There are a number of common tools associated with the practice of Witchcraft. Some believe that the only effective ones are those you make yourself while others feel they must be freely given to you; whatever way you choose to collect them, you need to go with your gut and choose something that speaks to you individually. However, no tool is truly necessary for you to practice your Craft; you are the magick. Tools can enhance what you are trying to do just like any other correspondence you may have for a particular purpose.

One many people choose is the Besom (often pronounced bee-SUM), which is an old fashioned sounding name for a broom. The word is thought to have come from the Old English besema or be related to the German besen. Whatever you decide to call it, the traditional meaning is a broom with a wooden handle and twigs attached to it somehow. However, being practical Pagans an old-fashioned broom made with straw is perfectly appropriate. The important thing is what you can use it for. In the mundane world, a broom is used to clean up your home and a besom can be used in a similar fashion, either literally or figuratively, to prepare your ritual space for magick. It can be used to sweep negativity from your home. Many keep one broom to use only for ritual purposes while others use it for regular cleaning as well; again, it’s a matter of personal choice.

You can, if you wish, decorate it and hang it in your home or ritual space with things that remind you of a Sabbat, a season, or a specific spell purpose using different colored ribbons, bells, a small bundle of herbs, or anything else you like. Traditionally, Witches were supposed to be able to encourage rain by dipping the twigs of a broom in water and shaking it outside.