Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic kinds of wood, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for use. Sandalwood is the second-most expensive wood in the world, after African blackwood. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries. Consequently, species of these slow-growing trees have suffered overharvesting in past centuries.
A dense but fragrant yellow wood, sandalwood is prized across the Indian subcontinent as well as the Middle East. Many sandalwood trees have been over-harvested by both muggles and wizards in the past century. Because of this, there is a limit for wizards on how many trees can be cut down and for what purpose– therefore there are only so many new sandalwood wands that are made each year (there are special permits for wand makers, making this wand wood even more costly to produce). Most sandalwood wands are either older wands–unused or inherited. Fortunately, this is a rarer wand wood so while the desire for this wood is high, the ratio of actual matches is low.
Sandalwood requires an owner with compassion and a desire for enlightenment and self-improvement. From a young age, they have a sense of purpose– whether it be a career, or simply what they want to do or put into the world. They know their goal or objective and will work towards it every day. Planning is second nature, and they may be epic list makers. There is a strong spiritual element in their lives, and they see spiritual enlightenment as part of their journey towards self-fulfillment. Knowing themselves is part of their spiritual journey, and they feel that by knowing themselves they can handle external obstacles with greater clarity and conviction. They generally have a calming aura, and many people may come to them for advice.
They can be frustrated with themselves if they feel like they are not making progress fast enough. People who are unconcerned or ignore issues of social justice may also aggravate them. This is a wand for peaceful revolutionaries. They are more concerned with social revolution through non-violent means. Education and medical reforms concern them the most, and they seek change at more local levels than aspen wands. They do not believe in overnight revolutions– to them, a desire for change and/or equality is demonstrated through micro-actions and decisions which may lead up to a large event. But a large event without the small decisions leading up to it make said large event less meaningful in their perception, as people can return to their routine ways of thinking and acting. In other words, they are into a revolution for the long term.
There is a talent with magic to do with preservation, perception, and varying levels of consciousness. Sandalwood wands perform best in divination, charms, transfiguration, arithmancy, history of magic, and astronomy. It has difficulty in defense against the dark arts, as well as most offensive spells. Meditation can help keep their magic regular, as well as remain more confident and calm throughout their day.