Monday, August 12, 2013

Tools of Magick: The Athame, Part 2

Athames and Faery Work:
Okay, I know there are some of you out there asking about using a steel blade and yet working with the Fey. There is much lore that states that the Fey have an aversion to steel and iron. (See The Faery Faith in Celtic Counties)  On this, I have a couple of thoughts.  First and foremost, I believe that the Fey need for us humans, the iron bloods, to be the most human that we can possibly be.  This means accepting the iron within us and the iron in the tools that we use.  This allows us to be our full potential, to be the most powerful allies to the Fey that we can possibly be, to work together to protect the old ways and the wild places.  I learned this from my own work with the Fey and my allies but I later heard Victor Anderson give much the same message. 

With that said, I do also have a blade that is not iron that I use for casting circles where I will be calling on and/or working with the Fey.  While I accept the iron within me and the tools of our people and time, I also learn from generations of wisdom passed down through the ages that suggest not using iron-based tools when working with the Fey.  This blade was made of horn in Scotland by a Druid friend of a friend, specifically for the purpose of being an athame and working with the Fey. It has an intense point on it.  I know others who have held athames that were made of fossils, crystals, flint, and volcanic glass specifically for working with the Fey.  If you choose to have a faery blade, whatever material of which it is made, I strongly recommend that it still have a point, an edge, and be sharp. 

Science Geek Alert:
‘If both the athame and the wand are used to work with energy, how are the different?  Why would you use one over the other?’ I remember the first time that I was asked this question in a class.  I struggled to answer the question in a way that truly satisfied me.  While it was intellectually accurate, my answer didn’t result in an energetic lightbulb of understanding going off over anyone’s head.  So, being the scientist that I am, I sat with my tools, experimented, observed, analyzed, reflected, and drew some conclusions (i.e. rejected my null hypothesis). 

I’ll talk about wands in my next post but here is my take on how an athame is used to work with energy: In fluid dynamics (fluid moving through a cylinder or pipe) when a fluid moves through a pipe it maintains a consistent velocity if the diameter of the pipe remain the same.  However, if the diameter of the pipe tapers down to a smaller diameter, known as a “reducer”, the fluid velocity increases.  Essentially, a “reducer” looks a lot like a funnel. 

And so in magic, when working with energy, my experience is that the athame acts much like a reducer or a funnel: it takes the energy flowing to it, focuses it into a narrower stream, and accelerates it. It also concentrates this energy into a highly focused beam that is intense and powerful. As we stand drawing the energy (mana, life force) into us from the fire in the earth, the stars above, and the air all around us, and we send that energy to our athame, it does it’s magic of focusing, directing, and adding power to our magical actions. My experience is that this energy is also further transformed by the athame, exciting the atoms flowing through it such that the beam of energy emits light.  Usually this light is visible only to our mind’s eye, but there are times where it may be visible to the optic nerves in our ocular eyes.  And because we are witches, we can change the color, heat, velocity, and other attributes of this beam of energy at will. 

Disclaimer: Damn it Jim, I’m a molecular biologist, not a chemical engineer or physicist.  I took a minor in biochemistry instead of a double major just so that I could avoid a year of studying fluid dynamics, physical chemistry, and having Bernoulli’s Law seared onto my brain. (Note to self: Bernoulli’s Law might make a cool tattoo though, maybe on the forearm.)  And if fluid dynamics are your special obsession, please feel free to drop me a line and add your scientific insight to this metaphor. 

Magical Home Adventures (this is what Raven Moonshadow used to call “homework”):
Turn the lights down low, maybe light some candles and incense.  Create sacred space and stand in the circle with your athame.  Wrap your hands around the handle and hold it so close to your face that the exhale of your breath makes sound as it wraps around the edge of your blade.  Continue to breathe and let your breath pull up energy from the fire in the earth, the stars above, and the air all around you and send it through your exhalation to your athame.  Let this energy feed and charge your athame.  Let your eyes soften and continue to breathe into your athame, filling it with mana.  Continue to do this until it is full and the flow of energy begins to slowly overflow out through the point of the athame.  Notice how this trickle of energy appears in your softened eyes and in your third eye.   What color is it?  Continue to breathe into it and with your breath, change the color of this trickle.  Let it become fire engine red, maroon, violet, blue, white, green;  let it move through colors of your choosing at your will.  With your breath, let the trickle speed up slightly, and then let it slow down.  Let your mind be one with your athame, an extension of you, adjusting the flow of energy through your athame at will.  And when you are done, let your mind and your athame come to rest, letting the flow stop.  Ground your athame by touching the point to the ground. 


At this point, I like to thank and bless my athame with a kiss, letting it know that it is sacred, treasured, and holds a special place in the heart. For tools are like lovers, the more you caress, kiss, and spend time with them, the better you know each other, the more you flow synergistically, symbiotically together, forgetting where one ends and the other begins.