Look at the picture above.
What do you feel when you look at this image?
Do you feel slightly unnerved? Fearful? Curious?
Do you think of the harms it could cause? We know knife crime is a real problem in our society.
Or perhaps it makes you think of survival - hunting and killing animals...
Do you associate it with blood, death, pain and the taking of life?
Is it an instrument of evil?
The image of a knife is a visceral one in our minds. It triggers various instincts within all of us, and these images will be different for each person according to the experience we have with it.
But the knife is merely a tool. It’s neither good nor evil.
It’s a neutral instrument, forged by fire to help the user do the task at hand. It’s a tool of a trade, no different than a hammer, saw or wrench.
But yet we still often attach a negative association to it.
The key question we should ask ourselves is, 'What is the intention?'
Intention is the most important thing in all aspects of life.
The same knife could be used to take a life, but it could also be used to save one. It could be used to prepare a family meal to feed starving mouths or it could be used to help a person lost in the wilderness to survive. It could be used to cut away a cancer and save the life of the patient.
Good or evil are just relative terms and often not helpful in real life or the world of magick.
Magick isn’t good or evil, just as tools aren’t.
People aren't good or evil either - it’s actually all about their intentions. If our intentions are pure, honest, genuine and authentic, then our words and our actions will follow that. If not, then again, our words and actions will follow that.
This knife is actually an Athame. It’s a ceremonial knife used by many witches. It can be used in casting circles and in various other ritual practices. It’s used essentially for the 'cutting' and/or direction of energy.
In life, our intentions matter, and what we choose to do with the free will we have will dictate the directions our life goes in.
By living a life with intention, our each and every action, word and movement will be deliberate and measured. When we set our intentions, we are able to manifest the life we want.
Setting intentions helps you to achieve your goals in a more strategic and measured way rather than just plodding along and hoping for the best.
Writing down your intentions can really help to solidify them in your mind.
When we write down the things we want to get done, the goals we want to achieve, or even how we want to feel, the act of writing them is actually a form of energy transference - we are transferring our thoughts out into the physical world and solidifying them in paper and ink.
We often attach more meaning to written words than to thought alone, and so by creating some form of 'formal' intention setting ritual, it can help us to be more measured in our actions and we can use the pen as another 'tool of the trade'.
Set aside some time today to set your intentions.
Grab a drink, a paper and pen, get comfortable, take a deep breath and spend a few minutes focusing your mind.
Think about what you want to achieve - today, this week, this month, this year, or even longer if you wish.
Also consider how you would like to feel now and in the longer term.
Where would you like to be a year, 2 years, 5 years from now?
What would you like to do for work? Relationship goals? Holidays?
Think of as much or as little as you wish.
Get it all down, make a plan, and start living a life full of intention - you’ll be amazed at the profound differences such a simple act can make on your daily life.
For more musings, why not join our Facebook group 'Beneath the Canopy'?