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MAGICAL TOOLS: ATHAME, MARS, AND MINERVA
May. 6th, 2023 09:57 am As a magical tool, the athame was foreign to me. To me, it seemed to be just a fancy knife. The first time I saw one in use was a Wiccan casting a circle for ritual, and then cutting an imaginary door to let people exit. Magical circles, let alone casting them, was something I was not interested in.
The other introduction to the athame that I had was the Great Rite. I learned that this was the joining of the Male God with the Female Goddess. To symbolize the act, the athame (Male) is put into the chalice (Female). Since I am not Wiccan, that use of an athame was also foreign to me.
Reading the writings of Heron Michelle and Jason Mankey, noted practitioners of Wicca, helped me to understand the athame as a magical tool. Writing in “Elemental Witchcraft,” Michelle asserts that the athame, a knife born of fire, which has burned away its impurities, has the fire’s “projective power of the will.” Infused with “the fires of will,” the athame can now establish boundaries and defend sovereignty. Using the projective power of the athame, a Wiccan can banish “fear with humility.”
Mankey in “The Witch’s Athame,” stressed that the Great Rite could be thought of as two opposing but complementary elements joining together to create. Since the athame is Fire and the chalice, Water, their union creates Steam, a new element. Therefore, the Great Rite celebrates “the magick of joining:” two forces uniting to form a new life.
Athames (Note 1) have been described in various grimoires as “magical knives.” The “Key of Solomon” described a double-bladed knife with a black handle. (Note 2) It could be used to cast circles and banish unwanted entities. An athame could also cut ties.
Pondering the athame, I realized that it cuts away what is still useful from what is decayed. Like a scalpel cutting out a tumor, the athame cuts out unwanted material. What is left can be then used in our magic as a support. Moreover, this tool burns out the stagnant debris of our workings.
In researching various consecration rituals for the athame, I found that Mars, the Roman God of War, could be associated with the tool. Various rituals referred to the athame as “Blade of Mars” and “Shield of Mars.” Oberon Zell-Ravenheart in “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard” advises using Martial herbs when consecrating the athame. He also says to do it on Tuesday, a day of Mars. After meditating, I realized that Mars, at least, should govern my choice of an athame.
When I decided to ask Mars to help select the athame, Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Statesmanship, decided to be included. The two Gods said that They would share in blessing of the athame. This is reminiscent of what Mankey referred to as the two powers of creation – the active and receptive. Minerva, as the Goddess of Sovereignty and Mars, the Defender of the Fields, defend the boundaries of the State (Rome). For an athame, I chose a wooden one, which was crafted in one piece. Made of walnut, it was stained red.
In consecrating her altar tools, Michelle writes, “I infuse this athame with fire’s projective powers of the will.” She asks that it “banish fear with humility.” Inspired by that, I purified mine by passing it through candle flames. Then I put it on the altar between my statues of Minerva and Mars. I asked Them to bless it and to protect me. Afterwards, I placed it on my Ancestor altar for Them to watch over it.
Notes:
Note 1. The term “athame” was created by Gerald Gardner, considered to be the Modern Father of Witchcraft. He used it in a novel, “High Magic’s Aid,” in 1949.
Note 2. In “The Witch’s Athame,” Mankey notes that an athame needs to have a double blade since the energy has to flow evenly.
Works Used:
Adkins Lesley and Roy Adkins, “Dictionary of Roman Religion.” New York: Oxford University Press. 1996.
Greer, John Michael, “The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2003.
Lazic, Tiffany, “The Great Work.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2015.
Mankey, Jason and Laura Tempest Zakroff, “The Witch’s Altar.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.
Michelle, Heron, “Elemental Witchcraft.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.
Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.” Franklin Lakes (NJ): New Page Books. 2004.
