The athame is one of the Witch's best known ritual
tools. In fact, it would be very hard for any Witch to practice
the craft seriously without having one! Although both the athame
and wand are often used interchangeably for casting a circle,
in reality the two ritual tools have quite separate and very different
purposes. The wand is used for moving and directing energy, the
athame actually invokes and and banishes it.
It is also used to deal with unseen entities
and forces. In other words it holds negative spirits at bay and
prevents interference with spell casting. At the same time the
athame attracts positive energies and spirits which can be extremely
beneficial to the work in hand.
The athame traditionally has a steel double-edged
blade and usually a black or silver handle although this is not
sacrosanct. It must never under any circumstances be used to draw
blood. If it is its power will be gone and the tool should be
destroyed so that it can never be used again.
