A black-handled knife called an arthame appears in certain versions of the Key of Solomon, a grimoire originating in the Middle Ages.
athame |
Since Heather Botting's initiation by Turner in 1966, the coven has remained matrilineal, with the Bottings' granddaughters Phaydra and Ariadne Gagnon inheriting the athame as high priestesses.
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.