What Is a Besom?
What is the difference between a besom and a broom?
A besom is a specific kind of broom: a bundle of twigs bound around a round wooden handle, rather than flat bristles on a straight head. In witchcraft, besom is the word used for a broom kept for ritual rather than housework.
Traditional English besoms were made with birch twigs for the brush, an ash handle and willow or hazel strips for the binding. Each wood carried its own folklore: birch for purification and new beginnings, ash for protection and connection between worlds, and willow for the moon and intuition.
Why Do Witches Fly on Brooms?
Where does the idea of witches flying on broomsticks come from?
The earliest known image of women flying on brooms appears in a French manuscript from 1451, and the idea spread through witch trial confessions and woodcuts over the following two centuries. Historians link it to several sources: brooms as a symbol of women's domestic life, accounts of flying ointments, and older folk rites in which people leapt astride poles or brooms in fields.
Earlier European folklore placed night flying spirits and their followers in the sky long before the broom was attached to them. Once the broom became the witch's symbol in print, it never left. By the nineteenth century it was a fixture of fairy tales, and in the twentieth century it became the Halloween icon we know.
The broom stood by the hearth, the heart of the home. In the folk imagination it was only a short step from guarding the home to carrying the witch.
Besom Folklore and Customs
- Guarding the door: a besom propped by the front door was believed to keep unwanted spirits and visitors out.
- Jumping the broom: stepping over a broom as part of a wedding is recorded in Britain and is an important tradition in African American history. Many pagan handfastings include it today.
- Sweeping out the old: sweeping dust out of the door was a way to send bad luck away with it.
- A new home, a new broom: many people still believe you should not carry an old broom into a new house, so old troubles stay behind.
For more household broom superstitions, read Brooms Aren't Just for Witches.
How Witches Use the Besom Today
In modern witchcraft the besom is an altar tool rather than a cleaning tool. It is used to sweep the energy of a ritual space before a circle is cast, to mark thresholds and to protect the home. It is linked with the elements of air and water and with the union of masculine and feminine symbolism in handle and brush.
For step by step uses, see how to use a besom in everyday magic, or the complete guide to the magic of the besom.
Crystal besoms
A crystal besom pairs the traditional twig broom with tumbled stones such as amethyst for spiritual protection, fluorite for clarity or tiger's eye for courage. They work as altar pieces, doorway guardians and ritual tools. See our besoms and brooms collection.
Besom Questions Answered
Why is a witch's broom called a besom?
Besom is an old English word for a broom made from a bundle of twigs. Witches use the word to separate a ritual broom from an everyday household one.
Which way up should a besom be stored?
Folk tradition differs. Many witches store a besom bristles up to keep good luck in, or hang it horizontally above a doorway for protection. Choose the way that feels right and keep it consistent.
Is jumping the broom a pagan tradition?
Jumping the broom appears in British folk custom and has deep significance in African American history. Modern pagans often include it in handfastings, but it is not exclusive to any one tradition.
Find Your Besom
Crystal besoms, ritual brooms and altar tools. Australian owned, shipping worldwide.
