Members of the elite Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn were required to painstakingly craft their own magical weapons

A closer look

If you joined the most famous magical society of the 19th century, you didn't just get handed a cool wand on day one; you had to head to the medieval equivalent of Home Depot. The Golden Dawn strictly required initiates to physically construct and paint their own elemental weapons, like a Fire Wand or an Air Dagger, using highly specific occult colors and symbols. If your painting skills were trash, your magic was going to look absolutely pathetic. Arts and crafts time just got spiritually intense.