After the casting, the athame is the tool traditionally used to invoke the elemental guardians of the four directions (also termed "calling the quarters"), typically by drawing invoking pentagrams at each quarter. This important traditional practice is one of the reasons often given for the false requirement that the athame must be double-edged; because attempting to trace a pentagram in the air with a single-edged blade will require some awkward twisting of the hand and wrist, in order to keep the single cutting edge in the direction of motion. Practitioners unfortunately get caught up on this logistic and may be unaware that the elementals are more concerned with the threat the magical blade represents than how one twists their wrist.