The Athame/Sword

The origins of the word athame have been lost to history. It may come from the term Arthana, which refers to a knife. Another theory is that athame comes from an Arabic word al-adhamme (bloodletter), a sacred knife in the Moorish tradition. In either case, there are magickal manuscripts dating to the 1200’s that imply the use of ritual knives in magick and special knives were certainly used in ancient offerings.

Modern Wiccans use the knife to represent the male aspect of the Divine and as a symbol of the will both good and ill. Some Wiccans do not use their knives for anything other than spellcraft and ritual, while others feel that the more they use the tool the more potent it becomes. There is also a strong belief that an athame used to physically harm another will never again be functional in magick.

The athame is used for commanding and manipulating power. This knife is usually double edged and dull as it does not actually cut anything on the physical plane. It is used for directing energy in a dimension where real knives are useless.

The athame stands for intellect, right thinking and calculation. The athame and wand are basically interchangeable; his is more a matter of style and preference than of actual reasoning.

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