Type of ritual knife in Wicca
The
boline
(also spelled
bolline
, pron.: boh-leen) is a white-handled ritual knife, one of several
magical tools
used in
Wicca
, mainly for the cutting of herbs and inscribing candles.
Description
[
edit
]
Unlike the
athame
, which in most traditions is never used for actual physical cutting, the boline is used for cutting cords and herbs, carving candles, etc. It has a small, straight or crescent-shaped blade with, traditionally, a white handle.
[1]
Purpose
[
edit
]
The boline has been adopted by several other modern forms of witchcraft including
Eclectic Wicca
. Among these later traditions
[
specify
]
opinions vary as to whether the boline is truly a magical tool or is merely of utilitarian purpose. Similarly, sometimes a white-hilted knife called a
kirfane
(various spellings) is used, for roughly the same purposes as the boline.
[2]
[3]
The sickle from the
Key of Solomon
.
According to the
Kitchen Witchcraft
philosophy, the use of magical tools for mundane purposes like cooking is actively encouraged, and as such there is little or no need for a boline as a separate tool from the athame. Some traditions, such as that of
Robert Cochrane
, also prescribe the use of a single knife for both ritual and practical purposes.
[4]
Key of Solomon
[
edit
]
From the
Key of Solomon
. The
artano
and
bolino
are top left of the image.
Many of the bolines advertised in on-line "magick shops" have a characteristic crescent shape, and are described as being for harvesting herbs. 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.
[5]
Confusingly, an Italian version of the
Key of Solomon
has a hook-shaped knife called an
artauo
(a possible root for athame) and a straight, needle-shaped blade called a
bolino
. When the name "boline" was first used to describe the crescent-shaped blade is not clear. In
The Book of Ceremonial Magic
published by
Arthur Edward Waite
in 1911, Waite references a number of early works on magic which mention the
bolline
or
sickle
, saying
"Among the necessary properties mentioned by the Book of
True Black Magic
are the sword, the staff, the rod, the lancet, the arctrave or hook, the bolline or sickle, the needle, the
poniard
, a white-handled knife and another knife, with a black handle, used to describe the circle. The most important to make is that called the bolline..."
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Farrar, J. & Farrar, S. (1984).
The Witches' Way
. Custer, Washington:Phoenix Press. p.262
- ^
geocities.com
Rik Johnson.
Vocabulary of Wiccan Terms.
Desert Henge Website. Accessed 25 April 2007
- ^
llewellyn.com
- ^
Jones, E.J. and Valiente, D. (1990)
Witchcraft: A tradition renewed
. London: Robert Hale. pp.96-97
- ^
MacGregor Mathers, S. Liddell (ed.)
The Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis)
Revised by Peterson, Joseph H. (1999, 2004, 2005). Available at
esotericarchives.com
- ^
Waite, Arthur Edward, (1911).
The Book of Ceremonial Magic
. London:William Rider. p.154
|
---|
History
| | |
---|
Traditions
| |
---|
Notable
figures
| |
---|
Deities
| |
---|
Key
concepts
| |
---|
Rites
and ritual
| |
---|
Holidays
| |
---|
Paraphernalia
| |
---|
Literature
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|