Honestly, I have no clue if I've read that before. Years ago, I lost any chance of keeping up with my own reading habits. Is that the series by Patricia Wrede?
I simply thought that if the Istari are Maiar, then they don't need the staffs. But they undoubtedly mean something, and the Istari undoubtedly use them in some way, related to their power. As a channel, and maybe a capacitor (electrical thingamabob that stores power), that made sense to me.
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