The Witch’s Broom: History, Meaning, and a Besom Cleansing Ritual

Your broom can be more than a backbreaking labor dust magnet. 

It's also not just for us to jump on, fly into the night sky, cackling and sucking the souls of men (although- I’m down if you are). 

It was a real household tool, tied to hearth, labor, thresholds, and the daily work of keeping a home in order. The image of a witch flying on a broom is much later than witchcraft itself. Historians trace that specific image to the late medieval period (Oh, the medieval period- great architecture, pretty superstitious belief systems, way too much Jesus dying on a cross imo). This period marked the earliest known visual depiction, in a 1451 manuscript, and one of the earliest recorded confessions involving broom flight by Guillaume Edelin in 1453. That confession, of course, was extracted under torture, which should tell you a lot about how much caution we should use when talking about “evidence” from witch trial history.

That part matters. When we look at the history of witchcraft, we have to take it with a grain of salt, from the portrayal of “evil ladies” to “this is how the spell is done”. It’s not a clear-cut, accurately recorded story- history is messier than that. We piece each story together- for me, it's become its own type of spell work. Weaving together the tapestry of witchcraft lore. 

The broom became attached to the witch partly because it was ordinary. It was a tool associated with non-elite domestic labor, especially women’s labor. In other words, it was not magical because it was exotic. It became magical because it was familiar, feminine, and close to the body of everyday life. Medieval depictions of flying witches even show them using staffs and brooms that were recognizable housework tools.

There is also a broader story here about how women’s work has historically been treated. Research from Cambridge on early modern England notes that many accusations of witchcraft clustered around the kinds of labor women were most likely to do: healing, childcare, food preparation, dairy work, and tending the vulnerable. Those jobs put women at the center of community life and also at the center of blame when something went wrong. Illness, spoilage, death, bad luck, corruption, grief—if you were the woman nearest the threshold between wellness and disaster, people were more likely to suspect you. That does not mean every household tool became a witch tool. But it does mean the domestic sphere was never politically neutral. 

The besom also shows up in ritual and folk customs outside the witch panic tradition. In Britain, broom or besom customs appeared in marriage rites, including broom-jumping traditions in Wales and among Romani communities. Later, broom-jumping took on a complex and deeply important life in the United States among enslaved African Americans and their descendants. Because enslaved people were often denied legal marriage, jumping over a broomstick placed on the ground symbolized a couple’s commitment to each other, often marking the start of a new household. Sometimes, the broom was waved over the heads of the couple to ward off negativity before they jumped. Enslaved peoples often made their own brooms from natural materials, using them not just to clean, but to maintain dignity in their space- an act of resistance to their oppression and mistreatment. Their story enriches the symbol of brooms deeply- with pride and heaviness witches and women hold this symbol with respect and reverence for those who came before us. 

And that, to me, is why the besom still works as a witch’s tool now.

Our brooms are about clearing, protecting, and claiming space. It represents the ability to shift energy, to reset your environment, and to take ownership of your practice in a grounded, real-world way. It’s also a quiet rebellion: something once used to mock and fear witches is now held with intention and pride.

Now, we adorn our walls with these sacred symbols, dressed in flowers and bells, and use them in our daily cleaning rituals. 

Which, frankly, feels witchy as hell.

Here is a cleaning ritual to banish negativity and bring new blessings using your broom:

Tie any of the following botanicals to your broom handle, hanging down over the bristles

Cedar, rosemary, sage, hyssop, or fennel

As you knot, knot with intention and charge it with our energy (this is when you can also knot in the blessing you want to attract)

You may add moon water, salt water, or Florida water to the bristles

Sweep your area

Pick up dust and disassemble the broom- bury your dust and herbs together outside- giving thanks that your space is cleaned and blessed.