How to Cleanse Your Athame of Negative Energy
An athame is a wiccan's most important ritual tool. A newly acquired athame, or one which has been used in a ritual to clear or deflect disturbing influences like violence or unhealthy behavior, should be cleansed of any negative energy it might have acquired before being put to use again in positive ritual.
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Things You'll Need
- Athame
- Bowl
- Sea salt
- Sunny area of counter or table
- Clean water
- Soft dry towel or polishing cloth
- Sage smudge
- Altar cloth or silk square
- Small shovel
Instructions
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Select an area of your counter or table which receives full sun for at least one full hour a day, or set up a small folding table beside a sunny window. Create a peaceful space in this location, clear of any distracting clutter. On the day before the full moon, light a sage incense smudge at night in your sunny location, and watch silently as the aromatic smoke creates a sacred space for cleansing your athame.
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Select a bowl which is smaller in diameter than the full length of your athame. Place at least one cup of sea salt in the bowl. On the first day of the full moon, place your bowl of salt in the sunny location. Using your athame held with the tip pointed downward, cast a miniature circle--about three feet in diameter, but it can be smaller if necessary--around the bowl of salt.
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Set your athame across the rim of the bowl and commend its power into the hands of the god and goddess. With the palms of your hands, feel the dome of energy rising over the athame from your cast circle. Step away and let the athame sit in the sunshine for one hour.
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Return at the end of one hour and sweep down the dome of energy over the athame with the palms of your hands. Remove the athame from the bowl, and lift the circle. Leave the bowl of salt where it is, or cover it with an altar cloth and return it to a safe location.
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Repeat this process each day until the dark of the moon. At the dark of the moon, take the bowl of salt to a moving water body and cast the salt, and the negative energy contained within it, into the water. Rinse out the bowl with clean water, and place new salt in the bowl. Continue the same daily ritual until the moon is full once again.
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On the full moon, take a small shovel and dig a small hole in an open location. Dump the salt from the bowl into the hole and cover it over, thanking the god and goddess for their assistance. Rinse the bowl with clear water, then fill it and dip the blade of the athame into the water. Hold it there a moment, feeling the positive energy of the water flowing up through the blade. Remove the athame from the water and wipe it down with a soft towel or polishing cloth. Pour the water outside or on a nearby plant and return the bowl and athame to their safe storage locations.
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Tips & Warnings
Athames are often sharp; exercise all the care you would use with any sharp object.
