So, today was a holiday and I didn’t even know until I tried to contact my bank by phone. Do you think I was greeted with, “Sorry, we’re closed today due to the holiday; please call back tomorrow”? Uh uh. I was down their phone tree about 40 levels when they finally hit me with that little tidbit. And I was all, “What holiday?” I had to go look at a calendar, duh. That’s how out of touch I am. Retirement is so isolating; if I didn’t have you, webfriends, it would be like I was the only person on the planet.
So, today was a holiday I wasn’t celebrating and I wasn’t feeling up to snuff, but I wanted to get started making paper for my 3 custom journal orders. I also want to make some cards to offer on Etsy for Yule and time is tick, tick, ticking away. I only made 5 sheets today, which was an amazing accomplishment as I had to have a lie down in between making each sheet, but I finished one stack and I love the way they came out. I’m using a shopping guide that gets delivered monthly and this time it’s in pink. To some sheets I added rose petals, some diamond dust, and others a lovely blue pigment that adds a pretty sheen. Here are some pics:
Work in progress (WIP) never ends!
This 9 inch monstrosity of a bracelet:
Is metamorphosing into this much better 8 inch bangle:
It’s a nasty snapshot, just a quick peek really; the forced perspective makes the top ring look larger than the bottom, which is in fact not the case (of course). Creating the bangle base out of a single length of wire and keeping the distance between the top and bottom rings even was quite an adventure, but I’m much more pleased with the aesthetics of this piece, as well as the sizing. With four more “panes” to fill in, it’s slow going but nearly complete.
As seems to happen to me so often, I never think to write about a subject until someone asks me a question. I answer and I think, “Huh, I should have written that as a post!” Today’s question was about the athame and the fae, and why one would be feeling “pulled” toward owning one, Here is how I responded:
I have many athames (I’m a “tool” collector), but I only use two athames in sabbat rituals and spellwork.
In ritual, the athame is used to bring the divine feminine (chalice) and male (athame) together by inserting the athame into the chalice (the Great Rite) (the symbolism is very obvious). Some people use their athame to create their circle.
In spellworking, the athame can be used to gather, store and direct energy, such as when consecrating, charging or empowering amulets and talismans (although a wand can be used just as easily).
Most witches will agree on these three points, but there is disagreement about whether the athame corresponds with fire or air. Pick whichever one feels right to you. I treat my wand as corresponding with air, so I treat my athame as fire.
One of my athames is made of copper (which is really difficult to find; someone made mine for me by special request years ago; use of copper is more common and more readily available in England where faerie magic (IMO) is more hands-on and better developed because of its many historical faerie sites) and the other is made of oak wood.
On my daily personal altar, I do not keep an athame at all; in its place I keep a small copper and silver boline. I use this boline to cut fresh flowers and greenery for my personal altar as offerings to the God and Goddess, but not the fae (they don’t like dead flowers). For the fae, I leave shiny and found natural objects.
I’m very careful to have no iron in any of the items on either my ritual or personal altar, as I believe this is offensive to the fae. This includes steel blades (which is what most double-edged blades are made of today) because steel is mostly composed of iron. Pewter is also an acceptable substitute because it is mostly composed of tin, but pewter doesn’t hold a sharp edge. Since you only use the athame to direct energy, this should’t be a problem.
So why is a sharp, double-edged blade with a black handle the “definition” of an athame? Is it to intensify the “maleness” of the phallic object? The “dangerous” aspect of “maleness?” The raw, unbridled passion of the male penis? Some may choose to see it that way, but I see the flip-side too, where “maleness” is flacid, relaxed, peaceful. I see no reason for an athame to be black (absent of light, able to absorb but never reflect) or sharp (since it is not to be used to cut) because it is the witch who imbues the athame with its power. My copper athame won’t hold a sharp edge, and if my wooden athame ever had a sharp edge, a butterfly breathed on it and melted it away! Yet both accept and hold energy very well and release it upon command. I have sharp-edged black athames with the obligatory runes upon the handle and they “feel” no different to me. I simply prefer not to bring steel into a sacred circle.
As to why you are feeling a desire to own an athame, I would say that any desire is a sign of readiness for growth, a sign to reach beyond yourself and expand your knowledge and experience. You are simply ready. The athame will bring you closer to the masculinity within, as well as the divine masculine.
As far as using an athame in faerie magic, the fae are not meek and passive. They have the capability to be very strong and aggressive. They hold within themselves both the feminine and the masculine, just as do each of us. It is natural and, being of nature, the fae are accepting of this tool as they are of any other tool — so, remember, it is just a tool.
Look what I googled today for only $20.00 (me want! click image to visit):
7" Pewter Fairy Athame from Abaxion
“Faith is spiritualized imagination.”
~Henry Ward Beecher, American Clergyman, 1813-1887~
Court of the Faeries -- Source Unknown
SQUEEEEEEE! A heartfelt thanks to Kelly of Green Haven Soaps (they are absolutely to die for). She bought my Magical Moss necklace:
My Aunt Betty saw the update on my Facebook wall about my faerie journal and she has commissioned me to make three journals – one for herself, and one each for Mary and Dana. She’s already selected the dark raspberry suede, sight unseen. I only had that and three other colors left, so I picked up 9 new colors last night. Here are some swatches for the visually curious:
Hover over the swatch with your mouse pointer and the color name will be displayed, or click on the swatch and you will be forwarded to a larger swatch and the color name will be displayed in the title.
My column over at PaganPages hit the Internet today. This month’s contribution is entitled “Do You Take Your Faeries With or Without Wings?” and explores the validity of the winged faerie archetype. I hope you will find it as interesting to read as I did to research. I was tickled to see that the Editor changed the title of the column to reflect how I spell “faerie.” Thanks, Jenn!
There’s nothing like getting a little bit of recognition. I found this to be true during my 30+ years working for the Government, where you do not go to work if what you’re working for is money. About the only thing you will get working for the Government is appreciation from other people working for the Government.
So I haven’t gotten much recognition in the past five or six years since I had to retire, other than for this blog, but today something exciting happened.
My new faerie journal, that I only uploaded for sale yesterday, called “Bidelia’s Bower” because of the graphic I finally decided to go with, was picked for an Etsy Treasury called “Thinking Blues.” This is not just a great honor, it’s free advertising and marketing, too. I was absolutely gob smacked when Anna (who created the Treasury) of Anna Kay Creations emailed me with the news.
*SQUEEE!!*
Being in a Treasury is one step away from possibly being on the Etsy Front Page. Being on the Front Page is akin to winning the lottery. I’ll have to do a couple spells in the next 48 hours to help Anna’s Treasury get selected (out of 233 other Treasuries) for the Front Page. It’s deserving; the other items in the Treasury are really stellar creations.
I woke up this morning feeling unwell again (I’ve been see-sawing for the past two weeks and even missed the whole HAEA Conference, more’s the pity), but because I went to bed last night after only tidying up the bits and pieces from working on the faerie book of spells and I didn’t feel like putting everything away and cleaning up, I instead used the remaining pieces of teal suede to make another faerie pouch. I’ll use any excuse to get out of cleaning!
This one is much bigger. It’s really more of a faerie tarot bag (which is how I plan to promote it on my Etsy site) measuring 4 3/4” wide and 5 7/8” tall with 8 1/4” of fabulous fringe. Next step is to add all the bling, the best part! Except I’m all done in and I’m going to quickly read my email and then go back to bed.
New Faerie Tarot Bag
Gorgeous Fibers -- "Bright Forest Glade" Seems Like a Good Name
Holds An Average Sized Tarot Deck (Sensual Wicca Tarot Shown)
Feedback is always appreciated.
“Life is hard. After all, it kills you.”
~Katharine Hepburn, American Actress, 1907-2003~
