Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

3489 – Handmade wooden athame

Physical description:

Light-weight and light-coloured wood, possibly Ash. A rounded handle and flat blade with carvings on both.

Museum classification:

Modern Witchcraft

Size:

2.5cm x 21.5cm

Information:

This athame was hand-carved by Anne Darby herself. On the handle is a Futhark rune for 'M' or 'Man' and on the blade is a pentacle. Around the handle there are four arrangements of five dots, but we are unsure what these represent.

These items belonged to a witch called Anne Darby. She was born in Essex in 1953 and died in Devon in 2016. The items were donated by Maia Miller, the district manager of the Pagan Federation of Devon and Cornwall.no-go. So are is a partially-shaved style called the Horseshoe. But it's the revised women's hair regulations that have caused the biggest stir.

At a time when more and more African-American women are choosing to wear their hair natural, without being straightened by chemicals or heat, the Army has decreed that only certain natural coiffures are acceptable. Like the regulations for tattoos and mustaches, the Army says the hair regulations are part of a push to make the all-volunteer army uniform in aspect, and "more professional-looking." Many black servicewomen have complained that the new rules are biased. The ladies of the CBC agree.

"The lack of regard for ethnic hair is apparent," says the letter. "This policy needs to be reviewed prior to publishing to allow for neat and maintained