Make A Traditional Besom (Witches Broom)

You can make a besom from any type of herb or tree.

     Copyright © 2008 Gray Seal
A besom, small or large, is a traditional magickal tool made out of twigs and herbal brush. It is fashioned as a broom and used to sweep away negative energy in an area. Similar to smudging, a besom is also used to clear a designated space. Often, witches would use this to clear a space for a sacred circle or sweep their homes and hearths.

Besoms were also used long ago in marriage and fertility spells. Jumping over the broom symbolized many children for a newly married couple. This tool is a great symbol of male and female energies; the brush is to female as the handle is to male. Store your besom with the brush end up. Traditionally it is stored this way by the door to keep out unwanted negativity.

The besom is always made from natural products. You can make a besom out of any type of herb or tree.

Traditional Besom

A traditional besom is fashioned from twigs and stalks from trees. It is large enough to embody a full-sized broom. This besom can be used for the traditional purposes of fertility rites and clearing of negativity. Most of the supplies can be found at craft stores or garden stores where wreath-making and basket-weaving supplies are sold. Gather all your ingredients during the beginning of the waxing moon cycle so you can bless your finished besom under the light of the full moon.

Make a traditional besom.

Items Needed:

   * 1 bundle of birch brush twigs
   * salt water bath
   * 1 ash or pine handle
   * 3 extra long zip ties
   * twine

Ash is traditionally used in besom crafting. It represents enduring strength and male energy. Birch is a feminine wood that represents healing, fertility, purification, and beginnings.

Choose birch brush twigs that are long enough that you don't have to bend over and strain your back as you sweep. Soak the twigs in salted water for a few hours before you begin to tie them together. The salt helps cleanse.

While the birch twigs soak, prepare your handle by whittling the end to a point and decorating it with carved or painted symbols

Make a traditional besom.

A traditional besom

Take your twine and bind the birch twigs onto the handle.

There are a few ways to do this. You can tie sections of birch twigs together with twine and attach each section to the stick by weaving them all together around the handle. Alternately, you can secure a whole bushel of the birch twigs with zip ties at equal distances apart and then push the whittled end of the handle through the middle.

Tie the birch twigs firmly with twine so the brush will not move. Cut the zip ties off when you feel it will hold.

Trim uneven sections of twigs with a hand pruner.

Take your twine and bind the birch twigs onto the handle.

There are a few ways to do this. You can tie sections of birch twigs together with twine and attach each section to the stick by weaving them all together around the handle. Alternately, you can secure a whole bushel of the birch twigs with zip ties at equal distances apart and then push the whittled end of the handle through the middle.

Tie the birch twigs firmly with twine so the brush will not move. Cut the zip ties off when you feel it will hold.

Trim uneven sections of twigs with a hand pruner.

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Green Witchcraft

In a world where Wicca is something one does as a solitary or with his or her coven, this book demonstrates how Wicca is something one experiences with kith and kin. It focuses on a modern context for pre-Christian fertility religions and examines such issues as Archetype vs. Stereotype, Real Ritual vs. Real Life, Clergy vs. Guru, and as its title implies Couple vs. Coven. In so doing, this book gives us the foundation for rethinking the focus of our involvement with this religion in the context of our own deeply felt needs and desires. The book focuses on a Wicca where the structure is founded on the natural bonding of a couple. It includes rituals for Hand Fasting, Wiccaning, and Hand Parting with a discussion of how these sacred rituals have been almost trivialized in Wiccan culture and what steps we can take to return their sanctity.

Green Witchcraft: A Practical Guide to Discovering the Magic of Plants, Herbs, Crystals, and Beyond by Paige Vanderbeck.

Often Bought With This Item:

* The Spell Book for New Witches: Essential Spells to Change Your Life by Ambrosia Hawthorn.    
* The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More by Arin Murphy-Hiscock.    

Related:

* Practical Magic for Beginners: Exercises, Rituals, and Spells for the New Mystic by Maggie Haseman.      
* The Enchanting World of Herbal Magic: A Practical Guide by Earl LeMaster      

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Earl LeMaster writes as "Gray Seal."

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