This is a line from the Wiccan Rede: ‘Elder is the Lady’s Tree, burn it not or cursed ye be!’ It’s possible the legendary Elder Wand was cursed from the moment its wood was cut. Cutting an elder or burning the wood was believed to anger the Mother Goddess and provoke her to seek revenge.

These sacred plants were believed to possess not only healing powers but also a link to the magical world. Only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and on the rare occasion when such a pairing occurs, I take it as certain that the witch or wizard in question is marked out for a special destiny.Įlder trees have a curious role in Druidic mythology. Similarly, Voldemort’s Horcruxes and Death Eaters linger on after his demise at Godric’s Hollow, poisoning minds and destroying lives. One interesting property of yew is that it remains poisonous after the tree has died. Like the yew, Voldemort brought death to many victims, while his beliefs, such as pure-blood supremacy, were equally toxic.

Every part of the tree (aside from the berry flesh) contains alkaloids that are fatal to humans. Yew, the wood used in Voldemort’s wand, is poisonous. The wand of yew is reputed to endow its possessor with the power of life and death. To understand their key differences, however, look no further than their wand woods. They were both orphans raised by Muggles, both were unaware they were wizards for years, and – as they owned Peverell family heirlooms – probably blood-related. Aside from Lord Voldemort’s connection to Harry as a Horcrux, giving them forced similarities such as the power of Parseltongue, they grew up in similar ways. It might seem odd at first that Harry and Voldemort shared ‘twin’ wand cores (phoenix feathers, both taken from none other than Fawkes), yet these characters did have a lot in common. ‘It’s really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course.’ By looking at folklore, the properties of British trees and Garrick Ollivander’s personal notes, we see how a wand reflects its owner’s personality and fate. Like so much in the Harry Potter books, symbolic meaning can be found in the smallest of details.

Voldemort wand