Originally a type of plant (“broom corn,” a variety of sorghum) used in making a tool for sweeping known as a besom, it eventually became used as the name of the tool itself. In Wicca and Witchcraft, a broom or besom is sometimes used for banishing or in handfasting rituals. The herb is poisonous and magically associated with the element of air.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Matthew Ash McKernan, author of the new Wyrdcraft.
The weird, wild, and wonderful English psych-rock band Hawkwind said it well in their song, "We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago." What this "wrong...