THE HISTORY OF THE BESOM / BROOM
THE BROOM
The broom stick was an important fixture in ancient homes. Most
homes were made of wood, straw and dirt floors. The only way to keep a home
clean was to sweep out the old.
One of the earliest forms of the broom is known as the Besom
Broom. They were made of twigs tied to a handle. The bristles can be made of
various materials such as straw, herbs, or twigs. The shaft is round to
represent the branch of a tree. This associates the broom with the Tree of Life
which was an important symbol in ancient pagan Europe.
These brooms were often found just inside a dwelling hanging
with bristles up to ward off evil spirits, negative energies and to protect the
home and all who dwell within it. It could also be found hanging over a door
with the bristles facing in the direction of opening of the door.
The brooms relation to sweeping away negative energies and use
for protection makes it a wonderful tool for magical practices and rituals.
THE WITCHES BROOM
The traditional Witch's Broom is made of an ash handle and
bristles from birch twigs. The twigs are tied onto the handle with thin pieces
of willow wood. There have been a few written accounts of early Witch's
decorating their brooms with flowers of the season tied on with some type of
decorative string or later using coloured ribbon. A practice that is continued
today by modern Witches.
Early Celtic pagans associated the broom with Faeries, possibly
because of its relation to the wood and a common belief in forest sprites. Some
stories tell of a Witch entering a forest and asking the Faeries to lead her
way to the perfect tree where she can collect a staff for a broom. The idea is
to enlist the help of the magical folk and ensure the enchantment of the broom
once it has been fashioned.
While being used for clearing an area for ritual work was the
earliest use for a broom, it became an important tool for Witch's during The
Burning Times of Europe. During this era Witches would use a broom to hide one
of their most important tools, the wand. It is also a tradition that brooms
have been used by some as receptacles to harbour a particular spirit
temporarily. This could be done to remove an unwanted spirit from one area and
then release it far away in another place. Or it could be used to utilize the
energy of a spirit for a specific spell when the broom is used as a wand.
A few ancient brooms have been discovered to have hidden
compartments in the handle. These small hidden places held combinations of
herbs, oils, feathers and a variety of other things thought to be part of a
ritualistic spell. The hidden concoctions added to the energy of the intent
that the broom was to be used for.
