Besom, Broom, what?
June 29th, 2009 | → Leave Comment 
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Besom, broom, wand , athame… when seeing these items for sale or mentioned on the internet Non Wiccans can easily misunderstand their purpose, but they are not the only ones. Practitioner’s that are new to paganism sometimes find themselves overwhelmed by the variety of ritual tools available to them and the uses and correspondences related to them.
What is more symbolic of witchcraft than a broom? A besom of course! While two names for the same object may seem only designed to confuse there is actually a commonly accepted small difference in definition for the two words~ besoms are usually made of twigs and are rounded, whereas a broom is flat and made of primarily straw. Does it actually matter which one you use? Not much, either will serve the same purpose, but owning a traditional witches besom may aid you in creating a sense of magickal awareness. The besom is used traditionally to clear negative energies from ritual space by sweeping. Often it is considered a masculine tool due to it’s shape being similar to that of a phallus, but in a traditional besom made of ash handle and and birch twigs would represent both male and female elements.
