We’ve actually had Spring come to New Orleans this year. It’s unusual for us to notice that we have slipped from Winter to Spring down here. Usually it’s just cold, then cooler, then suddenly hot. This year, the cold has slowly given way to mild weather. The flowers are blooming, the birds are back and we have had some spectacular sunrises and sunsets. This year, Ostara is actually going to feel right to my Yankee sensibilities.

I got up the other day and as I stood at my kitchen counter making coffee, I glanced out the kitchen window to see that one of the windows on our temple room was open again. A window that had been firmly latched shut the night before.

I have a feeling the spirit that so delights in mischief making was enjoying the beautiful morning as much as I was.

While Imbolc is about the possibility of light returning, Ostara is the light arriving. It’s a good time to do your Spring Cleaning, both literally and figuratively. It’s a time of year where new possibilities have a greater effect on some magics and it’s a great time to clear out the old and start the new. So what better time than to do some broom magic?!

In my tradition, this is the time of year that we build our besoms. Or, if you already have one, it’s a good time to bless it. The broom is a symbol of the union of male and female energies in creating life. A traditional witch’s broom has an Ash handle and broom-corn bristles that are bound with willow strips. At the join of the handle, under the broom corn bristles, is an acorn. Obviously the symbolism here should not be lost on you.

In many cultures  couples “jump the broom” to get married. If you hang a broom over your bed, it encourages fertility and not just of children, but of creativity and ideas. The besom often gets overlooked, but it can help you in meditation and in building powerful protection for both your Circles and your home.

While most people know that you use a besom to sweep your Circle before casting, it is not to cleanse away negativity as many people will tell you, but to lay down the fertile energy of the youngest woman in circle for the Priestess and Priest to use in casting the actual Circle. You can’t build something out of nothing after all.

I’ve also been told that if you have unwanted guests and use the besom to sweep something outside your door, it will ensure the guests leave quickly. Other’s say that by putting your broom under your bed, instead of above it, and focusing on finding your true love, he or she will soon appear.

The broom is a powerful tool, both for your home and for your relationships. This Ostara, take your broom and look at it with new appreciation, and integrate it into your ritual. It can bring you more luck and fertility than you ever imagined.

Slightly Untraditional Brooms for sale by Broomchick on Etsy.

To bless your broom:

Bring it into Circle with you after you sweep and set it across your altar. Join hands with everyone else in Circle with you and dance around the altar going deosil. Start out slowly and then speed up, building up the energy as you go. Sing a sweeping song (like the one below), and time your singing with your dancing. Speed up until you feel the energy is at it’s peak and then stop and focus it on the broom on your altar. This will energize your broom with energy for the coming year.

Blue Star Sweeping Song

Corn of Golden Broom

Tied beneath the moon

Ashen handle, oak seed charm

Dance in magic, ward off harm

Weave the circle well

Weave the enchantment well

Sweep the circle well

Sweep the circle well

By the sickle shorn

By the maiden born

Tread the floor and thread the air

By the spellcraft that you bear

Weave the circle well

Weave the enchantment well

Sweep the circle well

Sweep the circle

Here is an audio version of the song as well.