*~* Witchcraft and Wicca Forum *~* EUTM

[jittertat]

At the minute I don't have an athame, but I do have a "wand" (An dold drumstick which I sanded down, waxed, and attached a quartz crystal to.), and I was wondering, what is the difference between a wand and an athame in the process of casting a circle? Also, can they only be used for casting a circle, or is there some other kind of task they perform?

Finally, I heard that the idea of the athame because sensationalised by Gardner when he found te Kris and used it for circle-casting. What did witches use to cast circles before Gardner then?

Thanks. )O(

[Zili]

The wand is more for directing and grounding energy where as the athame is used for casting the circle and in some practices for cutting cords and cutting up herbs for spell working.

Before gardner, a specific knife was set aside and only used to cut things needed for spell work such as gathering and cutting herbs.

personally I don't use my athame to cast circles, I use mine for the cutting of herbs...and since i don't do much with herbs currently I leave my athame on my altar to represent all Gods, instead of a wand I have a prayer stick to symbolize all deities and spiritis, and I have a chalice to represent all Goddesses

[witchmoon21]

That specific knife is the bolline, traditionally white handled for herbs and other cuttings.
I dont have an athame, but if i had i suppose i would use it for my ritual cuttings, for herbs and others. I am ok with the spiritual meanings and all, but i am also practical:)

[Zili]

thanks for that clarification witchmoon (although mine is a copper handle that features an image of a shaman)

[Ravencry]

In my experience, a wand and an athame both cast circles, and cast them well. The athame is more for cutting a circle and the wand for drawing a circle. I don't know if you understand that, so if you don't, let me know and I'll add more detail.

[jittertat]

Actually I don't really understand what that means xD Can you elaborate? :\

[Kitty]

I have an athame mostly because I don't find the traditional hand carved wands attractive - I love my athame
it's in the style of a scottish dirk and is black with a load of blue crystals on it, matching sheath [I think that's what you call it] too

If I got a wand it would have very clean lines and the only thing I would do myself is the choosing of the materials and the blessing
I dream of owning one of these - i even have the materials in mind but they're proper expensive - about £175 I think
http://acmewandsupply.com/gall3.html *sighs dreamily*

Some people say that you shouldn't use your athame to cut but I only apply this in a way where I don't use it for anything other than spellwork instead. the main thing I end up using my athame for is to focus power, kind of in the way wands are wielded. Also something I do but I don't reccomend is I use it to sort of draw energy, for example from a flame - the reason I don't reccomend is because the blade has turned black - lol
xx

[witchmoon21]

I think that having an athame can limit you at moments, for example i cant picture myself going ot the beach at night to do magic with a shiny dagger in my backpack :S
Also imagine a parent finding something like that under your bed...gasp*
For me a wand is warmer and more gentle:)

[Kitty]

I live in Croydon - which is kind of the ghetto of south England - lol
but we have ridiculously frequent stop and searches - I've never been stopped with an athame on me but I did have to explain away a baggie of herbs one time
I do sort of see the gentler side but I don't consider the athame to be violent as such, it's really just the fact it's a knife tht would make some people wary I guess
xx

[Ravencry]

Cutting a circle: Cutting the energy to form your circle
Drawing a circle: Using your energy to literally make your circle, rather than cutting it from the energies already present in that space.

[_Kaimira_]

thanks raven for the info, i was wondering about the wand.

[Ravencry]

Do you need more? I use a wand mainly, cause I feel weird using an athame.

[Greek_Male_Witch]

I also have read that athame is for circles, while wand is for directing energy, but I will tell you one thing, do what feels right to you, not everyone works like the other....

[Aniu]

I'm thinking about getting a new Athame. I have one now but its a bit too big and bulky. Plus it was my dad's old hunting knife. I always was attracted to it, but I feel since it was used to take life it just....I don't know it doesn't feel right to use it for some reason. However I just love the way an athame feels when I hold it. I wish I could tell you more about why I love the athame so much, but its all going on the way I feel when I have an athame in my hand as opposed to a wand. My wand just feels very...I dont know...Juvenal? I feel like I'm a little kid pretending to be a witch still.

That's solely my opinion tho. The main pro to a wand over an athame is the fact that ritual knife or not, a knife is still a knife. My school even had to tell their wiccan population that they couldn't bring an athame to school. (Which to me was like "You dont say?") If you get caught with a wand, you wont be in trouble.

[miachrhys]

I thought that I should add my views into the cauldron as well. In my practice both the wand and athame are used for casting the circle and cutting it if necessary. The wand is representative of the element of air and the athame is representative of the element of fire so their use in particular spells might vary depending on which I'm needing more of a connection to. For example, I might use the wand for a communication spell and the athame as part of a banishing ritual.

In my practice I do not use the athame for cutting. I use a pair of regular scissors that I have cleansed with sage and to be honest they're just a cheap pair that I got at my local dollar store. I feel the athame works better if I use it just for directing energy. I will use it to inscribe symbols or words into candles but that doesn't happen too frequently.

My opinion is to use what works for you and what makes the most sense from your perspective. I can understand teens not being able to have a ritual knife for fear of parent discovering it but a wand would easily go unnoticed. Just because something is tradition doesn't mean we shouldn't try something new once and a while to see if we can find a better way of doing things.