diff --git a/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/AppDelegate.swift b/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/AppDelegate.swift
index 8c894610f5..d199c84247 100644
--- a/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/AppDelegate.swift
+++ b/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/AppDelegate.swift
@@ -8,14 +8,25 @@ final class DateWizardAppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
         DockIcon.install(prefix: "datewizard")
         let controller = WizardController()
         wizard = controller
-        controller.showWindow(nil)
-        NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps: true)
 
-        // Always-on menu bar strip: seven ROYGBIV day circles (S M T W T F S),
-        // today's lit. Click opens the wizard; the app stays resident so the
-        // strip is always there even when the window is closed.
+        // --background (startup/LaunchAgent): come up as a menu-bar-only daemon —
+        // just the wand icon, no window, no dock, no focus steal. The calendar
+        // opens on demand when the icon is clicked (which promotes us to .regular
+        // so the window focuses properly). Without the flag, open straight in.
+        let background = CommandLine.arguments.contains("--background")
+        if background {
+            NSApp.setActivationPolicy(.accessory)
+        } else {
+            controller.showWindow(nil)
+            NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps: true)
+        }
+
+        // Always-on menu bar: a black magic-wand template icon. Click opens the
+        // wizard; the app stays resident so the icon is always there even when
+        // the window is closed.
         let menu = MenuBarDays()
         menu.onOpen = { [weak controller] in
+            NSApp.setActivationPolicy(.regular)
             controller?.showWindow(nil)
             NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps: true)
         }
diff --git a/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/MenuBarDays.swift b/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/MenuBarDays.swift
index 292682e8eb..25c2b4e4c3 100644
--- a/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/MenuBarDays.swift
+++ b/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/MenuBarDays.swift
@@ -66,14 +66,13 @@ final class MenuBarDays {
         if idx != focusedIndex { focusedIndex = idx; refresh() }
     }
 
-    /// Paint the menu-bar face: the hand-pixeled wizard guy. This daemon is the
-    /// "wizard of wizards" now (the date is built in), so it wears the wizard,
-    /// not the day strip.
+    /// Paint the menu-bar face: a plain black magic wand (template image, so it
+    /// tints to the bar like Menu Band's note glyph). This daemon is the "wizard
+    /// of wizards" now (the date is built in) — the costumed wizardGuy lives on
+    /// only inside the menu/About, where color reads fine.
     func refresh() {
         guard let button = statusItem?.button else { return }
-        let img = wizardGuy(scale: 1)
-        img.isTemplate = false            // keep his colors; don't tint as a template
-        button.image = img
+        button.image = wandGlyph()
     }
 
     // ── input ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/WizardRoster.swift b/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/WizardRoster.swift
index cc575326df..55932f24b6 100644
--- a/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/WizardRoster.swift
+++ b/date-wizard/Sources/DateWizard/WizardRoster.swift
@@ -50,6 +50,19 @@ func wizardGuy(scale s: CGFloat) -> NSImage {
     }
 }
 
+// The menu-bar face: a plain black magic wand. It's a *template* image, so macOS
+// tints it to match the bar (black on light, white on dark) exactly like Menu
+// Band's note glyph — unlike the multicolored wizardGuy, which stays a costume
+// for the About window and the summon roster. SF Symbol so it stays crisp at any
+// bar thickness; wizardGuy is the fallback if the symbol is ever missing.
+func wandGlyph(pointSize: CGFloat = 15) -> NSImage {
+    let cfg = NSImage.SymbolConfiguration(pointSize: pointSize, weight: .regular)
+    let img = NSImage(systemSymbolName: "wand.and.stars", accessibilityDescription: "Wizard")?
+        .withSymbolConfiguration(cfg) ?? wizardGuy(scale: 1)
+    img.isTemplate = true
+    return img
+}
+
 struct WizardEntry {
     let dir: String     // package dir under the repo root
     let exe: String     // executable / target name