Glossary

Athame

The ritual knife of Wicca, which directs and never cuts.

The athame (say "a-THAH-may" or "ATH-a-may"; both are in use) is the ritual knife of Wicca. Traditionally it has a black handle and a double-edged blade, which is left blunt, because the athame cuts nothing. It directs: the witch draws the circle with it, points to the four quarters and marks signs in the air.

Gerald Gardner brought the word into witchcraft in the 1950s. It goes back to a knife called arthame in French copies of the Key of Solomon, a book of ceremonial magick. Depending on the tradition the athame belongs to fire or to air.

Nobody needs one. An outstretched finger, a wand or a wooden spoon directs just as well, as the lesson Tools of the Craft explains.

If you own an athame, keep it at home on your altar. Carrying a knife in public is restricted by law in many countries, even when it is blunt and meant for ritual, and it frightens people.

Related: wand, the four elements.