;

Black Poplar = Courage
Sycamore = Curiosity
Cypress = Death, Despair
Blackthorn = Difficulty
Dogwood = Durability
Locust Tree = Elegance
Plum tree = Fidelity
Accacia = Friendship
Orange Tree = Generosity
Plane Tree = Genius
Bay Tree = Glory
Myrrh = Gladness
Hawthorn & Flowering Almond = Hope
Cherry Tree (common) = Good Education
Ash Tree = Grandeur
Locust Tree = Elegance
Spruce Pine = Hope in Adversity
Cedar of Lebanon = Incoruptable
Wild Plum = Independence
Walnut = Intellect
Aspen Tree = Lamentation
Live Oak = Liberty
Myrtle = Love
Chesnut Tree = Luxury
Birch = Meekness
American Elm = Patriotism
Olive = Peace
Pine = Pity
Privet = Prohibition (?!)
Fig Tree = Prolific (Well maybe not ALL the Weasleys use French willow...)
Beech Tree = Prosperity
Mountain Ash = Protection
Filbert/Hazel = Reconciliation
Maple = Reserve
Barbury tree = Sharpness
Box tree = Stoicism
Cedar = Strength
Apple = Temptation
White Poplar = Time
Elder = Zealousness

There were some others and I probably missed a few more, but these all seemed 
semi-reasonable for virtuous wands.)

-JOdel