‘The wand is the principal weapon of the Magus, and the name of that wand is the Magical Oath.’ Thus writes Crowley, in one of the highly informative chapters on ceremonial contained in his masterwork Liber ABA, otherwise known as Magick. ‘The Magical Will,’ he continues, ‘is the wand in your hand by which the Great Work is accomplished, by which the Daughter is not merely set upon the throne of the Mother, but assumed into the Highest.’
    In the Thoth tarot the ‘Prince of Wands’ in various versions drawn by Frieda Harris is shown holding the so-called Phoenix wand as wielded by the grade Adeptus Major in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Several of these wands were modeled on the ceremonial scepters of Ancient Egypt. But interestingly the so-called ‘Phoenix-wand’ is actually the ‘Was’ or ‘scepter of well being’. The iconographers of the Golden Dawn seemed to have missed the fact that the head of this scepter is actually that of Seth and not the solar image they presumed. It might also be that the original wielders of the Was-scepter were also in denial about its meaning. This fact is not, as far as I know, common knowledge amongst current Golden Dawn savants, which may account for the fact that some modern realizations of the wand have moved even further away from its original functionality and indeed power. In very ancient Egypt of Old Kingdom times and before, Egyptian men often carried a stick or staff of some kind. Sometimes these were like the European quarterstaff.1 One suggestion I got from my friend the cunning man Jack Daw, is that the original of the Was scepter may have been the kind of hooked wand used to hold back grass or wheat for the stroke of a sickle. It serves to protect the harvester’s left hand from being accidentally struck by the blade. If true this maybe explains the Was-scepter’s name as ‘Scepter of well being’. The forked foot of the Was-scepter is a mystery, it may be connected with the binding of the scepter to the arm or perhaps have a function to do with the warding off of snakes, a common enough hazard of harvesters. The colossal Was scepter found in the Temple of Seth at Ombos is nothing more than the stylized, elongated body of the hippopotamus. The beast’s vestigial front limbs can be seen either side of the scepter’s head. What I referred to as a forked foot, is in fact the back legs of the hippo.
    The Was-scepter of Middle Kingdom times became purely mystical or symbolic. The image of the ‘Was-scepter’ also appeared in carved decorated borders on Egyptian reliefs, where two or more scepters hold up the vault of heaven. The latter being yet another reference to the power of Seth whose iron pillars hold up the heavens that which he occasionally threatens to remove and use as a weapon. But still the Scepter shows an unexpected connection between Seth and agriculture and this is worthy of some thought.
    But there was another wand commonly used in ancient Egypt and this too bore an image of Seth, as indeed one would expect in operations of a more magical / esoteric nature. Many examples of this kind of wand have been found, and some of the finest are displayed in the more important museum collections. Most museums have numerous other examples of this type of wand in their vaults. This instrument is constructed from a male hippopotamus tusk. I would remind you that the male hippopotamus is viewed as a totem of Seth. The more aggressive male hippopotamus were a favorite quarry of the ancient Egyptian hunter. The tusk shape shows a clear Setian association, both from its material and decoration. Its curved nature reminds us of the lunar mysteries. We are told that the wands were used in acts of highly personal magick, the most quoted example being to ward off vampiric demons and disease entities that haunt the liminal world of dreams and that are a particular hazard during childbirth and infancy. This is the realm of popular magick as opposed to the more exoteric variety of magical religion practiced in the temples. I think it would probably be wrong to draw too impervious a line between both realms. And in fact the use of the hippopotamus tooth wand shows a clear connection between both realms through the agency of Seth, here equally at home among the holy family of the temples and scaring lesser demons in the hearth.
    Examples of such wands show they were well used and treasured over several generations. The pointed tip shows signs of wear, as if it has been repeatedly used to draw mystical signs, in sand or clay. It is also likely that the wand was used to draw protective circles, like the ‘cartouche’ inscribed around the name of the King. When the tips broke off from repeated use, the ends were pinned back in place.
  The ubiquitous nature of the head of Seth is something that warrants meditation. To acquire such a wand in the modern world might prove difficult. I suggest perhaps carved or shaped wood, coated with ivory coloured paint or perhaps resin. The more linear Was scepter suggests the throwing outwards or the more static instantiation of magical power. The curved or hooked hippopotamus wand suggests several additional functions; the drawing of sigils mentioned above, as a sigil itself, laid beneath a bed or perhaps hung on a wall. But also I feel the drawing of things to the magician - in order to use, spear or bind them to ones power.

Notes
1).   B William C Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt: a background for the study of the Egyptian antiquities in the Metroplitan Museum of Art, 2 Vols, Abrams, NY 1953