
An athame or athamé (, , , or ) is a ceremonial blade, generally with a black handle. It is the main ritual implement or
magical tool among several used in ceremonial magic traditions, and by other
neopagans
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the Paganism, beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some comm ...
,
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
, as well as satanic traditions. A black-handled knife called an ''arthame'' appears in certain versions of the ''
Key of Solomon
The ''Key of Solomon'' (; ), also known as the ''Greater Key of Solomon'', is a pseudepigraphical grimoire attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century Italian Renaissance. It presents a typical exampl ...
'', a
grimoire
A grimoire () (also known as a book of spells, magic book, or a spellbook) is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divin ...
dating to the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
.
[
]
The ''athame'' stands as one of the four elemental tools in modern occultism, traditionally representing fire for witches, and air for
ceremonial magic
Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of Magic (supernatural), magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories t ...
ians. It is mentioned in the writings of
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, author, and amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Moder ...
in the 1950s, who claimed to have been initiated into a surviving tradition of
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
, the
New Forest Coven. The athame was their most important ritual tool, with many uses, but was not to be used for actual physical cutting.
[
] The other three elemental tools are the wand, the pentacle (the element of earth), and the cup or chalice (the element of water). These four magical tools correspond to four significant "weapons" or talismans in Celtic myth: The sword, the spear, the shield, and the cauldron (and/or '
grail
The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...
').
These same four ritual tools also appear in the magical practices of the western hermetic tradition, derived from
Golden Dawn, who pioneered the modern occult tradition and
New Age spirituality
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
; and they appear in
tarot deck
Tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking card ...
s as the four card suits: swords, cups, wands, and pentacles. The athame is an elemental tool, while the sword is often a tool representing power, used to keep spirits in check during goetic evocation. Wiccans sometimes use the sword as a substitute for the athame.
Appearance
An ''athame'' can take many forms. Contrary to popular belief, athames are not required to have double-edged blades or specially-coloured handles. Contemporary magical practitioners often choose a double-edged blade since this carries symbolic meaning.
Some witches will choose a single edge athame and use the straight edge to ring the bell for rituals. The handle of the athame is usually black, and is required in most covens which practice some variant of British tradition Wicca, including Gardnerian and
Alexandrian. The handle may be inscribed with particular symbols dictated by the tradition.
Janet and Stewart Farrar in ''A Witches' Bible'' suggest that the point of an athame be dulled so as to prevent un-intended physical harm during ritual use.
In
eclectic forms of Witchcraft the handle decorations range from
astrological
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celesti ...
glyphs
A glyph ( ) is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A ...
to
runes
Runes are the Letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see ''#Futharks, futhark'' vs ''#Runic alphabets, runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were ...
, the symbols being chosen by the owner. Many fantasy-themed athames are also available from medieval and neopagan supply shops.
Ceremonial witches, on the other hand, use the symbolic colours purple and yellow, representing the alchemical element of air, to colour the athame, and it is then inscribed with specific sigils. This is to invoke the powers it corresponds to, and make a proper impression upon the subconscious.
Use
The athame's primary use is to channel and direct psychic energy, generally conceived as etheric fire. They are usually not supposed to harm or draw blood. Some modern day magical practitioners believe that if things such as
herb
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
s or cords need to be cut, another knife called a "
boline
The boline (also spelled ''bolline'', pron.: boh-leen) is a white-handled ritual knife, one of several Magical tools in Wicca, magical tools used in Wicca, mainly for the cutting of herbs and inscribing candles.
Description
Unlike the athame, whi ...
" is used. The boline is often confused or mislabeled the "white-handled knife", a completely different magical blade. In fact, a boline was more similar to a sickle than a knife and thus would have made chopping herbs very difficult (the boline was, however, handy for harvesting herbs). In the "kitchen witchcraft" tradition, witches are encouraged to use magical tools for mundane purposes to increase the witch's familiarity with them.
The ritual drawing of the boundary of the
magic circle
A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be mar ...
– also known as "casting the circle" – is usually done with either a ritual sword or an athame, in traditional coven practice. For open rituals in public places, this is sometimes done with a ritual wand or staff instead, since there may be legal complications involved with swords and daggers in public places, even when the edges have been dulled. In most traditional covens, the athame is associated with the magical element of fire, so the circle is considered to be cast in etheric fire. This fire is traditionally envisioned as blue, indigo or violet; although it may equally well be envisioned as other colors. When the circle is ritually purified after being cast, that is traditionally done with the remaining three elements—air (incense), water (salt-water), and earth (salt) – because the element of fire has already been imbued into the circle during the casting, by the use of the athame.
After the casting, the athame is the tool traditionally used to invoke the elemental guardians of the
four directions (also termed "calling the quarters"), typically by drawing invoking
pentagram
A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...
s at each quarter.
As a masculine principle, the black-handled athame is often used in combination with the
chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
, as feminine principle, evoking the act of procreation, as a symbol of universal creativity. The athame represents the magical element of fire, associated with the Sun and the
Horned God
The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in Wicca and some related forms of Neopaganism.
The term ''Horned God'' itself predates Wicca, and is an early 20th-century syncretism, syncretic term for a horned or antlered anthropomorp ...
; while the chalice represents the magical element of water, associated with the Moon and the
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
. The union of the two then represents the union of God and Goddess, male and female, sun and moon, fire and water. The marriage of the Sun and Moon—the union of opposites—is an ancient idea in alchemy; and the ''
hieros gamos
''Hieros gamos'', (from and 'marriage') or hierogamy (, 'holy marriage') is a sacred marriage that takes place between gods, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.
The notion of ''hieros ...
'' or sacred marriage of god and goddess is an even more ancient idea in pagan religions. (For example, in ancient Greece—from whence the term "hieros gamos" comes.) This rite is done by dipping the athame into the chalice to bless the wine. This is a symbol of the
Great Rite in Wiccan rituals. Some modern witchcraft traditions may prefer not to use
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
blades, instead preferring alternatives such as
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
,
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
, or
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
such as obsidian. This is most common amongst traditions that have a particular fondness of the
Sidhe, to whom iron is supposedly baneful.
Associations
Some Wiccan traditions associate the black-handled athame with the
masculine
Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...
principle and with the
element
Element or elements may refer to:
Science
* Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom
* Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance
* Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of o ...
of
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
, as did
Gardner; while the wand is associated with
air
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
. Other traditions may reverse these elemental associations, and use the athame to represent air and the wand to represent fire.
Farrar &
Farrar (1984, 1996) suggested this difference is due to the
Golden Dawn releasing false information in the hopes of preventing its rituals being used in the correct way.
[ They add that a witch should always choose the association which seems the most correct to them.
Fire and water are considered to be polar opposite elements, classically and in ]alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
and traditional magical practice. They are sometimes considered to be the two primordial elements, the combination of which gave rise to the other two elements of earth and air. Fire and water are also the elements most associated with Sun and Moon, and thus the Horned God
The Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in Wicca and some related forms of Neopaganism.
The term ''Horned God'' itself predates Wicca, and is an early 20th-century syncretism, syncretic term for a horned or antlered anthropomorp ...
and the Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
within Wicca. For this reason, covens that associate the athame with air (and the wand with fire) may decide to use the wand to bless the wine chalice, instead of using the athame. A union of air and water does not carry the same symbolic significance of the ''conjunctio oppositorum'' (union of opposites) that the union of fire and water does. Also, covens that regard the athame as air and the wand as fire, may choose to cast the ritual circle with the wand or staff, instead of the sword or athame – if they conceive of this casting in the traditional way, as a casting of etheric fire via a projection of psychic energy. If they conceive of the circle casting as cutting a line in the air with the tool of air, then they may choose to purify the circle with the remaining three elements of fire, water, and earth; this would involve using a candle to purify the circle, and omitting the incense, since the circle has already been imbued with the element of air.
The athame is the most important ritual tool in Wicca, and like other ritual tools it is generally purified and consecrated to the gods before being used for ritual and magical purposes. There are various ways of accomplishing ritual purification and consecration, depending on the specific tradition of Wicca being followed, and also whether the individual Wiccan is practicing with a coven or as a solitary witch. One common way to do this is by using the four magical elements of fire (candle), air (incense), water, and salt; and perhaps anointing the blade with an oil infused with magical herbs. Touching another person's athame without permission is considered a ritual '' faux pas'' in almost all traditions of Wicca: It is an intrusion of the owner's personal space; and more importantly, it is an act that violates the magical bond between the athame and its owner. Some witches will go to great lengths to ritually purify, reconsecrate, and rededicate an athame after it has been touched by another person.
Acquisition
There are rituals of consecration for a newly acquired athame, be it new from its maker, or acquired after ritually used by some other person.
Etymology
The term athame derives, via a series of corruptions, from the late Latin ''artavus'' ("quill knife"), which is well attested in the oldest manuscripts of the ''Key of Solomon''. It means "a small knife used for sharpening the pens of scribes" (''"Cultellus acuendis calamis scriptorii"''). ''Artavus'' is well-attested in medieval Latin, although it is not a common word. This explains why it was left untranslated in some French and Italian manuscripts, and ultimately became garbled
in various manuscripts as ''artavo'', ''artavus'', ''arthana'', ''artanus'', ''arthany'', or ''arthame''.[
: compare
][
:
]
Latham[ described the etymology of ''artavus'' as being dubious, but Johannes Balbus de Janua
derives it from ''arto'', ''artas'', etc. ("to narrow").][
An alternate etymology is given by de Garlande, ():][
]
: ''Artavus dicitur Gallice ''‘kenivet’'', scilicet cultellus qui tendit in altum; vel dicitur ab arte, quia eo artifices utuntur.''[
: "Artavus, called ''kenivet'' in French, namely a small knife which stretches in length, is named after ''ars'' (art or craft), because it is used by artisans."
(As distinguished either from a weapon, or from a table knife ''cultellos ad mensam'', ''mensaculos''.)
]Idries Shah
Idries Shah (; , , ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, Indries Shah, né Sayyid, Sayed Idries el-Hashemite, Hashimi (Arabic: ) and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghans, Afghan author, thinker and teacher in ...
, who was personal secretary and close friend of Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, author, and amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Moder ...
, provides yet another etymology from an alleged Arabic ''al-dhammé'' ("blood-letter"), which was supposed to be the ritual knife of a medieval magical cult of Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
. This etymology is controversial, however: It appears in his book ''The Sufis'' as a quotation from ''A History of Secret Societies'' by Daraul – a probable pseudonym of Shah. Graves (an acquaintance of Shah) suggests an Arabic derivation from ''al thame'' (or ''adh-dhame''), which he translates as "the arrow".
A Latin manuscript version of the ''Key of Solomon'' has a drawing that looks like a sickle
A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...
, labeled ''artavo''. Gerald Gardner's use of 'athame' probably came from modern French versions of the ''Key of Solomon'', probably via de Givry (1931),[ who misinterpreted the term as applying to the main ritual knife, as shown by his index entries ''arthane'', ''arthame'', and ''athane''.][
][
]
Historical parallels
* The Javanese ''kris
The kris or is a Javanese culture, Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although ma ...
'' is a ritual knife regarded as having magical powers, and Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, author, and amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Moder ...
was a recognized authority on these knives before he was involved in Wicca.[ There has been speculation][
] that Gardner's interest and expertise in antique swords and knives, and in particular the ''kris
The kris or is a Javanese culture, Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although ma ...
'' knives of Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, may have contributed to the tool's central importance in modern Wicca
Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
.[
]
* The Roman '' secespita'' was a ritual knife; however, it was used for killing a sacrificial animal.
* Zoroastrian priests (''magi
Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...
'') traditionally used a knife (''kaplo''), a spear (or stick with a nail on the end), or even the forefinger, to draw ritual furrows (''karsha'') for purpose of delineating the protected sacred ritual space from evil and ritual pollution.[
]
* The Tibetan three-sided ceremonial knife, the ''phurba
The phurba (; alternate transliterations: ''phurpa'', ''phurbu'', ''purbha'', or ''phurpu'') or ''kīla'' (Sanskrit Devanagari: कील; IAST: kīla) is a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual implement deeply rooted in Indo-Ti ...
'', also known as the magical dagger, or ''kīla''.
References
{{Knives
Ceremonial knives
Ceremonial magic
Magic items
Ritual weapons
Wiccan terminology
Religious objects