So let’s first look at how to accurately pronounce this one. I cringe when things are not pronounced properly. So Athame does NOT rhyme with “same”. But Athame does indeed rhyme with “say”. The “e” at the end is pronounced like a hard “a”. A-tha-may. Now that we have that out of the way, what is this thingy anyway?
An Athame is a double sided ritual tool that anyone who practices tha magical arts will be quite familiar with. The blades are supposed to be dull, not sharp. They are a representation of the mind and how we can “cut through all the crap” that goes on in our heads and in our lives. In the photo, the Athame on the left is a white handled Athame, because some spells call for a white handled Athame as opposed to a different colored handle. Personally, I don’t really care if it requires a white handle or not, but I thought it best, just in case, to have one on hand. So the white handled Athame has rarely been used by me. The Athame on the right of the photo is made of Buffalo Bone. This one is the Athame that I use for any form of healing or magical work that requires the use of an Athame. I resonate very deeply with the Spirit of the Buffalo, so finding an Athame that was crafted from the bone of a Buffalo was, to me, an ultimate treasure!
An Athame can be used to sever toxic energy ties that bind us to toxic people around us. Once those ties are lifted and severed, we are able to function with a whole lot less burden in our energy system. An Athame can, however, also be used in the same fashion as a wand, depending upon the practitioner and what resonates for him or her. One of the things that I use the Athame for is to gently stimulate pressure points in the physical body, thus opening energy flows for myself or for those upon whom I am working in an energy healing session.
I also use the Athame in meditation, gently placing its point (that part, by the way, is indeed sharp) to my Third Eye Chakra, stimulating and energizing that chakra for more clarity of perception. I have also been known to use the Athame in “Calling Down the Moon” or even in terms of drawing sigils in sand or snow. This is a very versatile witchy tool!
Something that I would highly recommend, however, is having your Athame in a secure place when not in use. Leaving it lying around is only asking for trouble when it comes to less spiritually aware people messing around with it. They are daggar-like, and as such should be treated with the utmost respect and not payed with. After all, they can be dangerous when in the wrong hands.