Traditionally they come in many shapes and sizes and varying degrees or reality (and with CGI, I imagine invisible/transparent DNA reading wands will become more prevalent in the years ahead) but they all have one thing in common. They are wielded. They are a hand tool.
Why?
I am sure someone, somewhere has thought of a magic tongue, or a magician that can do something with a raise of the eyebrow or famously with the twitch of a nose but the tradition we have all inherited is of a magician with a wand in their hand. Started no doubt because some tree were considered medicinal or mystical which probably derives from the time when they believed all trees had their own spirit living inside them. And as we know the gods had certain relations with these spirits and these spirits had certain relations with the creation of the world.
But I rather hanker for different wands that no hand can wield, that are true to themselves, that think more clearly than magicians can and are not just ‘good’ or ‘not good’ but somewhere ethically indeterminate like human begins. The wand that no hand ever touched and no mind ever knew.
A new story.