From: pssi!bill@Lobster.Hou.TX.US
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 92 15:04:07 CST

> Could someone enlighten me as to what an athame is, if it is spellt
> this way and how it is pronounced. It isn't neither in my Webster,
> nor in The Oxford Guide to the English Language. 
An Athame is a ritual blade used as contact cutter, mystic separator,
and shiny-sharp pointy thing. It is also useful for cutting herbs,
drawing signs and trimming your toenails. Some paths insist that it be
dull, others razor sharp. For some it must be silver, others use
stainless steel. The first path I was trained in used the athame as
your everyday knife. It lived with you and on you, and did everything
from cutting twine to cutting steak at dinner.  The path I am in now
insists it is for ritual use only, and if it ever touches blood it is
profaned and must be discarded. I tend more toward the first. My magic
is a part of my everyday life, it is my everyday life.

As to pronunciation, a-the-may (I am not an English professor, but I
think that works!). The a is said like the a in "at" and the emphasis
is on the first syllable. Also, some pronounce it ah-Thah-may. And
others use eh-Thah-may.

> Some ideas on how to choose/not choose your athame would be welcome
> too.

My current teacher insists it be a single edged stainless steel blade
with a black handle, preferably 9 inches in length (some paths have 2
blades, one with a black handle and one with a white handle, athame
and boline, respectively). My first priestess said that nothing is
important except whether or not it speaks to you. Handle lots of
knives, even swords. Go to knife shops and flea markets. Touch them
all. You will know when you find it. Most important...  when you find
it, do not haggle on the price. Buy it or don't. Never insult the
craftsman or the blade by haggling on the price of a magical tool.