A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibres attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. In the context of witchcraft, "broomstick" is likely to refer to the broom as a whole. Scene from a village in post-war Yugoslavia. ... Cleanliness is the absence of dirt, including dust, stains and a bad smell. ... A modern hammer is directly descended from ancient hand tools A tool is a device that (most commonly) provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task. ... A right circular cylinder In mathematics, a cylinder is a quadric, i. ... Look up Handle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word handle may refer to any of several things: a device attached to a movable object, that is gripped to move or use the object; see handle (grip) (especially in citizens band radio and online) a pseudonym; see user name ans... The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. ...

History of broom design

Brooms have undergone significant changes in their construction, ever since they evolved from ad-hoc use of branches and bundles of various natural fibres. Originally, all brooms were round, a shape that is easy to construct but inefficient for actually sweeping. Brooms could be attached to a handle, either short for a whisk broom, or long for a broom used to sweep the floor or fireplace. The fibres used in modern brooms are from "broom corn," actually a variety of sorghum, and are unusually well suited to brooms. They are long, straight, durable, and bound together in the plant. The most recent major change is the flat broom, invented by the Shakers in the 1800s. This broom has far more width for pushing dirt and nearly all brooms produced today are flat brooms, the round broom being essentially obsolete. Species About 20 species, including: Sorghum almum Sorghum bicolor Sorghum caffrorum Sorghum caudatum Sorghum cernuum Sorghum halepense Sorghum nervosum Sorghum nigricans Sorghum nitidum Sorghum propinquum Sorghum roxburghii Hybrids Sorghum × almum Sorghum × drummondii Sorghum is a genus of about 20 species of grasses, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern... The Shakers are an offshoot of the Religious Society of Friends (or Quakers) that originated in Manchester, England in the early 18th century. ...

Brooms and witchcraft

Brooms have long been connected with witchcraft, almost universally portrayed as medieval-style round brooms and associated with female witches. This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ...

Some people speculate that in the Middle Ages, women publicly accused of being witches (or at least women with knowledge of herbology), did "ride" brooms. In such accounts, a woman applied a layer of paste made out of trance-inducing plants (such as belladonna) to the broomstick and straddled it as one would a beast of burden to ride it, and this had the effect of applying the hallucinogenic herb to the thin skin of the labia where it might be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. However, due to the witchhunts and the general beliefs of the time, little-to-no reliable information exists to corroborate this belief. Records concerning witches of that time and their behavior are extremely unreliable, often having been extracted under torture. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Herbology is the art of combining medicinal herbs. ... For information on the erotic actress Belladonna see: Belladonna. ... SG-1 visits a planet where the Unas are slaves. ... Parts of a vulva The external genital organs of the female are collectively known as the vulva (also sometimes called the pudenda). ... Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg is an infamous and rarely used torture device. ...

Anecdotally, the broom served another purpose during periods of persecution. Witches and other magic practitioners would disguise their wands as broom sticks to avoid suspicion. It is also a tradition that brooms have been used by some as receptacles to harbor temporarily a particular spirit. The ancient symbol of the pentagram is often used as a symbol for magic. ...

Today the broom is included in lists of ritual tools in many pagan guide books, where it is often referred to as a besom. A broom is sometimes laid at the opening of some coven's rossets. Representing the element air, brooms are utilized in the purification of areas. They are used to symbolically sweep ritual circles clean. The high priestess or high priest walks clockwise, traces the cast circle and sweeps with the broom a few inches off the ground. This practice can be used in place of incense to purify a ritual space. It is often employed by those allergic to incense, and during rituals practiced in smoke free areas. It is also a technique associated with "kitchen witches" who use what's on hand to work spells. Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... Besom brooms are the broom traditionally associated with witches and are traditionally made of twigs tied to a larger pole. ... Coven or covan was originally a late medieval Scots word (c1500) meaning a gathering of any kind according to the Oxford English Dictionary. ... The term High Priest may refer to particular individuals who hold the office of ruler-priest in local regional or ethnic contexts. ... The term High Priest may refer to particular individuals who hold the office of ruler-priest in local regional or ethnic contexts. ... Incense is a preparation of aromatic plant matter, often with the addition of essential oils extracted from plant or animal sources, intended to release fragrant smoke for religious, therapeutic, or aesthetic purposes as it smolders. ... A kitchen witch is a practitioner of magic who uses the tools at hand to work his or her spells and create their rituals. ...

In Fiction

In many works of fiction, broomsticks are pictured as a means of air transport for witches. The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Aviation or Air transport refers to the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ...

The Harry Potter book series is distinctive in portraying magical flying brooms as used equally by both sexes, and especially prominently by Quidditch players as analogues of polo ponies. The brooms can also be used for personal transport, although the rider must take care not to be seen by Muggles (non-magical people). Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. ... In the fictional universe of the Harry Potter series, created by author J. K. Rowling, magical flying broomsticks are one of the most popular forms of transportation for wizards and witches, as well as used for magical games like Quidditch. ... Quidditch is a fictional airborne ballgame played on broomsticks, a sort of magical variant of football or polo. ... Muggle is a term from the fictional Harry Potter series of books that refers to a human who is a member of the non-magical community. ...

Many toys and costume accessories have been made in the form of brooms. In some countries, a vibrating toy "Harry Potter Nimbus 2000 Broom" for 8-12 year-olds was marketed. It became controversial, and was taken off the market. Yarkand ladies summer fashions. ... A vibrator is a mechanical device that is designed to generate vibrations. ... A display of Roman toys, including several that would be familiar to children today: a doll, dice, rattles, and toy dishes for playing house. ...