ST. GEORGE —From magic tricks to magic batons, this magician with 54 years of experience is now conjuring up more than disappearing acts, offering uniquely carved wands that are now available to the public.  

Pete McMillan, a magician since 1968, performed at the cowboy-themed “Mulee’s Magic Trail” at Ebenezer’s Barn & Grill in Bryce Canyon from 1998 to 2010, went on to start “Spiritus Dictum Artifacts” then transitioned into storytelling magic. 

His newest magical endeavor? Handcrafting unique wooden wands.

“I’ve always been an entertainer. Ever since I retired from the Navy, that’s all I wanted to do — entertain,” McMillan said.

McMillan, who said his wandmaker’s character name is “Petro Greggarian,” an apprentice to master wand crafter Mykew Gregorovitch from Harry Potter, said he made his first wand just to see if he could do it. His goal was to create his own piece of magic without copying Harry Potter wands. He also wanted to make them out of real wood instead plastic or resin, which are commonly found with other wands. Each one of his wands is one-of-a-kind.

“I like portraying an original character that I can flesh out myself. As a wand-crafting apprentice, Greggarian is my own fresh page I can insert in the lexicon of the Potter series,” McMillan said.

As he took a wood lathe and started transforming pieces of wood, McMillan said he challenged himself with each wand he created. Handcrafted and hand-engraved, his wand creations served as a form of therapy and were named after his wandmaker’s character:”Greggarian” wands.

“Whenever I find something in magic that I can create myself, I like to create the prop,” McMillan said. “When you buy them, you’re buying someone else’s creation and I prefer to work with something I personally created.”

Inspired by other street wands he saw, which were made of wood and brass tips, McMillan began making “410 wands” made with shotgun shells. What started as a standard magician’s wand quickly turned into something completely different and unique.

His next wand, “The Monarch of the Glen,” was inspired by pictures he had seen of a Scottish red deer. He took renewable antler sheds and used the bud (the tip that mounts to the deer’s skull) as the end of the wand and a piece of the antler as the tip. 

Locally, McMillan worked with the Book Bungalow store during their Harry Potter event, where he sold out of every wand he made. During the event, he also put on an act with an animatronic skeleton that read a section from Harry Potter about Ollivander’s Wand Shop.

“I start talking about the wands of Greggarian, Petro Greggarian, who was taught by Gregorovitch how to make wands, how that came to be, and why I use the cores in there that I do,” McMillan said.

An additional unique wand that McMillan offers is memorial wands. He said he’s personally handcrafted wands for each one of his cats he’s lost. which also include a single whisker from each cat.

“I have a memorial wand for my wife who also passed away,” McMillan said. “She was the chorister in the ward and used to use one of my wands as the conductor’s baton. Just before she was interred, I snipped a little bit of hair and made one for her with the same thing.”

McMillan said he takes “the Michelangelo approach” by taking a piece of raw stock and removing material until it shows what it wants to be. His wands are also made from various types of wood that come from all over the world. Prior to the pandemic, Harry Potter-branded hair cores were easily accessible including the Dragon Heartstring, Unicorn Hair and Phoenix Tailfeather. Once COVID-19 struck, he had to find other cores and now uses Mexican Jacalope Antler, Arizona Thunderbird Feather and Canadian Striped Lynx Whisker. 

Some wands also include plant ivory, an ivory alternative that is derived from a plant in Ecuador. McMillan said the seeds in the pod are polished, which gives the finished appearance of ivory. While you can’t make large items with plant ivory, you can create smaller things such as the tips of wands.

McMillan is available to create custom wands, including wands made from the appropriate house, Patronus, wood and length discovered in Pottermore. To order a custom wand or pick from available merchandise, see his website or email him directly at [email protected].

As far as other endeavors, McMillan said he would like to be known as “Santa Pete” and is getting into Santa appearances. He is currently working with a photography studio to create a custom album of kids coming into Santa’s workshop and interacting with him. He hopes to make many Santa appearances this holiday season.

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