The Book of Shadows of a Broom Closet Dweller *EDITING*

Tools: Athame

The athame, or ritual dagger/black-handled knife, is the witch's most common tool after candles. Most witches seek out an athame before obtaining a wand or cauldron. The athame has a primary role in rituals and spells, although it is not absolutely necessary. The wand can perform most if not all tasks that an athame can perform, although the athame's energy tends to be more assertive & commanding (which may be more desirable).

It is a tool that causes change, thus the athame traditionally represents the element of air, although some traditions (e.g. Alexandrian Wicca) associate the athame with fire.

The athame is used for commanding, power, energy manipulation, and cutting or guiding strands of magick (and therefore some witches rarely use it for invoking deities as its energy is very assertive & aggressive). It has a black or dark handle to absorb power, which can be called upon later. Sometimes witches will channel the energy raised in a ritual into the handle for later use.

The athame can also be used as a conductor of energy, especially in solitary rituals, being held above the head with both hands to draw down light and energy into the body. One method of releasing the power is then to bring the athame down with a swift, cutting movement, horizontally at waist level, then thrust it away from the body and upwards once more to release this power. If others are present, direct the athame towards the centre of the circle. After the ritual you can drain excess energies by pointing the athame to the ground.

Uses

The athame has many uses in magic, but none of them are related to physical cutting. That role is reserved for the white-handled knife, or bolline. Instead, the athame is used for the following:

> Casting and opening a magic circle
> Invoking the god and goddess
> Symbolising the male in a symbolic Great Rite
> Directing, manipulating, or commanding magickal energy
> Cutting/severing energy
> Drawing symbols in sand/water
> Stirring potions and brews
> Releasing power/energy during a ritual
> Grounding excess energy into the ground

How to find your athame

The athame is traditionally a dull knife (it's never used for physical cutting), with a 4 - 6 inch long blade, a black handle, and made out of metal. But athames can come in many different forms and be sharp or dull; the main requirement is just that it has a rough blade shape so that it's capable of severing spiritual energy. As a result, athames can be in the form of letter openers, decorative hair pins, scissors, kitchen knives, charm necklaces, stone, crystal, resin, wood, and more.

When looking for an athame, do not buy the first one you see unless it really speaks to you. Instead, keep your eyes open as you visit Pagan, antique, hunting, or even stationery shops.

When you feel drawn to a blade, hold it in your hand. Test the heft and the grip. Can you feel yourself working with this?

Don't worry about the sharpness of the blade. Although a knife, the athame is not used for physical cutting.

Sometimes your athame can come to you in surprising ways, like mine is in fact a letter opener but it looks like a sword. I've also considered purchasing a small sword/dagger necklace - this might be more ideal dwellers of the broom closet.

Broom closet tip: refer to the answer to question 5 of "Broom Closet FAQs" in this book for alternative ways to obtain your athame.

The image below shows a range of athames in the form of charm necklaces, resin, obsidian, and wood.

(Above) A crystal athame carved from selenite.

Athame searching charm

If you have trouble locating your first blade, use this charm to help guide you to it:

"Lord of light, brighten the path to my athame. Lead me to my sacred blade."

First published: Jun 2018
Last updated: Jul 2023