Boline

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.

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

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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

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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]

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

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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

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^ 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

Neopagan witchcraft

History

Traditions

British Traditional	Alexandrian Wicca Blue Star Wicca Central Valley Wicca Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca Gardnerian Wicca
Other	1734 Tradition Celtic Wicca Church and School of Wicca Cochrane's Craft Coven of Atho Dianic Wicca Faery Wicca Feri Georgian Wicca Odyssean Wicca Reclaiming Seax-Wica Stregheria Universal Eclectic Wicca

Notable
figures

Deities

Key
concepts

Rites
and ritual

Holidays

Paraphernalia

Literature

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Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Coin slasher Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Military knife wz. 98 Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife OSS Escape Utility Knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yakutian knife Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger RAF Aircrew Knife Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers