One of the most important Witch’s helpers is the athame, or ritual knife. The athame is the elemental tool of Air or of Fire, depending on your tradition. It is generally not used to cut physical objects, but to direct energy and draw boundaries.

Most closely associated with Wiccan practice, the word “athame” is of ambiguous origin. (Read: Gerald Gardner probably made it up.) But you don’t have to be Wiccan to use an athame. Magickal practitioners of many paths have adopted the term to distinguish ritual knives from their mundane cousins.

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