Witch Trick #1: Make Your Own Witch Broom

In Whiskey Witches, I don’t make a lot of spoken references to the use of the witch broom. They’re just there. There are all different types of brooms, depending on what you need cleaned. The broom you’d use on your garage is not the same as the one you’d use in your house. You wouldn’t use circular broom to sweep your kitchen because it’s less effective to get under the cabinets, but you don’t need a flat broom to sweep around your windows.

I started using brooms to protect myself against my mother and what I allowed into my life. I worked hard and diligently to change what I allowed into my home and created the first safe place I’d ever experienced. It took a lot of intention. Every single conscious moment of every single day. Intention. Intention. Intention.

That’s the reason I love the broom, I think. You can’t really hold a broom and not intend to do something. You’re either intentionally cleaning the kitchen, or intentionally cleaning the shelves, or… intentionally teaching your child how to pay freaking attention or use her freaking eyes to SEE the mess she made. I didn’t know I had to teach my kids how to stay awake when they were bored. Like, seriously. I broke my kids. I’m not even kidding.

I’m just going to discuss the protection broom today. This broom is gathered, dried, and made, then hung over doorways. They’re easy to make and each one is different depending on what you need and what types of wood you choose to use or have around you to gather.

Witch Broom Handle

Choose a handle as the basis of your intentions. Do you want more luck into your home? Do you want to keep out ill omens? Do you want to strengthen the souls who enter? Here are a few of the more common trees and what they offer in the Northern Americas.

Alder

Strength, protection, determination, and confidence. This is my favorite broom handle and I often call this one the battle witch wood.

Aspen

Conquering fear, transformation, recognizing every moment gives you the chance to make the choices you want to make

Ash

Life force, energy, creative expression

Apple

Breaking through your negative self-talk, facing the fear that leaves you in a shadow of your making

Birch

Exploration and curiosity, pioneering

Cedar

Faith and spiritual quest

Cottonwood

Life force, energy, creative expression

Elm

Order to chaos, courage to the fearful, and solutions where most can’t find them

Hickory

Patience and strength

Maple

Balance, offering, practical magic, intelligence, hidden wisdom

Oak

Strength, stability, endurance, fertility, power, justice, and honesty

Pine

Immortality and eternity

Willow

Renewal, vitality, healing, flexibility and adaptability

Witch Broom Bristles

The bristles are tied into the broom however you want to. I, typically, wind the twine around the base of the bristle and then wind that onto the broom handle, focusing on the intent I want. If I’m picking up a willow branch as a bristle, I focus on the need to be adaptable. If I’m picking up fireweed, I’m focusing on getting rid of old patterns and ways of life in order to make way for new patterns.

I don’t do spells. I’m not a big, showy person on a good day. But I do focus on intention.

You can use new, thinner branches of trees for your bristles. You’re going to be hanging this up and not using it to really clean your home, so you don’t have to make a fully functional broom. Focus on making a broom that looks pretty, feels great, and reminds you what you’re building as you walk through your door.

Also, if you have low ceilings and intend on putting this over your door, don’t make your bristles too “poofy.” I’ve got one that dangles below the door and it gets caught in… everything, but it’s the war broom, so I frankly don’t give a crap. It’s going to stay just as it’s made.

These are also things you can grow in your yard or garden if you can’t forage. But, frankly, a lot of these are just weeds. I’m not even kidding. If you want a fuller list of herbs, look at Isis Bookstore and check to see where the herb grows.

Alfalfa

Prosperity

Basil

Love, protection, wealth

Black Cohosh

Healing and fertility

Blessed Thistle

Protection, earth offering, mental healing and strength

Borage

Bravery, sacred to the celts

Broomtops

Cleansing, protection

Calendula

Protection, psychic powers, legal matters, prophetic dreams

Comfrey

Safety, money

Dandelion

Happiness, ease, dream your dreams and have courage

Dill

Protection, uncrossing

Fireweed

cleansing of old energy patterns so new life can begin

Horsetail

Wisdom, understanding (this one breaks apart a little as it dries, so you might have to apply a little Modge Podge to it.

Lavender

Love, protection, peace, purification

Motherwort

Protection, strength

Nettle

Protection, confound enemies

Peppermint

Money, health, cleansing, intuition

Sage

Purification, home blessing

Wormwood

Protection, banish anger

Yarrow

Courage, love, power

This is just a beginning. You can make your broom using whatever you want. You can add ribbons and yarn of varying color. You can add scents if you enjoy those. Get creative, use intent, and make your home your space.