A Hero's Weapon

Harry's wand—and wands in general—are more than just pointers that tell spells where to go.

Just look at what our favorite wand-maker says when helping Harry:

OLLIVANDER: The wand chooses the wizard.

That makes the link between magic stick and magic stick-wielder something special, and something deeply personal. You might be able to use another wizard's wand (Ron's is actually a hand-me-down), but nothing feels quite as right as when you have your very own Stick of Glittery Death in your own hands.

Symbolically, Harry's wand serves the same purpose as Arthur's Excalibur or Bilbo Baggins's sword, Sting: it's an external manifestation of the hero's power, and it gives him or her a means of channeling their inner potential. These heroic weapons are also seen as extension of the hero's personality: Excalibur is strong, Sting is small but useful, and Harry's wand is…holy, yet linked with evil.

Wands in the Potterverse have three key features: their length, the kind of wood they're made of, and the magical animal part that comprises the heart of the wand. Harry's wand is eleven inches long, made of holly, and has a phoenix's feather at the core.

Let's break that down:

The symbolism of the number "eleven" is pretty straightforward: its linked to the age at which Harry entered Hogwarts.

According to Celtic legends, holly is "holy," or the wood of life. That's a pretty good indicator that Harry is on the side of goodness. It also gestures towards his nickname: Harry is the Boy Who Lived, so its only fitting that he wield a wand made out of the wood of life.

From The Ashes

But what about that pesky phoenix feather? The phoenix that gave Harry's wand its feather also gave a second feather to another wand…the wand used by Voldemort.

Ollivander, who never forgets a wand, explains the connection to Harry when Mr. Potter visits his shop in Diagon Alley for the first time.

OLLIVANDER: It so happens that the Phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand gave another feather. Just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar.

Ollivander thinks this is "curious," but we think that it's totally apt. A phoenix is a mythical creature known for its ability to rise from the ashes of destruction. Harry has "risen" from the destruction of his family unit. Voldemort has "risen" from the beat-down that infant Harry gave him a decade ago.

These two wizards are polar opposites in many ways—Harry's good, Voldemort's evil; Harry's wand is made of life-affirming holly, while Voldemort's wand is made of yew, a tree associated with death—but they're both survivors. And, maybe more importantly, they're both extra-powerful wizards.

So basically, Harry's wand fits him to a T. This wand, which symbolically blends life and resurrection, found a wizard whose powers center around life and resurrection. Well chosen, wand.