Athame 101

Athames are knives or dagger-shaped tools. They are pronounced “ah-thaym” rather than “ah-thaw-may”.‌ ‌The handle is traditionally depicted in black, however, if you’re not part of a specific tradition, the handle color is irrelevant.‌ ‌The athame is traditionally used during rituals to open or close sacred circles.‌ ‌It is an exclusively spiritual tool that does not ‌cut‌ ‌physical objects.

A bronze-colored letter opener I found at a local thrift store serves as my athame.‌ ‌While letter openers are not traditional, I found this piece appealing nonetheless.‌ ‌It‌ ‌had‌ ‌an adorable‌ ‌cat‌ ‌engraved on it. I dedicated my athame to the Norse Goddess Freya, who is associated with cats, love, and divination.‌ ‌I‌ ‌use‌ ‌this‌ ‌athame‌ ‌to‌ ‌draw‌ ‌sacred‌ ‌symbols‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌air‌ ‌as well as to cut spiritual ties with outdated ideas.

This is just a basic lesson in some of the tools I use in my practice. If you’d like to learn more, please contact me! Thank you for reading. – Quill