Witchs Broom- Did you know? In folklore, witches use brooms or besoms (brooms made of bundled twigs) to fly through the air at high speed. In Renaissance and medieval times, the belief that witches traveled by broom was more prevalent on the European continent than in the British Isles. Only once are brooms mentioned in English witch trials. Nonetheless, the image of a witch riding a broomstick has become a popular cultural stereotype. Several theories explain this association of brooms with witches:- According to lore, witches flew their brooms to the sabbats, sometimes carrying along demons or their familiars in the shapes of animals. They also rode their brooms to fly out to sea in order to raise up storms. On witch festival nights such as Walpurgisnacht, townspeople laid out hooks and scythes to kill any witches who fell off their brooms. The also rang church bells, which had the power to ground broomsticks and knock witches off them. A famous Scottish witch of the 17th century, Isobel Gowdie, claimed to have used her broom for an atypical reason. Instead of using it for traveling, she used it to deceive her husband. Before going to a sabbat, Isobel substituted her broom for herself in bed. She said he never knew the difference, which might have been more of a comment on their marriage than a confession of witchcraft). Modern times the broom is used to clease a new house or building, sweep negativity away and when laid across a doorway it is said no evil can cross over it
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 07:00:23 +0000
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