The broom itself functions as a symbol of the sacred marriage of the God and Goddess, a rite that has been symbolically re-enacted each spring by followers of earth religions for thousands of years.
The pole portion represents the phallus of the God, and the bristles symbolize the mound of Venus that guards the opening to the Goddesses reproductive organs. When both parts are united in a completed broom they form a potent magical symbol of wholeness and creative potential.
This sexual imagery makes the broom the perfect choice for a magical tool to use in fertility rites of all sorts. It is also used at the conclusion of many Pagan marriages (called Handfastings) as the couple "jumps the broom" after exchanging their final vows.
In the distant past women would ride their brooms hobbyhorse style over newly tilled fields to encourage growth, and through barns and pasture lands to encourage the reproduction of animals.
Because brooms represent the totality of the deity-both male and female aspects- they have been used as talismans of protection. They have been placed under beds, across entryways and windows, at the entrances to sacred space, and they have stood guard at hearth sides.
The sweeping action of the broom itself, its ability to cleanse any area through which it is taken and to take whatever debris it collects to someplace else, is so obvious that the magical potency of this simple action is to often overlooked.
An article written by Edain McCoy, tells us about a well-to-do Irish lass named Alice who owned a magic broom that got her into big trouble.
A seventeenth century Irish widow named Dame Alice Kyteler knew the secret of the broom, and was apparently adept at using it to good effect until she was caught in the act and condemned to death for practicing Witchcraft.
Alice loved her children and was willing to use magic to help them succeed. She would take her broom out into the streets of her native Kilkenny late at night and begin a methodical sweeping action that was aimed toward her home. While doing this she would chant a magical rhyme in which she bid all the wealth in town to come to her eldest son William who lived with her.
No one knows just how long the very prosperous Alice had been working at this spell when she was discovered by a neighbour and reported as a Witch, but we do know that she was able to escape her persecutors and flee to England with most of her considerable wealth in tact.
At the holiday season our homes get bogged down with stress and negative energy.
A good way to cleanse your home of negativity is to grab your broom and starting at your front door move in a clock wise motion through your home sweeping out all negativity. Be sure to get under beds and all closets and corners. While you sweep you can chant something like this or use your own words:
"Sweep, Sweep,
With this broom.
All bad out of this room.
Sweep, Sweep,
All good in.
The bad to never return again."
Be sure your magickal broom never actually touches the floor. Keep in mind that this is a spiritual cleaning and should be done after your regular cleaning for maximum effect.
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