The Busy Pagan

I haven't yet gotten into the swing of things to make sure that I make these posts every day, but at least I haven't given up on it or totally flaked out, which I see to be a good thing.  Ergo, I'm not beating myself up overly much.

Today's topic is, as the title suggests, about the athame.  Unless someone is an uber beginner, just about every Pagan knows what an athame is and, typically, what purpose it serves.  But, just in case I've got someone (perchance) reading that doesn't know I'll give the abbreviated skinny.

An athame is a ritual knife used in ritual (I know; that was a little redundant).  One of the things the athame symbolizes in ritual is the masculine energies.  For instance, in fertility rituals, the athame's blade gets dipped into a chalice of wine (the chalice representing the feminine energies, of course) to symbolize the unity of the masculine and the feminine to bring forth life. Another use that the athame can have in ritual is during the casting of circle.  I've also seen athames used to draw invoking and evoking pentagrams in the air as a solute to the gods.

Traditionally it's a double-edged blade with a black wooden handle and is not meant for any sort of physical cutting (though some that I know of occasionally use the blade of their athame to let a little of their own blood if the spell calls for it; that just boils down to personal choice). The knife typically used for any sort of cutting (which typically ranges only to herbs) is called a boline, which traditionally carries a crescent-shaped single-edged blade like a small harvesting sickle.

Nowadays, many have opted to acquire athames that stray away from tradition.  My first athame was a small boot knife-styled blade, double-edged, and made from either silver or stainless steel (I can't remember which). Due to the fact that I had some bad memories tied to that athame, I chose to sell it to someone who could find better use from it.

As for what I'm hoping to get for my next athame?  I dunno, honestly.  I'm just going to wait until the right one presents itself to me.  I like daggers that look like miniature swords.  I like the idea of having an athame with a wooden handle, double-edged blade, and overall, I'd just like it to be something simplistic.  I don't need anything gaudy or overly ornate.

I'd love it if I could find an athame with the Triple Moon symbol on the handle.  I've seen a few of those.  The Triple Moon symbol or the Goddess symbol on the handle would be perfect for me  ^_^