Original von 1949

Release 1975 (Weisser)

Release 1996
(Godolphin House)

Release 1999 (I-H-O)

auf Seite 3: "To make the sword I need the burin, to make the burin I must have the consecrated white-hilted knife, the witch's athame."

auf Seite 19: "We needed the witch's athame to fashion our tools,. so we went to the sabbath to try to borrow one ..."

auf Seite 92: "Morven stood there, her body rosy scented and vibrant from water and hard rubbing, holding a knife in each hand, the black-hilted athame and that with the white handle." ... 
Meanwhile Morven thrust her athame into a chink in the floorboards, looped the strand she had plaited that morning over it, and fitting a piece of charcoal into a loop five feet six inches down its length, she marked out a circle, leaving an entrance north nor-west in it."  ... 
Morven then took the athame and with its point went over again all that he had drawn in charcoal, while he placed a lighted brazier of the same fuel at the due eastern point within the smallest circle."

auf Seite 96: "He purified it on the live coals and, with the white-handled knife, whose office was that of a tool as distinct from that of the athame used, by the witch to control spirits and work magic, he carved on the handle of the awl, which was to become the burin, these characters:"

auf Seite 98: " 'Seek ye the Witch of Wanda,' had provided him with the athame and the white-handled knife, the means to the ends they desired."

auf Seite 99: "She, holding her athame in her right hand, brought the point down upon the sword's blade and held it there to communicate increased power, while Thur cried in a strong voice: "I conjure thee, O sword, by the names Abrahach, Abroath, Abracadabra, Yod He Vau He, that thou serve me for a strength and a defence in all my magical operations against all my enemies, visible and invisible."

auf Seite 138: "Morven understood, and slipped out of her boy's clothes, and drew her athame."

auf Seite 139: "With solemn steps she paced to its edge, holding her precious athame erect in her right hand." ... 
"As Morven raised her athame in blessing, there was a murmur from the people below: "Ahha! Ahha! Evoh! Ahha!" "...
"Once more she raised her hand and athame in magical blessing."

auf Seite 142: "She stepped backwards, keeping her right hand with the athame raised above her head, her left hand outstretched."

Seite 159: "Upon the altar lay the athame, the magic sword, the burin and the sprinkler, also materials for their work: four iron disks, two-and-a-half inches in diameter, already purified by fire, had been prepared previously." ...
"Thur took the magic sword and retraced all the markings with its point, for the painted circle has no power of protection, which comes from power of the magic sword or the athame."

auf Seite 161: "Morven took her athame, and while they held the points of their weapons on the first pentacle, Thur recited slowly and with the utmost intensity he could summon:"

auf Seite 162: "Morven with a gesture, she held her athame above it; while he held his sword in a like manner, he conjured it; saying: By all the powers and rites, I conjure thee, render this pentacle irresistible, O Lord Adonai."

auf Seite 167: "After a moment of silence he spoke again. "Jan and Olaf, you will need your swords; Morven hath her athame."

auf Seite 168: "In her right hand she held her athame, and she slung the handle of the basket on her arm."

auf Seite 181: "She and Jan mounted to the loft, here she re-drew the circle with her athame, leaving a doorway, then circumambulated three times sunwise, with a dancing step, as she did so calling on the mighty ones of the east, south, west and north to attend, then after dancing around several times in silence, she chanted;"

auf Seite 182: "Then, placing the point of her athame to his heart said: O thou who standest on the threshold between the pleasant land of men and the domains of the dread lords of the outer spaces, hast thou the courage to make the assay?" ...
"She then carefully closed the doorway by drawing the point of her athame across it three times, joining all the circles." ...
"With this cable tow in her left hand and the athame in her right, she led him sunways round the circle to the east, where saluting with the athame she proclaimed; Take heed, O lords of the watchtowers of the east." ...
"Then, clasping him round the body with her left arm, athame erect in right, she made him circumambulate three times round the circle with a half-run, half-dance step."

auf Seite 182: "With this as with the athame, thou canst form all magic circles, dominate, subdue and punish all rebellious spirits and demons, and even persuade the angels and genii." ...
"Next I present the athame. This is the true witch's weapon, it has all the powers of the magic sword."

auf Seite 188: "Then she prompted him to do the same with the athame, another kiss." ...
"Resuming her athame; and he carrying the sword, she led him round the circle, proclaiming at all four quarters."

"Of the Knife, Sword, Sickle, Poniard, Dagger, Lance, Wand, Staff, and other Instruments of Magical Art.

...But as for the Knife with the black hilt (see Figure 62) for making the Circle, wherewith to strike terror and fear into the Spirits, it should be made in the same manner, except that it should be done in the day and hour of Saturn, and dipped in the blood of a black cat and in the juice of hemlock, the Characters and Names shown in Figure 62 being written thereon, from the point towards the hilt. Which being completed, thou shalt wrap it in a black silk cloth."

  "Then make a dassel of vervain, fennel, valerian, sage, mint, marjoram, basil and bind all these herbs in a rod of hazel that must be cut off at one cut with Arthana (the knife), and cause to be sung over it. ...

...Afterwards mark the pen with Arthana and fumigate and sprinkle with water, put him in silk cloth and write on it with a needle..."

Hierbei dürfte das Messer mit dem weißen Griff gemeint sein, da es zum Schneiden verwendet wird.

"Das rituelle Messer, geheimnisvoll »Athame« genannt. Abgeleitet von adhdba-me, Instrument für den Aderlaß. »Athame« ist eine gute Annäherung an den Klang des Wortes adh-dhame."

"Athame. The black-hilted knife that is the traditional witches' weapon. It is used for drawing the magic circle and for controlling and banishing spirits." ...

..."An engrraved gem from ancient Rome shows Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, in triple form. Her three pairs of arms bear the symbols of a burning torch, a scourge, and a magical dagger; once again this appears to be a prototype of the Athame."...

..."An early edition of the grimoire called the Clavicle of Solomon, dated 1572 and now in the British Museum, mentions the magical knife by the name Arthana." 

"The typical weapon of Witchcraft is the athame, or ritual knife (pronounced ath-ay-me). Old books of magic give several variations of this word, such as 'arthany', 'arthame', and so on. Clark Ashton Smith introduces it as a tool of magic, with the spelling "arthame", into one of his eerie fantasies, 'The Master of the Crabs', first published in 1947 in that classic source of such genre, the American magazine 'Weird Tales'.

The origin of the word is at present unknown, though some present-day exponents of the near-eastern cult such as Sufism have attributed it to the Arabic adh-dhame, meaning 'blood-letter'. in the sense of being it a shedder of blood, which is just what the witches' athame is not. Hence this derivation does not seem very convincing."

Seite 68: ...Taking his arthame from its sheath the Master wiped it dry with the hem of his cloak, bidding me do likewise with my own weapon lest the brine corrode it. ...

Seite 69: ...With hands tightening on the hilts of our arthames, we went cautiously and circumspectly toward the cavern and paused a little short of its entrance. ...

Seite 70: ...Aye, and your neophyte is also armed with an arthame.  ...

Seite 71: ...I stooped over, striking and thrusting with my arthame; but the few that I crushed in this manner were replaced by scores; while others, catching the hem of my cloak, began to climb it from behind and weigh it down. ...
...Then, while the spell-drawn army still besieged him, climbing upon each other's backs and scaling his very knees and thighs, he hurled his arthame with a strange circular motion at the upraised arm of Sarcand. ...

Gardner verwendete das Wort "Athame" in Anlehnung an Smiths "Arthame" in seinem Roman "High Magic's Aid" zunächst als fiktiven Namen für das Ritualmesser mit dem schwarzen Griff. Offenbar gefiel ihm das Wort so gut, dass er es in seine Religion "Wica" einbaute. Dies wird deutlich, wenn man sich die Urversion des Book of Shadows, dem "ye Bok of ye Art Magical", aus dem Jahr 1949 anschaut. Im Kapitel "Magical Knives" schreibt er (nach der Abhandlung über das "knife with a white hilt"):

"But for the knive with the black hilt.
(Grafik)
Where with to strike terror into the Spirits, and for forming the Circle, it should be made in the hour of Saturn tempered in the blood of a black cat, and kept in black cloth."

Erst in einem (zeitlich) späteren Kapitel ("The Circle") taucht das Wort "Athame" erstmals auf: 

"Having chosen a place proper, take the Sickle or Semitar of Art or a Witches Athame, if thou mayest obtain it, and stick it into the centre, ..."

In "Witchcraft Today" auf Seite 152 (veröffentlicht 1954, Rider & Co. London) schreibt Gardner im Kapitel "Recapitulation - The Witch's Tools": 

"Of course, the average witch does not have a full battery of tools; not all have the sword, for instance. An Athame (witch's knife), a censer, some cord and one or two other tools are quite enough to work with. For initiations the whole battery of tools has, of course, to be present; but these usually belong to the coven."

Die deutsche Übersetzung in "Ursprung und Wirklichkeit der Hexen" (veröffentlicht 1965, Otto Wilhelm Barth-Verlag) auf Seite 145 (Kapitel XIII. Rückblick - Kultgegenstände) lautet:

"Im allgemeinen besitzt eine Hexe nicht alle Kultgegenstände. Ein Athame (Hexenmesser), ein Weihrauchgefäß, ein Gürtel und noch der eine oder andere Gegenstand genügen."