I believe a lot of things but this one is an old wives tale. And I'm a "witch". The answer about the crops is a good one based on some fact. Witches used brooms in many ways, it is mostly for sweeping out the evil spirits and the strokes had to go a certain way, I believe it is east to west as the sun and moon rise and set. Because they used the brooms quite a bit in medieval times (because a lot of the floors were dirt, and wise women KNEW that dirt brought disease) they used this ritual and it was said that they rode the brooms. therefore creating an old wives tale.
2007-02-23 16:15:02
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answer #1
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answered by meretta1 2
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Well.... I don't know if you want to turn this in to school, but....
ONE of the reasons that brooms are associated with witches is because witches were healers in communities that didn't have much in the way of proper medicine. A popular complaint at the time was "female trouble" that covered a number of problems, including yeast infections, STDs, scars from giving birth, and a number of other vaginal infections.
Witches would apply an herbal healing salve to the end of a broom and would carefully insert the broom into the suffering female so that the herbal remedy would reach the areas that needed to be treated. This was known as "riding the broom". Hence, the women riding the broom were not usually the witch, but her clients (unless she needed to treat herself).
In time, the broom became a symbol of fertility, probably because a woman without a broom (and hence without her healing remedies) probably wasn't likely to be in the mood to have sex and hence, babies.
Now, some might think this is "gross" but hey, life is gross. And in those times, you would have been mighty grateful, seeing as how you couldn't just down an Aspirin to make the pain go away.
Good luck with the report.
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EDIT: "The broom actually represents a penis that the witch is riding sexually as if flying through the air."
This is completely false and I find it extremely ignorant. If you don't know anything about Wicca or witchcraft, you shouldn't try to answer questions on it. The idea of witches as voracious sex slaves of Satan was a myth spread by the church to discredit them and put their own priests into the position of "village healer".
2007-02-23 16:18:02
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answer #2
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answered by Aeryn Whitley 3
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Cheaper maintenance than cars and no finance charges. I've had mine for over 20 years. Works great.
2007-02-24 10:45:13
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answer #3
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answered by Sal D 6
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actually witches never flew on brooms.
They rode them like hobby horses, and showed the crops how high to grow.
The story of witches flying on brooms was a muth began my the people persecuting people who had a different religion than Cbristianity.
2007-02-23 20:10:02
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answer #4
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answered by Rev. Two Bears 6
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We use the broom to sweep negativity from our sacred space and for cleansing. It is also used in handfasting.
2007-02-24 05:44:34
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answer #5
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answered by ccourtne_99 2
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Witches don't ride brooms...it's always been a folklore but witches do use brooms to sweep the negativity from their lives and homes.
2007-02-23 17:54:06
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answer #6
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answered by alyricialgenius 2
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We dont ride brooms ,we use our brooms to sweep away bad energy out of our houses.
2007-02-24 02:51:59
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answer #7
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answered by myangel_101211 7
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It's a fertility rite. They would sit astride brooms, a symbol of water, and jump high in the farm fields to encourage the crops to grow tall. At least, that's what I've heard.
2007-02-23 16:05:30
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answer #8
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answered by St. Toad 5
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We don't.
We use Brooms to sweep away negativity in our homes and Sacred Space.
2007-02-23 20:03:42
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answer #9
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answered by AmyB 6
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because witches have a great respect for nature and the broomstick is the most eco-friendly means of air transport so far invented, it emits no dangerous greenhouse gases in use and is entirely constructed from recycleable materials with a low carbon footprint.
2007-02-23 20:10:23
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answer #10
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answered by waif 4
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