Wand
One of the most commonly used physical wizardly tools, especially for wizards in the earlier stages of their careers.
A wand normally is used in one of two ways: as a tool with its own specific properties and powers, or as a channeling device used to direct the forces of a spell in a specific manner or direction.
In the first instance, a wand usually shares some of the properties of a charm, in that it has a specific small wizardry associated with the physical fabric of the wand itself. This wizardry may be something independently applied, or a property already associated with the physical object (such as a rowan wand's affinity for moonlight). In the first instance, the wizard intending to use the wand will normally try to construct it from some material which has little affinity with any specific wizardry. This ensures that there will be as little interference with the channeling of the wizard's personal energy as possible.
The wand is one of the more personal objects associated with wizardly practice. Wands are normally made from requested or donated material -- as Nita's rowan wands are all donations from the rowan tree Liused, and Kit's antenna-wand was a present to him from the Edsel his father has been detailing. Since a given wand is usually made or prepared by the wizard who will be using it, it's viewed as inappropriate (if not simply unwise) to sell, trade or transfer them. There are rare exceptions to this rule involving legacy (in the word's original sense) or "heritage" wands that either possess significant historical value, or have been involved in wizardries that have imbued them with qualities requiring special management or curation, usually by Advisory-level wizards or above.
As their practice progresses, there are wizards who become ambivalent about wands. They may start to see them as a "crutch", a shortcut device, or a gimmick -- something slightly juvenile and embarrassing, associated with the early days when, as most wizards do, they had more sheer power than expertise. But such opinions are probably not particularly helpful. Like other skilled craftsmen for whom the work is what matters most, the smartest and most gifted wizards have no compunction about using a wand when it's obviously the right tool for the job. (SYWTBAW et al.)