thetasteofearth

04/03/2026

03/10/2021

Today's post is two athames that I have had finished for a while but have done nothing with.

Rather than being a tool for physical cutting, athames are often used by witches and practitioners of Wicca to direct energies, much like a wand.
As such I don't put sharp edges on my athames. (If you need a knife I'll make you one!).

These are up in my Etsy store now.

02/10/2021

Sometimes it's difficult to know what a pice of wood wants to become. This lovely piece of Birch needed a little something to distinguish it. After a while the idea of burning the ogham and runic symbols for Birch presented itself, and that's what I did.

Often known as The White Lady of The Woods Birch is an easy wood to carve and often grows very straight. Excellent wand material.

01/10/2021

I haven't made a wand with an antler handle.for a while. This piece of shiny Blackthorn was crying out for a a stag's point to finish it off so I obliged.

It'll be in my Etsy store this weekend. If you want to save me the trouble of listing it I'll make it worth your while 😉 (discount-wise obvs)

08/09/2021

Up now on my Etsy store, a slim Poplar wand pyrographed with branches, leaves and the Ogham symbol for the tree.

A.very light and delicate wand 😊

31/07/2021

Spent a very interesting and enjoyable afternoon at the oldest church in Leicester, St Nicholas (879CE).
Parts of the church - the 'windows' in my pictures for example - are Anglo Saxon with many Norman features as well. The church is next to Jewry Wall Roman baths and lots of the roman bricks and tiles were 'recycled' in building the church.
One of the most intriguing things about the site is that it is thought to have been on a pagan temple site. Although this is thought to be true of many ancient churches it's amazing to see a plaque on the wall of the church acknowledging this. Occasionally pagan offerings are left at the gate.

29/04/2021

Recently, whilst out walking, I was talking to my daughter about the different qualities of wood, how wood from the same species of tree can be different depending on age, size and environment. This is also true of the seasoning process.

This wand was made from blackthorn, one of my favourite woods, that had been coppiced and left stacked in the elements for years. When I got it the bark was as hard as rock which makes it perfect for 'polishing' to the finish that you can see on the handle.

The wood itself was also harder than wood from my young blackthorn that I cut and use, as well as being more golden in colour. In all it was a harder carve but I think it has produced a beautiful end product with a gorgeous twist in the tip. 😍

As with all my pieces, this is in my Etsy shop, link in bio.

31/03/2021

This wand will soon be making its way to its new owner.
The design principles - patterns of pyrography and carved stars, wood, size - were specified by the customer who did a great job of communicating her ideas.

It was a challenge - this was the second go - but worth it in the end 😊

30/03/2021

This was particularly lovely feedback to get. I was so pleased when the person whose design this was was able to buy her creation.

As a side note, when I take on a commission I make it clear that the commissioner is under no obligation to buy the finished piece. Sometimes they just don't come out as the customer had envisaged!

20/03/2021

Beautiful late afternoon sunshine on some gorgeous old oaks and chestnuts at .

A fine walk from one end of the park to the other and back with the oldest daughter and the mad little orange staffy.