Athame
Title
Athame
Subject
Wicca
Description
The athame is a spiritual, double-edged blade with a black handle. The first english appearance of this word in print was not until 1949, it was in a fiction novel called 'High Magic's Aid' by Gerald Gardner. Knives in general have been used in spiritual practice for approximately 12,000-15,000 years. Two bone blades had been found in "The Cave of the Cow" in southern France, one seemed to represent spring and the other autumn. They were believed to be used for spiritual reasons due to their condition, they had never been used to cut or for any physical purpose. There is a long history of knives in magical traditions. While the term athame is more recent, the double-edged blade is believed to come from the Key of Solomon. Almost all ritual blades present in it were depicted with a double-edged blade. As with all tools used in ritual, the athame must be cleansed first. This can be done in any number of ways, such as with smoke, water, crystals, etc. They can be used as an offering to a god or goddess, to carve words or sigils into candles, it can represent protection and warding on your altar, and in some practices they are used to draw blood as offering. The use for an athame is individual to the witch who is using it.
Creator
Kathryn Revord
Date
2/2/22
Contributor
Kathryn Revord
Type
PhysicalObject
