Paranormal Investigator Magazine Issue I | Page 23

Growing Up Pagan
stealth had always been part of what it meant
to be a Witch.

be sharp or what must be dull, or how one must
handle either one.

Fashioning your Witchly wares had also meant
acquiring fabric and crafting your own style of
robe which was traditionally black so as better to blend in with the surrounding darkness
should the outside world come seeking or
stumbling upon your site of magick or worship.
While in the daytime should there be prying
eyes while outdoors would our activities be
explained as being merely reenactments of
biblical or of European significance. Though I
remember one time when some “bible types”
had stumbled upon our maypole dancing
where the explanation of being “hippies” more
than enough to send them away while we soon
howled with laughter!

For the record and as a hereditary Witch of my
tradition; for more than 40 years have I only
prescribed to the teachings of which had taught
me from a time when I was very young. An
Athame traditionally may be a double-edged
blade where much like the broom could and
would be used daily for both eating of meat and
for high magickal rites where the more it was
used the more powerful and attuned to its user
would it become.

Witches are also known for the tools of which
they use where some of the basics are your
besom or broom which is used in a variety of
ways from sweeping away dirt to sweeping
away negativity or by even sweeping a protected circle around oneself. Now the first thing
you may notice is that while many of the modern practices of Wicca may prescribe special
implements for special occasions only was it
the belief of Witches that the more you used
your tools of the craft the more powerful they
became from constant use both domestic and
magickal.
So acquiring a Witches style broom was never
an issue since they could be purchased readily, or for those more craft minded could they
be crafted by hand as well. For you see it is the
way of the wise to obtain that which presents
itself readily where then it became reborn as
something potent and new within the mind and
heart of the Witch.
Now another well-known implement or tool is
that of the slicing or cuttings blades where in
the craft you have one which must be sharp
while another must be dull. The sharpened
blade is your Athame while your dull and often
curved blade is your Boline. Now at this point
have many arguments raged over what must

Your dull edged blade or curved Boline was
described as remaining dull for such things as
drawing through the air while calling the four
quarters as well as for cutting sacred and special herbs for personal or magickal uses. Problem was ‘while sporting a curved knife might be
traditionally desired’ was it also not so practical
in acquiring.
So our solution which was quite simple and far
easier to obtain was to acquire oneself either a
single-edged blade where the other side was
then honed to a dull edged blade which then
became an implement of dual purpose. Our
other solution was to take an Athame where
one side was left sharp while the other was
made dull. For simplicity the Athame was easier
to convert towards dual purpose while the single-edged blade required far more finesse.
And as you can see do we have yet another example of a simply acquired tool of the Witches
trade while remembering that these practices
were conducted during a time in America when
there was far less tolerance than there is today.
Still there is much more to reveal on remaining
hidden often in plain sight so as not to attract
any unwanted attention which could prove lethal towards those of Witchly persuasion.
Obtaining a caldron back then was simple
enough since even commoners had and still
use them as garden decorations for potted
plants or even outdoor cooking, while the

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