A Guide To American Wandlore

Wand Flexibility

Garrick Ollivander says: Many wandmakers simply match the wand length to the size of the witch or wizard who will use it, but this is a crude measure and fails to take into account many other, important considerations. In my experience, longer wands might suit taller wizards, but they tend to be drawn to bigger personalities, and those of a more spacious and dramatic style of magic. Neater wands favor more elegant and refined spell-casting. However, no single aspect of wand composition should be considered in isolation from all the others, and the type of wood, the core, and the flexibility may either counterbalance or enhance the attributes of the wand's length.

Most wands will be in the range of between nine and fourteen inches. While I have sold extremely short wands (eight inches and under) and very long wands (over fifteen inches), these are exceptionally rare. In the latter case, a physical peculiarity demanded excessive wand length. However, abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized (many small witches and wizards are chosen by longer wands).

Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair – although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core, and length, nor of the owner's life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique.

Surprisingly swishy- A wand with this flexibility will either surprise its owner by being surprisingly loyal or surprisingly unloyal and is most often known for doing the unexpected. It is usually great for charm work. Owners that are matched with wands of this flexibility are usually the type of people who have a hard time coming out of their shells or opening up, but once they do, others will find themselves drawn to their charming, fun-loving personalities. The owner usually adapts well to unexpected changes but may find it difficult to make hard decisions.

Swishy- A wand with this flexibility may not be too loyal to its owner and may switch loyalties at a moment's notice. It is particularly good at charms. Owners that are matched with wands of this flexibility may be very sociable and fun-loving with a penchant for some mischief-making. They are usually very clever and prefer not to tie themselves down to any particular way of thinking until they've gathered all that they need to know.

Slightly springy- A wand with this flexibility may not appear to be very loyal at all because they will initially take to new owners quite well, but the fact of the matter is that they will always have a special tie to their original owner. As time goes on, this wand will become increasingly more troublesome for any owner that isn't its original owner until finally, it stops working altogether. This wand is good for crafting spells. Owners matched with this wand may be very cheerful and optimistic, but most of all, they have very big (and possibly overactive) imaginations. Their thought patterns tend to be outside of the box.

Fairly bendy- A wand with this flexibility tends to be very loyal to its original owner; if it finds itself in a new owner's hands, it will make itself difficult to work with, but with time, it will eventually warm up to a new owner. This wand is not exceptional at any particular branch of magic but is well-rounded enough that it will do well or average in every area. Owners of a fairly bendy wand are well-liked but pride themselves on trying to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, some of them may be quite susceptible to peer pressure, usually brought on by being in a group considered "different" from others.

Very flexible- A wand with this flexibility is happy in anyone's hands, but this disadvantage is somewhat offset by the fact that this wand does exceptionally well in just about every area of magic. Owners of this wand flexibility come with a very wide variety of personalities, but they do share a very high level of adaptability to just about any situation and easy-going nature.