Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

BROOM ('Besom')

In Wicca, Witches' brooms are traditionally made from an ash handle; a birch twig for the brush, and Willow for the binding string, in honour of the Goddess Hecate.

The stick, brush, and cord are symbolic of Triformis.

In herbal lore; ash pro-tects from storms and drowning, birch binds evil spirits, and Willow is sacred to Hecate.

Although a popular and easily recognisable 'symbol' amongst Pagans, it is seldom used in ritual by non-Wiccans, though there are exceptions.

It is often used as a tool of Wiccan ceremonies, including Sabbats and Ebats, to cleanse the Sacred Circle.

By repute, it is the instrument of Levitation by which medieval witches rode to the Sabbat. In reality the broom may have been straddled by a witch for various reasons including jumping up and down to instruct crops how high to grow.

According to Wiccan lore, the Broom is a representation of the Twin Forces of life and the Broom Dance was performed for fertility in the pre-Christian European Harvest Festivals.

'Having a broom between her legs' became a vulgar expression, as did 'She rode a broom', implying sexual intercourse. Even today, the terms 'ride' and 'riding' are still in use among certain sections of the community when allusions to sex arise. 'Broom', 'bush' or 'brush' are also common terms for a woman's pubic hair.

Magickally, the broom symbolizes the power of the witch, especially when it is placed upright in the ground: the sign of the Goddess.

Another related, though much older Goddess symbol, is the 'Goose-foot' (the accompanying illustration shows how it was conceived from the shape of a woman).

The Trident is also a variation of this symbol. The three prongs representing the Goddess Triformis, or the 'three in one' - the 'Triple Goddess'. Under the names of Diana and Hecate she also held the title of Trivia - 'of the three ways' - and her statues stood at places where three roads met.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc