They simply provide possibly interesting background information for people who may not have seen all of Dark Shadows. The wands are cast on a table, and fall to form one of 64 patterns called hexagrams. He continues concentrating until the door opens, his astral body enters the room beyond, and is affected in one way or another. The effect of entering the room varies, depending on which hexagram was thrown. The 49th hexagram, the hexagram of change, was used by Barnabas, Julia, and others to travel through time.
Different hexagrams have different effects, ranging from death or madness to visions of the future.
Only a handful of the 64 hexagrams were explored on the show. She was stranded in the Old Mill by Barnabas and Julia, who then joined the search party specifically for the purpose of steering the search in that direction, so that she could be found quickly. Julia's use of hypnotism in this manner was a frequent plot point in the show, being used to monkey with the memories of Maggie and Vicki, among others. Her clothes were shredded by Julia, to make the wolf story more plausible. Since the existence of the wolf could no longer be hidden, at least it could be used to cover up what had happened to Daphne, so that she could be set free.