Not everyone is skilled enough to turn out intricate gold eggs in their spare time or beautifully sculpted marble figures to grace their altars, but making your magical tools isn\u2019t about becoming a world-renowned artist or a craftsman.\u00a0 It\u2019s about learning the relationship between you and the tool.<\/p>\n
When I was initiated, I wanted an athame.\u00a0 Not just any athame, I wanted a black handled, double-edged, a bright and shiny 6 inch blade athame.\u00a0 The shape of the blade had to be just so and the handle had to feel right in either hand (I\u2019m ambidextrous).\u00a0 I had a mental image that was crystal clear and all I had to do was find it.\u00a0 I\u2019d sell my underwear to get it if I had to!\u00a0 Unfortunately, I couldn\u2019t find one to fit my image.\u00a0 I settled for something else.\u00a0 It was cheap.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t even black handled.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t at all functional as a cutting tool.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t even close to what I wanted.<\/p>\n
I lost it.<\/p>\n
Oh well, no big deal.\u00a0 Face it, it was a costume piece at best\u2026, and it was cheap.\u00a0 I hunted around and found something else.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t what I wanted but what self-respecting Witch runs around without an athame?<\/p>\n
I lost that one too.<\/p>\n
I beat myself up over that one for a little while and then went out and found another athame.\u00a0 That one looked better.\u00a0 It was a lot closer to my vision of what an athame ought to be and I actually liked it a little.\u00a0 I promised myself that I would be a lot more careful with it.<\/p>\n
But I lost that one too.\u00a0 Or somebody stole it.\u00a0 Or something.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
By that time, my wife and I had stumbled into the position of leading a coven.\u00a0 We had a responsibility and we both took it seriously.\u00a0 I was getting very frustrated with myself over the business of losing my athames one after another.\u00a0 What a terrible example to set!\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t any big deal to be skyclad on circle, but I felt positively NAKED without my athame!<\/p>\n
Now, both of my parents were in the optical trade.\u00a0 I grew up learning all the stuff you need to know to make lenses and was familiar with lots of hand, power tools, and machines needed to grind, polish and shape glass lenses as well as the machines needed to make parts for the machines that made the lenses.\u00a0 We had a lens shop in the basement of our house when I was growing up which later became a family business in a rented building.\u00a0 I was able to use all of these machines and hand tools.\u00a0 I\u2019d already made a few items for our coven\u2019s use with these tools and had even become interested in making little pentacles out of silver wire.\u00a0 I decided that I would attempt to make a knife.\u00a0 How hard could it be?<\/p>\n
Well, that was the wrong question to ask.\u00a0 I studied up on materials and techniques used to make knife blades and was amazed at how many different processes there were for making blades.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have a forge, so that method was out.\u00a0 In fact, a lot of stuff used by professional knife makers wasn\u2019t available to me, so I had to keep it simple and relatively low tech.<\/p>\n
I eventually settled on what was called \u2018navy bronze\u2019 for the blade.\u00a0 There were several reasons for choosing this material, but one of them was that it was comparatively \u2018soft\u2019 and could be worked by cold beating (like using a forge only a lot more muscle) and filing (the method I chose).\u00a0 I cut out the general shape of the blade and started to file away.\u00a0 Several hours later, I had taken away about one half of one percent of what I would have to do.\u00a0 Whew!\u00a0 It was then that I knew I wouldn\u2019t have my blade until a lot later than I had originally estimated.\u00a0 I cast my eyes on the large bench grinder a few feet away and thought about using it for the roughing out of the blade.\u00a0 But that would be something fraught with all kinds of problems I didn\u2019t want to get into and, besides, it almost seemed to be cheating to use that method.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know exactly why I felt that way, but since I did, I knew I should go with my gut and do it by hand file and not use a grindstone.\u00a0 I\u2019d save the power tools for later, when I wanted to polish it.<\/p>\n
This project was done on a piecemeal basis, sometimes working for only a few minutes at a time.\u00a0 I would not work on it when I was feeling tired or upset about anything because I didn\u2019t want that energy to be a part of it.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t work on it when others were around because I didn\u2019t want them to kibitz and offer to help.\u00a0 It was going to be my project and mine alone.\u00a0 It would be my magical tool and, good or bad, it was going to be made by me.<\/p>\n
It took me almost three years.\u00a0 I made the handle out of cocobolo wood and stained it as dark as I could.\u00a0 The finished product was not exactly what I had envisioned originally, but it was something I could be proud of never the less.\u00a0 I even got some leather and figured out how to make a sheath for it.\u00a0 When I finally brought it on circle, I had learned many things because of making it.\u00a0 Most of them were about me.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the most beautiful knife nor as good as I could make now if I had to.\u00a0 But it was part of me by then and nothing in the world could make me feel more proud.<\/p>\n
And I gave it away.<\/p>\n
I gave it to the coven.\u00a0 I still use it, but it isn\u2019t my \u2018property.\u2019 Others use it too.\u00a0 It sits upon the east altar and we keep it shined and use it for all the things an athame is supposed to be used for.\u00a0 Any member of the coven is free to use it.<\/p>\n
You see, while I was filing away, finding the blade within that piece of bronze, the gods decided that I could find the athame I had always dreamed of.\u00a0 I saw it in a shop that sold knives for kitchen and sport use.\u00a0 I had gone into that shop many times in the past.\u00a0 My new athame cost a pretty penny but it was exactly what I had \u2018seen\u2019 in my mind\u2019s eye all along.\u00a0 It has remained on my cord ever since.\u00a0 I love it, but not in the same way as our coven athame.\u00a0 Both are special to me even though they are completely different.\u00a0 Finding the \u2018right\u2019 athame allowed me to be freer in my work on what became the coven\u2019s athame.\u00a0 My abilities and decisions concerning the making of my hand-made magical tool were no longer hindered by wanting my work to be something less than my vision of my athame.\u00a0 Instead, what emerged was more in tune with my abilities and my growing understanding of what it meant to make the tool.\u00a0 The whole process became like a meditation for me.\u00a0 I was under no time constraints that would necessitate making compromises with myself over some aspect of it.\u00a0 And I slowly had become aware of the nature of the materials and the effects that the project made on me.\u00a0 What was produced through this effort was much more than just a knife.\u00a0 My spirit had grown because of the energies I had put into it.<\/p>\n
And that, dear readers, is the most important reason why making your own tools is important.\u00a0 By challenging myself to do something that I hadn\u2019t done before, by extending my talents and learning into new areas, I had worked on myself.\u00a0 Not only did I appreciate the skill and knowledge that a really well made knife required, but I appreciated my own abilities better as well.\u00a0 Though I would never think of myself as a master knife maker, I would always know that if I had to make a knife, I at least knew a great deal about it that I hadn\u2019t known before.\u00a0 When my ideal athame showed up in that shop (six months after I began making the coven\u2019s blade), I was able to appreciate some of the beauty of it that was more than just its appearance.\u00a0 As I continued with making what became the coven\u2019s athame, I learned even more about what a knife blade was and why it was such an important symbol of my chosen faith.<\/p>\n
I had learned a mystery.\u00a0 My knowledge of knife making was greater, but my knowledge of me was even more.\u00a0 My personal experiences could never be duplicated either in myself or anyone else.\u00a0 But anyone who undertakes to make their own tools will discover new things that can\u2019t be explained; they must be experienced.<\/p>\n
Since making that blade, I have ventured forth to make other tools.\u00a0 Each time, I gain a little more understanding about a thousand things.\u00a0 And each time, I find within myself something greater than what I expected.\u00a0 It\u2019s more than the skills or the pride of accomplishment (both of which are grand, but pale in comparison).\u00a0 It\u2019s a new perspective, a new understanding.<\/p>\n
This mystery awaits any who try.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry about your skills or knowledge; you can learn new things from a thousand sources.\u00a0 But the only way to learn what you need to learn is to make the effort.\u00a0 Let any fears about the results float away.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if it isn\u2019t \u2018perfect.\u2019 You may end up, just as I did, buying the tool at some point.\u00a0 But nothing\u2026 nothing will provide what your own efforts will give you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t judge your finished product by any standard other than the value of your own time and energy.\u00a0 If you did your best, it is worth more than anything you could possibly purchase in a store.\u00a0 Put yourself into it and it will be more magical than any other piece you will find.\u00a0 And, if you give it in love to another, that too will be a mystery.\u00a0 Because the magic doesn\u2019t reside in the object; it dwells within your soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Not everyone is skilled enough to turn out intricate gold eggs in their spare time or beautifully sculpted marble figures to grace their altars, but making your magical tools isn\u2019t about becoming a world-renowned artist or a craftsman.\u00a0 It\u2019s about learning the relationship between you and the tool. When I was initiated, I wanted an athame.\u00a0 Not just any athame, I wanted a black handled, double-edged, a bright and shiny 6 inch blade athame.\u00a0 The shape of the blade had to be just so and the handle had to feel right in either hand (I\u2019m ambidextrous).\u00a0 I had a mental image that was crystal clear and all I had to do was find it.\u00a0 I\u2019d sell my underwear to get it if I had to!\u00a0 Unfortunately, I couldn\u2019t find one to fit my image.\u00a0 I settled for something else.\u00a0 It was cheap.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t even black handled.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t at all functional as a cutting tool.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t even close to what I wanted. I lost it. Oh well, no big deal.\u00a0 Face it, it was a costume piece at best\u2026, and it was cheap.\u00a0 I hunted around and found something else.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t what I wanted but what self-respecting Witch runs around without an athame? I lost that one too. I beat myself up over that one for a little while and then went out and found another athame.\u00a0 That one looked better.\u00a0 It was a lot closer to my vision of what an athame ought to be and I actually liked it a little.\u00a0 I promised myself that I would be a lot more careful with it. But I lost that one too.\u00a0 Or somebody stole it.\u00a0 Or something.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know. By that time, my wife and I had stumbled into the position of leading a coven.\u00a0 We had a responsibility and we both took it seriously.\u00a0 I was getting very frustrated with myself over the business of losing my athames one after another.\u00a0 What a terrible example to set!\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t any big deal to be skyclad on circle, but I felt positively NAKED without my athame! Now, both of my parents were in the optical trade.\u00a0 I grew up learning all the stuff you need to know to make lenses and was familiar with lots of hand, power tools, and machines needed to grind, polish and shape glass lenses as well as the machines needed to make parts for the machines that made the lenses.\u00a0 We had a lens shop in the basement of our house when I was growing up which later became a family business in a rented building.\u00a0 I was able to use all of these machines and hand tools.\u00a0 I\u2019d already made a few items for our coven\u2019s use with these tools and had even become interested in making little pentacles out of silver wire.\u00a0 I decided that I would attempt to make a knife.\u00a0 How hard could it be? Well, that was the wrong question to ask.\u00a0 I studied up on materials and techniques used to make knife blades and was amazed at how many different processes there were for making blades.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have a forge, so that method was out.\u00a0 In fact, a lot of stuff used by professional knife makers wasn\u2019t available to me, so I had to keep it simple and relatively low tech. I eventually settled on what was called \u2018navy bronze\u2019 for the blade.\u00a0 There were several reasons for choosing this material, but one of them was that it was comparatively \u2018soft\u2019 and could be worked by cold beating (like using a forge only a lot more muscle) and filing (the method I chose).\u00a0 I cut out the general shape of the blade and started to file away.\u00a0 Several hours later, I had taken away about one half of one percent of what I would have to do.\u00a0 Whew!\u00a0 It was then that I knew I wouldn\u2019t have my blade until a lot later than I had originally estimated.\u00a0 I cast my eyes on the large bench grinder a few feet away and thought about using it for the roughing out of the blade.\u00a0 But that would be something fraught with all kinds of problems I didn\u2019t want to get into and, besides, it almost seemed to be cheating to use that method.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know exactly why I felt that way, but since I did, I knew I should go with my gut and do it by hand file and not use a grindstone.\u00a0 I\u2019d save the power tools for later, when I wanted to polish it. This project was done on a piecemeal basis, sometimes working for only a few minutes at a time.\u00a0 I would not work on it when I was feeling tired or upset about anything because I didn\u2019t want that energy to be a part of it.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t work on it when others were around because I didn\u2019t want them to kibitz and offer to help.\u00a0 It was going to be my project and mine alone.\u00a0 It would be my magical tool and, good or bad, it was going to be made by me. It took me almost three years.\u00a0 I made the handle out of cocobolo wood and stained it as dark as I could.\u00a0 The finished product was not exactly what I had envisioned originally, but it was something I could be proud of never the less.\u00a0 I even got some leather and figured out how to make a sheath for it.\u00a0 When I finally brought it on circle, I had learned many things because of making it.\u00a0 Most of them were about me.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the most beautiful knife nor as good as I could make now if I had to.\u00a0 But it was part of me by then and nothing in the world could make me feel more proud. And I gave it away. I gave it to the coven.\u00a0 I still use it, but it isn\u2019t my \u2018property.\u2019 Others use it too.\u00a0 It sits upon the east altar and we keep it shined and use it for all the things an athame is supposed to be used for.\u00a0 Any member of the coven is free to use it. You see, while I was filing away, finding the blade within that piece of bronze, the gods decided that I could find the athame I had always dreamed of.\u00a0 I saw it in a shop that sold knives for kitchen and sport use.\u00a0 I had gone into that shop many times in the past.\u00a0 My new athame cost a pretty penny but it was exactly what I had \u2018seen\u2019 in my mind\u2019s eye all along.\u00a0 It has remained on my cord ever since.\u00a0 I love it, but not in the same way as our coven athame.\u00a0 Both are special to me even though they are completely different.\u00a0 Finding the \u2018right\u2019 athame allowed me to be freer in my work on what became the coven\u2019s athame.\u00a0 My abilities and decisions concerning the making of my hand-made magical tool were no longer hindered by wanting my work to be something less than my vision of my athame.\u00a0 Instead, what emerged was more in tune with my abilities and my growing understanding of what it meant to make the tool.\u00a0 The whole process became like a meditation for me.\u00a0 I was under no time constraints that would necessitate making compromises with myself over some aspect of it.\u00a0 And I slowly had become aware of the nature of the materials and the effects that the project made on me.\u00a0 What was produced through this effort was much more than just a knife.\u00a0 My spirit had grown because of the energies I had put into it. And that, dear readers, is the most important reason why making your own tools is important.\u00a0 By challenging myself to do something that I hadn\u2019t done before, by extending my talents and learning into new areas, I had worked on myself.\u00a0 Not only did I appreciate the skill and knowledge that a really well made knife required, but I appreciated my own abilities better as well.\u00a0 Though I would never think of myself as a master knife maker, I would always know that if I had to make a knife, I at least knew a great deal about it that I hadn\u2019t known before.\u00a0 When my ideal athame showed up in that shop (six months after I began making the coven\u2019s blade), I was able to appreciate some of the beauty of it that was more than just its appearance.\u00a0 As I continued with making what became the coven\u2019s athame, I learned even more about what a knife blade was and why it was such an important symbol of my chosen faith. I had learned a mystery.\u00a0 My knowledge of knife making was greater, but my knowledge of me was even more.\u00a0 My personal experiences could never be duplicated either in myself or anyone else.\u00a0 But anyone who undertakes to make their own tools will discover new things that can\u2019t be explained; they must be experienced. Since making that blade, I have ventured forth to make other tools.\u00a0 Each time, I gain a little more understanding about a thousand things.\u00a0 And each time, I find within myself something greater than what I expected.\u00a0 It\u2019s more than the skills or the pride of accomplishment (both of which are grand, but pale in comparison).\u00a0 It\u2019s a new perspective, a new understanding. This mystery awaits any who try.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry about your skills or knowledge; you can learn new things from a thousand sources.\u00a0 But the only way to learn what you need to learn is to make the effort.\u00a0 Let any fears about the results float away.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if it isn\u2019t \u2018perfect.\u2019 You may end up, just as I did, buying the tool at some point.\u00a0 But nothing\u2026 nothing will provide what your own efforts will give you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t judge your finished product by any standard other than the value of your own time and energy.\u00a0 If you did your best, it is worth more than anything you could possibly purchase in a store.\u00a0 Put yourself into it and it will be more magical than any other piece you will find.\u00a0 And, if you give it in love to another, that too will be a mystery.\u00a0 Because the magic doesn\u2019t reside in the object; it dwells within your soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}