The Witch's Broom: The Craft, Lore & Magick of Broomsticks - Blake Deborah 2014
introduction
A WITCH AND HER BROOM
If you ask most people to describe their idea of the typical witch, they will probably mention a tall pointy hat, long flowing robes or a dark cape, a bubbling cauldron, a black cat or two...and a broom. Whether the witch in question is the Wicked Witch of the West, with her long, crooked nose and green face, or the cheerful, blond Samantha from Bewitched, almost every one of them is shown with a broom.
There’s a reason for this. Brooms have been associated with witches and magick since the very beginning. Maybe this is because most early witches were women, and brooms were a woman's tool. Maybe it is because there is something about the idea of flying that captures the imagination and excites the spirit.
Either way, you’ll rarely see a picture of a Halloween witch without her faithful broom, and where would Harry Potter have been without his Quidditch team, all of them zooming around on their brooms and chasing the elusive snitch? Brooms and witches go together in fiction, but they also go together in fact.
Today's modern witch may have a vacuum for her floors, but with any luck, she will also have a broom or two for magickal use as well. Traditionally, the broom is most widely used to sweep negativity out of a ritual circle before beginning a rite or as part of a Pagan handfasting (marriage) ceremony. But its usefulness goes far beyond these common basics.
Broomstick magick can be used for cleansing, protection, preventing nightmares, bringing in love, and sweeping away illness. If you believe in the old legends, it can even be used to make rain or get rid of unwanted guests! In truth, the broom is a much more versatile and useful tool than you ever might have suspected.
Some witches have only two brooms in their houses: one for mundane housecleaning and the other for magickal work. Others may have many, from small, decorative brooms hung in the kitchen or bedroom to larger ones dedicated to particular magickal tasks. They may buy a broom and customize it with anointing oils and decorations, or they may craft one from scratch using carefully chosen supplies that each serve a purpose.
broom lore for protection, cross two brooms and hang them on a wall or nail them to a door
Whether you want to add a new facet to your magickal practice, make a unique gift for one of your witchy friends, or simply explore the role of brooms in Witchcraft past and present, I hope that this book will be both fun and educational.
Have a nice flight!
[contents]
chapter 1
Brooms in History, Tradition, and Lore
No one knows who invented the first broom—probably some poor woman whose Neanderthal husband dragged in a dead prehistoric bird, leaving a trail of feathers and blood all over her nice clean cave. Either way, bundles of twigs, plant stalks, and other natural fibers have been used since ancient times to sweep floors and hearths. Brooms were even mentioned in the Bible (although not in conjunction with witches).
The earliest brooms were known as besoms. They were often made of birch twigs tied to a stick of hazel or chestnut wood. Twigs or straw were bound to the shaft with strips of pliable willow bark or rope. As you might imagine, these types of brooms wore out rapidly and made almost as much mess as they were trying to clean up.
A birch twig besom tied to a stick and bound with strips of willow bark
In Anglo-Saxon England, broom making was a specialty of "besom squires," but for the most part, people made their own brooms out of whatever materials were available and replaced them as often as necessary.
In the late 1700s, Benjamin Franklin introduced a new plant to the United States: broomcorn. Not actually a member of the corn family, although it can be mistaken for it at a distance, broomcorn is actually an upright grass of the sorghum species (Sorghum vulgare or Sorghum bicolor variety techicum for you science geeks). The stalk of the plant can grow up to fifteen feet high and was the part used to create the brooms that were the precursors of the ones we use today.
It is thought that broomcorn first originated in Africa, then spread to the Mediterranean. Benjamin Franklin was said to have found a single seed on a whiskbroom given to him by a friend. He planted it, and, for a time, it became a garden novelty in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Then, in 1797, a Massachusetts farmer named Levi Dickinson began to make brooms out of his crop by tying a round bunch of broomcorn to a stick and weaving it into place. His creations caught on, and by 1800, Dickinson and his sons were selling their new brooms across the Northeast.
The next big shift came after the Shakers, a Christian religious sect, figured out a way to make the broom flat and used wire to fasten the broomcorn fiber more securely to the staff. That flat broom is no doubt nearly identical to the one you have in your kitchen today.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that broomcorn will grow almost anywhere and is very drought-resistant, harvesting it for brooms is very labor intensive. More than half of the broomcorn used to manufacture mass-market brooms now comes from Mexico.
However, it is possible to find locally grown and crafted brooms; there are a couple of craftsmen in my area who do it, and the art of broom making is demonstrated every summer at the Farmers' Museum in nearby Cooperstown, New York.
When looking for a broom to clean your floors, it probably doesn't matter where it came from or who made it as long as it does a good job. For magickal work, however, it may be worth the effort it takes to seek out one created by hand or make one yourself, either with broomcorn or something else. But don't worry—I don't expect you to grow a field of broomcorn!
Brooms have been associated with marriage throughout history, probably because they are a tool that is so tied to the hearth and home. Couples have been “jumping the broom" during handfastings and weddings in various cultures for centuries. During the expansion of the American frontier, when ordained clergymen were scarce, it was common to make a marriage official by jumping the broom in front of witnesses. Likewise, African American slaves, who weren’t allowed by their masters to legally marry, carried forward the folk practices of their homelands and jumped over a broom instead.
Broom magick for cleansing and purification is an obvious purpose that crosses over all cultural lines, and the broom is widely used for protection as well. But these basics are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the lore and uses associated with the common, everyday broom.
You may never look at one the same way again.
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
C. S. MacCath
the common broom and the common rush served similar functions in the pre-modern European home. The broom could be bundled and used for sweeping, while the rush could either be strewn on the floor to keep it clean or bundled and used for a variety of household purposes. So it stands to reason that rituals inspired by these mundane tools would also be similar and centered on themes of cleansing and regeneration.
My favorite of these historical rituals is an Irish threshold rite honoring Brigid at Imbolc, a time of renewal. In County Wexford as late as the nineteenth century, the man of the house would go out after sunset on the eve of St. Brigid's Day and gather rushes while a feast was prepared inside.
When the feast was ready, he would take the bundled rushes on a sunwise circuit around the house, stopping at the door to say, “Go down on your knees, open your eyes, and let St. Brigid in.” In reply, those inside would do as he commanded and say, “She is welcome. She is welcome."
Twice more he would take the rushes around the house, and twice more the same call and response would occur at the door.
When this part of the ritual was complete, he would bring the rushes inside, put them under the table, and feast with his family.
Afterward, the rushes were used to make Brigid’s crosses, which were hung in every room of the home as a blessing for the coming year.
Many elements of this rite are quite old in Celtic spirituality: the sunwise circuit around the house three times, the crossing of liminal space the threshold represents, the hospitality offered to a saint or god/dess, and, of course, the use of rushes to represent the holy guest. Further, while the context of the historical ritual is Christian, its bones are not, and it easily could be modernized into an Imbolc broomstick rite for two or more people. Here’s an example:
An Imbolc Broomstick Rite for Two or More
After sunset on Imbolc Eve (January 31), one celebrant should go outside, gather twigs and branches, and craft a simple broom while the others prepare a meal inside.
Once the two tasks are complete, the person outside should take the broom sunwise around the house once, stop at the front door, and knock, saying, "The Lady Brigid knocks!"
Those inside should answer, "She is welcome! She is welcome!"
This sunwise circuit around the house and the call and response should be repeated twice more, and then the broombearer should come in, place the broom under the table, and feast with the other celebrants. Afterward, they should all take the broom apart and make Brigid’s crosses to hang in their homes as representations of the goddess and as blessings for the
coming year.
C. S. MacCath
poet and author • www.csmaccath.com
BROOM LORE, TRADITIONS, AND SUPERSTITIONS As you might expect from something that has been around for centuries and can be found in almost all homes—and that has been associated with witches and magick to boot—there are plenty of superstitions, old wives' tales, traditions, and sayings associated with the common broom. Some of these make a certain amount of sense, some are just plain silly, and a few of them contradict each other. Here are a couple of my favorites from the ones I gathered in my travels. There are others scattered throughout the book just for fun.
General Broom Lore
· • If you drop a broom, you’ll get company soon.
· • It is bad luck to move an old broom into a new house. Always buy a new one, and leave the old one behind. (This only applies to regular cleaning brooms, not ones used for magickal work.)
· • Placing a small broom under your pillow will keep away nightmares.
· • Alternately, you can sweep away nightmares by hanging a broom on the bedroom door and placing garlic under your pillow. (This one might chase away your sleeping partner, too!)
· • To bring rain, stand outside and swing a broom in the air over your head.
· • Lightning is attracted to brooms, so you can use them as lightning rods to protect your home.
· • It is unlucky to buy a broom in August.
· • Brooms bought in May sweep family away.
· • Brooms should be placed bristle-up (to make them last
longer, but also for good luck).
· • Sweep toward the fireplace, if you have one.
· • If a family moves, it is bad luck to leave the broom behind, even if it is old. (I told you that some of them contradicted others!)
As you can see, there are a lot of superstitions and traditions associated with brooms, and those were only the general ones. Magickal broom lore, of course, is often something completely different, although in a few places they overlap.
Magickal Lore
No one really knows where the association of witches and brooms first began, but there are some interesting theories and suppositions.
For instance, in fertility rites practiced by early Pagans, local women would gather around the newly planted fields. With their besoms between their legs (much like a child on a hobby horse), they would circle the field and hop as high as they could; the higher they leapt, the higher the crops would grow. Some people believe that this was the origin of the "flying" witch on her broom.
There is another theory that brooms were used as a way to hide the witch's most important tool: the wand. By wrapping birch twigs around the end (which was sometimes carved in a phallic design that would be a dead giveaway to its magickal purposes), the wand could be disguised as a common household implement. Since witches originally were seen as flying on sticks, it makes sense that a witch wouldn’t want to leave a long, carved wand sitting out where anyone could see it.
Also, most witches (or those accused of being witches) were women. Brooms were a symbol of the woman’s role and power in the home. To show visitors that she wasn’t at home, a woman would lean her broom outside the door or push the handle of the broom up the chimney. This may have led to the next step—the belief that a witch could use a broom to fly up the chimney and away.
Early Celtic Pagans connected brooms with faeries, and there is a legend that a witch would go into the forest and ask a faery (or wood sprite) to guide her to the perfect tree from which she could harvest a stick for her broom. Even now, some witches like to carve the face of a Green Man or a forest creature into their broom handles.
It was thought that a broom could be used as a temporary holding place for a spirit. This way, an unwanted entity could be placed inside a witch’s broom and moved to somewhere it could be safely banished or released. Or a spirit could be called to the broom to help its owner with a particular task. (This might have been an element of the story that led to Disney’s The Sorcerer's
Apprentice.)
BROOM LORE when a broom falls, someone will get married
While many magickal tools are either feminine (the chalice or the cauldron, for instance) or masculine (the wand or athame), the broom is one of the rare tools that is a combination of both. The stick part symbolizes the male, and the bristles symbolize the female. Therefore, the broom is a tool that balances both male and female energies. This may be why it has been used throughout history as a part of many handfasting and marriage ceremonies.
There was much negative magickal lore associated with the witch and her broom by the Catholic church. In 1458, a church inquisitor said that believing witches could fly was part of their official beliefs. At that time, witches were seen as flying about on sticks, but by 1580 that had changed to brooms. So I’m guessing disguising their wands as brooms didn't work...
During the Renaissance, demonologists said that the devil presented witches with brooms, along with flying ointment, to make them move through the air (and often gave them an animal familiar or smaller demon to ride around on it with them). Male witches—sometimes referred to at the time as sorcerers—also rode brooms but were more likely to be depicted astride a pitchfork.
It was thought that witches flew on their brooms to sabbats, where they would meet up with other witches for the purpose of causing mischief. They were believed to call up storms or cast spells on their neighbors.
While there is no reason to believe any of that type of lore, there is some evidence that flying ointment was a real thing (although no doubt it was whipped up by the witches themselves, not given to them by the devil!).
Flying ointment was a mix of grease or lard with various hallucinogenic plants such as belladonna, hellebore, and hemlock. This preparation was too toxic to be taken internally, so it was rubbed on the body (supposedly, the broomstick was used as a phallic tool to apply the flying ointment to the more delicate areas of the body, where it would be absorbed more quickly—an unlikely sounding story to me, but you never know). The herbal ointment then gave the user the sense of flying, or perhaps it aided in trance journeying or astral travel. Needless to say, I don't recommend that you try this at home!
There was a certain canny practicality in accusing witches of being able to fly. It explained how these women, many of whom were elderly, could travel long distances to meet up with others without being seen. And what woman didn’t have a broom?
There is a more positive spin to the lore of witches flying, however. Many goddesses are depicted as flying through the air— sometimes on brooms and other times on staffs, distaffs (a spinning tool), or on the backs of animals or birds. So it may be that witches have come to be associated with broomstick flight as a reflection of their connection with the powerful abilities of the goddess that most of us worship. Let’s go with that one, shall we?
Broomstick Deities
Many goddesses have been depicted as flying on brooms, but some are particularly associated with brooms as part of their lore. Here are a few of the most prominent ones.
Baba Yaga
In many Russian and Slavic folktales, Baba Yaga was a well-known witch who was sometimes also perceived as a goddess with power over the elements. She had a magickal broom that she used to sweep the path behind her as she flew through the air in her enchanted mortar and pestle.
Baba Yaga was a hag goddess—an ancient magickal crone who was both feared and revered. Although often perceived as a frightening figure with a curved nose, iron teeth, and an unfortunate propensity toward eating children, she would also act as a spiritual guide to those who were brave and clever enough to ask her the right way.
Like many hag goddesses, Baba Yaga was wise and powerful, although not always kind. She was said to guard the doorway to the otherworld and control the passage of the dead back and forth across its borders—and perhaps even the powers of life and death. As she flew through the air, she was often accompanied by crows, ravens, and owls.
BROOM LORE
it is bad luck to loan your broom to anyone, even a friend
Holda
Holda, a Northern European goddess, was said to travel with a pack of hounds. She flew at the head of a gathering of unchristened children and other dead souls in the Wild Hunt, all mounted on brooms. This disquieting group flew through the night, especially between Christmas and Epiphany.
Primarily a winter goddess, Holda was also known as Hulda, Snow Queen, and Mother Hoile. She was known for bringing good fortune and prosperity to those with kind hearts—and misfortune to those who were lazy or cruel. (Sounds like an early female Santa Claus, doesn’t she?) Also a nature goddess, Holda controlled snow and fog; when she shook out her feather bed, it caused snow to fall down onto the earth.
Sometimes worshiped as a benign goddess who brings forth children, guards the dead, and spins destiny, she was eventually turned into a more fearful figure. About her, author judika Illes says:
While some feared Hulda, others, identified as “witches,” still adored her; she travels during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany bringing gifts of fruitfulness, fertility, and abundance to people. Some fled from her, but devotees of her cult wished to join her night train: the terms “Hoile-riding" or “Holda-riding" were synonymous with witches' flight in Germany as late as the nineteenth century.
Sao Ch’ing Niang
Sao Ch’ing Niang (or Sao Ch'ing Niang-Niang or Saoquing Niang) was a Chinese goddess known as the Lady of the Broom. She lived on the Broom Star, Sao Chou, and was in charge of good weather. It was believed that she could sweep in the clouds with her broom, and farmers would hang pictures of brooms on their fences when they wished for her help either in bringing the rain or taking it away.
Sao Ch'ing Niang was considered a mother goddess and one of the nine “dark ladies" of the Chinese pantheon.
In her book 365 Goddesses: A Daily Guide to the Magic and Inspiration of the Goddess, Patricia Telesco says:
For weather magic, tradition says that if you need Saoquing Ni-ang’s literal or figurative rains, simply hang a piece of paper near your home with Her name written on it (ideally in blue pen, crayon, or marker). Take this paper down to banish a tempest or an emotional storm.
To draw Saoquing Niang’s hope into your life, take a broom and sweep your living space from the outside in toward the center. You don’t actually have to gather up dirt (although symbolically getting rid of “dirt" can improve your outlook). If you like, sing “Rain, rain, go away” as you go. Keep the broom in a special place afterward to represent the Coddess.
Tiazolteotl
An Aztec goddess worshiped in pre-Columbian Mexico, Tiazolteotl was a witch goddess usually shown either carrying or flying on a broom. She was invoked to sweep away her followers’ wrongdoings, and during rituals her priests burned incense and put brooms across the sacred fires.
Also known as Tlazolteotl, she was a dark maiden who inspired sin but also swept it away. Rather ironically, this broom goddess was also a goddess of filth. She was also the matron of midwives and female healers, as well as weavers. While most often depicted as a statue of a naked woman squatting in the throes of labor, she is also pictured as riding on a broom (still naked, except for a hat), accompanied by ravens, owls, and bats.
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
Judika Illes
the russian witch-goddess Baba Yaga doesn’t ride her broom— she uses it for spellwork. Baba Yaga drives a giant mortar, steering with the pestle while simultaneously using her broom to magically sweep away her traces, so that no one can tell where she's been and what she’s done. Likewise, although I also use brooms for cleansing and prosperity spells, my very favorite broom spell is intended to ensure safety and privacy by keeping harmful people from ever darkening your doorway again. The trick is to first salt and then sweep away their traces.
It’s a simple spell, requiring nothing more than a broom, some salt, discretion, and steely nerves. You must also be wearing clothes with at least one pocket. The catch is that the spell must be cast during what is hopefully this person’s last visit.
Discreetly fill your pockets with salt in anticipation of your unwanted visitor’s departure. As he or she departs, walk alongside, just a discreet step behind, sprinkling the salt—even more discreetly—be hind your unwanted guest. You want to sprinkle the salt gently between your fingers, rather than tossing it or otherwise attracting attention to it. Walk with your guest, sprinkling all the way, until you reach the boundary of your property. Say your farewells and watch your visitor leave. When you are absolutely sure this person has left, go get your broom. Now sweep the salt away, always sweeping in only one direction—the direction from your door out to the boundary. Simultaneously murmur your target’s name, willing him or her never to return.
On another note, brooms, to me, are also emblematic of witches. In the days before pentacles were so openly worn, a brooch or charm in the shape of a broom was a discreet announcement that one just might be a witch. I have several of these and am frequently pleasantly surprised by the winks and nods I receive from passersby who notice and understand.
Judika Illes
author of The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells,
Pure Magic, and The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft
(contents)
chapter
2
The Witch’s Broom in Popular Culture
Witches and their brooms have been a part of popular culture for years. Who isn't familiar with the image of Mickey Mouse in Disney's animated Fantasia as the sorcerer’s apprentice, frantically trying to get his enchanted brooms to stop carrying bucket after bucket of water?
One of my first “witch” movies was the enchanting Bedknobs and Broomsticks, also by Disney, starring a young Angela Lans-bury as Eglantine Price, who uses her newly acquired magickal abilities to save England from the Nazis.
My favorite scene is the one in which she unwraps a package from the mail-order witch college and pulls out her new broom, exclaiming with joy, "My first broom!” as she clasps it to her chest. (Naturally, there is a black cat looking on.) Who doesn’t remember the thrill of getting their first magickal tool? Later in the movie, our heroine flies overhead on her broom as she directs the magickal fight that will win the day. (Note: There are rumors that witches really did use magickal work to protect England's shores during World War II, including Gerald Gardner’s coven. Are they true? I’m guessing they are.)
The movie is a little dated today—it came out in 1971 and was based on an even older set of books, The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons (1943) and Bonfires and Broomsticks (1945) by English children's author Mary Norton—but it’s still fun and well worth watching, especially if you have kids.
Of course, like many people, my very first movie witches were the ones in The Wizard of Oz. Based on the book by L. Frank Baum (written in 1900, believe it or not), the movie originally came out in 1939. It began running annually on television in 1956, and watching it became a yearly tradition for many—both adults and children. I’m not sure how old I was when I first saw it, but I know that it captivated me enough to watch every time it was on.
I loved the story of Dorothy and her friends, and Judy Garland’s singing was as lovely as the scenery in Oz, but most of all, I was fascinated by the witches. Glinda the Good Witch of the North, who traveled in a floating bubble and waved a wand—well, she was pretty cool. But really it was Margaret Hamilton’s portrayal of the dark and villainous Wicked Witch of the West that kept me watching year after year.
When the Wicked Witch swooped around on her broom, she was absolutely terrifying. Even just standing and holding it, you
could tell it was a potent force to be reckoned with. That broom was a symbol of her power, and after Dorothy accidentally melted her, the captain of the flying monkeys gives the broomstick to Dorothy to demonstrate that triumph.
broom lore
When making a broom for regular housecleaning, carve on the handle
running from tip up to bristles
“I siveep in money and luck." Carve on the other side, in the opposite direction,
“I siveep out evil and poverty."
This will ensure that the broom does both.
Don't get me wrong—I'm not encouraging anyone to go out and become a wicked witch (snicker). Although this particular one has been redeemed a bit in the modern musical Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name (the full title is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West). In both the musical and the book, we are shown a much more sympathetic view of Elphaba, the so-called Wicked Witch, as well as her unlikely friendship with Glinda the Good.
In the book, Elphaba’s broom is a gift from another character and still holds power even after her death. In the musical, she enchants it partway through the show and uses it to try and convince Glinda to join her. Although the Wicked Witch’s story still doesn't have a happy ending, it has proven to be a consistent favorite with the public and is still running on Broadway. Apparently everyone loves witches and their brooms as much as we do!
There are a few other older movies about witches that you may have heard of, including / Married a Witch, a 1942 romantic comedy classic with Veronica Lake. I love the bit at the end where the housekeeper comes in to complain that the now-married couple’s youngest child is flying around on a broom. The audience knows...if she’s flying on a broom, she must be a witch.
More recent movies featuring witches and their brooms include the amusing 1993 film Hocus Pocus, in which the Sanderson sisters (Winifred, played by Bette Midler; Sarah, played by Sarah Jessica Parker; and Mary, played by Kathy Najimy) not only ride around on a broom, but a mop and a vacuum as well.
There’s also Practical Magic, one of my favorites, which has a much more serious view of witches and demonstrates the risks of misusing magickal powers. It also has many funny moments, however, and is usually classified as a romantic comedy, despite its often dark tone. The 1998 film is based on a novel by Alice Hoffman and stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters, and the fabulous Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest as the eccentric aunts who raised them. The Owens family carries the curse of a long-ago magickal ancestor, and in the end, only love—and nine witches working together with brooms—can triumph over history, death, and magick gone wrong.
Unquestionably the most popular and well-known modern witches in movies are from the mega-hit series Harry Potter, based on the altogether terrific books by J. K. Rowling. (If you’ve only seen the movies, I highly recommend the books as well, and vice versa.) Many of the witches in the book ride brooms, including Professor Minerva McGonagall (one of my personal favorites, especially as played by Maggie Smith), but they are probably best known for their use in the flying game of Quidditch.
In fact, Quidditch brooms have become so popular, you can actually find numerous sources for them online, should you decide you need one of your very own. They don’t, alas, come with any guarantee that you’ll be able to fly.
broom lore
never sweep the outside of the house (or your front stoop) unless the inside has been swept first
The Harry Potter movies are supposedly for kids, as are the books, but I know just as many adults who love them too. This is often the case with so-called kids' movies with witches in them, such as the recent animated movie Brave, which came out in 2012 from Pixar (the witch is a relatively minor part, but she’s pivotal to the story—and she's a hoot!—and there is a broom that cleans on its own, despite the witch’s insistence that you “can’t magick wood").
For something a little bit different, you might want to check out
Kiki’s. Delivery Service, a charming 1989 Japanese animated film, later dubbed into English and released in America in 1998. Kiki is a thirteen-year-old witch-in-training, living in a village where her mother is the resident herbalist. In the story, it is traditional for witches to live for a year alone when they reach thirteen years of age, so Kiki takes off for the big city with her best friend, a black cat named Jiji.
Kiki goes to live in the port city of Koriko and opens a delivery service because she only has one witch’s talent—the ability to fly on a broom. (And she’s not all that good at it to begin with.) Kiki struggles with self-doubt, loses her ability to fly, and then regains it when a friend is in danger and needs her help. By the end of the movie, it is clear that being able to fly on her broom has not only given Kiki a means to support herself, it has also brought her friends and self-confidence. This movie is a must for the young witch in your life. (And us older ones will enjoy it as well.)
Of course, movies aren’t the only places in popular culture where we can find witches and their magickal brooms. If you ask people who their favorite fictional witch is, many of them will respond immediately with Samantha from the television show Bewitched (and the later movie of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman as a witch for the second time).
Bewitched is one of the most popular situation comedies in television history, and Samantha (played by Elizabeth Montgomery)—with her trademark nose-twitch and eccentric relatives—made the often-cliched show fun to watch. Brooms didn't play a huge part in the show, although many of the witches are seen riding them from time to time, and the opening credits feature Samantha riding gracefully sidesaddle on one. There is a statue of her in Salem, Massachusetts, that shows her riding a very ordinary-looking cleaning broom.
The animated television show Casper the Friendly Ghost also featured a sweet young witch named Wendy (and a number of typical "bad” witches with haglike features and bad attitudes) who flew around on a broom. The character originated in a series of comic books, starting as a character in the Casper comics in 1954 and then getting her own series, Wendy the Good Little Witch, in i960.
On television recently, a new witch for the older set appeared in a series of Good Witch movies on the Hallmark Channel. Cassie Nightingale (charmingly played by Catherine Bell) is a mysterious woman who comes to a small town and opens a shop filled with odd and esoteric items. And although she was initially coy about whether or not she was a witch, the audience knew she was one right away...not least because of the witchy-looking broom she owned.
broom lore
if a young woman accidentally steps over a broom handle, she will become a mother before she becomes a wife
Of course, witches in popular culture are probably best represented in book form. You can see that many of the movies listed previously started out as books (although some of them strayed further from their beginnings than others). Besides the ones already mentioned, there are the Terry Pratchett Discworld witches, many of whom fly about on brooms—Cranny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg in particular. According to these characters, dwarven-made brooms are the best. Alas, most of us will never know for sure.
Witches and their brooms have permeated popular culture in many forms for many years. Sometimes they are portrayed as the archetypal crone witches with beaky noses, green faces, large warts, and bad intentions. But more often than not, you can also find the witch as heroine (or hero—sorry, Harry), riding to the rescue on her trusty broom.
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
Blake Octavian Blair
i love using brooms in my magickal practice, and they do seem to possess extra charm, being one of the quintessential symbols of the witch. My husband and I do have a few ceremonial brooms in our home; however, we also consider our “nonceremonial" kitchen broom for household cleaning to be an object of magick all its own. It is used not only for the act of literal cleaning (which has magickal benefits in itself) but also to ritually sweep up “floor sweeps," herbal powders and blends sprinkled upon the floor for specific magickal purposes. I also have a dedicated small straw broom for dusting off spilled ashes and herbs from my altars.
My husband and I jumped a ceremonial broom at our handfasting, a tradition with both expansive symbolism and a beautiful, long history in Paganism and in other cultures. Having used that broom in such an energetically charged and personal ritual, we wanted to find the perfect way to display the broom in our home and simultaneously reap the benefits of its powerful magickal charge, so we hung it inside our bedroom, above the door, as a protection ward to our sacred sanctuary. We felt it to be a most appropriate location, and we benefit from its blessing and protective properties daily.
BLAKE OCTAVIAN BLAIR
author • www.blakeoctavianblair.com
[contents]
chapter 3
Broom Basics
Whether you are making your own broom or buying one, the first thing to consider is what kind of wood the handle is made from.
In some cases, this may not matter to you. I bought a broom (one that was handcrafted locally) just because I liked the way it looked and felt in my hands. As with any other magickal tool, you may be drawn to the right broom for you. If you look at one broom in a big pile and your heart makes a happy noise, you've probably found it.
On the other hand, you may want to set out to make or buy a broom with specific magickal qualities, in which case you will probably want to look for a wood that is associated with those qualities. (As always, no matter what all the books and “experts” say, magickal associations aren't written in stone, and what works for one person may not work for another. Listen to your
inner wisdom.)
VARIOUS WOODS AND THEIR
MAGICKAL ASSOCIATIONS
Wood for brooms can be found a couple of different ways. If you are lucky enough to live on a property that has trees on it, you may be able to find a broom handle right outside your own door. You can use a piece of fallen wood if it is still in good shape or cut off a branch from a live tree. If you do the latter, be sure to say “please” and "thank you” and maybe leave a little gift at the base of the tree to show your appreciation for its sacrifice.
It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to take wood from a living tree. I have a few apple trees, and they have to be pruned every couple of years to keep them healthy and increase the amount of energy sent to the apple blossoms (which eventually become apples) instead of to the limbs and branches. The last time I had this done, I kept a few nice pieces to make into wands later on, and other chunks were put aside to dry so they could be thrown on the bonfire during summer rituals. The next time I need to trim it, I plan to look for a branch big enough to use as a broom handle.
If you are taking a small branch off a living tree, you probably won't harm it. However, large-scale pruning requires either some research or hiring a professional. Too drastic pruning done at the wrong time of year can actually kill a tree.
For those not lucky enough to have trees on their property (or who don’t have the right kind of trees), you can try walking through nearby woods or parks to see if you can find a fallen limb that is the right size and shape. You can even do as ancient Pagans did and ask the faeries to lead you to just the right tree, just be sure that, wherever you are, it is legal and permitted to remove a piece of wood from the area. You can also ask friends who have wooded property to let you explore on their land.
BROOM LORE
do not sweep the room of a departed guest until he has been gone for some time, or the sweeping will cause him to come back
What if you are a city witch, with no access to the woods? In that case, you will probably have to buy a piece of wood for your broomstick handle or buy the entire broom. In this case, you can certainly look for one that is made out of whatever wood you prefer.
Here are a few of the more common choices and their generally accepted magickal associations.
Alder
Not to be confused with the elder, alder is one of the trees that has long been associated with Witchcraft. Alder can grow in boggy ground where other trees can't survive, so it is a water element plant. If you are creating a broom for a purpose that has water connections, you may want to consider the alder. Alder, once cut, will eventually turn red, and therefore it is sometimes linked to women's bleeding cycles and is particularly protective for women. In Ireland, it was once forbidden to cut down an alder, whereas in Italy, the wood was used for May Eve (Beltane) bonfires. In the Ogham alphabet, the alder stands for endurance, strength, and passion.
Apple
Apple is another tree that is associated with magick and witches. If you cut an apple in half across the middle, you can see a pentacle inside. Apple wood has long been used for wands, but there is no reason you couldn’t use it for a broomstick as well, if you can find a long-enough piece. Apples are often associated with love magick, so if you want a broom particularly for that use (or to sweep love into your home, as in the ritual in chapter 8), apple wood might make a good choice. Apples are associated with love, healing, and immortality. The Ogham symbol for apple stands for beauty, love, and generosity.
Ash
Ash is the traditional choice for a witch’s broom, probably in part because it is associated with protection and strength, as well as healing and prosperity. In Northern Europe, the ash was referred to as Yggdrasil, the world tree. Ash is also sacred to Druids. In the Druid’s Ogham tree alphabet, ash stands for connection, wisdom, and surrender.
Birch
Birches are among the most mysterious and beautiful of trees. Slender, white, and resilient, they bend instead of breaking. Also known as “the Lady of the Woods,” birches have a definite feminine feel to them and are associated with birth and new beginnings. Traditional besoms used birch twigs for the sweeping end, but there is no reason why you couldn’t use birch wood for the handle of a broom as well. The birch symbolizes purity, healing, banishing, purification, and light, so it is perfect for any broom that is specifically designed to sweep away negativity. The birch is associated with Brigid and Baba Yaga. In the Ogham alphabet, it stands for beginning, renewal, and youth.
Elder
The elder is also known as "the witch tree" and has long been linked to magick and Witchcraft. In Judika Illes' The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft (a wonderful book I highly recommend, by the way), she says, "The elder is a threshold tree: it serves as a portal that allows souls to pass between realms. Ghosts, spirits, and elves can pass into the mortal realm via elder trees and bushes, but remember, one-way signs don’t exist in the magical, shamanic world. Elders are also portals where you can access other realms." If you want a broom for divination, or one especially for use on Samhain, you might consider making the handle out of elder. Elders are associated with protection, love, banishing, and purification. It is particularly useful for protection or handfasting brooms. In the Ogham, elder stands for transition, evolution, and continuation.
Elm
Elm trees were also linked to witches, with the Scotch elm being known as "the wych elm” and the German Hexenulme, translating to "witch’s elm." The Romany (gypsies) use elm branches for their magick wands, although they believe that the wood should never be cut from a living tree and wait to find a fallen branch to use instead. If you are going to use elm wood for your broom handle, you might be better off following this rule. The elm is associated with love magick, and it is often used as the Maypole for Beltane celebrations.
Maple
The maple tree is associated with prosperity, love, and long life. While not as magickal as some other trees, it is sturdy and long-lasting, and it is often used for wands. You may be able to find a premade maple dowel to use as your broomstick if you look at a local hardware store.
Oak
Oak is another traditional wood often used for broomsticks. Masculine and strong, it was revered by the Druids, who reputedly met under its branches. A powerfully protective tree, it can grow to tremendous size and live a very long time. I have an oak in my front yard that has probably been here for at least as long as my hundred-plus-year-old house. (And yes, I often thank it for guarding the front boundary onto my property.) Oaks are used for power, protection, healing, luck, and prosperity. You could think of it as an all-purpose magickal wood. In the Ogham alphabet, the oak represents strength, stability, and nobility.
Pine
Many store-bought brooms have pine handles. Pine is a relatively inexpensive wood (a "soft" wood, rather than hardwood trees like oak and maple) that is easy to find. That doesn’t mean it isn't a perfectly good tree for our purposes. A kind of fir, the pine is associated with healing, fertility (probably because of its prolific pinecones, which not only make new pine trees all over the place, but contain edible pine nuts), protection, and prosperity.
Since firs (pines) are evergreens, they don't drop their leaves in the winter, as so many other trees do, and have been used to symbolize life in the midst of death. Yule trees are always made of some kind of fir, often pine. If you can't get a piece of wood from your local environment, you can always find a pine dowel in a hardware store or often in places like Walmart. The Ogham symbol for firs stands for clarity, achievement, and energy.
Rowan
The rowan tree has long been associated with witches, ironically both as a magickal tree and as one that was used to protect against witches. (Presumably none of us needs it for that!) However, it is also considered spiritually protective and has historically been used to protect ships from sinking and houses from lightning strikes, and it was made into magick wands, dowsing rods, and walking sticks. If you want a particularly protective broom, you may want to see if you can find a piece of rowan to use as your handle. The Ogham symbol for rowan stands for protection, expression, and connection.
Walnut
Walnuts are another large, strong tree, with darker than usual wood. In Italy, witches were said to dance underneath walnut trees during their secret rituals. Walnuts are associated with love, prosperity, healing, and luck. If someone gifts you with walnuts, your dreams are supposed to come true.
Of course, this is a relatively short list, and there are many other kinds of wood out there. These are the ones that are most commonly used for broomsticks or linked to witchcraft (or both), but if you have a favorite kind of tree or something native to your region (like mesquite, which is sometimes made into broomsticks in the Southwest), feel free to use it. As with all other Witchcraft, you can choose whatever feels right to you. Broomsticks may be clean and smooth, or you can leave the bark on for more natural character. Broomsticks may also be carved or decorated in various ways.
BROOM LORE
do not lean a broom against the bed
BROOMCORN, BIRCH TWIGS, AND OTHER BRISTLY THINGS
Once you have the stick for the shaft of your broom, you have a few choices for the sweeping end. As I mentioned earlier, birch twigs (which are fairly flexible) were commonly used in the past, until they were replaced by broomcorn, which makes a much more effective tool. Sometimes sotol fiber, which comes from the yucca, is used on the inside of the broom, where it doesn’t matter as much. There are plastic brooms, of course, but not only do they not work as well as those with natural fibers, you definitely wouldn’t want to use a plastic broom for magickal work. (Following a nature-based spiritual practice means using natural materials as much as possible.)
Here are a few of the choices and a few reasons to use them.
Broomcorn
This is probably the easiest material to work with if you are making a broom from scratch, and it's the easiest to find if you are buying one ready-made. There are a number of online sources for brooms intended for magickal use, and you can get a broom with the broomcorn dyed in different colors, attached to carved wood sticks, in various sizes, etc. My favorite place to buy Pagan supplies is AzureCreen.com, and they have a number of lovely brooms to choose from.
Broomcorn has no particular magickal associations that I know of, but it is a natural plant and therefore will have its own innate energy. If you want to, you can actually grow your own broomcorn, assuming you have space to do so. Sorghum is an annual grass that will grow from seeds in most parts of the country, although it prefers a long, hot summer. Because it can reach between eight and twelve feet in height, make sure to plant it somewhere it can grow unimpeded. Otherwise, you can get broomcorn online or from a craft supplier. Because it is flexible and attractive, broomcorn can also be used to make wreaths, wall hangings, and other decorative projects.
Birch Twigs
Birch twigs are the most traditional bristle to use in magickal brooms, and brooms made with them will often be called by the old name of besom. You can collect the twigs yourself or buy a specialty besom from a magickal shop, but you are unlikely to be able to buy a birch twig broom in any regular stores. Some craftspeople still make brooms in the traditional way, if you are lucky enough to find them.
Birch has long been used for purification rituals in many different cultures, and it is also used in protection and exorcism. A besom made with birch twigs will have the traditional round, irregular shape of the brooms our ancestors used.
A handmade rosemary besom with a cornhusk handle
Herbs and Other Natural Fibers
You can also use any woody, tough herb for your broom bristles, especially one intended for magickal or decorative use instead of actual sweeping. Straw, reeds, cornhusks, and other natural fibers were used in the days before broomcorn, and anything that grows naturally in your area and is sturdy enough can be substituted for broomcorn or birch twigs. Tough herbs like rosemary are especially nice, and their pungent aroma will perfume your ritual space. Rosemary is a strongly protective herb and is also used for healing, love, and cleansing magick.
Willow
Willow is the traditional material used to bind the bristles to the wooden shaft of the broom. Willow is sacred to the goddess and also strongly protective and used in love magick. If you don’t have willow, you can always substitute strong twine or thin, flexible wire.
CINNAMON BROOMS
Cinnamon brooms are not made from huge pieces of cinnamon, as you might suspect. Instead, cinnamon oil and cinnamon sticks are added to a regular broom (made of either broomcorn or birch twigs). You can do this with a broom you make from scratch or one you buy for the purpose, and it can be a fun craft project to do with a coven, your kids, or by yourself.
You can also find cinnamon brooms in stores, especially around the winter holiday time, if you just want to buy one readymade and consecrate it for magickal use. But it is so easy to make one of your own—why not create a cinnamon broom that has your own energy embedded right in it?
Cinnamon is a powerful spice, and it has an equally powerful smell. I find some store-bought cinnamon brooms overwhelming (too much cinnamon oil or an artificial scent instead of the real thing). If you make one yourself, you can control how much cinnamon scent there is, as well as add any other herbs or adornments you want.
A cinnamon broom can be a pleasant-smelling symbol of your life as a witch, purely decorative, or a charming gift for a fellow Pagan on a special occasion such as a birthday, a wedding, or a housewarming. It also can be a powerful tool to use in ritual or hang in a prominent place in your home for protection.
Cinnamon is one of those good-for-almost-everything spices. It is associated with love, healing, protection, spirituality, sexuality, psychic ability, success, and power in general. Who wouldn't want a broom with all that?
The scent itself is warm, welcoming, and evocative; it reminds us of hot apple pie, mulled cider, and baking cookies. And it is easy to find, available in grocery stores, craft shops, health food stores, and online. Personally, I find that the best (and least expensive) cinnamon sticks and powdered cinnamon come from the bulk bins at my local health food store. The oil can be ordered from a reputable Pagan supplier or picked up at a craft store or cooking supply shop. Just make sure that you are getting genuine cinnamon oil, not a fragrance oil (which is artificial and won't hold the power of the real thing).
Because cinnamon brooms are spiritual and protective, they can be used to cleanse your ritual space before you begin working or hung by the entrance to your home to keep negativity at bay. If you are starting a new business or trying to give a boost to an existing one, a cinnamon broom can help draw in luck and success. They also make great wedding gifts for a couple just beginning their life together.
It is very easy to make your own cinnamon broom. You can start with a store-bought broom or make your own (following the instructions in the next chapter). Then you will need the following ingredients:
· • broom (this particular craft works better with a flat broom rather than a round besom)
“ white, or craft, glue
“ powdered cinnamon
· • cinnamon sticks (optional)
· • cinnamon essential oil (optional)
· • a small paintbrush
· • waxed paper
· • a plastic bag (big enough to fit
over the broom head)
· • decorative ribbons, flowers, etc. (optional)
Note: As with most magickal tools, you will probably want to bless and consecrate your cinnamon broom for the work you intend it to do. You can either bless the cinnamon itself before you start or the entire broom once it is completed.
The project only takes a few minutes, although it will take a couple of stages over two or more days. Take the broom and place the bristle end on the waxed paper. Spread the glue in a thin layer over one side of the bristles, and sprinkle it with some of the powdered cinnamon. If you are sensitive to strong smells (or live or practice with those who are), you may want to start with a small amount, and then add more later if necessary.
Place the broom head in the plastic bag overnight to dry and soak up the scent, then repeat on the other side. If desired, you can also sprinkle some cinnamon essential oil over the broom to intensify the smell (in which case, put it back in the bag overnight to absorb the oil) or glue or tie on whole cinnamon sticks, other herbs (make sure their scents don't clash with the cinnamon), and any ribbons or decorations you wish to add.
If your broom starts to lose its oomph, you can always add a few more drops of cinnamon oil later.
BROOM LORE
io cure a wart, measure it crosswise with a broomstraw and then bury the straw; as the broomstraw decays, the wart will vanish
ANOINTING OIL AND HERBS
As with any other magickal tool, your broom can be blessed and consecrated. This is a fairly simple ritual, for the most part. I usually use salt, water, incense or sage, and candles to represent earth, water, air, and fire, as well as a candle for the goddess and god. I sprinkle the magickal tool with salt and water, waft the incense or sage wand over it, and hold it—carefully—over the flame of the candle. Then I ask the god and goddess to bless the tool and the magickal work I do with it. Easy peasy! (Of course, you want to do this in sacred space and with intent and focus. There are detailed instructions for consecrating your magickal broom at the beginning of chapter 8.)
But for an added boost, I sometimes use an anointing oil or a specific essential oil or herb to imbue the object with a specific purpose. For instance, if I am using a candle for success magick, I will probably anoint it with an oil that contains peppermint or basil, since both are good for prosperity.
In fact, I used to make magickal oils and sell them at shows and a friend's store, and my cabinet of magickal supplies still has a shelf filled with tiny bottles of prosperity oil, healing oil, love oil, and more. They're a handy magickal tool to have around, and you might want to consider making some of your own. If you don't want to take the time or invest in dozens of bottles of (sometimes pricey) essential oils, you can also buy some very nice premade magickal oils from reputable shops and online sources.
Or you can simply buy a few individual essential oils, bless and consecrate them for magickal work, and use one oil instead of a combination. Just remember to use quality essential oils (never fragrance oils, which are artificial and therefore have none of the power of the plants’ actual essence). It is better to have a small bottle of something expensive (like rose or chamomile) and use it sparingly than to have a large bottle of something that doesn't smell as good or work as well. My favorite essential oils, which are both great quality and reasonably priced, come from the aptly named Nature’s Alchemy company (www.naturesalchemy.com).
These are my favorite combinations to use for magickal anointing oils—they work on tools, candles, or even in a soothing bath. You can also use any individual oil listed. As always, different witches have different preferences, and there are many more herbs that are useful for adding power to magickal items. (Don’t take any essential oils internally unless they are specifically labeled as safe for consumption. Some oils, like peppermint, are regularly used in cooking, but many are too strong to ingest.)
Energy, Strength, and Courage: cinnamon, ginger, lemon, orange
Healing: calendula, lavender, lemon balm, rosemary
Love: geranium, lavender, lemon, rose
Peace and Happiness: bergamot, chamomile, geranium, lavender, lemon balm
Prosperity: basil, bergamot, cinnamon, peppermint
Protection and Purification: geranium, lemon, rosemary
Psychic Ability and Conscious Mind: chamomile, ginger, lavender, peppermint
Remember that if you don’t have the herbs available in essential oil form, you can use them fresh or dried. You can see that I have a fairly small list of oils that I use in different combinations. That makes things a bit easier and cheaper. Some oils, like rose, are very expensive, so I may use only one or two drops of that, and more of something that is less pricey.
You may want to start with one drop of each and see what you think, then add more. Remember, you want the oil to smell good as well as add power. My usual rule of thumb is to use nine drops of oil total, since that is a powerful magickal number. You can use any base oil you wish. I often use olive oil because I always have it around, but keep in mind that it goes rancid faster than some other oils like jojoba. Sesame oil is also nice and easy to find.
If you are making an anointing oil specifically for a broomstick, you may want to melt a little bit of beeswax and then add the anointing oil. Smooth this on the handle of the broomstick before the first time you use it or anytime you feel it needs an energetic boost or a little more attention. It is great to do this under the full moon if you can.
As always, use the oils or herbs that seem right to you. There is no wrong choice or combination, as long as you listen to your inner wisdom.
USEFUL TIPS
A few commonsense tips for caring for your magickal broom:
· • As with any other tool, never lend your broom to anyone else, although if you practice with a group or coven, it is always okay to allow the group to use it— you can even make a joint “coven broom” together. My group, Blue Moon Circle, made a group staff years ago that we still use to this day.
· • Never use your magickal broom for mundane sweeping. Magickal tools should be kept for magickal use only. Some people feel that you should have a different broom for each magickal purpose: protection, spiritual cleansing, etc. I’m not sure that is necessarily true, although it can’t hurt to have a couple different ones if their uses are very different. (The only exception to the “no mundane sweeping" rule is when you have a broom you have dedicated to magickal cleansing or spring cleaning. Then it is perfectly appropriate to use it for actual cleaning, but only when you are doing so with magickal intent.)
· • Store your broom with the handle down and the bristles up—this is traditional, and it will also make the broom last longer. You can also hang your broom on the wall or over a doorway.
BROOM LORE
if you put a broom across a doorway, it will allow your deceased friends and family to speak to you
When "sweeping" with your magickal broom (such as when you are cleansing a circle before ritual), the bristles don't need to actually touch the ground. You’re moving energy, not dust, after all! Some people like to hold the broom upright and sweep through the air, although I prefer to keep mine an inch or two off the ground or at about knee level.
Treat your broom with care and appreciation, just as you would any other magickal tool. If you ever feel that it has reached the end of its usefulness, dispose of it respectfully. (You can burn or bury an old broom. If you have to throw it away, be sure to thank it for its service and unconsecrate it before putting it out with the trash. You might even want to disassemble it, if possible.) Remember that the so-called rule about never bringing an old broom into a new house doesn't apply to magickal brooms. They can go anywhere you go!
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
RAVEN DIGITALIS
it seems to me that the most common use of the besom in Neopagan Witchcraft is to symbolically cleanse and purify a ritual space. The temple and coven that I belong to does not utilize the broom on a solely magickal level nearly as much as we do other tools, often reserving the besom as a decorative piece such as above a doorway, where it dually purifies.
We do, however, utilize the besom at the conclusion of any private or public handfasting that my priestess and I perform; the couple jumps the broom to symbolize a sweeping away of the past and auspiciously jumping into a new future of partnership.
When it comes to the practical magick of everyday household cleaning, I always use a separate broom because the terrestrial energy of dirt and grime and kitty litter instantly becomes affixed to the bristles when cleaning the house. Because I aid in cleaning a temple, I often make sure to sprinkle particular magickal herbs, usually ground to a fine powder, before I sweep or vacuum an area. I’ll sprinkle some lavender if luck is needed, some hyssop to dissolve negativity, some peppermint to attract abundance, and so on.
This process reminds of me the magickal floor washes used in Hoodoo and is an activity that generates an extra magickal boost while performing ordinary cleaning. It helps bring the practitioner’s attention to the spiritual cleansing process that can occur simultaneously with everyday broom usage. Sweeping then becomes an act of mindfulness and meditation rather than frantic cleaning.
Whenever I use a broom for mindful household cleaning, it brings to mind images of Jains sweeping the ground before them as they walk, in order to avoid harming insects. One of the main principles of the Eastern religion of Jainism is nonviolence, which includes the attempt to never take or negatively affect even the smallest life form. Much like Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs, the Jains believe in the cycle of Samsara: the repetitive and karmic cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that is linked directly to our actions and ethics from lifetime to lifetime. To Jains, the use of the broom is both a symbolic and a practical method of clearing the path before oneself in order to free oneself from cyclical suffering.
Raven Digitalis
author of Shadow Magick Compendium and Coth Craft
chapter 4
A Broom of Your Own
In a perfect world, we'd make all of our magickal tools from scratch. I don't know about you, but I don't live in that world. There are some skills I don't have, some resources I don’t have access to, and some things I just plain don’t have the time and energy to do.
So I do what I can, making some of my Craft items myself and buying others. In many cases, I start with a basic tool that I bought (such as a candle or an athame or a blank book) and make it my own by decorating it with runes or some form of adornment and then blessing and consecrating it on my altar or under the full moon. We all just do the best we can, and the gods understand that, I think.
In the case of magickal brooms, not everyone is going to want (or be able) to stroll through the woods and find the perfect branch to use as a handle, grow a patch of broomcorn in their yard or garden, and peel a bit of willow bark for the binding. That’s okay. It is absolutely fine to start with a premade broom and make it your own.
If you are lucky, you will be able to find a local craftsperson that makes brooms in the traditional manner or pick out a broom at a Pagan or New Age store, fair, or convention. Or, as an alternative, you can order one online at a Witchcraft shop. If possible, it is nice to get a broom that is made for magickal purposes, even if you can't make it yourself.
On the downside, these brooms do tend to be more expensive, and you may not be able to find a place like this near you. And if you're not out of the broom closet (so to speak) and don’t want to use an obviously “witchy” broom, you may want to buy a standard broom and simply make it as magickal as you like. As with all magickal tools, intent is the most important component, so don’t worry too much if you start with a plain old broom from the grocery store.
broom lore
put a broom outside the door on Midsummer's Eve to ward off
evil
BUYING A BROOM
No matter whether you start with a broom purchased at a specialty store, online, at a craft fair, or at the local hardware store, you will want to keep a couple of things in mind.
Make sure that the broom is made of natural materials. If you are buying an inexpensive broom from a non-Pagan or non-handmade source, you probably won’t be able to choose what kind of wood the handle is made out of or get anything other than broomcorn for the bristles. But do make sure it isn't made of plastic or of clearly shoddy materials. You wouldn’t want to use a crappy broom for magickal work.
A FLAT PREMADE BROOM THAT HAS BEEN
MAGICKALLY DECORATED
When picking out a broom, make sure it feels good in your hands. Some of the fancy witches' brooms sold in Pagan stores look beautiful and artsy, but they can be hard to hold onto and may bend and twist in ways that might be comfortable for some folks but not for others. If possible, pick up the broom and hold it for a minute. Does it feel right in your hands? Is there any particular energy—good or bad—in the broom already? Does it call to you? A broom with neutral energy is fine; you're going to put your own energy into it, after all. But you don’t want one that has picked up an unpleasant vibe somewhere along the way.
If you are buying a broom to decorate, make sure that the surfaces will work with the kind of decorations you intend to use. As cool as a traditional round besom is, it might be easier to decorate a conventional flat broom. On the other hand, a round besom can look amazing when adorned with ribbons and hung with herbs.
Give some thought to how you are going to use the broom and where it will be stored. If you are hanging it above a doorway, is it the right size and shape to fit in the space? Will it go with the decor of whichever room you will be keeping it in? Think about whether you want a witchy-looking besom or a mundane-looking broom that can be left out in plain sight with no one the wiser.
And, of course, it should speak to your soul, at least a little. Even if your budget is limited, there is no reason to settle for a broom that makes you say “eh” instead of one that makes you say "ah!" If you can’t afford (or don't have room for) a large broom, you can also make a magickal broom from a whisk-size broom, which may be considerably cheaper.
Remember that this is going to be a sacred tool. Try to find one that will suit both your practical limitations and your magickal needs.
MAKING YOUR OWN
BASIC MAGICKAL BROOM
At its most simplistic, a broom is not particularly hard to make if you can get the right bits and pieces, as we discussed earlier. You simply take a wooden pole, place the bristles around it, and attach them securely. Of course, as with most things, that may be easier said than done, and the end result will vary greatly depending on the materials you choose, your general crafty skill level, and the time and care you take in the process.
THE BESOM MAKING PROCESS
Here are some instructions for creating a traditional witch’s besom. You'll need the following:
· • a 4-foot length of ash or oak for the handle. If you are short, you may want a shorter piece of wood; if you are tall, you might want a longer one. If you can’t find ash or oak, you can use a pine or maple dowel, or any long, reasonably straight branch. Some people prefer the natural look of wood that still has bark on it, while others would rather have a smooth, polished handle.
· • thin branches of birch or a bunch of broomcorn for the bristle part (you can substitute a woody herb like mugwort, rosemary, or thyme for the bristles if you like, but make sure you have long, thick pieces to work with)
· • lengths of willow, strong twine, or heavy cord to bind everything together
· • scissors or snippers
· • a large bucket of warm water
· • a large cloth or an old sheet (to catch the mess)
Soak whatever you are using for the bristles in warm water overnight, along with the willow strips if you're using them. This will make them pliable and easier to use.
To make the broom, lay the handle on a flat surface and place the bristles next to it, about four inches from the bottom of the stick. The bottom of the bristles should point towards the top of the handle, because you will end up flipping them over.
Tie the bristles around the broom handle using the willow or other binding material. Continue adding bristles until the broom is as full as you desire. Tie the cord or willow binding tightly, so the bristles stay put. For an extra magickal touch, tie three, six, or nine knots at the end.
Take the bristles and fold them over so they are now pointing toward the bottom of the handle (the binding will be underneath). Place another section of binding further toward the end of the broom, so it is secured in two places. Trim the ends as desired.
As you're making the broom, don't forget to visualize your intent for its use, and put as much of your own energy into it as possible. Let it dry for a couple of days, and then bless and consecrate it as desired.
broom lore
never carry a broom across running water
The Power of the Broom]
The broom represents the power of the witch to traverse the spirit world...The broom draws together the power of ash, birch, and willow. The ash is the bridge tree connecting material reality with nonmaterial reality. The willow is sacred to Hecate, and as its bark strips bind the sweep to the hand of the broom, it is a reminder of what binds the witch to the Night Queen.
real witches,
real brooms:
Tess Whitehurst
for me, the point of power is always the connection between the seen and unseen, physical and spiritual, “mundane** and magical. That’s why I consider my everyday housecleaning broom to be a potent magical tool, not just for cleaning the house but for simultaneously sweeping out old energy and clearing the way for the new.
In many ways, I consider my vacuum cleaner to be like a modern version of a witch's broomstick. In fact, one of my favorite rituals for lifting my mood and energy level, creating space for the things I want to experience, and inviting more clarity on every level is this simple ritual: vacuuming the floor. It works every time.
Sometimes I like to take a smaller-sized decorative broom and tie one or more fresh, cleansing herbs to it such as eucalyptus, rosemary, sage, thyme, mint, or parsley. Then I use it as a spaceclearing tool by moving it around in the air near the room’s corners, the edges of the floor, and behind things. One of the best parts of this technique is that you can also clear the high corners and the areas where the walls meet the ceiling.
Whenever I've moved into a new apartment, I've left the old broom behind and gotten a brand-new one to bless the new space and to symbolize saying goodbye to the old energy and welcoming in the new.
Tess Whitehurst
author of Magical Housekeeping, The Good Energy Book, The Energy of Bliss, and Magical Fashionista
[contents]
r From Raven Grimassi's Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days (Weiser Books, 2011).
chapter 5
Fast and Easy Spells, Charms, Crafts, and More
Later in the book there are instructions for creating elaborate and special brooms; also there are entire detailed rituals. But sometimes you just want to do something fast and easy, when you only can grab a few minutes out of your busy day or just want a small project to do either by yourself, with your kids, or with friends.
In this chapter we’ll explore some simple spells, quick crafts, and a few more bits of broomstick magick that can be done when you don't have the time or inclination for a major project or an in-depth ritual.
There is also a guided flying meditation to take the place of the old-fashioned (and dangerous) flying ointment used by our predecessors.
QUICK SPELLS AND CHARMS
Handfasting Spell
Traditionally, a handfasting was something a couple could do on their own, without needing to have clergy to officiate. Most folks who do handfastings these days go for a full ritual with a high priest and high priestess and a gathering of their friends. But if you wish to make the commitment on your own, whether a permanent one or for a year and a day, as some Pagans do, you can use this spell. Alternately, you can add this to a larger ritual as you jump over the broom at the end.
Place the broom on the ground and clasp hands with your loved one. Together, say:
Charmed the broom and charmed the day Together we jump and together we stay.
Then jump over the broom together. Don't forget to kiss on the other side!
A Consecration Spell for Your New Broom I
Besom of birch with willow tied Be my companion and my guide.
On ashen shaft by moonlight pale My spirit rides the windy gale.
To realms beyond both space and time To magical lands my soul will sail. In the company of the Crone all ride This besom of birch with willow tied. So do I consecrate this magical tree As I will, so must it be I
“Make My Garden Grow" Spell
It is said that the ancient Pagans brought their brooms out to the fields and hopped around the space, jumping as high as they could while “riding" the broom. As high as they could jump was as high as the crops would grow. These days, you may not wish to let the neighbors see you hopping around the garden (and I don't know about you, but I can’t hop nearly as high as some of the things I plant). So try this instead, for a modern version of this ancient fertility tradition.
Take your magickal broom out to the garden and sprinkle it with a little rainwater. (Collect the rainwater ahead of time in a bucket.) Depending on your inclinations—and possibly your neighbors—you can walk, run, or dance your way around your garden space, anointing it with flicks of rainwater off the ends of your broom as you repeat the following spell:
Grow high and strong
Grow strong and high Reaching up into the sky Grow! Grow! Grow!
Spell to Speak to the Dead
One of the bits of broom lore says that if you place a broom across your doorway, you can speak to your ancestors or to those you have lost. This is not something to be done lightly, and I would suggest always casting some form of protection magick before attempting to summon the deceased.
But if you wish to try it, or if you feel that someone has been trying to contact you and can’t quite get through, then lay your magickal broom across any doorway in your home and say the
following:
Come in peace and come in love And I will give my word As long as broomstick crosses door Here you will be heard.
A Broom Purification ’
Before dawn, take a branch from any tree. Thank the tree for its gift and leave a coin or semiprecious stone at the base in payment.
Next, obtain several brightly colored flowers on long stalks. Tie these flowers to the branch to fashion a sort of broom, then sweep the floor in every room of the house, visualizing the flowers of the broom absorbing negativity and “evil" as you work. Then, still before sunrise, leave the broom at a crossroads. Traditionally in the Southwest United States and Mexico, this ritual is repeated at the first of every month.
A Spell to Summon Rain
I tend to be leery of doing weather magick because it is messing with “big picture" stuff that could affect other people. (If you summon rain to your house, for instance, does that mean someone else doesn't get it at theirs?) On the other hand, there is a long tradition of witches using brooms to summon rain, and if your garden is parched and dying, you may want to try this spell. If I were to do this, I would start by stating my intention of only drawing in rain if by doing so I cause no harm.
Take your magickal broom outside and swing it deosil (clockwise) around your head while saying this spell:
Rain, rain, I need you here And with this broom I summon thee Rain, rain, my need is great And with this broom I summon thee.
To Banish Nightmares
Later in the book there are instructions to make a broom specifically for the prevention of nightmares, and if you have a chronic problem, you will probably want to use that approach. But if you are simply having a rough week or something is preying on your mind and causing bad dreams, here is a simple and easy charm to get rid of them.
Hang a broom over the bed. Before you get into bed at night, say:
Sweep away sorrow, sweep away fear Keep bad dreams far away from here.
To Bless a New Household Broom
If you want to add a little magickal boost to your everyday broom when you get a new one, take a permanent marker (or a woodburning tool if you have such a thing and are good at using it) and write on one side, going up from the bristles toward the handle: I sweep in money and luck. On the other side, going in the opposite direction, write: I sweep out negativity and ill fortune.
To Ask the Faeries to Cuide You to the Perfect Tree
It is said that when witches needed to make a new broom, they would go into the woods and ask the faeries to lead them to the perfect tree from which to get their broomstick handles. If you are going to make a broom and you live near a wooded area you think might be inhabited by the Fair Folk, you can try using this charm to ask one for the favor of guiding you to your perfect broom handle. Don't forget to bring them some kind of a gift! (A sweet treat will do, or a shiny bauble. But make sure it is something nice. The last thing you want to do is offend the Fae!)
Walk into the woods until you reach a place where you feel some sort of benign presence. Place your gift on the ground and say:
Folk most wise, folk most fair Please help me in my quest. Lead me to the piece of wood That suits my broomstick best.
Close your eyes and see if you feel pulled in any particular direction, or simply keep walking and make sure you are paying close attention in case the right stick or tree happens to show up.
A Magic Broom Spell 2
The witch’s broom is as much a part of the Craft as the pointed hat or cauldron. Once charged with magical intent, the witch’s broom, or besom, can serve many purposes. It can direct energy like a wand or athame. You can even cast a circle with it. And as well see here, it is perfect for protecting the home. First pluck three straws from your broom and light them like a candle. Carry them through your home like a smudge stick to clear out any negativity. For protection, sprinkle some salt near your front door, then sweep the salt away from your home. To bless a new home, anoint the tips of the bristles with a bit of honey and sweep your front porch. And if a grouch has just left your home, sprinkle some ground cloves at your front door, grab your trusty broom, and sweep his energy away.
To Sweep in Love
To bring more love into your life (but not someone specific), open your front door and sweep inward while saying the following:
I open the door to light and joy, and sweep in love in all its positive manifestations and forms.
A Simple Cleansing Spell
If you want to give your home's energy a quick boost and don't have time for a major cleansing ritual, you can do this simple cleansing spell instead. Moving from room to room, sweep toward the door, visualizing any negative or stagnant energy being swept before your broom. End up at the front door, open it, and sweep all that energy out while saying:
My broom sweeps clean this house and home
My broom sweeps clean this place With my broom I cleanse and clear And purify this space. So mote it be.
Shake any last remnants off the end of the broom and close the door behind you decisively.
BROOM LORE if you want to be married, jump over a broom nine times and it will happen within a year
FAST AND EASY CRAFT IDEAS
Broomstick Birdfeeder
As witches, our connection to nature is very important. One of the ways I try to strengthen and celebrate that connection is by feeding the birds. Not only are they beautiful and useful (they eat bugs!), it always makes my heart soar to see them and hear their musical songs.
A broomstick birdfeeder
If you don't have a handy tree to hang a birdfeeder from, try creating this fast and easy version out of a broom. This project probably works best with an old-fashioned besom with bristles made from twigs, but you could also use a store-bought broom as long as you don't mind the fact that the elements and the birds will eventually wear it down.
Plant your broom handle down into the dirt firmly. The bristles will provide you with places to put treats for the birds. You can hang strings of dried fruit (songbirds love fruit) or apple pieces. You can spread the bristles with peanut butter and press birdseed into it or hang balls of suet rolled in birdseed. If you are using a besom-type broom, you can probably create a small hollow in the center in which you can place a bowl that you continually refill with seeds.
Or you can hang tiny feeders filled with honey or juice for the hummingbirds, just be prepared to add more treats over time as your feathered friends spread the word about the witch's broomstick that magickally makes food for the birds.
Broomstick Scarecrow
If you have a garden or simply want a fun decoration in your yard, you can try making an easy broomstick scarecrow. Find some funky old clothes you don’t care about—male or female, it doesn't matter. To create arms, nail or tie a dowel or long stick underneath where the bristles meet the broom handle, and dress the broom in those old clothes.
If you want, you can glue googly eyes and a mouth to the flat of the broom bristle, or even give it some glittery ribbons for hair. (The shiny ribbons will scare away the birds when the wind blows them around.) Plant the broom, handle down, into the ground. Instant broomstick scarecrow!
Whiskbroom Dream Catcher
Much of the lore about brooms involves their ability to aid sleep or act in a protective way to keep away nightmares or evil spirits that might disturb a sleeper’s rest. Much like a Native American dream catcher, a broom hung beside the bed is said to prevent nightmares and capture malicious energy aimed at the sleeper.
To make a quick and easy broom dream catcher, use a smaller broom such as a whiskbroom or a decorative miniature broom. Attach a premade dream catcher or create your own by making a circle out of a flexible twig or wire and then winding string, twine, or more wire back and forth across the circle to make a web. Alternately, you can make a pentacle shape in the middle or combine the web with the pentacle.
Hang the dream catcher over the handle of your little broom so that it dangles down over the bristles. If you want, you can add a few feathers or ribbons for additional decoration. Place the dream catcher broom over or next to the bed and say the sleep charm from earlier in the chapter if you want an extra bit of protection.
EASY BROOMSTICK GIFT IDEAS
For the Carden Witch
What better gift is there for a witch than a new broom? And what better way to make it special than to personalize it to suit that particular witch's interests? If you know a garden witch, consider gifting him or her with a broom that is adorned with all sorts of fun and useful items such as packets of seeds with magickal uses (hint: most herbs can be used for both magick and cooking), gloves, and small tools like diggers, tiny hoes, and bulb planters.
You can also find all sorts of gardening lore that you can copy onto decorative scrolls or colorful pieces of paper. Some of my favorite books on magickal gardening include Dorothy
Morrison’s Bud, Blossom of Leaf and two books by “the Carden Witch," Ellen Dugan: Carden Witchery and Cottage Witchery.
For the Kitchen Witch
If you want to give a special gift to a witch, a cool broom decorated with fun, useful items is a great idea. For the kitchen witch, try stringing some packets or cool containers of cooking herbs (especially those with magickal attributes) and hanging them on the broom.
You can also add a few little tools such as measuring cups and spoons, a small mortar and pestle, even a few recipes (maybe written out by hand on decorative scrolls or simply copied onto nice paper) from your favorite witchy cookbooks.
You can find recipes in my book Witchcraft on a Shoestring or try looking in a couple of my favorites: The Wicca Cookbook by Jamie Wood and Tara Seefeldt, Witch in the Kitchen by Cat Johnson, and Cucina Aurora by Dawn M. Hunt.
Broomstick Bread [
A few years ago, I was taking a walk with my Tante Erika near her home in northern Germany. It was August, and German schools were already back in session. Tante Erika suggested we drop by the local kindergarten to say hello to a friend of hers who was teaching there. I had heard that German kindergartens were less academic than their American counterparts, but I was unprepared for the sight of twenty or so barefoot children zooming around the schoolyard, swinging from trees and baking bread over an open fire. They called it Stockbrot. Here, we call it broomstick bread. Simply take refrigerated pizza dough or dinner-roll dough, or prepare the dough according to your favorite recipe, and cut it into thin strips. Wrap each strip loosely around the end of a broomstick or another stick you have gathered outside. Hold over an open or fireplace fire about ten minutes or until golden.
Enjoy your bread warm with butter or red currant jam.
A Coing-Away Broom
If you have a witchy friend or relative who is going away, you can give them the perfect gift: a new broom for their new home, adorned with memories from the old one. Pick out a broom that will suit his or her taste, and then decorate it with pictures of the two of you; if you create this broom with friends, everyone can add their own mementos.
You can also add small keepsakes from your time together such as shells gathered on seaside walks or items you might have brought back from a trip or event you spent together. If you shared an interest such as sewing, cooking, or some other hobby, add a few little gifts that represent that pastime to get them started when they are in their new home.
And why not tuck a special note (or notes, if a number of friends are doing this) into the broom, to be opened when they are far away and feeling homesick? The note can be anything from a story to a joke to a heartfelt “I’m missing you too."
A Besom Chant 6
Besom, besom, long and lithe Made from ash and willow withe Tied with thongs of willow bark In running stream at moonset dark.
With a pentagram indighted
As the ritual fire is lighted
Sweep ye circle, deosil
Sweep out evil, sweep out ill Make the round of the ground Where we do the Lady's will.
Besom, besom, Lady's broom
Sweep out darkness, sweep out doom Rid ye Lady's hallowed ground Of demons, imps, and Hell's red hound.
Then set ye down on Her green earth By running stream or Mistress's hearth Til called once more on Sabbath night To cleanse once more the dancing site.
A Get-Well-Soon Broom
When people we love are sick—whether they are battling a lifethreatening illness or just the common cold—sometimes we like to give a gift that shows we are thinking of them. If you’re bored with bestowing flowers and teddy bears, you can give a get-well-soon broom instead.
Decorate the broom with healing items such as cloves of garlic (which they can use to make soup), healing herbs, soothing tea bags or bath sachets, and maybe a spell for battling illness.
You can also add small things to keep them entertained while they’re recovering: a crossword puzzle and a pencil, a miniature book to read, or even a joke or two (laughter is very healing).
And don’t forget to add a note with your well wishes. When the sick person starts to feel better, they can use the broom to sweep away the remnants of illness, hopefully forever.
A get-well-soon gift broom
A MODERN WITCH’S
FLYING OINTMENT
Instead of using a traditional flying ointment made from dangerous and potentially harmful herbs, here are a couple of alternatives to bring about relaxation and gently aid the mind in letting go of the day’s tensions. You can create a dream sachet to place under your pillow in hopes of dreaming of flying. You also can make a flying potion that can be used in an aromatherapy diffuser or dabbed onto your pulse points to help calm the mind for the guided meditation that follows or for any other astral travel you wish to embark on with your metaphorical mental broom.
Flying Dreams Sachet
In a square piece of cotton or silk (or in a premade drawstring sachet bag), place a combination of any of the following herbs in dried or fresh form: chamomile, cinnamon, jasmine, lavender, mugwort, peppermint, rosemary, valerian, and vervain.
Note: You don't need all of these, and you’ll want to make sure that whatever combination you use has a smell that you find pleasing. If you can only use a few, try lavender, mugwort, and rosemary. Be aware that valerian, while a wonderful sleep aid, has a slightly musty smell that some people find unappealing. Most of these herbs can be found in the bulk section at health food stores, in New Age or Pagan stores, or online.
Take a piece of paper and draw a picture of a broom on it or use a black marker to draw a broom on the cloth itself. Place the paper inside the sachet, and tie the sachet shut. Hold it in your hands for a moment and visualize yourself flying through your dreams.
Place the sachet under your pillow. As you fall asleep, concentrate on your intention to dream of flying.
Flying Potion
This isn't really a potion, although it is fun to call it one. It is actually a mixture of essential oils that can be used in a diffuser or rubbed onto the skin to aid in creating a relaxed state from which you can attempt to “fly” through meditation or astral projection. (Do not ingest this potion. All the herbs in it are relatively benign, but essential oils can be quite strong.)
Essential oils are the concentrated essence of a plant, so they are especially powerful for doing magickal work. Some are more readily available than others, and a few (like chamomile) can be quite expensive. I tend to purchase larger quantities of the oils I use a lot (like rosemary) and small amounts of the pricey ones. Luckily, a little goes a long way.
To make this "potion,” you can combine a few drops of any of the following herbs (again, making sure you like the way they smell together—start with one drop of a couple of things, then add others and increase the ones you like the most): chamomile, jasmine, lavender, peppermint, and rosemary. I like to use about three drops each of lavender and rosemary, two drops of peppermint, and one of chamomile. The resulting mixture is a little spicy smelling and very soothing.
To your essential oils, you can add any base oil such as jojoba (which doesn’t go rancid if it sits around for a while) or olive oil (which most of us already have in our cupboards). If you are going to be storing some of your mixture for a while, it is a good idea to put it into a glass container that can be closed tightly, and store it in a dark place. Use a small amount of base oil—a teaspoon or so—if you will be putting the potion into a diffuser. Use a larger amount—a couple of tablespoons—if you will be applying the potion directly to your skin. Swirl the oils together to blend them.
Remember that just because something is herbal and natural doesn't mean it can't hurt you. Some people are allergic to even the most basic plants, like lavender, so apply a small amount to your skin the first time to make sure you don’t have any issues if you're using herbs that are new to you.
To use the flying potion, place a few drops in a diffuser or dab onto your skin. Then meditate on flying in whichever way works best for you or follow the instructions for the guided meditation.
A SIMPLE GUIDED FLYING MEDITATION
It is said that witches used potions called flying ointments to fly on their brooms. Most likely, these were mixtures containing dangerous hallucinogenic herbs that created an altered mental state, allowing witches to feel like they were flying. Some researchers hypothesize that the flying ointments actually facilitated out-of-body travel (sometimes called astral projection), so the flight was mental rather than physical.
Either way, I certainly don’t suggest that modern witches use these kinds of flying ointments; the herbs involved can be deadly in the wrong amounts and, frankly, we don't need to take such extreme measures to fly. (There are these things called airplanes now...) For today’s witch, I would encourage a different approach: guided meditation.
Many people use meditation to relax and center their minds and spirits—I do it myself. Guided meditation is a little bit different in that you are not trying to clear your mind but rather follow a set of instructions that direct your imagination in a particular direction. Guided meditation is sometimes used for shamanic journeying.
Witches may use guided meditation during group rituals. For instance, when celebrating the spring equinox, the high priest or high priestess might lead the rest of a coven in a meditation that has them envisioning the awakening earth under their feet sending up its blossoming energy through their bodies. My coven, Blue Moon Circle, has done this many times, and it can be very effective.
If you are part of a group, you can choose one person to read this meditation aloud while the others listen. If you are on your own, you can either make a recording and play it back to yourself or read the passage silently or out loud once you are in a meditative state.
Guided meditation is very simple, although—as with most things—some people are better at it than others, and almost everyone gets better results after some practice, just remember that you don’t need to achieve any kind of perfection in order to have a fun and useful experience.
To begin, settle yourself in a comfortable position in a quiet room where you can be sure you won’t be disturbed for a few minutes. You may want to use a few drops of the modern witch's flying potion from earlier in the chapter, either in an aromatherapy diffuser or in an oil you can rub into places like hands or chest, where the scent will drift up to help you be calm and relaxed.
Some people find that drumming can help them to achieve a meditative state. If this doesn't work for you, you may want to use a drumming CD or some other calming background music. It may also help to have the room darkened.
Close your eyes. Sit for a few minutes, and breathe slowly and deeply. Follow the movement of your breath through your body, from your lungs out to your fingers and toes, and up into your head. Envision yourself standing and holding a broom— whatever kind of broom seems most magickal to you. When you are feeling as calm and centered as possible, listen to a recording of the following meditation:
There is a glittering purple mist floating around your feet. Inside the mist are sparkles of glowing silver, bits of elemental magick gathered from the powers of air. See the mist surrounding your feet, gently tickling at your toes and being absorbed into your body. See the mist flowing up through your ankles, your calves, through your knees and hips.
Everywhere the mist touches you, your body grows lighter. The glittering purple mist moves gently and softly up your back and spine, through your abdomen and chest, as you grow lighter and lighter, becoming one with the air.
The mist floats up to your neck and over your head, surrounding and filling your entire body as you grow lighter still. You grasp your broom and see that it, too, has been surrounded by glowing purple light, the tiny silver sparkles glittering like a million fireflies or a gathering of little faeries, their wings beating so fast they can barely be seen.
The broom is lighter too, almost floating out of your hands, so you sit on it, feeling the broom settle underneath you as if it is an extension of your own body. You and your broom grow lighter and lighter, glowing purple and sparkling silver, full of magickal power.
Feel yourself rising up into the air, floating effortlessly as you drift off into the night sky. See yourself flying across the face of a gorgeous golden full moon, greeting the goddess as you go. You are powerful and free. Fly through the night—lighter than air, lighter than thought—for as long as you wish.
And when it is time to come back to earth, float back down, landing as lightly as a drop of rain. Feel the purple mist slowly drain back out of you—down through your head, your chest, and your torso—slowly returning to the ground and to the magick, out through your legs and down through your toes into the ground and back to the earth. Open your eyes and be back on solid ground—for now.
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
Heather Long
every spring, i hop over the broom as a part of my spring equinox ritual to clean away the previous year’s cobwebs of negativity, exhaustion, and unfulfilled desires.
When I leave a house, the last thing I do is sweep it out, and then I burn that broom. I always buy a new one for each house. This keeps the negativity of one home from following me to another, and I never leave it behind, so the new owners have a clean start as well.
I hang a broom over the door on a couple of nails. This came from my grandmother. We post the broom over the door to keep other people’s issues from polluting our home. Like a salt barrier, it sweeps away the dirt as guests arrive.
Heather Long
author of Earth Witches Aren’t Easy • www.heatherlong.net
[contents]
22 From Pauline Campanelli's Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life (Llewellyn, 1989).
· 3. From Scott Cunningham and David Harrington’s The Magical Household: Empower Your Home with Love, Protection, Health, and Happiness (Llewellyn, 1983).
· 4. From James Kambos’s entry in Llewellyn's 2008 Witches’ Spell-A-Day Almanac.
· 5. From Linda Raedisch’s Night of the Witches (Llewellyn, 2011).
· 6. Author unknown
chapter 6
Specialty Brooms
If you are a witch, there is no such thing as “just” a broom— okay, maybe the one you use to sweep your kitchen floor is. But otherwise, a witch’s broom has a purpose.
What that purpose is—well, that's up to you. Are you going to have one broom that you use for all your magickal tasks or a few different brooms, each set aside for a specific task? Are your brooms going to be used on a regular basis or will they be mostly decorative? Are you making a broom to give as a gift or use for a special occasion such as a handfasting, a housewarming, or even to celebrate the birth of a child or the passing of a beloved family member?
Whether practical, ceremonial, or decorative, the witch’s broom is a tool that can be adapted for almost any need. You just have to decide what you want and then create (or buy) the perfect broom for that purpose. Here are a few possible types of brooms to consider.
PRACTICAL BROOMS
At its heart, the broom is a practical tool. After all, consider its basic use: cleaning. There is nothing more practical than that. Unless, of course, you take that basic broom and give it some magickal oomph so that when you clean the house you also clear away negativity, old patterns that no longer work, the nasty residue left behind after disagreements, and all the other unpleasantness that our lives attract.
It is said that a witch should have one broom for housecleaning and another for magickal use, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your everyday broom a magickal boost. I’m a pragmatic sort of witch, and I don’t believe in wasting anything. So if you're going to be cleaning anyway, why not make the most of the activity?
There are a couple different ways to supercharge an everyday broom. Probably the simplest is to make up a magickal cleansing wash of some kind. Take a few essential oils or herbs that are especially good for purification, energy clearing, and protection. Any of the citrus oils—lemon, orange, or lime, for example—are great for cleaning because not only do they have cleansing essences, the oils are antiseptic and antibacterial in nature (which is why so many cleaners are either lemon or orange). And they have the added bonus of boosting your energy as you clean! (Who couldn’t use that?) If you don’t like lemon or orange, you can also try grapefruit.
Other essential oils and herbs that are great for magickal cleansing include bay, cedar, lavender, peppermint, sage, rosemary, and geranium. Vervain is particularly magickal if you can find it or grow it. You can also use salt (sea salt is best, but everyday table salt will do in a pinch). Place the herbs or oils in some water, add a bit of salt, and for extra oomph you can put in a cleansing stone such as crystal quartz, amethyst, or jasper, and let the mixture sit for a few hours or a day. You can also let it sit out under the full moon for a night.
When you’re ready to use your cleansing wash, remove the stone (if you used one), strain out any whole herbs, and place the mixture in a bowl or a spritzer (a plant mister works well). Dip your broom in the water or spray a mist of the water onto the bristles, and visualize your broom becoming a tool for spiritual as well as physical cleansing. Then, as you move through each room of your house, visualize the broom glowing with a bright light as it brushes away stagnant and unpleasant energy. (This same magickal cleansing wash can be used on whiskbrooms, dust rags, or sponges.)
As with all other magickal work, remember that your intent is a crucial ingredient. Focus on your desire to clear away anything that no longer works for you as you sweep away the dust and the cobwebs.
Another approach to the practical broom is to have a magickal broom that you dedicate to spring cleaning (which doesn’t have to be limited to spring—I tend to do my big clear-out in the fall, before my house is shut up for the winter). This is different than when you simply give your regular household broom a magickal boost; in this case, you would be creating a broom with the intention of using it only for spiritual and magickal cleansing.
We’ll talk in the next chapter about how to craft a broom that is intended to remove negativity or bring in protection—the idea here is that you will have a broom that can be used for actual cleaning (if you want) but that has a greater purpose. If you can, it is great to have a broom that you only use a few times a year, specifically for the "big clean” that comes with the change of seasons or circumstances, or after a crisis, when the energy of the home needs a special boost.
"Why bother?” you might think. “I can clean just as well with the broom I already use."
That might be true on a purely mundane level. But think of the focus and energy you can tap into when you go to the closet and take out the broom you know is for magickal cleansing. Each swish of the bristles will waft your intent across the floor, and the feel of the special handle in your hands will tell you that you aren't just cleaning, you’re working magick.
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
Melanie Marquis
i hate to admit it, but as a busy of mother of two, my ritual broom sees far less action than my everyday household broom. It's not that I have an insatiable lust for cleaning; the Martha Stewart of magick I definitely am not. It’s just that it’s much easier to make time to piddle around the kitchen straightening things up than it is to find a kid-free moment in which to bust out all the ritual gear and fully let loose.
For a witch, magick isn’t an option; it’s a passion, a need. I’m simply not happy without it, and I never quite get enough of it. That’s why I make sure to bring a little magick into my everyday mess-chasing rituals. By using my household broom magickally, I’m able to charm my way through the mundane weeks, days, and hours until I can find time for more elaborate and formal ritual.
Some days I decorate my household broom, tying a heartshaped charm to the handle when I want to infuse the house with love or coloring the individual broom straws to match my current intent. For instance, when money is tight, I color some of the straws green and sweep inward from the front door, visualizing wealth pouring into my home.
When I feel like my family could use some extra cheer, I'll add a few drops of citrus oil to the broom. As I sweep in an inward spiral, the good vibes are released from the broom, giving the room a happy energy. If there seems to be negative energy lingering around, I anoint the broom with salt water and sweep in an outward spiral, eventually sweeping the bad stuff right out the back door.
These quick charms aren’t as glamorous as an all-out ritual complete with a fabulous homemade witch's broom and a gorgeous magickal costume, but when my hair is a mess, my clothes are dirty, and I still have half a day's worth of chores to do, whipping up some in-the-moment magick with the regular, everyday household broom can turn feelings of banality and
boredom inside out—well, at least for a minute!
Melanie Marquis
author of The Witch’s Bag of Tricks • www.melaniemarquis.com
CEREMONIAL BROOMS
A ceremonial broom is just what you think it is: one that you use for ceremonies. This will probably be your general ritual broom—the one you use to cleanse your ritual space before casting a circle or for any rite that can be improved by the presence of a broom. For some witches, this will be the only magickal broom they will ever need.
Any magickal broom can be a ceremonial broom. If you are a solitary witch, you may wish to carve your initials, your name, or your magickal name (if you have one) into the handle. It can also be decorated with ribbons, feathers, dried herbs, and any symbols that have special meaning to you (a picture of your power animal, for instance). I like to add rune symbols to my tools; I draw them on with marker if the material is too hard to carve (a wood-burning tool works well for this, too). I add Uraz for strength, for instance, or Beorc for new beginnings. See the appendix for a list of rune symbols.
If you belong to a coven, you might want to consider creating a coven broom—one that would only be used for group rituals.
It isn't necessary to decorate a ceremonial broom at all. You can simply buy or make a broom that feels right and dedicate it for this particular use. If you are going to use it in rituals, you will want to bless and consecrate it as you would any other magickal tool, and keep it set aside from any regular household items. (Unless you need to hide it in plain sight—in which case, just make sure that no one else ever uses it for regular old cleaning.)
BROOM LORE
never use a broom when there is a dead person in the house
DECORATIVE BROOMS
Many witches like to decorate their homes or apartments with items that are related in some way to their practice of the Craft. Cod and goddess statues, large wooden pentacles, Green Men, black cats, full moons...there are plenty of decorative symbols available to the witch who wants to be surrounded with touches of magick.
Brooms can be a wonderful ornamental touch, and you can make them obviously witchy by covering them with pentacles, runes, and the like or keep them subtle (lots of people have small cinnamon brooms hanging in their homes, for instance, and most of them aren’t witches). The latter is a good way to go if you share your space with a non-witch or live in an area where being openly Pagan can get you into trouble.
As with most other brooms, you can buy one already adorned and ready to hang on your wall or start from scratch and decorate it anyway you want. The only limits are those of your imagination and crafting skill (and maybe your wallet).
Suppose you decide that you want to have a broom to hang in the living room. You can choose between something small that you can tuck into an unobtrusive corner or a full-sized broom to display proudly over the couch. Then decide whether you want it to be all natural—in which case you may glue on dried flowers, leaves, herbs, acorns, etc.—or if you want something more showy, where you might use ribbons that match the colors in the room, glue on glitter and rhinestones, or string colorful beads on it.
BROOM LORE
if a broom drops across a doorway, you will soon go on a journey
How you decorate your broom is completely up to you and will depend on your own personal style and desires. No two decorative brooms will be exactly alike, just like no two witches are exactly alike. And isn’t that grand!
Decorative brooms can also have a theme and a purpose. Here are a few suggestions.
Four Quarter/Elemental Brooms
These are brooms you would make in a set of four—one for each of the four quarters and their associated elements. Use some or all of the following supplies to make the quarter brooms that suit your home, your practice, and your tastes. Each broom should feature items associated with the element that goes with that quarter. (If your practice uses different correspondences, feel free to change things around.) These can be as simple or as fancy as you like.
East/Air
· • incense sticks or cones
· • feathers
· • the color yellow
· • herbs such as lavender, lemongrass, mint, and sage
· • symbols of the air signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius)
· • something to represent spring or dawn
South/Fire
· • the colors red and orange (ribbons or flowers or gemstones)
· • a few charred twigs from previous bonfires
· • herbs such as cinnamon, clove, and ginger
· • dried red flowers
· • symbols of the fire signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius)
· • touches that represent summer and noon
West/Water
· • hang a small vial of blessed spring water from the binding
· • add a colorful blown-glass fish or ceramic crab, starfish, or dolphin
· • shells (either a large one with a hole in it or small ones
that can be glued on or strung as a strand)
the color blue
the herb chamomile, daisies, or maidenhair ferns— even dried seaweed if you live near the ocean
symbols for twilight and autumn
symbols of the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and
Pisces)
A west /water element broom
North/Earth
· • rocks, either gemstone chips strung and hung on the broom or small pieces glued on or inlaid into the handle (small crystals are especially nice)
· • pieces of bark or greenery, dried Indian corn, or mugwort
· • vials filled with colored sand
· • symbols for midnight and winter
· • the colors green or brown
· • symbols of the earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn)
Obviously, you don’t have to use all of these suggestions—you can pick and choose whichever ones appeal to you most. Once the brooms are made, you can hang them on your walls in the appropriate directions and leave them up all the time to remind you of the power of the elements, or you can put your quarter brooms away for safekeeping and only take them out when you are doing ritual (where you can use them to help you call the quarters or simply lay them on or near your altar).
Seasonal
In much the way you could make four separate brooms to represent the four quarters, you can also create four brooms that celebrate the seasons. These examples are for the spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons of the Northern Hemisphere.
Spring
· • pastel colors such as pink, lavender, light blue, pale yellow, and pale green (ribbons are nice in a rainbow of spring colors)
· • spring herbs and dried flowers such as daffodils, tulips, or anything else that grows in your area; you can use fresh flowers, and add them each time you use the broom to give it a spark of life
· • representations of spring goddesses and gods such as Persephone, Brigid, Eostre, Flora, Freya, Osiris, Pan, and Eros
· • hang this broom up every spring equinox and take it down at the summer solstice, when you would replace it with your summer broom
Summer
· • bright, vibrant colors like gold and bright greens, yellows, and blues
· • summer flowers and herbs such as sunflowers, roses, dill, and lavender
· • representations of summer goddesses and gods such as Hestia, Juno, Lugh, Apollo, and the Oak King
· • hang this broom up at the summer solstice and replace it with the next broom at the fall equinox
Autumn
· • use the colors of autumn leaves such as red, orange, yellow, and gold, or subtle browns and tans
· • fall flowers and herbs such as Indian corn, pumpkin seeds strung on a string, dried leaves, acorns, and fallcolored mums
· • representations of the goddesses and gods of fall such as Diana, Hecate, and Cernunnos
· • this broom would come down at the winter solstice, when your winter broom would go up
Winter
red, green, and shades of brown, gray, and black
· • holly, mistletoe, dried cinnamon (to give it that comforting smell), and maybe even a string of dried cranberries
· • cut-outs of snowflakes or strands of tinsel
· • glass drops or dangles that look like icicles
· • representations of the winter gods and goddesses such as Cailleach, Frigga, Odin, and the Holly King
· • hang this broom up as you celebrate the winter solstice, and then take it down in the spring and start all over again
These brooms are beautiful seasonal decorations that also serve to remind you of the blessings that come with each different season.
Sabbats
You could take this idea one step further and make eight different brooms, one for each sabbat. If you belong to a coven, this might be a great group project, and you could spend a year creating one broom at each sabbat as part of your ritual celebration.
Simply focus on the aspects of each sabbat that appeal to you: the changing form of the goddess and god, for instance, or the colors and seasonal plants. Here are some basic elements of each sabbat; use your imagination to figure out how to integrate them into a holiday broom. I've given you a few suggestions, but the possibilities are limitless.
Imbolc
· • the first stirrings of spring under the ground (seeds or acorns)
· • a festival of light and fire (a drawing of a bonfire or an
unlit candle)
· • milk, dairy products in general, and sheep (a sheep figurine or a tiny stuffed lamb)
· • the beginning of plans for the new year (a miniature calendar or a list of your goals for the year)
· • clearing and cleansing (cleansing herbs like sage or lavender, a small bag of sea salt, a small quartz crystal)
· • the goddess Brigid (a goddess figurine, a tiny metal cauldron, or a Brigid's or Celtic cross)
Spring Equinox (Ostara)
· • the start of spring (fresh flowers, dried spring flowers, a vial of rainwater)
· • the balance of light and dark (a yin/yang symbol, entwined ribbons of contrasting colors, a miniature scale)
· • new life and fertility (seeds, colored paper eggs or chicks, a little stuffed rabbit)
· • the goddess as a young maiden (statues or pictures of a lovely goddess or young woman)
· • spring colors (pastel ribbons, a rainbow of pastelcolored incense sticks)
Beltane
· • a fire festival (picture of a bonfire, an unlit candle)
· • love, fertility, and sensuality (figure of lovers, roses, chocolate kisses, anything that represents passion and love to you)
· • the colors of love (red and pink ribbons or flowers)
· • May Day (a tiny Maypole with little ribbons dangling
from it, or you can hang ribbons on a wreath around the neck of the broom as if it was a Maypole)
· • male and female (symbols that represent the two sexes such as antlers or any phallic symbol for the man and a chalice or cauldron for the woman)
· • rebirth of the land (fresh flowers, brightly colored dried flowers, sprigs of fresh herbs that you would renew each year)
Summer Solstice
· • the sun (longest day of the year) and energy (sun images, any summer images such as pictures of the beach, shells, etc.)
· • the color yellow
· • love and fertility (a figure of a pregnant mother goddess, cut-out hearts)
· • god and goddess at the height of their power (male/ female symbols)
· • abundance (a gold coin, brightly colored flowers, dried herbs such as lavender, mint, and basil)
Lammas (Lughnasadh)
· • first harvest festival/grain festival (sheaf of wheat, any grains, dried or preserved harvest fruits and vegetables)
· • the sun god Lugh (a god figure, a sun, or some form of a craft, since Lugh is a god of the craftsman)
· • harvest gods in general (a picture or statue of Demeter/ Ceres)
· • bread (picture or tiny ceramic or metal loaf of bread)
· • bright colors like yellow, red, and orange
BROOM LORE if a single person wishes to marry, they should never let anyone sweep a circle around them
Mabon (Autumnal Equinox)
· • second harvest festival (corn dollies, Indian corn, dried gourds, harvest tools such as miniature scythes or baskets)
· • vines, winemaking (grapes, tiny bottle of wine)
· • autumn (yellow, orange, red, gold, and brown flowers or ribbons, colorful leaves)
· • balance between light and dark (black and white, yin/ yang symbols)
· • harvest foods (nuts, apples, and dried fruit)
BROOM LORE
when using a new broom, make a wish and it will come true
t
A Samhain broom
Samhain
· • third and final harvest festival (pumpkins, gourds, apples cut in half so you can see the pentacle inside, dried leaves)
· • end of the year/Pagan New Year (symbols of endings and beginnings, tiny hourglass, streamers)
· • day when the veil between the worlds is thinnest; cycle of life and death (ghosts, pictures of lost loved ones, tiny skulls, skeletons)
· • orange, black, and purple (ribbons, tiny candles, dried flowers or leaves, black feathers)
· • crone goddess (Hecate figure, pictures of cronelike witches or goddesses)
· • celebration of ancestors (pictures of ancestors or symbols of items representing them—my grandmother was a weaver, so I might use a tiny loom or spinning wheel)
· • witches (miniature witches’ hats, brooms, black cats, cauldrons, etc.)
Yule (Winter Solstice)
· • the return of the sun (unlit candles, symbols of the sun and light, yellow or gold)
· • mother goddess, rebirth of the infant god (mother and child, baby images)
· • life in the midst of death (greenery, pine boughs, holly, mistletoe)
· • green and red (ribbons, candles, wrapped chocolates)
· • gift giving (tiny gifts, bows, and ribbons)
· • winter (blue, silver, white, cut-out snowflakes, icicles, candy canes)
God and Goddess
The broom is a symbol that is both masculine and feminine, so what would be more fitting than to create a pair of matching god and goddess brooms? Create these brooms with the proper reverence and respect, and treat them especially well.
God Broom
· • bits of bone, antler, or fur to represent the hunter aspect of the god, or a mini bow and arrow
· • pick one particular god, such as Herne or Apollo, and use his symbols
· • the sun
· • paint the handle gold or any color you feel represents the masculine (brown or dark blue, for instance)
· • any masculine symbols
· • small athame, staff, or wand
· • a god figure or a picture of a handsome man
Goddess Broom
· • crescent moon, triple moon, or full moon
· • symbols of whichever goddess in particular you follow such as Hecate, Diana, or Brigid
· • beautiful flowers, beads, and ribbons
· • small cauldron or chalice
· • paint the handle silver or any color you feel represents the female (the traditional pink, for instance, or purple)
· • any feminine symbols
· • a goddess figure or a picture of a beautiful woman
Lunar
If you don’t want to have a goddess broom, you may want a lunar one instead. This can be a special full moon broom that you only take out when the full moon is overhead, or it may be a broom that captures all the phases of the moon at once and is left up all the time. Alternately, as with the seasonal brooms, you can make four separate brooms for each of the four phases of the moon, and either hang them by your altar at the appropriate times or leave them on your wall as decorations. (Keep in mind that none of these has to be a full-sized broom, and you can always use whiskbrooms or even miniature brooms if those are more suitable for your needs.)
BROOM LORE
to protect your bed while you are away for a long time, tuck a broom under the covers with the bristles on the pillow to guard against evil
Familiar
For many witches, their animal companions (both actual and spiritual) are a major part of their magickal practice. If you like, you can create a decorative broom that celebrates this special connection. If you have a familiar (like my pal Magic the cat), you could make a broom that has a picture of that animal, or a small animal figurine, a representation of a particular god or goddess connected with that animal (such as Bast for cats or Hecate for dogs), or a bag of treats and some favored toys.
For a spirit animal, you might want to adorn the broom with representations not just of that animal but of the things it represents (a bear is strength, for instance). If you can safely and legally obtain them, feathers, fur, teeth, claws, shells, or any other real-life bits might be good as well—but keep in mind that many states outlaw the possession of some feathers (in particular eagles and endangered species, but in my native New York State, even songbird feathers are illegal to pick up off the ground).
A broom can also be dedicated to the celebration of your connection to nonmagickal animal companions and decorated in any way that appeals to you...and them.
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
Linda Raedisch
few people are impressed by the hearth broom nowadays. They may even call it a hearth brush, for that’s how much it's dwindled over the years. In the United States, a few old-school broom squires are still making broomcorn hearth brooms with wooden handles, but the average homeowner is content with the one included with the set of fireplace tools. It hangs there collecting dust, for its baby-soft bristles and ornate but heavy brass handle make it good for nothing but sweeping up the occasional accumulation of ashes. Well, you ask, what else would you want to do with a hearth broom?
Let’s put the question to one of my ancestors, an ordinary young woman who would have lived two or more hundred years ago in the lowlands of northern Germany. Well call her Anna. I'd like to tell you that Anna is the mistress of the north German bay hall house in which she resides, but it’s more likely she’s the maid. As such, one of her jobs is to keep the flett swept clean, and for that she’s going to need something with much stiffer bristles than your newfangled hearth brush.
The Low German term flett can be translated as "fireplace surround," but that doesn’t do it justice. The raised open fireplace was the heart of the farmhouse, and the Jlett was the sea of cobbles that surrounded it. Warmed by the cooking fire and lit by glazed windows in the bays on either side, the Jlett was a multipurpose space. At any given moment, we might find Anna sweeping up cinders, wood shavings, potato peels, and even chicken feed from between the rounded stones.
To this day, the best place to find a north German bay hall house (unless it’s already been taken apart and reassembled at an open air museum) is on the north German moor, or heide. Out on the heide, the local broom squire could find all the materials he needed for making sturdy, stiff-bristled besoms like Anna’s: miles and miles of Besenheide, "broom heather," the purple-flowered Calluna vulgaris, whose genus name comes from a Greek verb meaning "to sweep."
Heide, in addition to denoting both "moor" and "heather," also came to mean "Pagan." Was this because Pagan witches preferred the heather broom (Low German bohner, pronounced roughly "burner," going soft on the Rs) or because witches could so often be glimpsed cavorting on the moonlit moor? I suppose we may never know.
We have absolutely no evidence that Anna was a witch, but if she had been, she never would have flown up the chimney on her bohner. There was no chimney; the fireplace was surmounted instead by an openwork canopy. If Anna had lived in the sixteenth century, this canopy would have been constructed of timber; later, of brick and plaster. The idea was for the smoke to conduct itself out through the carved spaces and into the distant rafters, where it would dispel woodworm, dry the grain stored under the thatch, and smoke the meats hanging overhead. In the mornings, it was Anna’s job to wake the sleeping embers under the canopy with the federwedel, a long-handled goose feather fan that looks even more mysterious than a crook-handled besom if you don’t happen to know what it’s for.
If too much smoke billowed out into the workspace, Anna could always lay bohner and federwedel aside and go heave open the groot dor, the farmhouse’s huge double front doors. But so long as there was no more than a thin blue haze hanging over theflett, Anna and her mistress would not have been troubled. In fact, Anna probably had her head down most of the time anyway, digging between the cobbles with the bristles of her broom and sweeping the last bits of barley out for the chickens.
Which brings me to my own little broom—and I do mean little. Composed of four tiny bundles of heather bound to a twig handle, it's just the right size for sweeping out a dollhouse kitchen. I bought it as a souvenir at a basket-maker's workshop at the Freilichtmuseum, Schleswig-Holstein's Open-Air Museum, where it was billed as a tasterbesen. Though it now hangs from the knob of one of my kitchen cabinets, it’s meant for brushing crumbs, dirt, and dust from a surface that bears a marked resemblance to the old cobbled flett. No, it’s not a hearth broom but a computer keyboard brush, and, despite the gulf of centuries between us, I have a feeling Anna would know exactly what to do
with it.
Linda Raedisch author of The Night of the Witches and The Old Magic of Christmas
[contents]
chapter
7
Brooms for Special Occasions
Brooms can be created to mark any number of special occasions, either for yourself or as gifts for others. The most obvious time to use a special-occasion broom would be a handfasting, since "jumping the broom" is a traditional part of many Pagan wedding ceremonies, and a new broom (especially a magickal one filled with good wishes for love, harmony, and protection) is the perfect gift for a couple just starting their new lives together.
There are other occasions that can be commemorated with a specially created broom, too. Here are a few suggestions, but feel free to come up with your own. For instance, you could give your favorite witch a decorated broom for her birthday or make one for yourself to celebrate a major landmark such as turning fifty, getting a job you really wanted, or leaving a bad relationship. Or make one just for fun!
A handfasting broom
Handfasting
If you are making the broom for your own handfasting, you and your partner should work on it together, being mindful as you work and imbuing the broom with all your love and passion and dreams for your future together.
If creating the broom (either on your own or with a group of friends) for another couple, concentrate as you are working and try to put into the broom both your love for the couple and their love for each other. Remember all the times you have seen the couple having fun and being in love, and put all your good wishes for their future together into the broom as you make it.
Handfasting brooms typically will be given to the couple for use in their actual ceremony and then taken into their home. If possible, create a broom that will fit into the planned ceremony—if you know the details, such as the color theme or whether it will be formal or casual—and into the couple’s home design. If you don't know enough, just do the best you can; I'm sure they’ll love it!
You may want to surprise the couple with the broom, which is fine, but consider that many brides (and some grooms) like to know exactly what is going to happen on the day of the handfasting. If the recipients of the broom you are making like surprises, then a last-minute gift is probably a wonderful idea.
Otherwise, it might be best simply to let the couple know you are planning to supply the broom. After all, it would be awkward to turn up with something you’d labored over for hours, only to discover they'd made their own or gone out and bought one.
A handfasting broom is a lovely gift to create with a number of the couple's other friends or family if they are Pagan friendly. That way, lots of great energy gets put into the broom. For those who might not be comfortable with the magickal aspects, you can remind them that the use of brooms in handfasting rituals goes far back into history. It's tradition!
Decorations can include ribbons (again, in colors that suit the couple's color scheme or decor, or white is always appropriate), fresh or dried flowers (fresh ones will probably have to be replaced after the ceremony or simply removed), and symbols that represent marriage and union such as rings, hearts, doves, a house, male and female symbols (or male/male, female/female if it is a nontraditional couple), etc. The couple’s names or initials and the date of the handfasting can be carved or drawn on in permanent ink on the handle.
You can also draw, burn, or carve runes that symbolize good wishes for the couple: Gifu (partnership and union, gifts), Uraz (strength, changes), Fehu (prosperity, fulfillment), Wunjo (joy, success), Eolh (friendship, protection), and Beorc (new beginnings, birth)—especially if the couple wishes to have children. (See appendix for rune symbols.)
If the gathering is going to be reasonably small, everyone present on the day of the handfasting can sign their names on the handle for a special remembrance. If you’re going to do this, make sure to bring a number of permanent markers, perhaps in pretty colors.
At the wedding of one of my coven-sisters, a member of the group gave the couple a large unglazed plate that everyone there signed, and then it was glazed so that the signatures would be permanent. The plate was decorated with drawings of flowers and such, and it hangs on Robin and George's wall to this day.
This makes for a wonderful keepsake of a special day and will be imbued with the energy and good wishes of all who sign it.
Remember that a handfasting broom should be suitable for the couple using it, and also sturdy enough to actually be used in the ceremony. Don’t make a funky, ancient-looking broom for a couple who prefers the modern touch, and don’t make something so delicate and beautiful that laying it on the ground will destroy it!
You can anoint the broom with any magickal oil that is suitable, such as oils that are for love, protection, peace, and so on. just make sure you don't use any scents that one of the couple is allergic to. If you’re not sure, you can carve or draw rune symbols to represent those intentions instead, and also gift the couple with a decorative vial or bottle of anointing oil at the time you give them the broom, and let them do the anointing once they have brought the broom home.
If you aren't going to be at the handfasting itself (or if there isn’t a formal one because the couple chooses to do something simple with a couple of witnesses), it is still a lovely gift to give to any new couple.
To use a broom during a handfasting ritual, the broom should be blessed and consecrated first, if possible (see the beginning of the next chapter). If desired, the broom can be placed across the entrance to the circle as a sign of protection once everyone has entered.
Most commonly, the broom is placed either before, next to, or leaning on the altar during the main part of the ritual. Once the couple has said their vows to each other, they then jump over the broom together, hands clasped, to signify their entering into a new life together. I have seen it done with the broom lying flat on the ground or with two of the participants (such as the maid of honor and the best man) holding the broom a few inches off the ground.
The broom should never be held so high that the couple can’t comfortably jump it. If the bride is wearing a long or heavy dress, the broom should simply be placed on the floor.
broom lore
AS SURE COMES YOUR WEDDING DAY, A BROOM TO YOU I WILL SEND;
IN SUNSHINE USE THE BRUSHY PART, IN STORM THE OTHER END
Housewarming
What better gift for a new home than a new broom? You can give one of the practical ones from the beginning of the chapter (a broom to be used for actual cleaning but with an added magickal boost) or one that is strictly decorative.
If you know the recipients and their new home well, you can match the broom to their decor with colored ribbons, dried flowers, etc. If you aren’t sure what colors would be best, then you may want to stick with a neutral color scheme and natural elements like acorns and nuts for prosperity and abundance, a few small sprigs of rosemary for protection, and maybe a small rose quartz or amethyst crystal for peace and love.
It is always nice to personalize the broom. You can carve or ink on the broomstick handle the names of all those who will be living in the house, the date they are moving in, or add something else that is representative of the person or people the broom is for. (For instance, I have close friends whose last name is Fox. I am always finding cool things for them that have little foxes or fox faces on them.)
Along with the broom, you may wish to give a nicely decorated container of magickal cleansing water or oil. You can also refer them to the spring cleaning ritual in the next chapter.
If you know ahead of time which room they will be keeping the broom in, you can always match the broom's theme to the space where it will reside. For instance, a kitchen broom might have some dried herbs such as rosemary, mint, thyme, cinnamon sticks, star anise (which actually comes in the shape of a star and has a pleasant, slightly licoricelike aroma), and a few vanilla pods.
Note: Make sure that any herbs or flowers you use smell nice when placed together. No matter how lovely some things smell on their own, they may clash horribly when combined with others. Test them together before fastening to the broom.
For a bedroom, you may want to use a romantic theme, with ribbons to match the colors of the room, dried rosebuds, and some sprigs of lavender. You can also attach a rose quartz or amethyst crystal for love and harmony. A smaller sized, pleasantly scented broom might make a nice housewarming gift for someone’s bathroom.
A housewarming broom is another gift that can be made with other friends or members of the recipient’s family or spiritual community. As with the handfasting broom, everyone creating the gift would concentrate on endowing the housewarming broom with all their positive feelings and wishes for the new home and those who live within it.
Write a house blessing on a parchment scroll (or print it out on some of the parchment-look printer paper now available), roll it up, tie it with a ribbon, and hang it from the broom. Here is one
from my book Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook:
God and Goddess Bless this house That it might be full of laughter That it may invite friendship That it may support love That it may shelter those who live here That it may protect all those within its walls That it may be a refuge for all who need it That it may be sacred space for the spirit May its walls be strong and its roof sturdy May it be safe from the dangers of man and nature May it be resistant to negativity
From within and without May joy fill all its spaces From this day forth
So mote it be
A housewarming broom can be given or even created during a housewarming party, in which case it can also be signed by those who attend, much as the handfasting broom could be signed by those attending the ceremony.
If there are children living in the house, you might want to let each one pick something small to add to the broom, or place an item on the broom especially for them (the child’s name or initial on a ribbon, for instance, or something representing their interests: a tiny doll, plane, animal, etc.).
broom lore
A BROOM PLACED OUTSIDE THE DOOR WILL
WARD OFF EVIL
New Baby
There are few occasions more joyous than the arrival of a new baby (or a new child, if the parent or parents are adopting). Some Pagans celebrate with a ritual known as a Wiccaning, which takes the place of the more common Christening. In the case of a Wiccaning, the child is not dedicated to any particular religion (since in general, witches tend to leave that decision up to the child as he or she matures), but rather is a way of welcoming the new baby into the community.
Usually the ritual is attended by the friends and family of the baby’s parents (even those who are not particularly Pagan may come to something done in the child's name), and gifts are given to the child that represent the good wishes of those attending. Often these are more symbolic than practical (instead of a rattle or a bib, the child may be given a scroll to represent wisdom or a small protective goddess statue). A broom created specifically for the child would make a lovely and unusual keepsake.
A broom that celebrates a new child either can be focused solely on the child or can include both the infant and its parents. The broom you create will probably have a different look depending on whether it is a family broom that will be hung in the main part of the house or strictly a baby’s broom that is intended to be hung in the nursery or the child’s room. It is probably best to have some idea of which one you’re going to make before you start gathering your supplies.
A broom for a new baby
A broom that celebrates the arrival of a new baby can be decorated with baby-themed items such as rattles, tiny teddy bears, a small rubber ducky, teething rings, a miniature rocking horse, or other such things. You can even purposely design it so that the items can be taken off and used, if you really want to be practical.
Alternately, the broom can be decorated with items that go with the design of the baby's room. This could be a sports theme, stars and moons, flowers, animals, or anything else that fits the room, the parents' tastes, or even the child's name. (A child named Rose, for instance, would be pretty easy to create a magickal broom for!)
Another traditional use of a broom honoring a new baby is as a form of blessing and protection to be hung in the child’s room. For this type of broom, you would probably want to put the child’s name on the broom and then add adornments that have protective properties such as a charm bag with a red jasper or black onyx stone, a container of salt, and protective herbs such as rosemary, sage, basil, or garlic. You could buy or make a protective charm or rune and hang that off the broom as well.
Like the housewarming broom, you could also write a blessing for the child on a scroll and attach it to the broom. If you have nice handwriting (or know someone who can do calligraphy), it is always best to write it out by hand, but if necessary you can print out something fancy on the computer, using nice paper. Here is a baby blessing from Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook:
Bless this child
A gift from the universe for us to hold and treasure But belonging only to himself and to the gods Let him be surrounded by light and love Let him be protected and safe Let him be healthy and strong
Let him learn and grow and thrive
And follow the path that is his with joy May those around him love and like him
May those around him encourage and support him May those around him nurture and appreciate him
May those around him help him to become his own best self We welcome this child into our family We welcome this child into our community We welcome this child into our world And give thanks for the gift of this new life
Remember that this kind of broom can be used anytime a child joins a family. If possible, the broom should be hung on the wall in the baby’s room. If desired, it can be anointed with magickal oils for protection, health, healing, and love.
Celebration of Life
Witches are well aware of the never-ending cycle of life. This applies to the seasons and the moon, but it is also at the core of how we look at our lives as human beings. Many of us believe that everything—ourselves included—is part of a cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth.
What this means in a broader sense is that we don't necessarily look at death as the end—more as another turn of the great Wheel. And therefore, while we mourn the loss of those we love and grieve for the empty space they leave behind in our lives, we also know that the passing of a loved one isn’t solely a time for sadness. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the life of the one we’ve lost as they take their place in the light.
Pagans often hold passing-over rituals instead of funerals, at which the person's life—and the way they touched those they shared that life with—are celebrated with reverence and mirth. What better time to create a memorial broom in the loved one's memory?
There are a number of ways a memorial broom can be created. If a Pagan is dying and knows it but still has a little time and energy toward the end, his friends can assist in the creation of a broom that has everything on it the dying person desires. He can choose the symbols that have meaning to him and imbue the broom with some last bit of his essence.
This can be an extremely meaningful and empowering endeavor, allowing the dying person to have a say in what he leaves behind. At a time when most things are out of our control, this act of creation can be a great gift for a friend, coven-mate, or loved one.
Even if the person is not strong enough to do anything other than hold the broom handle, he can direct those helping with the crafting of the broom and instruct them in how he wishes it to be put together. He can also say who he would like to keep the broom after he is gone.
A memorial broom can also be crafted for someone who died suddenly or who might not have had any inclination to make such a thing for herself. You can gather together the deceased person's friends and family (even if some of them are not Pagan, they may welcome the invitation to participate—use your best judgment when trying to figure out who might wish to take part in the crafting of the broom), and everyone can bring something to add to the broom that represents the dead/dying person.
This “something” may vary greatly from person to person, with a sister contributing a cherished childhood memory and a lover some secret joke that had never been shared with the rest of the world. Creating the broom in such a way, in the midst of sorrow and merriment, will give everyone who participates a precious glimpse into areas of a cherished one’s life and allow everyone to share both their grief and their love.
You might be surprised by how healing such a task can be. If you are going to organize a memorial broom-making get-together, you will want to decide ahead of time whether or not to create the broom inside a ritual circle with a formal rite (in which case you will probably want to limit those invited to folks who are comfortable with Witchcraft) or make it a more casual event.
Do you want to make a party out of it or are the people who are coming more likely to need something more solemn? Be sure you are clear about what will be happening when you invite people, and specify what, if anything, you want them to bring with them. If you have access to a number of the deceased person’s belongings, you may want to sort through them and pick out some items beforehand that would be suitable for folks to add to the broom.
Another approach is to create a memorial or life celebration broom during a passing-over ceremony. If doing so, you will want to keep the process simple and relatively brief, and let people know ahead of time that they are welcome to bring something, even if it is just a small token that reminds them in some way of their lost loved one.
Alternately, you can provide small scrolls of parchment or other fancy paper, and hand out pens so that each participant can write a message to the deceased person. This type of broom is sometimes thrown into a bonfire during the ceremony, and the smoke from the fire is believed to carry the message to the spirit being celebrated.
People can choose whether they want to share their messages aloud or not. If you are going to be burning the broom, you may wish to make it a little smaller, and make sure that everything on it is natural and will burn (no plastic or metal, for instance). This is a perfect occasion to put together or buy a traditional besom with birch twigs.
Appropriate items to place on a memorial broom include ribbons in black and white, in the deceased person's favorite colors, or everyone participating can choose to bring a ribbon of whatever color he or she chooses. Rosemary is the traditional herb associated with remembrance, but you can also use roses for love, lavender for peace, or the person’s favorite herbs and flowers.
A picture of the deceased person is also a nice touch, as are symbols to represent their interests and accomplishments in life. Was the person good at sports or loved to watch football? Try hanging a tiny football, skateboard, or whatever. If they flew, use a plane. If they were crafty...well, you get the idea.
You can also use pictures of the people or pets they loved; anything that represents who they were and what they valued during life will work. Representations of the god or goddess and other magickal symbols are also suitable. You can write on ribbons or parchment your wishes for a speedy journey to their next life or a peaceful rest, or just write down how much you love and miss them. This broom, more than any other, should come from the heart (or hearts, if many people are working on it).
Make sure that you know ahead of time who will have custody of the finished broom if you are not burning it during a passing-over ritual. If more than one person wants it, you can make multiple brooms or share possession, having the broom make a yearly round from one friend to another, for instance, or if there are three siblings, each could have it for four months and then pass it on to the next. The last thing you want to do is fight over a memorial broom!
Needless to say, you can also create a memorial broom for any pets you have lost and wish to remember in some concrete way. You can decorate them with a picture of the animal, a collar, or some favorite toys.
broom lore
IF A WIFE SWEEPS A CIRCLE AROUND HER HUSBAND, HE WILL STAY TRUE
Coven Dedication
The beginning of a new coven is a very special time indeed, as is the formal dedication of a coven that has been practicing together for some time. Many groups choose not to officially dedicate as a coven until they have been practicing together for a year and a day. In this case, the entire coven would work on the broom together, putting in their energy and the intention to practice in perfect love and perfect trust.
Everyone in the group can etch his or her name onto the handle, or you can tie on ribbons on which people have written their
names and any symbols that seem appropriate. (This can be useful if someone leaves the coven, as often happens. Then you simply remove the ribbon that bears their name, thus removing their energy from the group's ceremonial broom.)
A coven broom may also bear the name or symbol of the group. For instance, my coven is called Blue Moon Circle; we might have a broom with a full moon carved on it and then colored blue, or write out the name in full.
Each coven member might wish to add (either to the handle or hanging on or glued to the broom itself) some symbol of themselves or their magickal practice: moon and stars, a cauldron or chalice, a tiny athame, a representation of their familiar or power animal, a small tarot card if they are a reader, and so on.
You could even make a miniature Book of Shadows to hang from a ribbon around the base of the handle, where it meets the bristles. Inside this Book of Shadows, each member can write a spell, their magickal name, a bit of magickal lore, or glue in a piece of their favorite herb or flower. (This mini book can either be purchased or handcrafted by the group. For more detailed instructions, check out the craft section of my book Witchcraft on a Shoestring.)
A coven broom that is created together by all the members of the group can be a very powerful tool, holding as it will the energy of all those who made it. It should be blessed and consecrated, and perhaps anointed with a magickal oil that promotes peace, harmony, friendship, and protection.
Make sure that you have agreed ahead of time where the broom will be kept. As the high priestess of Blue Moon Circle and the person at whose house we usually gather, it is expected that our shared group tools will stay at my place. (Individual tools are taken home by their owners, of course.)
If your coven has two leaders (a high priest and a high priestess, for instance) who don’t share a residence, one or the other of them should be responsible for the coven broom. Alternately, if there is no one person who is usually in charge of group tools, you may want to have the broom travel from home to home, bringing its positive energy with it.
We once did that with a Yule log: each member had it for a month—from one full moon to the next—and spent that time adding her own particular touches to it and letting it soak up the energy of her home. The member who had it would then bring it to the next full moon ritual and hand it off to another person in the coven. In the end, we had a truly magickal symbol of the season that we kept for years, until it was finally burned to make room for a new one.
As you can see, there is no limit to the kind of broom you can create or the purpose it will serve in your magickal life. Whether you choose to have one broom that stays tucked away in a closet except when you pull it out for rituals or any number of decorative brooms that hang over your mantle, near the front door, or propped up next to your altar, as a modern witch your broom will serve you as well as its ancestors served the witches who came before you.
And that is a kind of magick, too.
real witches,
real brooms:
Mickie Mueller
i have several magical brooms that I use in different ways. My ritual broom is an old-fashioned rustic-style handmade broom that I’ve had for years. I've used it in both coven and solitary rituals. The coven I was in years ago used it several times for initiations.
We decorated the handle with ivy and laid it on the ground at the gateway before casting our circle for a big initiation ceremony. We lifted the broom to open the circle so the initiates could walk beneath the broom; it created a beautiful gateway to pass under. That broom hangs right by my front door. It guards the gateway to my home, and I use it to sweep and purify the area before I do my rituals.
I have several brooms that I use for magical decorations in a similar fashion to the way people display wreaths. I have quite a few cinnamon brooms that I picked up at a craft store. Several of these decorated brooms are used instead of wreaths on my front door for some of the sabbats.
My sabbat brooms are decorated using herbs and symbols of the season. My favorite cinnamon broom hangs on the door of my art studio. It's decorated with a welcoming message, whimsical paintbrushes and paint tubes, god and goddess images, and herbs for maintaining the positive energy of the room and boosting creativity.
Because the broom is a symbol of combined male and female energy, it’s the perfect guardian for the studio. My husband and I are partners in the art business: I’m the creative partner and he’s the practical partner. My studio broom is full of magic and is a wonderful blessing for our creative space.
Mickle Mueller artist, writer, lecturer • fantasy and fairy art of myth and legend • www.mickiemuellerart.com
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7. Leave out this line if they might not want to be a refuge
chapter 8
Brooms in Ritual Use
If you're a witch, your magickal tools probably get used predominantly during ritual, and that holds true for brooms as well. Some people only use their ceremonial brooms for the basics: sweeping away negativity before casting a circle inside sacred space or placing the broom across the entrance to the circle for protection. But this ancient tool can be used for so much more. If you want to expand your practice, here are a few rituals designed especially with the magickal broom in mind.
You can, of course, use any ceremonial broom for these rituals, but you might also choose to create a special broom for each one (you’re not likely to do them all, so you probably won't end up with a closet full of brooms). Instructions are included for doing that, and, in many cases, the creation of a broom dedicated to a particular task can lend it special magickal strength.
If you already have a broom you want to use (or if you are repeating the ritual and have already made the broom for it), simply skip the broom-creating step and do the rest of the ritual without it.
These rituals are designed to be performed by one witch, but there is no reason they won’t work for covens as well, just alter the instructions as needed and take turns doing any necessary tasks, as you usually would.
Feel free to substitute any ingredients or actions that feel right to you. If you don’t have sea salt, you can always use table salt. If you don't have an amethyst crystal, use a tumbled stone, a piece of jewelry with amethyst in it, or some other stone that feels as if it would be suitable—or skip the stone altogether.
These rituals are suggestions and guidelines, not rules. If you don’t like the smell of sage, for instance, you are always free to use any cleansing incense instead (rosemary is good, or lavender). If you can’t light candles, substitute some other symbols for the quarters. If you only worship the goddess and not both goddess and god, simply leave out the section for the god. Busy on the night of the full moon? The ritual will still be fine. Either way, follow your heart and listen to the inner voice of your spirit, and just go for it.
Let's begin with a simple ritual to bless and consecrate your magickal broom, dedicating it to sacred work. This step can be added to any of the broom rituals where you are creating a new broom that hasn't previously been used for magick.
Note: If you are using the old besom-style broom with birch twigs or herbs instead of broomcorn, you can substitute the word “besom" for “broom" during the rituals if you like.
Consecrating and Blessing Your Broom
You will need:
· • a broom (this can be already decorated in any manner you desire or you can decorate it during the rite, after invoking the god and goddess but before you begin the consecration)
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick with a fire-safe dish or small iron cauldron
· • a white candle
· • a white ribbon (optional)
· • a permanent marker
· • anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have
bought or made, preferably one that is either cleansing or protective or both, or it can be a simple mixture of a natural oil such as olive oil or beeswax with a few herbs or a drop or two of lemon juice or lemon oil added)
· • a white cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best) large enough to lay the broom down on (in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do, and if you don't have white, you can substitute the color of your choice)
· • god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
· • 4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red
(south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
· • matches
candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
If possible, perform this ritual on the night of a full moon.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the white cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom, and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently. You'll be using it again later in the ritual.)
Turn to the east and say:
I call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. Come to my circle with your cleansing breezes and blow away all
negativity and worry so I might perform this rite with a clear
mind. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ call to the guardians of the south, the powers offire. Come to my circle with your bright warmth and burn away all fear and doubt so I might perform this rite with an open heart. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water. Come to my circle with your cool waves and wash away all the cares of the day so I might be fully present in mind and spirit as I perform this rite. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
I call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth. Come to my circle with your rock-solid strength and help me to be grounded and centered as I perform this rite. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Goddess, Blessed Lady of the Moon, who watches over all with grace and beauty, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned God (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great God, Lord of the Animals and Guardian of the Earth, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
Take a moment to look at your broom. Admire its sturdy construction, knowing that it will work well for you. Feel the energy simmering inside it, waiting to be used and attuned to your own particular form of magick. Run your hand lightly over it, from the top of the handle down to the bottom of the bristles, and send it thanks for coming to you.
Take the salt and sprinkle a few grains over the broom from top to bottom, saying:
/ consecrate you with the power of earth.
Sprinkle a few drops of water over the broom from top to bottom, saying:
I consecrate you with the power of water.
Waft the smoke from the smudge stick over the broom from top to bottom, saying:
/ consecrate you with the power of air.
Light the white candle and move it over the broom from top to bottom, saying:
I consecrate you with the power of fire.
Gesture towards the god and goddess candles and say:
/ ask the blessings of the god and goddess on this broom, a sacred tool that I now claim. I promise to use it wisely and well, and wield it only as I work my Craft.
Optional: Take the white ribbon and write your name on it (this can be your magickal or mundane name), along with any symbols that seem appropriate to you. You can also give the broom a name, if you wish, and write that on the ribbon instead. Tie the ribbon around the broom handle where it meets the bristles, saying:
And so we are bound, my broom and I.
Take a few drops of the anointing oil, if using, and rub it into the broom handle, starting at the top. If you want, you can also sprinkle a few drops over the bristles.
Pick up the broom in both hands and hold it up to the sky at shoulder height, saying:
See my magickal broom, consecrated and blessed for me and me alone. May I use it well and wisely. So mote it be.
Place the broom back down on the cloth gently.
Turn to the north and say:
/ thank you, powers of earth, for
your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I thank you, powers of fire, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ thank you, powers of air, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
Blow out the remaining white candle and place your broom wherever you will be keeping it when it’s not in use.
Protection Ritual
Brooms have always been used for protection magick, perhaps because of their strong ties to the hearth, which was the core of the home. (Or, more subtly, their ties to the woman—also the core of the home!) This broom is perfect as a housewarming gift or as the first tool dedicated to your own new home. It can also be created during times of difficulty, if you are feeling vulnerable and in need of an extra bit of protection magick.
You can use any broom for this ritual, but because the task is so important and so vital, I recommend that you create a special protection broom. Once you have used it for the ritual, you can hang it in one of the traditional places for protection—over the doorway used as the main entrance to the home or hung on the wall next to it. (Even if you're not out of the closet, this broom will look merely decorative to those who don't know better, so there is no reason you can’t have it out in place sight.)
If not using a broom that you have already consecrated, you may wish to add the steps of the consecration ritual prior to this one, after you have assembled the broom's protective components but before you say the spell.
Keep in mind that you can use as many or as few of these items as you wish—you don’t need them all.
You will need:
• a broom (undecorated, unless you plan to buy one already adorned with protective items or are using a preexisting broom that already has magickal decorations on it)
(to represent earth) sea salt in a small drawstring bag (velvet, silk, or cotton are best, but even the small muslin bags meant for holding tea will work) or you can make your own sachet by sewing a piece of cloth or tying up a square of cloth with a ribbon or piece of yarn and/or a small drawstring bag in which you have placed one or more of the following tumbled stones or crystals: black onyx, agate, red jasper, crystal quartz, garnet, tiger's-eye, malachite, carnelian, amethyst, or turquoise (you don’t need all of these—pick one larger stone or three to five smaller ones in any variety that appeals to you or feels right)
(to represent water) water in a small glass vial or decorative small ceramic bottle with a cork
and/or a large shell (preferably one with a hole in it to make it easier to string) or a string of smaller shell chips
(to represent air) fresh or dried herbs, or essential oil from at least one of these plants (as many as you want, but one kind is fine; if you use the garlic, you may want to put that into another bag to keep the smell contained): rosemary, sage, basil, dill, juniper, bay leaves, garlic cloves (represents both earth—because they grow out of the ground—and air, because some of their power is carried in their scent)
and/or a few sticks of any protective incense, including those herbs listed above
and/or a feather or bunch of feathers (either one you have found or you can buy one)
(to represent fire) a bright red ribbon or ribbons and/or one or more tiny unlit candles, especially in black if you can find them (birthday candle size is good, or small, hand-dipped beeswax candles if you can find them)
runes for protection (if you can find metal or pottery rune signs that can be hung from a string or wire, that would be perfect; if not, you can simply draw the rune symbols on the broom handle itself or on a piece of paper that you can either wrap around the handle and tie with a string or ribbon or tuck into the bag with your salt or stones); the best rune signs for protection include Thurisaz, Eihwaz, Eolh, and Kenaz, but you can use any others that appeal to you (see appendix for rune signs)
a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron cauldron
anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, and preferably one that contains one or more of the protective herbs listed above; optional) glue, ribbons, wire, or string to attach your items to the broom securely (you may also need scissors)
a white cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best), large enough to lay the broom down on; in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do (and if you don't have white, you can substitute the color of your choice) god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red (south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
matches
candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
If possible, perform this ritual on the night of a full moon or on the night of a dark moon (so the moon will be waxing larger for the days after your ritual). Some witches prefer to do protection magick on Sundays or Tuesdays, but if you have an immediate need, you can do the ritual at any time. It can also be repeated later (without re-creating the broom, of course); simply take the broom down from where you keep it and refresh the magick as needed by saying the spell again.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the white cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom, and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently. You’ll be using it again later in the ritual.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. Come to my circle with your cleansing winds and blow away all that might harm me or wish me ill. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ call to the guardians of the south, the powers offire. Come to my circle with your heat and passion and burn away negativity and fear. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water. Come to my circle with your clear waters and wash clean my body, spirit, and mind. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
I call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth. Come to my circle with the solid strength of the timeless land, and let it ground me and add its strength to my own so I might create this tool of protection. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Goddess, Blessed Lady of the Moon, who is both beauty and power, the sweet gentleness and fierce fury of a guardian mother, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with
your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned God (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great God, who is mighty and strong in the pursuit of justice, protective father to animals and humans alike, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence.
Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
Gather together all the items you have to represent the earth and attach them to your broom as attractively as possible, since this will be hanging out in the open (but don't worry if it isn't a work of art). As you do so, visualize the strength of the ground beneath you and feel it holding you safe. (It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment—the ground is still down there somewhere.)
Gather together all the items you have to represent the water and attach them to your broom. As you do so, visualize a moat surrounding your home (or the home of the person you intend to give the broom to) and keeping you safe.
Gather together all the items you have to represent air and attach them to your broom. Visualize the air as a hurricane, with yourself and all you love safe in the eye of the storm and anything that could harm you stuck on the outside.
Gather together the items you have to represent fire and attach them to your broom. Visualize a wall of fire enclosing you and keeping you safe, preventing anything negative from coming in. (You may wish make a mental note that any who do not intend you harm may come inside.)
Once the broom is assembled, make sure that everything looks and feels right. Add, subtract, or move things as necessary.
When the broom is completed, you may wish to waft the sage stick over it to cleanse and purify it, or do the entire consecration ritual at the beginning of the chapter. Then hold it up to show it to the gods, and say the following spell:?
God and Goddess
I call on you for protection from any dangers Man-made or natural, intentional or accidental From within or without
East, power of air
I call on you to blow danger away And protect me from harm South, power of fire
I call on you to guard me with a wall offiame And protect me from all harm
West, power of water
I call on you to circle me with a river of safety And protect me from all harm
North, power of earth
I call on you to ground me with the strength of stone And protect me from all harm
This broom is the symbol of your protection Anyplace in which it hangs is protected and safe By the strength and might of god and goddess And the power of the four elements
So mote it be
Place the broom back down on the cloth gently.
If desired, you can do the main section of the consecration ritual (earlier in the chapter) to further bless and dedicate your new broom.
Turn to the north and say:
/ thank you, powers of earth, for your strength and assistance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for your strength and assistance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I thank you, powers of fire, for your strength and assistance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ thank you, powers of air, for your strength and assistance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect
love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
Remove Negativity Ritual
Negativity is a tricky thing. Sometimes it is big and obvious, like an important person in your life who constantly cuts you down or a job that eats away at your soul. But it can also be the little things: looking at the world as a half-empty glass instead of a half-full glass or everyday habits that undermine your progress toward goals or damage your health.
The best way to deal with negativity—whether it comes from the outside or from someplace inside ourselves—is to look at it straight on, figure out what doesn't work for you, and fix it. But that’s a lot easier than it sounds, and there are some things that either we’re not ready to deal with or we don’t feel we have any power to control. Even when we re doing everything we can do, the process sometimes takes time. And let’s face it: sometimes life just throws crap at us!
Whether you’re overwhelmed by circumstances or simply doing the best you can to get by while you wait for your hard work to create positive changes in your life, it never hurts to give negativity a little magickal push out the door.
You can do this ritual whenever you need to—once a year or once a week. You only need to make the broom once, and, of course, as with the rest of these rituals, you can skip the broommaking part altogether and just do the rest of the ritual if that's what feels right to you.
You will need:
· • a broom
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron
cauldron
· • a white or black ribbon (optional)
· • a permanent marker (optional)
· • anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, preferably one that is either cleansing and protective, or it can be a simple mixture of a natural oil such as olive oil or beeswax with a few herbs or a drop or two of lemon juice or lemon oil added)
· • A black cloth (silk or cotton or some other natural material is best), large enough to lay the broom down on. In a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do. (If you don't have black, white will do.)
· • god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
· • 4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red
(south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in
fire-safe holders
· • matches
· • candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
Whenever needed.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom, and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Note: Th is broom is very plain in appearance, in part so you can leave it out in plain sight if necessary, even if you are not out of the broom closet. Also, it doesn’t need to be fancy to do this kind of work. If you wish to adorn it with additional decorations, that’s fine.
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waff away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently. You'll be using it again later in the ritual.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air, to protect this circle from all that is unseen and from negative energy of any kind. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ call to the guardians of the south, the powers offire, to guard this circle with the warmth of love past, present, and future. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water, to wash away the sorrows of the past and clear the way for a positive new beginning. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
/ call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth, to ground and center me and lend me strength for the task ahead.
Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Goddess, Blessed Lady of the Moon, who watches over all with grace and beauty, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence and help me as I sweep
away negativity. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned Cod (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great God, Lord of the Animals and Guardian of the Earth, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence and help me as I sweep away negativity. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
To create your anti-negativity broom, first take a pinch of salt and sprinkle it along the length of the broom, starting at the top and working your way to the bottom. Say out loud:
With the power of earth, I create this broom to banish negativity and all that does not work for my benefit. Let the bristles of this broom be grounded with the strength and energy of the land beneath my feet, and let the handle imbue me with the strength of the mighty tree from which it came.
Next, sprinkle a little bit of water with the tips of your fingers, starting at the top of the broom and working your way to the bottom. Say:
With the power of water, I create this broom to banish negativity and all that does not work for my benefit. Let it sweep away pain and sorrow, fear and doubt, bad habits and bad energy, as the waves sweep away the grains of sand from the ocean's shores.
Take the smudge stick (relighting it if necessary) and waft the smoke over the broom, starting at the top and working your way to the bottom. Say:
With the power of air and fire, I create this broom to banish negativity and all that does not work for my benefit. Let it sweep away the invisible and the obvious alike, as the wind blows away the smoke from the campfire, leaving behind gently glowing coals that warm the summer's night.
If you want, you can write down anything in particular that is troubling you on the ribbon. You won’t be able to see what you've written if you put it on the black ribbon, but you will still know it is there. Sometimes this is a good way to handle negative situations you’re not quite ready to face yet. Or you can use the white ribbon if you need the reminder when you look at it, so you keep firmly in mind those things you are trying to let go of. Tie the ribbon around the broom either at the top of the handle or where the handle joins the bristles.
If using the anointing oil, smooth a bit down the handle and put a drop or two on the bristles, and say:
This broom is now consecrated for the purpose of ridding me and my home of negativity. So mote it be.
Stand up if you've been sitting, and hold the broom as if you were going to sweep the floor but keep the bristles from touching the ground. (It’s okay if they do—this is a personal preference. Some folks like the feeling of actually sweeping as they do this. As with all other magickal work, do what feels right to you.)
Walking widdershins (counterclockwise) around your circle, or turning in place in a counterclockwise way (depending on how much room you have), make sweeping motions with the broom while saying:
With the sweeping of my broom
I banish sadness, fear, and gloom Clearing air and clearing space With magick's power and magick’s grace Negativity I sweep away Leaving good to have its sway Sweeping all the bad things out >As my broom sweeps round about
Repeat three times if you feel an extra boost is necessary—it’s okay to write the spell on a slip of paper or carry this book with you as you walk if you aren't good at memorizing.
Place the broom gently back down on the cloth and smudge it with the sage stick one more time to remove any lingering negative energy. You may also want to smudge yourself.
If desired, you can do the main section of the consecration ritual (earlier in the chapter) to further bless and dedicate your new broom.
Turn to the north and say:
I thank you, powers of earth, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ thank you, powers of fire, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
I thank you, powers of air, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
BROOM LORE a new broom should only be used to sweep dirt out of a house after something else has been swept in
Magickal Spring Cleaning Ritual
Spring cleaning isn’t just limited to spring. I tend to do mine twice a year—once in the spring, to get rid of all the lingering winter cobwebs (both literally and metaphorically), and once in the fall, to clear away any negativity before I spend the winter stuck in the house, unable to open windows or go outside much. But really, a good magickal spring cleaning can be done anytime you feel as though the place you live in has stagnant or unpleasant energy, or when you've been feeling stuck or blue and there is no obvious reason for it.
Magickal cleansing is also a great way to clear away any negative energy left after a major upheaval in your life, a big fight, or just the day-to-day psychic debris that gets left behind when you have a few people living in the same space. If you share your space with others and they're willing to take part, this is a good ritual to do together. Otherwise, you can just do it yourself when no one else is home to bother you.
Unlike most of the rituals, which take place entirely within a cast circle inside sacred space, this one will cover the entire area of your home. You can handle this in one of two ways: either cast the circle as you normally would but visualize it spreading out to enclose your whole house or apartment, or do the first part of the ritual in circle as usual, then cut a doorway to let yourself out to do the actual cleansing, then cut another doorway to let yourself back in at the end.
(In case you've never done this, it is easy. Using an athame or your finger, draw a doorway, starting at the floor on your left, going up and over, then down again on your right; step out and close it behind you in reverse to keep the energy in your circle from dissipating. To go back in, just do the same thing.)
Neither way is better or worse, so use whichever technique you prefer. I find it easier to simply visualize my entire house as sacred space, but there has been so much magickal work done here over the years that I rarely even bother to cast a formal circle except during group rituals with Blue Moon Circle, when there is more than just my energy to contend with. As with all magick, do whatever feels right to you. If you want to skip the circle casting altogether, that’s okay too.
This is the one time when you may want to use a magickal broom for actual sweeping, especially if you keep one particular broom for this purpose alone. I like the forceful feeling that moving the broom across the floors gives me (and I have all wood floors, so it makes sweeping easier...with carpets, you probably won't want to actually run the broom across the floors). I use mine not only to sweep the floors but also to pull down cobwebs and sweep dust off the tops of the heating registers, getting into the nooks and crannies I don’t always bother with during my weekly cleanings (ahem).
But you also just use the broom symbolically, the way we do in most of these rituals, especially if you use the same broom for all of your magickal work or if you have decorated it so nicely that you want to make sure not to ruin it.
The important thing to remember is that the broom is the tool, but your focus and will are what are really doing the work. The broom just helps to guide and boost your energy. So as you move through the house, be careful to focus on your intention of clearing and cleansing the physical, emotional, and spiritual energy of your home as you sweep away the psychic dust and dirt.
You will need:
· • a broom
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small pitcher
· • a large shallow bowl large enough to fit the ends of the broom's bristles in (use a throwaway aluminum baking pan for this if you want—you can get them cheap at the dollar store if you don’t have something nicer to use) or a spray bottle
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron cauldron
· • a few sprigs of rosemary (fresh is preferable, but dried will do if that is all you have, or use a couple drops of rosemary essential oil)—this is for protection
· • a piece of fresh lemon or some lemon essential oil
· • anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, preferably one that is either cleansing and protective, or it can be a simple mixture of a natural oil such as olive oil or beeswax with a few herbs or a drop or two of lemon juice or lemon oil added)
· • a white cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best) to protect the floor as you sprinkle things on the broom (in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do;
if you don't have white, substitute the color of your choice)
· • god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
· • 4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red
(south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
· • matches
· • athame or wand (optional)
· • candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
Whenever needed. Spring equinox and fall equinox are prefect times for this, or any full moon. Otherwise, simply do as needed.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the white cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move
the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently. You’ll be using it again later in the ritual.)
Turn to the east and say:
I look to the east and invoke the power of air: cold breezes that chill the body, yet blow away the cobwebs of the year behind
me, bringing in clarity and creativity. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ look to the south and invoke the power off re: the warmth of hearth and home that shelters me and brings light to my life no
matter the season. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I look to the west and invoke the power of water: changeable in form but always cleansing and purifying. Welcome and blessed
be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
/ look to the north and invoke the power of earth: what grounds and empowers me, the solid bedrock upon which my home is placed. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Coddess, Queen of Moon and Stars, who watches over all our homes and lives, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned God (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Creat God, Lord of the Animals and Guardian of the Earth and the Forest, who watches over all of our homes and lives, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence.
Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
In your shallow bowl or pitcher, mix some water, a few pinches of salt, the lemon juice or a few drops of essential oil, and the rosemary essential oil (if using). Stir together with the sprig of rosemary or use an athame, wand, or your fingers, and say:
Cleansing, cleaning, washing clear Let this elixir cleanse all that's dear. Water, earth, and herbal grace Help me cleanse my sacred space.
If you’re using the spray bottle, pour your water mixture into the bottle and spray the bristles of your broom with it. Otherwise, dip the bottom of your broom into the shallow bowl to wet the bristles slightly (you don’t want to be dripping water all over your home, so it is okay to shake off most of the water or use sparingly, unless you are actually using the broom to clean, in which case you might want the ends a bit damp).
Light the sage again and waft it over the entire broom, especially the bristles, saying:
Air and fire, empower me Clean and cleansed my home will be!
Anoint the broom with your cleansing or protection magickal oil (if using).
Holding the broom upright with both hands, close your eyes, and visualize it glowing with a powerful cleansing light, capable of sweeping away any negative or blocked energy with the slightest swish.
When you're ready, cut yourself out of your circle if necessary and move through your home, starting at the bottom (if you have more than one story) or the back (if you are on one floor). Or wherever feels right to you—this may vary depending on the setup of your residence, and there is really no wrong way to do it. The point is to go through every room in as orderly a fashion as possible.
Note: If you don't feel comfortable leaving your candles burning when you move through the house, either because they are not safely on an altar table or because animals might get to them, skip to the end of the ritual, put out the candles, and then clean. This will work just fine. Better safe than sorry, especially when dealing with fire!
Touching the floor (or not), move the broom across all doorways and windows (fireplaces too—anyplace that things can come in and out of) and around the boundaries of each room, moving around the furniture as needed. Move through the entire house or apartment, visualizing that glowing white light clearing and cleansing as you go.
When you’re done, return to your circle, cutting yourself a doorway back in if necessary. Place the broom down on the cloth and thank it for its service. If you feel that it might have picked up any negativity, feel free to smudge it again or sprinkle it with a little more of your cleansing mixture.
Turn to the north and say:
I thank you, powers of earth, for grounding me during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
/ thank you, powers of water, for washing away negativity during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ thank you, powers of fire, for warming my spirit during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
I thank you, powers of air, for blowing clear the air of my home during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
BROOM LORE
never sweep after sunset, since to do so will chase away happiness or hurt a wandering soul
Ritual to Remove Obstacles
Life is full of obstacles that get in the way of our achieving the things that we want. Sometimes it is the lack of money or time or support. Sometimes we need more education or a different boss or just to be given a chance to prove ourselves.
The truth is, while some obstacles are insurmountable, most can be conquered if you want the goal badly enough. (Look at Helen Keller, for instance, or any athlete who competes in the Paralympics.) You have to set your goals clearly, figure out the steps it would take to achieve them, and start working on the first step. If what you want is truly important to you, I have faith that you will get there eventually.
But in the meantime, sometimes it can seem as though the universe is throwing roadblocks in your path. If you need a boost to help remove them so you can get on with your plans and work toward your future, here is a simple broom ritual that might help.
You don’t need a special broom for this ritual—any ceremonial broom will do. In a pinch, you can use your everyday broom, although it is always preferable to have one that is set aside for magickal work. Still, we're not going to let the little things stand in the way of our goals, are we?
Note: Sometimes the universe really is putting up roadblocks. If you keep getting the message that a particular path is not for you, you might want to stop and consider whether the difficulties are a challenge you need to learn from and overcome, or perhaps you are being told to try a different way. It can be hard to tell the difference, but I don’t advise doing this ritual unless you are certain you want to remove the blockages.
You will need:
· • a broom (this can be already decorated in any manner you desire or you can use a plain one)
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron cauldron
· • incense (sandalwood is a good one, or anything associated with your goal) or you can use the sage
· • a white candle
· • a piece of paper (preferably a nice one)
· • a pen or marker
· • a ribbon or string to tie the paper onto the broom
· • anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, preferably one for success or that is somehow connected with your goal—prosperity, health, love, etc.; optional)
· • a white cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best), large enough to lay the broom down on (in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do, and if you don't have white, you can substitute the color of your choice)
· • god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
· • 4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red
(south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
· • matches
· • candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
Perform this ritual on the night of the full moon, the new moon, or as needed.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the white cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom
(being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. Help me to keep my mind clear and open and aid me in seeking positive change. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ call to the guardians of the south, the powers offire. Element of passion and transformation, help me to make the choices that will lead to greater health and success in the days ahead.
Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water. Open my heart to love, my body to healing, and my mind to wisdom from within and without. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
/ call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth. Nourish and ground me and help me to connect to the hidden strength inside myself. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Goddess, Blessed Lady of the Moon, who brings abundance and joy to those who worship her, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned Cod (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great God, who lends his strength and wisdom to those who worship him, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
Write down your goal on the pen and paper. Be as clear and precise as possible. For instance, don’t say “I want to make money," say “I want the perfect job for me" or "I want to find a new path to prosperity that will still allow me to spend time with my children.” If you are working on health issues, don’t say “I want to be healthy," say “I want to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit," or “I want to lose weight and exercise and form healthy habits to support my body." Take as long as you need to get this part right.
Keeping your goal firmly in mind, hold the paper out and sprinkle it with a few grains of salt. Say:
With the power of earth...
Continuing to concentrate on your goal, sprinkle a few drops of water on the paper. Say:
With the power of water...
Repeating your goal silently to yourself, light the incense or sage and let the smoke waft over the paper. Say:
With the power of air...
Light the white candle and hold the paper carefully over the flame. Say:
With the power of fire...
Wrap the paper around the handle of the broomstick with the ribbon or string and hold the entire thing carefully over the god and goddess candles. Say:
And with the help of the god and the goddess, for the good of all and according to the free will of all, may all the obstacles that stand in the way of this goal be swept away.
Stand up and hold the broom so the bristles are right above floor level. Slowly move around your circle (or simply stand in place and turn around if you don’t have enough room) in a wid-dershins (counterclockwise) motion, sweeping the broom as you go. Visualize the obstacles in your path being swept away in the most positive way possible. You can do this three times if that feels right to you.
When you’re done, turn the broom upside down and thump the end of the handle against the floor, saying firmly:
>As / will it, so mote it be.
Turn to the north and say:
I thank you, powers of earth, for sweeping away whatever blocks my way. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for sweeping away my own inner hesitation. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I thank you, powers of fire, for sweeping away negative energies that hold me back. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
I thank you, powers of air, for sweeping away the past and opening a path to a better future. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for help and guidance.
Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your love and assistance. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
Note: Once you have done this initial ritual, you can repeat the sweeping part daily if needed, simply picking up the broom and turning counterclockwise while saying “I sweep away all obstacles that stand in my way." (Repeat three times, then put the broom away until next time.) Remember to start by visualizing your goal as strongly as possible. Once you are done with that particular goal, you can take the piece of paper off the broom and either tuck it away somewhere on your altar, burn it, or dispose of it in whatever way feels right to you.
Nightmare Prevention Ritual
Nightmares are any unpleasant dream that leaves you feeling disturbed or upset. Sometimes they are minor things that reflect a bad day, a source of worry, or our secret fears. Lots of people have the same kinds of nightmares: showing up someplace naked or unprepared, driving a car that suddenly loses its brakes, falling from a height. Almost all of these dreams have to do with feeling like our lives are out of control or worrying about being inadequate in some way.
I've had nightmares since I was a child, and for many years they were a common (and sleep-disrupting) occurrence. Thankfully, I don’t get them as much anymore, but when I do, they can throw me off for hours, sometimes days. And as a parent, it is frustrating to watch your child struggle with nightmares and not be able to do much more than cuddle them when they wake in tears.
You don’t necessarily want to simply ignore a nightmare, especially one that is repeated more than once. Nightmares can be clues to our own inner landscape and help us to figure out things that are bothering us during our waking lives but not being dealt with well. And for psychics, nightmares are sometimes messages they need to heed in order to help themselves or someone else.
On the other hand, there are plenty of times when nightmares serve no purpose at all except to ruin our nights, deprive us of much-needed sleep, and start our days off on the wrong foot. If you or a loved one is having regular nightmares, you might want to try this broomstick remedy.
Nightmare prevention and safety during sleep are traditional uses for brooms. This ritual is aimed at creating a broom that you can hang over the bed of the person having nightmares, or you can place it underneath, if that works better for you. Feel free to decorate the broom in any way that will make it fit into the bedroom decor or make the user more comfortable.
You will need:
· • a broom (if the bedroom is small, feel free to use a whiskbroom size)
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron cauldron
· • a black candle
· • dried or fresh lavender (the whole plant is nice; if you can get it with the lavender flowers still on the stems, then you can tie the entire stem to the broom; otherwise, you can put some lavender flowers in a small drawstring bag or sachet; the lavender is for peaceful, calm sleep)
· • dried or fresh rosemary (the whole plant is preferable, but you can use the loose herb and put it into the bag or sachet with the lavender; rosemary is for protection)
· • string, ribbon, wire, or yarn
· • anointing oil (a magickal oil for protection or an essential oil like rosemary or sage, or lavender for peaceful sleep; optional)
· • decorations as desired (you can hang ribbons or other dried flowers from the broom, or even attach a tiny teddy bear or other toys if making the broom for a child; a small dreamcatcher might be nice, too)
· • a black cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best), large enough to lay the broom down on (in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do, and if you don’t have black, you can substitute white or the color of your choice)
· • god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
· • 4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red
(south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
· • matches
· • candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
Perform this ritual on the night of the dark moon or as needed.
NOTE
If you are doing this ritual for a child, you might want to consider letting him or her help prepare the broom. Working on it might give the child a feeling of power and control over the problem, as well as a sense of hope.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the white cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air, to protect this circle and all within it from unseen and unwanted negative
energy. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I call to the guardians of the south, the powers offire, to protect this circle and all within it from anger and anxiety. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
/ call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water, to protect this circle and all those within it from sorrow and
despair. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
I call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth, to come to my circle with your rock-solid strength and help me to be grounded and centered as I perform this rite. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Goddess, Blessed Lady of the Moon, who watches overall with grace and beauty, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence, sending your love and protection for the work ahead. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned Cod (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great God, Lord of the Animals and Guardian of the Earth, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence, sending your love and protection for the work ahead.
Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
With the broom on the cloth in front of you, tie the rosemary and lavender neatly to the front so they hang down over the bristles (you can use wire, string, yarn, or ribbon to tie the stems to the handle, just above where it joins the bristles). If you are using a drawstring bag or a piece of cloth with the loose herbs inside, tie that on instead.
Add any other herbs, flowers or decorations you want, making sure the broom looks the way you want it to.
Anoint the broom with the magickal oil (if using).
Take a minute to close your eyes and visualize yourself (or the person you are making the broom for) lying in bed, sleeping peacefully. You can envision a protective dome of white light over the space, a guardian spirit, or anything else that symbolizes a safe and protected space to you. Put both hands on the broom and send that image of a peaceful night’s sleep into the broom. Stay that way for as long as it feels right to do so.
Now you are going to bless and consecrate the broom, much as in the original consecration ritual earlier in the chapter. But in this case, you are consecrating it for a particular purpose.
Sprinkle the broom with salt and say:
/ bless and consecrate this broom for the purpose of preventing nightmares and encouraging a peaceful night's sleep.
Sprinkle the broom with water and say:
/ bless and consecrate this broom for the purpose of preventing nightmares and encouraging a peaceful night's sleep.
Waft the sage stick over the broom and say:
/ bless and consecrate this broom for the purpose of preventing nightmares and encouraging a peaceful night's sleep.
Light the black candle, carefully hold the broom over it, and say:
/ bless and consecrate this broom for the purpose of preventing nightmares and encouraging a peaceful night's sleep. So I will it
and so mote it be.
If desired, you can add another dab of the anointing oil and spread it over the broom handle and down the bristles. Your anti-nightmare broom is now ready to be hung up or placed under the bed. Remember to occasionally recharge it by repeating the consecration part of the ritual.
Turn to the north and say:
I thank you, powers of earth, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ thank you, powers of fire, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ thank you, powers of air, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
Ritual for Sweeping In Love
If you have ever read any of my other books (and you have, haven’t you?), you will already know that I am not a big fan of love magick. Don’t get me wrong—I'm a fan of love itself. All for it. Sign me up. But I think there are too many ways for love magick to go wrong, even when the one wielding it has the best of intentions.
For one thing, I adhere to the “no interference with free will" rule. Not everyone does, I realize, but I’ve seen magick backfire too many times when one person tried to exert his or her will over another. This is especially true with love magick, and by its very nature it is hard to do this type of magick without involving someone else.
Still, we all want love, and magick is a powerful tool—so there must be a way to safely use ritual to draw more love into our lives, right? Well, sure.
The trick, I think, is to be very careful not to ask for something or someone specific. I realize that many love spells will tell you the exact opposite; they say to write down the name of the person you want to fall in love with you or a list of all the specific traits you want in a significant other. But think about that for a minute. What if you don’t know who the right person for you is? You might think you do, but how many times have we all thought we picked the perfect mate, only to discover that he or she was anything but? And how many people do you know who ended up with someone who was nothing like what they thought they were looking for, but turned out to be perfect for them anyway?
My suggestion is to leave all that tough stuff up to the gods. Instead, this ritual is intended to prepare you to welcome love into your life by sweeping away anything that might stand in the way of your receiving it with open arms and an open heart. Whether this means sweeping away bad attitudes, old patterns that have destroyed previous relationships, a poor self-image or idea of your own worth...all sorts of things can be keeping love from finding you, without you even being aware of them.
More than that, remember that there are many different kinds of love. At the time I write this book, I don’t have the love of a significant other. But I do have the love of family, friends, coven, cats...and, I'm pretty sure, some of my readers. So it might be wise not to limit yourself to simply asking for romantic love, as wonderful as it can be; try to sweep in all the love the universe has to offer. You never know what might show up when you sweep in the potential for love to find you.
You will need:
· • a broom
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron
cauldron
a small bunch of flowers—roses, carnations, lavender, or whatever appeals to you (if you are using fresh flowers, you may want to use something that will still look nice once it dries, unless you want to replace them periodically; you can also substitute a small bag or cloth filled with rose petals)
something to tie the flowers on the broom
a pink or red candle (pink tends to be more for friendship and romance, red for passion—you can also use both if you want, or if you don’t have a colored candle, simply tie a pink or red ribbon around a white one) a pink or red ribbon, or both
a permanent marker
anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, preferably one for love or happiness— lavender or rose essential oil will also do; optional)
a white or pink cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best), large enough to lay the broom down on (in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do, and if you don't have white or pink, you can substitute the color of your choice)
god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red (south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
matches
candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
If possible, perform this ritual on the night of the full moon or on a Friday (the night for love magick in some traditions). If that isn’t convenient, any night will do.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. Come to my circle with your cleansing breezes and blow away all
negativity and worry, and waft in love and the sound of laughter. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ call to the guardians of the south, the powers of fire. Come to my circle with your bright heat and burn away all fear and doubt, and bring in the warm glow of love and the heat of passion. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
/ call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water. Come to my circle with your cool waves and wash away all the cares of the day, and carry in love and flexibility. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
I call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth. Come to my circle with your strength and help me to be grounded and centered, ready to receive the love that awaits me. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Creat Goddess, she who is called Aphrodite and Venus, Inanna and Isis, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned Cod (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great God, consort to the Lady, Loverand Healer, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence.
Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
Look at your broom. See in it the warmth and comfort of hearth and home, and think of all the love that might fill your own home if you could share it with the right person or people. Put your hands on the broom and send all your longing for love into its wood and bristles.
Slowly and lovingly attach the flowers and herbs to the broom, treating them with all the care you would give to someone you loved.
On the ribbon, write the kind of love you want. For instance, you could write “romantic love" or “family love” or even “whatever I truly need at this time." (You can write more than one kind of love, too.) Feel free to add "self-love" if this is an issue for you, as it is for many of us. Tie the ribbon onto the broom.
If using oil, anoint the broom, rubbing the oil in as lovingly as you can. Say:
This broom is consecrated for the purpose of sweeping in love in the best way possible, with harm to none.
Light the red or pink candle and stand up, saying:
I sweep away all that limits love And holds me back from loving true.
I sweep inside the love I need And my own loving heart renew.
Sweep first widdershins (counterclockwise) around yourself and visualize the past and anything that holds you back being swept away. Then hold the broom up to your heart for a minute and sweep deosil (clockwise) around yourself as you visualizing love entering your life. You can do each step once or three times, whichever feels right to you.
Turn to the north and say:
/ thank you, powers of earth, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I thank you, powers of fire, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ thank you, powers of air, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect
love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
Ritual for Sweeping Away Illness
Very few people are lucky enough to make it through their lives without dealing with some type of illness or another. Some things are brief and just annoying, like the common cold, while others are physical disabilities that can't be cured and must simply be coped with the best you can.
And then there are the long-term physical issues that modern medicine doesn't have much success in treating (or the treatments have so many side effects, they are almost worse than the original illness). In these cases, the mind-body connection can be extremely important. Even doctors are starting to admit this, and many studies have proven it.
Don't get me wrong—I'm not telling anyone that they should be able to cure everything that is wrong with them or suggesting that they give up on their doctors and stop taking their medicine, (do not do that kind of thing without talking to your medical professional first, please.) Nor am I saying that a chronic illness is “all in your head.” Believe me, after years of dealing with such things myself, that is that last thing I'd say.
However, I can say that I have had serious, real success in treating illness using a combination of traditional (what we call modern, or allopathic, medicine) and nontraditional approaches, including energy healing (such as Reiki), hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and the like. I’ve also been able to make improvements in my health using positive affirmations, self-hypnosis, guided meditation, and focused imagery—all well-established mind-body techniques.
After all, the mind is a very powerful tool. And so is magick, of course. So if you have some form of chronic illness, why not make yourself a magickal broom to sweep it away?
This broom is one that should be made for this purpose and this purpose only. If it is being made for someone other than yourself, that person should take part in its creation if possible.
Note: I don’t advise making a healing tool or casting a healing spell for anyone without asking for their permission first. I know this seems like a nice thing to do, but non-Pagans may not appreciate having magickal work done for them, regardless of how benevolent the intentions of the person doing it. And sometimes an illness is there for a reason: to teach us something or guide us in a certain direction. If you do healing work for someone before they are ready—before the lesson is learned or before they have figured out that a change in direction is needed, for instance—you could actually be doing more harm than good. And some people need to be sick, for reasons that are too complicated to go into. So make a healing broom for yourself or for a friend who wants one or for your own child, but don't make one for someone else without his or her permission.
This broom can be crafted during ritual and then hung on a wall in the bedroom or some other place in the home where you spend a lot of time (next to the couch, for instance). You may want to refresh it by doing the end part of the ritual every full moon, or you can use it when you do other healing magick. You can also create a daily healing ritual of your own and incorporate the broom into it. For instance, if you are going to lie down and do visualization work, you might want to put the broom under the bed or next to the couch to give that practice an extra boost. Let’s face it—when you're sick, you need all the help you can get!
You will need:
· • a broom
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron
cauldron
· • a few sprigs of rosemary (cleansing, purification, healing), a few sprigs of lavender (purification, healing, happiness, peace), a few carnations (healing, protection, strength—white would be best, but any color will do), a rose or some rosehips strung on a bit of wire or string, a piece of dried apple (cut crossways so that the pentacle inside is visible), a few cinnamon sticks, lemon balm, eucalyptus, an elder branch or two, mint, thyme, willow branches, or a few dried violets (all of these herbs, flowers, and trees are useful for healing; use as many as you want and can find, or use just a few; if you can’t find any fresh or dried branches or sprigs of plants to hang down in a decorative fashion, it is fine to substitute smaller amounts of dried loose herbs and place them all into a drawstring sachet or a piece of cloth tied with ribbon or string; make sure that everything you use smells good to you, since some of these can be quite potent)
something to tie them on the broom—wire, string, yarn, or ribbon (you can use black for banishing and protection, blue for healing, or both)
a black or blue candle (black for banishing and protection, blue for healing, or both if you want;
if you don’t have a colored candle, simply tie a black or blue ribbon around a white candle)
a permanent marker (if you have a wood-burning tool and are good with it, you can carve or burn instead of writing)
anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, preferably one for healing—lavender or rosemary essential oil will also do; optional)
a white, blue, or black cloth (silk, cotton, or some other natural material is best), large enough to lay the broom down on (in a pinch, a sheet or tablecloth will do, as will any color you have)
god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red (south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders matches
candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
If possible, perform this ritual on the night of the new moon or on a Sunday or Monday (the days for healing magick in some traditions). If that isn’t convenient, any night will do.
PREPARATION
Place the broom in the middle of the cloth, in the center of your sacred space. If you are using an altar in the center, you can lay the broom in front of the altar and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else near the broom, where you can easily reach the items. The god and goddess candles can be placed on either end of the broom (being careful not to get the bristles too close to the open flames) or behind the broom (so that you are on one side of the broom and the god and goddess candles are on the far side of the broom). If the healing work is for yourself, you may want to prepare with a cleansing bath or shower, using healing herbs or sea salt (a salt scrub will work well if you only have a shower).
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently.)
Turn to the east and say:
I call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air. Come to my circle with your cleansing breezes and blow away all negativity and depression. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
/ call to the guardians of the south, the powers of fire. Come to my circle with your bright heat and burn away all fear and doubt. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
/ call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water. Come to my circle with your cool waves and wash away pain and fatigue. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
I call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth. Come to my circle with your rock-solid strength and help me to be grounded and centered, ready to receive the healing that awaits me. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Goddess, she who is healing and loving and mother to us all, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned Cod (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great Cod, he who is healing and loving and full of strength, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
With your broom lying in front of you, pick up each plant you will be using, hold it up to the sky (toward the gods), and say:
With this herb/fiower/tree, I call in healing, protection, and purification.
If using a plant with slightly different powers, name whatever they are. Place the plant where you will be attaching it to the broom. It is fine to shift things around to make them fit together well.
Optional: If you are using a sachet or charm bag instead, say this for each herb as you place it in the bag.
Once you have everything where you want it, tie the herbs or charm bag onto the broom (hanging down over the bristles is usual for this, although you can do it any way you wish).
If you want, use the pen to draw any or all of the following rune symbols, all of which are associated with health and healing: Uruz (strength, good health), Kenaz (strength, energy, good powers of recuperation), Sigel (victory, success, power, health and vitality), Tir (success, strength of will), and Lagaz (intuitive knowledge); see the appendix for a list of rune symbols. You can also draw any other symbols you associate with healing, a picture of a particular part of your body that you want healed, your name, or the names of any gods or goddesses you particularly want to call on for healing. Apollo, for instance, is known for healing, as is his son Asclepius and his sister Artemis. Healing herbs are said to have originated with the Celtic goddess Airmed, and the goddesses Brigid and Sirona are also associated with healing. If you follow a particular pantheon—Celtic, Creek, Norse, etc.—do a little research to see which gods in that particular culture are healers. Otherwise, just pick one or more that appeal to you.
If using anointing oil, dab some onto the broom and say:
I consecrate this broom for the work of sweeping away illness and sweeping in health and healing.
Sprinkle the broom with salt and say:
I consecrate this broom for the work of sweeping away illness and sweeping in health and healing.
Sprinkle the broom with salt and say:
I consecrate this broom for the work of sweeping away illness and sweeping in health and healing.
Light the sage and waft it over the broom, saying:
I consecrate this broom for the work of sweeping away illness and sweeping in health and healing.
Light the black or blue candle and stare into its flame for a moment. Visualize yourself letting go of ill health, negativity, and anything that holds you back from healing. If it helps, see it as a black cloud lifting and floating away. Then see yourself standing strong and healthy, surrounded with a bright, vibrant aura. Take a few minutes to close your eyes and fix this image of a strong, healthy self into your head and heart.
Stand up (if you can—if necessary, you can do this while sitting) and grasp the broom firmly in your hands, the bristles pointing at but not touching the floor. Sweeping the broom in a widdershins (counterclockwise) direction, say:
Gods of healing, protective spirits, universal energy, lend me your strength as I sweep away illness.
Then turn in the opposite direction and sweep deosil, or clockwise, and say:
Goddesses of healing, powers of earth, air, fire, and water, send me your love and compassion as I sweep in health.
Turn counterclockwise again and say:
I sweep away all those things that no longer work for my benefit and anything that prevents me from moving in the direction of health and healing.
Turn clockwise one last time and say:
I sweep in a new and healthy me; so I will it, and so mote it bel
Kiss the broom and place it back down on the cloth. Blow out the candle.
Turn to the north and say:
/ thank you, powers of earth, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
I thank you, powers of water, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I thank you, powers of fire, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ thank you, powers of air, for your help and guidance during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
BROOM LORE if a man is struck by a broom, he should grab it and hit the broomstick seven times or he will become impotent
Samhain (Halloween) Ritual
You can integrate broom magick into your regular esbat and sabbat rituals in any number of ways. Using a ceremonial broom, you can cleanse the circle space before starting the ritual or lay the broom across the entrance to the circle as protection. Or you can make the broom a part of the ritual itself, as in the following Samhain ritual.
Samhain is the witches' New Year, which celebrates both the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. It is also the day of the year when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, so if you wish to use the broom in its traditional role of opening the doorway to speak to the spirits of those gone before, you can do so during this ritual. (Please feel free to skip this part if you have no one you wish to speak to or are in any way uncomfortable communing with the dead.)
There are a number of holidays that lend themselves to sweeping things in or out—Blue Moon Circle just did an Imbolc rite that utilized a broom to sweep out winter's funk and open us up to new energy. Hopefully this Samhain ritual will give you all sorts of ideas for adding broom magick to the new moon, full moon, or holiday rituals you do.
Note: I tend to call on Hecate and Herne at Samhain, but you should feel free to substitute whichever god and goddess you wish or just say "Creat Goddess” and "Great God." Also, this ritual is designed for the solitary witch, but there is no reason you couldn't do it with a group.
You will need:
· • a broom (if you made the ceremonial broom discussed earlier in the book, this is the perfect time to use it; otherwise, any magickal broom will do)
· • sea salt in a small container
· • water in a small dish
· • a sage smudge stick and a fire-safe dish or small iron cauldron
· • a white candle
· • a black candle
· • a white ribbon
· • a black ribbon
· • a permanent marker in a color that can be seen on both the black and white ribbons (at least on the white one)
· • a sprig of fresh rosemary (you can find this in the herb/ vegetable section of most grocery stores)—the rosemary is both for protection and cleansing, and will also help with communication if you are doing that part of the ritual
· • anointing oil (this can be a magickal oil you have bought or made, preferably one that is either cleansing, protective, and empowering, or all three)
· • a table to use as an altar (or you can use an altar that stays on your wall, if you have one, or put the items on
the ground if you are doing this outside)
· • god and goddess candles (or just goddess, if you prefer)—these can be gold/silver, cream/white, or both white—in fire-safe holders
· • 4 quarter candles: green (north), yellow (east), red
(south), and blue (west), or you can use four white, in fire-safe holders
· • matches
· • candle snuffer (optional)
TIME
Samhain, October 31 (anytime after the sun sets).
PREPARATION
Lay the broom in front of the altar (or lean it against the wall if you are using a wall altar) and place all the other items on top of the altar. Otherwise, you can place the quarter candles around the edges of the circle and put everything else on the altar.
Light the sage and walk around the outside of your sacred space, visualizing a circle of pure white light springing up in its path, cleansing the area. When you have closed the circle, move the sage over your body and let its purifying smoke waft away all the cares you have brought in with you from the mundane world. Feel the strength of the earth under your feet and the wisdom from the sky above, and know that you are now in sacred space, ready to do your magickal work. (You can put out the smudge stick by rubbing it against the dish or simply let it continue to smoke gently.)
Mix the salt and water together in a small dish. Say:
Salt into water, water into salt. Purify and cleanse me and this sacred space, washing away all that is negative and leaving
only what is positive and pure.
Dab a bit of the mixture on your third eye (in the middle of your forehead), lips, heart, and core. Then walk around the circle and sprinkle a little bit of the salt/water using your fingertips or the sprig of rosemary. Visualize your circle being cleansed and purified.
Turn to the east and say:
/ call to the guardians of the east, the powers of air, to protect my circle, blowing out the old year and welcoming in the new.
So mote it be. (Light the yellow candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I call to the guardians of the south, the powers offire, to protect my circle, bringing the warmth and light of an autumn bonfire.
So mote it be. (Light the red candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
/ call to the guardians of the west, the powers of water, to protect my circle and wash away sorrow and regret. So mote it be. (Light the blue candle.)
Turn to the north and say:
/ call the guardians of the north, the powers of earth, to protect my circle and keep me grounded on this powerful magickal night. So mote it be. (Light the green candle.)
Hold your arms up at waist or shoulder height, palms turned up to the sky, and say:
Great Hecate, Blessed Lady of the Crossroads, who guides us as we walk our paths, O Queen of Witches, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the goddess candle.)
Hold your arms up, with the three middle fingers of both hands bent in toward your palms so that the thumb and pinky make the sign of the Horned Cod (or simply hold up your hands), and say:
Great Herne, Lord of the Animals and Guardian of the Earth, who shelters all beneath his great trees, I call to you now and ask that you honor my circle with your presence. Welcome and blessed be. (Light the god candle.)
Take a moment and think about the year behind you. What went right? What went wrong? What things in your life is it time to let go of so you might move on into the new year free and unencumbered? Take the marker and write those things on the black ribbon. (It's okay if you can't see the writing well—you’re letting go of this stuff.)
Light the black candle and place the ribbon in front of it.
Now think about the year that lies ahead. What dreams, wishes, and goals do you have for the new year? What do you plan to work hard on to make those dreams come true? Take the marker and write those things down on the white ribbon.
Light the white candle and place the white ribbon in front of it.
Pick up the broom and think about the way witches have used brooms for centuries to help them with their magickal work. Feel yourself connected through the years to generation after generation of men and women who wove enchantment out of the night.
Take the black ribbon and tie one end to the broomstick, right above the bristles, and say:
All time is connected. The past creates the future, and the future comes from the past.
Take the white ribbon and tie one end to the broomstick, over the black ribbon, and say:
My future is born from the experiences of my past, and I value all I have learned. But on this Samhain night, I choose to let go of all those things from the past that no longer work for me so I might move into the future light and clear.
If using anointing oil, dab a little bit on the ribbons where they meet. Tuck the sprig of rosemary under the ribbon so it hangs down over the bristles.
Braid the black and white ribbons together, winding them over and under a piece of the broom bristle. You can let the ends hang loose when you’re done or tuck them into the bristles.
Hold the broom carefully over (or in front of) the black and white candles. Say:
It is the old year; it is the new year. It is the ending and the beginning. I give thanks for the gifts of the year passing away and look forward to the possibilities of the new year ahead, and so I sweep away all that stands in my way.
Move around the circle widdershins (counterclockwise), making sweeping motions as you go. As you sweep, visualize anything you want to let go of being swept away into the night.
Come back to stand before the altar and hold the broom over the candles again. Say:
It is the new year, the old year is done. Now is the beginning, and so I sweep in all the potential for joy, growth, and prosperity the new year holds.
Move around the circle clockwise (deosil), making sweeping motions as you go. As you sweep, visualize all that you want to come to pass in the year ahead. See it happening like a movie playing out before your inner eye.
Come back to the altar and say:
So mote it be.
Take a moment to feel the new balance settle in to your body and spirit.
Optional: Lay the broom at the entrance to your circle to create a doorway for the spirit or spirits you wish to contact. Speak whatever is in your heart to those you have lost— either in the past year or earlier or to your ancestors—and then wait quietly to see if you get a response. This may not be anything obvious; it could simply be the feeling of a presence in the space with you or a sensation of love being given and received. When you are ready, pick up the broom and take it back to the altar. Thank anyone who visited you and say goodbye, then take the sprig of rosemary out of the broom and go around the circle with the salt/water mix once more.
Turn to the north and say:
I thank you, powers of earth, for your help and protection during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the west and say:
/ thank you, powers of water, for your help and protection during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the south and say:
I thank you, powers of fire, for your help and protection during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn to the east and say:
/ thank you, powers of air, for your help and protection during this rite. Blessed be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, fingers forming the god sign, and say:
Great God, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Open your arms and hold your hands up to the sky, palms up, and say:
Great Goddess, I thank you for your presence here in this sacred circle and in my life. Stay if you will, go if you must, in perfect love and perfect trust. So mote it be. (Snuff out candle.)
Turn widdershins (counterclockwise) and visualize the circle of light slowly falling away until you have returned to the mundane world and your circle is open again.
BROOM LORE
if you feel like you are being haunted or followed by unfriendly ghosts, step over a broom to prevent them from disturbing you
REAL WITCHES,
REAL BROOMS:
MICHELLE SKYE
my besom is actually very small, more of a wall decoration than the traditional, long-handled broom. It is made of wheat and has a braided handle. The rich, golden color and the plaiting remind me of the hair of the Norse goddess Sif, the goddess of abundance. She offers much more than simple good fortune, however.
Due to the color and texture of her hair, Sif’s abundance is often connected to the grain harvest. When a breeze blows through a field of ripe corn or wheat, it resembles the rippling of long, fair hair. In fact, the word "sif” was used as another word for “earth" by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda. However, her bounty is not merely that of an agricultural goddess. Her hair is another term for the word “gold" in Norse writings and is a symbol for the divinity and spark of the gods.
In Sif’s most well-known story (told in the "Skaldskaparmal,” written by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda), her hair is stolen by the Norse trickster giant-god Loki while she is sleeping. Presumably, her husband, Thor, is away on one of his many adventures, because when he returns home, he is furious and demands that Loki replace her hair. Loki, ever cunning, offers to get a new set of hair for Sif—better hair, hair of gold that would grow like any other hair. And he does! However, in the process of attaining Sif’s golden hair, he manages to trick five dwarves, master craftsmen from the land of Svartalheim, into creating five powerful magical objects for the gods of Asgard and Vanaheim.
The story of Sif’s hair characterizes another aspect of her abundant nature. Sif’s hair brings wealth to her entire clan. Not only does she receive a golden head of hair that looks, feels, and grows like other hair, but she is able to gift powerful magic to her kin. While Loki’s actions were the impetus for the gifts, he needed Sif’s innate power to begin the process. Her hair grants Thor, Odin (her father-in-law), and Frey (her friend) the tools they need to grow and reach their greatest potential. Sif’s abundance spills out beyond herself to encompass her family and friends, binding them together in a closer bond and community.
With this greater understanding of Sif, you can understand that my besom is utilized in drawing magic to bring positive and beneficial aspects into my life. I also tap into its power for abundance, love spells, and family understanding and concord. It is especially powerful during the growing times of the year, from Ostara through Mabon, and at the waxing and full moons. My besom helps me to realize my own innate gifts and power, reminding me to honor them and celebrate them. All too often we value the power of others while languishing in our own mental gloom. My besom grants me the fortitude to remember the importance of the self as evidenced through Sif’s stories and example.
Michelle Skye
author of Coddess Alive and Coddess Afoot
[contents]
8. A variation on a spell from my book Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook.
chapter 9
For the Young Witch
I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have raised their children as Pagans, including them in rituals whenever appropriate and sharing with them the beliefs, practices, and rich traditions of Witchcraft. It can be tricky raising Pagan children in a non-Pagan world, but those I know have pulled it off beautifully, and their kids have grown up to be amazing adults.
These days, I am watching my coven-sister Robin bring up her children to appreciate nature, stand out under a full moon, and commune with the spirits of the earth, and I am amazed and impressed by how well she does it. Nothing is ever forced on them, nor does it need to be, because children seem to be naturally attracted to this kind of path. Her daughter was calling quarters on her own when she was two, believe it or not.
Those of you who are introducing your own kids to Witchcraft or have included them in your practice for some time already know that children love to be involved in the “craft” part of the Craft. Anytime you can tap into their natural creativity as a part of the learning process, it makes the whole thing fun for everyone involved, including you!
So what better way to introduce broomstick magick to children than to help them create their very own brooms? Obviously, this activity will be different if you do it with a six-year-old than if you have a young teen, so you can make whatever adjustments you need to.
You might want to start by talking about some of the broom’s history and lore. If you have a young child, you might want to find a fun book with a flying witch in it, and then talk a little bit about the difference between make-believe witches and real ones.
Then you can assemble all the supplies and put together your own brooms. For a small child, you may want to use a whiskbroom or make a downsized besom more suitable for the child’s height. This can be done inside a circle, in sacred space, or at the kitchen table or in the middle of the living room, or even outside in the yard if the weather is nice. If you normally practice magickal rituals with the youngster, you can bless and consecrate the broom or brooms together (if you’re making one for yourself at the same time). If not, you can simply hang the broom up in the child’s room or on a wall somewhere in the house.
Feel free to use your imagination when it comes to decorating the broom. I’ve got a few suggestions to start with, but you should definitely add or subtract things according to the age and tastes of the particular child. If you have a "girly girl" like my friend Robin's daughter, she may want a pink, glittery, princess-themed broom. A child who is attracted to animals may want cat symbols; a budding astronomer might want dangling stars. You can also use items that are already around the house or that you look for together beforehand (shells, for instance, or pine cones).
There is no wrong way to do this. The most important ingredient is fun!
A Magickal Moon and Stars Child’s Broom
What you’ll need:
· • a broom (or two, if you’re going to make one). You can make the broom yourself, following the directions in chapter 4, or buy a premade broom at a store or online. This can be anything from a standard whiskbroom to a lovely handmade besom, depending on your tastes and your budget. If possible, get a broom with a thong at the top for hanging, or tie a piece of leather or wire around the top so you can hang it from the wall when you are done. You will want the broom to be hung from the top of the broomstick so the ribbons dangle down. (Depending on the wood the broomstick is made out of, you can also carefully screw in a hook of some kind.)
· • ribbons—you’ll want five or six different colors (your
choice, but you might want to consider where the broom is going to be hanging after it is done). Use 3/4-i-inch-wide ribbons (a Vi inch is probably the smallest you can get away with). It is a good idea to let the child pick his or her own colors. Each ribbon should be long enough to hang most of the way down the bristle section of the broom once tied around the bottom of the handle. (If you have a broom with bristles that are 2 feet long, for instance, you will want ribbons that are about 372 feet long, so that each half of the ribbon will hang to within a few inches of the bottom edge.)
colored construction paper (again, you will want a few different colors, preferably ones that coordinate well with your ribbons; if you have dark blue ribbons, you can get light blue paper, and so on)
shiny paper in gold and silver foil
scissors (child-safe ones or you can do most of the cutting if necessary)
white glue
glitter (optional; you can also buy glitter glue, which is a little more money but a lot less mess)
star and moon stickers (optional; you can use this in addition to or instead of stars and moons you cut out yourself)
star and moon stencils (optional if you aren’t comfortable drawing freehand—but remember, this doesn't have to look perfect)
natural items like dried herbs or flowers, acorns, small pinecones, shells, pretty rocks, dried leaves, feathers, seedpods, or anything else you want to use (this is a nice excuse to take a walk with your child and look for nature’s gifts or use items you’ve collected on vacations; if you happen to have a Pagan or New Age store nearby, you can also use this occasion to allow the child to pick out something special to add to his or her first broom)
· • string or wire to attach some of these items if they are too big or awkward to glue (optional)
· • a small ceramic, metal, or glass pentacle to hang from the front (optional)
· • a cloth you can put under the broom to catch the mess (this shouldn't be anything too nice because it will probably get covered with scraps, glitter, etc.)
· • star- and moon-shaped cookies (optional, but nice as a reward for a job well done!)
Assemble all your supplies on the cloth, and lay the broom or brooms out flat. Give your child as much help as necessary (older kids won't need any, probably), but make sure to allow the youngster as much control over the project as possible. After all, it's his or her first broom!
A MOON & STARS BROOM FOR A CHILD
Tie each ribbon around the broom handle right above where it joins the bristles, so you have two pieces of ribbon hanging down for each piece you use—a loose knot will keep it from slipping. You may want to have each one be a slightly different length or cut the ends off at different heights so that the ribbons are staggered a bit. (This looks better than having them all the same length.)
Cut out moon and star shapes from the paper. Use a stencil or template as needed, or just cut freehand. They don't have to be perfect. The size you want will vary depending on the size of the broom you are using and the width of the ribbons, but probably anywhere from one to three inches will work well. You can vary the sizes as well as the colors.
Using the glue, attach the moons and stars to the dangling ribbons. You may want to lay them out first to see how they look best. You can also alternate the cut-out paper with stickers. If you are using nature items, you can glue them to the front of the broom, along the front length of the handle, or onto the ribbons. Some larger items may need to be tied on or tucked securely into the bristles.
Hang the pentacle in front, if you are using one. If desired, add glitter or glitter glue to make it really sparkle.
Wait until you are sure the glue has dried, then dangle the broom over the cloth and shake it lightly so anything loose falls off (if necessary, re-glue), then hang up in a place of pride and eat cookies!
Be sure to compliment your child on the great job he or she did (no matter if things are a bit crooked or a few of the stars look more like monsters from outer space). And then maybe start figuring out which fun witchy craft you'll do together next!
real witches, real brooms:
Kenny Klein
here is a song, “Corn of Golden Broom," that I wrote many years ago to use while the maiden sweeps the circle in our tradition. There is a recording of it on my Oak and Ash CD.£
Corn of golden broom
Tied beneath the moon Ashen handle, oak seed charm Dance in magic, ward off harm Weave the circle well Weave the enchantment well Sweep the circle well Sweep the circle well By the sickle shorn
By the maiden borne Tread the floor and thread the air By the spellcrafi that you bear Weave the circle well Weave the enchantment well Sweep the circle well Sweep the circle well
Kenny Klein
www.kennyklein.net
[contents]
q. The song can
be heard at
http://kennyklein.net/sweepings0ng.mp3.
Conclusion
A BROOM FOR EVERY WITCH
I hope that you have found this book both educational and interesting. But more than that, I hope it has inspired you to look at brooms a little differently, and perhaps add a bit of broom magick into your own personal practice.
Whether you choose a few favorite activities, craft your first broom from scratch, or perform every ritual in the book, it is my fervent wish that you take away something from it that will help you to add depth and joy to your Witchcraft while connecting with all the witches who have used this traditional tool through the centuries.
Every witch is different, with a unique approach to daily living and spiritual pursuits. And so it stands to reason that every witch’s broom will be a very personal tool, uniquely his or her own. Whether you have one or ten, crafted them yourself or bought them from your favorite Pagan store, use them often or only once in a blue moon, I hope your broom serves you well. May it fly you into the future of your dreams.
Bless the witch and bless the broom
Bless the spirit that lies inside
Sweeping clear each household room
So peace and harmony there reside
Blessings on you and yours,
Deborah Blake
Acknowledgments
As always, to my family and to Blue Moon Circle...you ladies inspire every book I write!
Big love to the two folks responsible for the new brooms I got to celebrate this book: Bobbie Hodges, who gifted me with the perfect ritual broom, and Julie from Way of the Cauldron (on Etsy) who created a lovely decorative broom especially for me. I love them both!
With love and appreciation to my fabulous editors, Elysia Gallo and Rebecca Zins, who always make me look good, and to my agent, Elaine Spencer, for taking care of the nitty-gritty details so I am free to create instead.
To Skye and all the other Betties (you know who you are), with special thanks to the amazing Sierra Meinster for the research help. Any mistakes are mine, because she’s just fab.
And to Lisa, because you couldn’t ask for a better critique partner, cheerleader, witch, or friend.
But most of all, to you, my readers, who always ask, "When are you going to write the next one?’’ and say such nice things when I do. I feel very blessed.
EXTRA-SPECIAL THANKS
To all the authors who cheerfully added a bit of their own wisdom to mine when I sent them a message saying, “Hey, I had this idea! Would you be willing to share how you use broom magick?’’ Y'all rock. (Check out their books—they really do rock!)
PERMISSIONS
The Magical Household: Spells Rituals for the Home by Scott Cunningham and David Harrington © 2002, Llewellyn
Worldwide Ltd. All rights reserved; used by permission.
Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions of Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night by Linda Raedisch © 2011, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. All rights reserved; used by permission.
Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life by Pauline Campanelli © 1989, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. All rights reserved; used by permission.
[contents!
Appendix
RUNES
The runes are an ancient Northern European system of divination. There are twenty-five runes, including a blank one. The basic meaning and name of each one are listed below; this list is by no means comprehensive. Many good books are available to help you learn to use and interpret the runes.
Uruz: strength, healing, will
xOthel: inheritance, possessions, help
rAnsuz: advice, speech, wisdom
xCifu: partnership, love, gifts
riMannaz: cooperation, humankind, seek advice
yEolh: protection, friendship, premonition
/Eihwaz: defense, delay, obstacle
· •Ing: success, relief, milestones
· • Nied: patience, delay, learning
Perdro: secrets, surprises, mysteries
Tir: male, strength, motivation
Kenaz: hearth, power, opening up
Jera: rewards, karma, legalities
Wunjo: well-being, happiness, joy
Fehu: fulfillment, material gain, money
Raidho: journey, strategy, movement
Hagall: limitation, delays, disruption
Lagaz: female, intuition, imagination
Ehwaz: physical movement, travel
Beorc: family, birth, new love
Sigel: victory, power, success
Isa: cessation, standstill, perfidy, freeze
Daeg: breakthrough, growth, radical change
Thurisaz: luck, awakening, thorn
(blank) Wyrd: fate, trust, unknowable
[contents!
Recommended Reading
A Chronological Listing of My Books
Circle, Coven of Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice (Llewellyn, 2007)
Everyday Witch >4 to Z: An Amusing, Informative Inspiring Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft (Llewellyn, 2008)
The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witch (Llewellyn, 2009)
Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook: Wonderfully Witchy Blessings, Charms of Spells (Llewellyn, 2010)
Witchcraft on a Shoestring: Practicing the Craft without Breaking Your Budget (Llewellyn, 2010)
Everyday Witch Book of Rituals: All You Need for a Magickal Year (Llewellyn, 2012)
>4 Witch's Dozen.13 Practical Rituals for the Everyday Witch (Llewellyn, 2012; eBook)
Fabulous, Informative Books by Other Authors
These books all sit on my (slightly overwhelmed) bookshelves, and I use them often both for research and for my own magickal practice. Many of them contributed useful information to this book. I highly recommend them all.
Ardinger, Barbara. Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives. San Francisco: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006.
Auset, Priestess Brandi. The Goddess Guide: Exploring the Attributes and Correspondences of the Divine Feminine. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2009.
Bolen, jean Shinoda. Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over Fifty. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.
Campanelli, Pauline. Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1989.
Cole, Jennifer. Ceremonies of the Seasons: Exploring and Celebrating Nature's Eternal Cycle. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 2007.
Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1985.
-------. Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1982.
-------. Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1988.
Cunningham, Scott, and David Harrington. The Magical Household: Empower Your Home with Love, Protection, Health, and Happiness. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1983.
-------. Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1993.
Digitalis, Raven. Shadow Magick Compendium: Exploring Darker Aspects of Magickal Spirituality. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2008.
-------. Planetary Spells Rituals: Practicing Dark of Light Magick Aligned with the Cosmic Bodies. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2010.
Dugan, Ellen. Cottage Witchery: Natural Magick for Hearth and Home. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2005.
-------. The Enchanted Cat: Feline Fascinations, Spells of Magick. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2006.
------. Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2003.
Dumars, Denise. Be Blessed: Daily Devotions for Busy Wiccans and Pagans. Franklin Lakes: New Page, 2006.
Dunwich, Gerina. The Wicca Garden: A Modern Witch's Book of Magickal and Enchanted Herbs and Plants. NY: Citadel Press, 1996.
Emoto, Masuru. The Hidden Messages in Water. NY: Atria Books, 2004.
Ferguson, Joy. Magickal Weddings: Pagan Handfasting Traditions for Your Sacred Union. Toronto: ECW Press, 2001.
Fitch, Ed. Magical Rites from the Crystal Well. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1984, 2000.
Franklin, Anna. A Romantic Guide to Handfasting: Rituals, Recipes of Lore. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2004.
Galenorn, Yasmine. Embracing the Moon: A Witch's Guide to Ritual, Spellcraft, and Shadow Work. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1999.
Green, Marion. A Witch Alone: Thirteen Moons to Master Natural Magic. London: Thorsons, 1991.
Grimassi, Raven. Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days. San Francisco: Weiser, 2011.
Henes, Donna. The Queen of Myself: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. Brooklyn: Monarch Press, 2005.
Holland, Eileen. The Wicca Handbook. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 2000.
Hunt, Dawn M. Cucina Aurora Kitchen Witchery: A Collection of Recipes for the Novice Kitchen Witch. Self-published, 2010.
Illes, judika. The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World. Hammersmith: HarperElement, 2005.
-------. Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods of Goddesses. NY: Harper Collins, 2009.
Kaldera, Raven, and Tannin Schwartzstein. Handfasting and Wedding Rituals: Inviting Hera's Blessing. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2003.
Kynes, Sandra. A Year of Ritual: Sabbats of Esbatsfor Solitaries aj Covens. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2004.
McCoy, Edain. The Witch’s Coven: Finding or Forming Your Oivn Circle. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1997.
Marquis, Melanie. The Witch's Bag of Tricks: Personalize Your Magick of Kickstart Your Craft. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2011.
Monaghan, Patricia. The Goddess Path: Myths, Invocations of Rituals. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1999.
Morrison, Dorothy. Bud, Blossom Leaf: The Magical Herb Gardener's Handbook. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2004.
-------. Everyday Magic: Spells Rituals for Modern Living. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1998.
-------. Everyday Moon Magic: Spells of Rituals for Abundant Living. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2003.
O’Caea, Ashleen. The Family Wicca: The Craft for Parents of Children. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1994.
-------. Raising Witches: Teaching the Wiccan Faith to Children. Franklin Lakes: Career Press, 2002.
Penczak, Christopher. The Mystic Foundation: Understanding Exploring the Magical Universe. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2006.
Raedisch, Linda. Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions of Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2011.
Rhea, Lady Mauve. Handfasted and Heartjoined: Rituals for Uniting a Couple's Hearts and Lives. NY: Citadel Press, 2001.
River, Jade. Tying the Knot: A Gender-Neutral Guide to
Handfastings or Weddings for Pagans and Goddess Worshippers. Cottage Grove: Creatrix Resource Library LLC, 2004.
Skye, Michelle. Goddess Alive! Inviting Celtic Norse Goddesses into Your Life. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2007.
-------. Goddess Aloud! Transforming Your World Through Rituals and Mantras. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2010.
SpiderHawk, Vila. Hidden Passages: Tales to Honor the Crones. Niceville: Spilled Candy Books, 2006.
Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill. Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions. NY: Bantam Books, 1998.
Sylvan, Dianne. The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2003.
Telesco, Patricia. 365 Goddesses: A Daily Guide to the Magic and Inspiration of the Goddess. NY: HarperCollins, 1998.
------. Your Book of Shadows: How to Write Your Own Magickal Spells. NY: Citadel Press, 1999.
Trobe, Kala. The Witch's Guide to Life. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2003.
Weinstein, Marion. Positive Magic: Occult Self-Help. NY: Earth Magic Productions, 1994.
West, Kate. The Real Witches' Year: Spells, Rituals and Meditations for Every Day of the Year. London: Element, 2004.
Whitehurst, Tess. Magical Housekeeping: Simple Charms of Practical Tips for Creating a Harmonious Home. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2010.
Wood, Gail. Rituals of the Dark Moon: 13 Lunar Rites for a Magical Path. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2001.
-------. The Wild God: Rituals and Meditations on the Sacred Masculine. Niceville: Spilled Candy Books, 2006.
Worwood, Valerie Ann. The Complete Book of Essential Oils
Aromatherapy. San Rafael: New World Library, 1991.
I also highly recommend the various Llewellyn annuals and almanacs, as well as the fabulous magazines put out by BBI Media such as Witches of Pagans.