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An Athame or Athamé (, or ) is a ceremonial blade, generally with a black handle. It is the main ritual implement or magical tool among several used in the religion of Wicca, and is also used in various other neopagan witchcraft traditions. A black-handled knife called an ''athame'' appears in certain versions of the ''Key of Solomon'', a grimoire originating in the Middle Ages.〔MacGregor Mathers, S. Liddell (ed.) ''(The Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis) )'' Revised by Peterson, Joseph H. (1999, 2004, 2005).〕 The athame is mentioned in the writings of Gerald Gardner in the 1950s, who claimed to have been initiated into a surviving tradition of Witchcraft, the New Forest Coven. The athame was their most important ritual tool, with many uses, but was not to be used for actual physical cutting.〔Gardner, Gerald. ''Witchcraft Today'' (1954) London: Rider. p.150〕 There has been speculation that Gardner's interest and expertise in antique swords and knives, and in particular the kris knives of Malaysia and Indonesia, may have contributed to the tool's central importance in modern Wicca.〔Gardner, Gerald. ''Keris and other Malay weapons'' (1936) Singapore: Progressive Publishing Company〕 On the other hand, the athame stands as one of the four elemental tools in Wicca; traditionally standing for fire, as does the ritual sword. (From the known origins of Wicca, with Gardner's own Book of Shadows, the athame represents fire; where the wand corresponds to air. Other varieties of Wiccan practice may switch those two around.) The other three elemental tools are the wand, the pentacle, and the cup or chalice. These four magical tools correspond to four 'weapons' of significance in Celtic myth - the sword, the spear, the shield, and the cauldron (and/or grail). The same four ritual tools also appear in the magical practices of the western hermetic tradition, derived from The Golden Dawn; and they appear in tarot decks as the four card suits: swords, cups, wands, and pentacles. The athame is an individual ritual tool, while the sword is more appropriate as a coven tool, or the personal tool of the high priest or high priestess. There are obvious risks associated with an entire group of people all wielding swords, while confined within a small ritual circle space nine feet in diameter; this safety factor, as well as ease of use, may explain why the emphasis within Wicca is more on each witch's personal athame, rather than the ritual sword. == Appearance == An athame can take many forms. Contrary to popular belief, athames are not required to have double-edged blades. Contemporary magical practitioners often choose a double-edged blade with a sharp point due to a misplaced belief that this form of dagger is a traditional athame. In fact, in days of old an athame might well have been used for purposes such as carving symbols into candles or other tools, which is made somewhat more difficult with a knife that has two edges. Furthermore, old time witches will choose a single blade athame and use the straight edge to ring the bell for rituals. The handle of the athame is usually black and is required in most covens which practice some variant of British Traditional Wicca, including Gardnerian and Alexandrian. The handle may be inscribed with particular symbols dictated by the tradition.〔Farrar, Janet and Farrar, Stewart. ''The Witches' Way'' (1984) (published as Part 2 of ''A Witches' Bible'', 1996) Custer, Washington, USA: Phoenix Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-919345-92-1 p.253〕 Janet and Stewart Farrar in ''A Witches' Bible'' suggest that the point of an athame be dulled so as to prevent un-intended physical harm during ritual use.〔Farrar, Janet and Stewart. ''A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches Handbook'' (1996) Custer, Washington, USA: Phoenix Publishing. ISBN 0-919345-92-1. (composed of ''Eight Sabbats for Witches'' and ''The Witches' Way'')〕 In eclectic forms of Witchcraft the handle decorations range from astrological glyphs to runes, the symbols being chosen by the owner. Many fantasy-themed athames are also available from medieval and neopagan supply shops. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「athame」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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