A black-handled knife called an arthame appears in certain versions of the Key of Solomon, a grimoire originating in the Middle Ages.
This crescent shape is reminiscent of the sickle described in the Key of Solomon, a medieval grimoire and one of the sources for modern Wicca.
It was originally part of British Library manuscript Lans. 1202 as "The Key of King Solomon by Armadel; Book 4: The Spirits which govern under the Orders of the sovereign Creator" (Clavicules du Roi Salomon, Par Armadel. Livre Quatrieme. Des Esprits qui gouvernent sous les Ordres du Souverain Createur), but was translated to English and published as a separate grimoire by S.L. MacGregor Mathers.
The figure is a variant of the Sigillum Aemeth published by Athanasius Kircher in Oedipus Aegyptiacus
The term "athame" in its modern spelling first appears in Wicca, but it originates from words found in two historical copies of the Key of Solomon.
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The latter made much use of material from medieval grimoires such as the Key of Solomon, which has many illustrations of magical tools and instructions for their preparation.
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