Crusiform bladed Dagger E Bay

[laEspadaAncha]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

These Hellfire clubs were essentially a parody used in satirical sense toward religion... and the only reason the term pagan was associated with the motif is the green man and dragon are known from those times.

Good note - I would also add to it the 18th C. French origins of the Black Mass, itself a parody of the Catholic Mass. Long before the rise of 19th C. Hermeticism (largely credited with haven given rise to the modern occult movement), there was a long-existing anti-religious backlash practiced by members of the aristocracy, and it would not take a great leap to see how pre-Christian, paleopagan symbolism could serve a parodic purpose in line with these sentiments.

However, I find the explicit representation of the Green Man to be too specific to dismiss any connection to paleopagan beliefs, even if such a representation of such beliefs wasn't meant to embody pagan ritual as much as it might have been meant to serve a purpose in line with the satirical anti-Catholic rituals that existed at the time. Thus, while not an athame per say, I don't think some type of ritualistic function can be completely ruled out, even if said function was rooted in parody as opposed to belief...




ETA: While not an athame per say, given the nature of neopagan / Wiccan rituals and the function an athame serves in those rituals (which in all but the rarest of occasions is purely symbolic), I do not see how the form of the dagger would preclude its use as such, and still maintain the symbology could make this a very attractive acquisition for a well-to-do Wiccan, thus contributing to the realized price.