I had the opportunity to attend a workshop at one of my favorite bead shops. The workshop
was for Besom making. The word besom means: a broom made of twigs tied round a stick.
The bristles can be made of twigs, straw, or herbs. In my broom I used eucalyptus because it is a symbol for protection. I added wheat to symbolize abundance. I am uncertain what the bushy grass is in the main part of the broom. All the supplies were provided.
Most of the women chose to add ribbon and bows but, I wanted to wait and add some beading and fabric scraps. You can see the jute that was wrapped twice to hold the "sticks" and grass in place.
about it the fact that a home is swept clean changes the feeling of a room.
At this time of year near Halloween we begin to see that image of a crone riding a broom and one explanation for that coming about could be that witches would go into an altered state of consciousness and astral project themselves in spirit. Hence they were metaphorically "flying" and the broom was added because it was a tool of importance. There is so much written on this so I will not even try to address all the possibilities and I am certainly no expert.
The broom has been used for marriage ceremonies, called "jumping the broom". Again, there is a lot written on this.
Lastly, I thought it was interesting that the word besom can be found in the Bible under:
I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
— Isaiah 14:23 (KJV translation)
Love this:
https://justameretreefarm.com/brooms/
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