WANDS
I gave Harry a wand made of holly wood back in 1990, when I first drafted chapter six of ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. It was not an arbitrary decision: holly has certain connotations that were perfect for Harry, particularly when contrasted with the traditional associations of yew, from which Voldemort’s wand is made. European tradition has it that the holly tree (the name comes from ‘holy’) repels evil, while yew, which can achieve astonishing longevity (there are British yew trees over two thousand years old), can symbolise both death and resurrection; the sap is also poisonous.

Some time after I had given Harry his holly-and-phoenix wand I came across a description of how the Celts had assigned trees to different parts of the year and discovered that, entirely by coincidence, I had assigned Harry the ‘correct’ wood for his day of birth. I therefore decided to give Ron and Hermione Celtic wand woods, too. Ron, who was born in the February 18 - March 17 period, was given an ash wand (I think I had originally marked him down for beech), and Hermione, who was born between September 2 and September 29, received a vine wood wand (I can’t remember what I originally stipulated for Hermione; possibly I had not specified a wood for her at that stage).

I have only used the Celtic assignations for Ron and Hermione. Hagrid, for instance, has an oak wand though by this Celtic system he should have a wand made of elder; in Britain, the oak is ‘King of the Forest’ and symbolises strength, protection and fecundity; what other wood could ‘choose’ Hagrid? In any case, I liked having a hidden connection between Harry, Ron and Hermione’s wands that only I knew about (until now, anyway).

Eihwaz:

MEANING: yew
DIVINATORY MEANINGS: change, initiation, confrontation of fears, turning point, death, transformation
MAGICAL USES: to bring about profound change, to ease a life transition -- (how about for easing Voldemort into death.. one piece of his soul at a time?)
ASSOCIATED MYTHS & DEITIES: Hel, Yggdrasil

Understanding of the World Tree(which the yew runs through vertically) Releases you from the fear of death
Voldemort anyone??

According to the runes 13 is actually the most magical number and eihwaz is the 13th rune.

It's tarot card is the hanged an-also a 13.

Understanding of the World Tree(which the yew runs through vertically) Releases you from the fear of death
Voldemort anyone??

Ahhh, I *love* that part about "releases you from fear of death".  It's SO Voldie.  It'll be great to try and figure out the significance of that.  Good job, gidgx.  

I've just found something else- the runic month for Eihwaz is Dec 28 to Jan 13 and it's runic hour is 12.30 am- 1.30 am.
Now please don't quote me on this, but wasn't Voldemort born  in either late Dec-early Jan? I keep thinking NYE for some reason or NYD. And what time was he born?
All that's left for me to do now is find out the Yew tree's weakness, associate that to LV and I've found out how Harry will kill LV(I wish!!)
Oh and one of it's animal symbols is a serpent

Harry will defeat Voldemort, not by matching him curse for curse, but through the power of love and the loyalty that it inspires.  We have already seen that Harry accomplishes much through this power.  It was instrumental in his thwarting Voldemort from stealing the Philosopher's Stone, in the defeat of Tom Riddle's memory and the Basilisk, in unmasking the true identity of Scabbers and saving Sirius, and in keeping Voldemort from taking the prophecy.  Indeed, it has been remarked many times, often by Snape, that Harry "escapes" by luck and the intervention of his friends; a charge that is true from a certain viewpoint but it might also be said that Harry succeeds because of the love and loyalty between and among his friends.

I believe that the prophecy is more important than the type of wand that Voldemort carries.  Harry will defeat Voldemort, though I cannot say precisely how, with the aid of all of those who have loved him, both living and dead.  Not only will Ron and Hemrione will stand by him despite the terrible dangers that he must face, but Voldemort's Death Eaters will abandon him at the crucial time.  I also think that somehow James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, and Albus Dumbledore will play a part in the end.

To return to the point, JKR has said plainly that she gave Voldemort a wand of yew because of its symbolic meaning of longevity.  There is no reason to believe that it has any greater significance.  In fact, a point that you have not mentioned in your wand analysis is that the core of Voldemort's wand is a phoenix feather, a much more unequivocal symbol -- not of longevity -- but of actual immortality.  Yet, because JKR gave Harry the same wand core, I would not ascribe too much meaning to the symbolic associations of the wands that they carry.  At least, I would not read more into than JKR herself has said was her intention.

Consider the point, as raised below, that Voldemort's greatest fear is his greatest weakness.  He fears imperfection and views unselfish and sacrificing love as a weakness; his mother's love for the muggle Tom Riddle killed her, after all.  So he excised love from his heart and has weakened himself.  He views restraint of magical power and protection of muggles as weakness and embraces the dark arts and murders his own father and grandfather.  He views death as a weakness and seeks, in folly, to conquer it.  Voldemort is actually quite consistent.  

The irony is that Voldemort always was and always will be imperfect, no matter how many Horcruxes he creates, because he cannot love and he cannot inspire true loyalty.

The point or points I wish to find out more about is Ollivander and the wands-
it cannot be such a trival point(IMO) that Ollivander disappears as V has regained much of his power and forces.

The entire scence with Harry and V's wands was not just for "special effects"!  :eyebrows:

Harry and V share so much the wands was not a glich and remember the phoienx feather is fawkes!!!

He was born on New Year's Eve.

Where I start to disagree with you is on the point that the prophecy is more important. We can debate whether the woods are important, but I erally think one of the stronger points that Dumbledore made through HBP was exactly the opposite -- that choices are much more important than "destiny" or prophecies, and that the prophecy only had meaning because LV believed it and acted on it. As I think Dumbledore pointed out, if LV had never heard the prophecy, would any of it have ever happened? Would Harry have been marked? The prophecy is what it is.

HOLLY* (Ilex aquifolium)

A beautiful white wood with an almost invisible grain; looks very much like ivory. Holly is associated with the death and rebirth symbolism of winter in both Pagan and Christian lore. In Arthurian legend, Gawain (representing the Oak King of summer) fought the Green Knight, who was armed with a holly club to represent winter.

luna_rocks: Moreover, Voldemort's wand may indeed be broken in the end; breaking of the wand (or staff) in the literary canon signifies the ending of the magical power of a wizard.  (E.g., the breaking of Hagrid's wand, Gandalf's breaking of Saruman's staff).

RE: post #38 (by Maia on Sep. 10 2005,4:52 am ) in this thread

RE: post #40 (by gidgx on Sep. 14 2005,1:33 am ) in this thread

He was born on New Year's Eve.

The question is will this be something Harry stumbles on to- speaking of wands
Hagrid's wand (hidden wand) and his cross bow do they play into this? I visited Jk site and the remark of the wand I get but did I miss something about the bow?

oh and by the by- any reference I make to mythology does not mean I think that JK is going to introduce a great big fifth element style story- or suggest to harry that he go look for the grail treasures- it's just to note that she is choosing her symbols carefully and specifically to add depth

Interprestation of Eihwaz (yew)
This rune is often associated with death but it is never negative. It reminds us that new beginnings and fresh starts can only come after some aspect of our life has died off. It encourages us to embrace change and make the best use of the opportunities it offers.

On a cautionary note it warns us to stay alert to what is happening around us and to be prepared to defend our position.


Is this rune what is meant by "the dark lord shall mark him as his equal?"

Interprestation of Eihwaz (yew)
This rune is often associated with death but it is never negative.

Eihwaz - The Thirteenth Rune

Poison is the fruit, immortality the promise of the sacred tree

Symbolism - The Yew Tree

Keywords - Survival

Phonetically, one of the pronunciations of this rune is "eoh" or "yew". The yew is a powerful stave of protection and banishing, not only because of its association with the forces of life and death, but because of its association with the bow made of yew wood.

Eihwaz is the axis around which all else revolves and from which all else spins. It contains the mystery of life and death. It is a life giving force which has its roots in the Underworld and death.

It provides protection, and can help increase personal power and defense.

It suggests the passage and communication between different worlds and layers of reality.

This rune embodies the ideal "better not to promise anything than to promise too much and fail", and serves as a reminder of the natural and rightful restrictions that serve a greater good.

Eihwaz is the immovable object standing against all irresistable forces.

Magically it can be a rune of wisdom when invoked in accessing the mysteries of Yggdrasil. In mythology, Yggdrasil is the tree from which Odin hung to obtain the answers to the mysteries of the runes. This means Eihwaz can be worked to obtain understanding of all mysteries.

In divination it can reflect stamina and survival and may be represented by any of the following forces.

EIHWAZ UPRIGHT:Survival, strength, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness, enlightenment, endurance, defense, protection, secret or sacred knowledge

EIHWAZ MERKSTAVE: Confusion, destruction, dissatisfaction, weakness, vulnerability, untrustworthiness, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, ignorance

In modern systems of runic divination, the Eihwaz rune usually symbolizes death.