Merrie Meet dear friends,
Today as we approach Samhain I thought it would be good to repost a topic that I found fairly recently online regarding the making of a Besom or Broom. I found it as a follow up to one of my latest visits to Glastonbury. During this visit one of my objectives was to purchase a ready made Besom - however, there were none to be had. I was begining to give up hope when I called into the Cat and the Cauldron and during my conversations there, I was aware of a voice saying "why not make your own?" I was a little taken aback by this because it was not even a remote possibility that I could make such an item, but given that this suggestion had been made I decided to go with it.
I returned to Moonshadow (the new house name) and set about the necessary research into the project. I found the following article as a result of this research and so am following this method to make my very own Besom
(reposted from the Briar-Rose website www.briar-rose.org)
"Step by Step Instructions for Making a Besom
Start with two handfuls of birch twigs at least three feet long. Possibly from a place that supplies them for wreath-making. Traditionally, you would grip them in the jaws of the vice on your broom horse, but if you don't have one I suggest 'gripping' them with 14-inch cable ties from your local computer store.
Place the cable ties on (one at the end, and one either side of where I'm going to bind with the willow withies, these can obtained online from a basket-weaving supply store. Soak the withies in a bucket of water for at least 48 hours.
If possible get the help of an assistant to hold the end of the withie tight while you wrap it around the birch. Do at least three full wraps, and make sure you catch the end you started with under at least one of the wraps.
When your three wraps (or more) are complete, take your bond poker and shove it under the wraps to create a channel through which you pass the end of the withie. Do this two or three times. The bond poker is - in this case - a piece of copper pipe, remove half of the pipe for a few inches, so it has a concave 'blade'. Traditionally it was made from the thigh-bone of a goose.
When wrap one is completed start wrap two. Rural tradition has two withie or wire wraps, but because this is for Cunning folk, do three!
Once again, using the bond poker, poke the end of the withie under the wrapped part, in order to create a knot. Pass the end under the wraps twice, then pass it through the first one that "wraps around the wraps" in order to create a sort of knot. Then pass it under the wraps once more so you can cut it off where it pokes out from underneath.
After cutting the excess from the last wrap, it is time to remove the cable ties and see if your workmanship holds true...
Now the fun part - trimming the top of the brush. Traditionally, a machete-type blade is used, or in some areas, an axe but power tools work just as well if used with extreme care and caution.
Having completed the broom head, take a nice piece of ash, ground to a point with a belt sander or more traditionally whittled with a knife, the narrower end is the one that you turn the point on.
Carefully place the point in the center of the nicely cut birch, and once you have, gently pushed the head on enough to hold its position, bang it down on the stick so the point is driven well into the head. You are aiming to have the ash pass through all three willow bindings.
If you kept everything nice and tight, the added tightness of inserting the stick will ensure the head stays on. If you are not sure, then before you attach the head, drill a hole in the stick so you can insert a wooden dowel or a horseshoe nail into it through the birch to make sure it stays put".
So, having identified what I had to do, I then set about sourcing the necessary item. The birch was difficult, no, nigh on impossible to find growing wild in the coastal regions where I live, so I had to buy from the local florist who told me when I placed the order that she had no idea how much it would cost but that it would not be expensive - when it arrived it was in bundles and the bundles were £12 each, so when I explained why I wanted these she heavily discounted the price and threw in 3m of gold ribbon and 3m of red ribbon all for £5
The next item I needed was the Willow - again not an easy item to obtain here, the florist could not get any so a little bit of ingenuity might be required here.
Now for the handle, well I could steal it from the Ash tree across from our house, but since I am not that way inclined I will leave that option alone, but I have had an offer from a colleague, he has said that he will check and if there is a long straight branch that is suitable on his Ash tree he will bring it to work for me. (I could go to the DIY store or hardware store and buy a proper broom handle but unless everything else fails I do not even consider that an option)
So once I have the Ash handle the working will begin........
I hope that your preparations for Samhain go well and until the next time we meet I will wish you
Love, Light and Blessed Be
Merlin
Monday 19 October 2009
Monday 12 October 2009
Musing 12th October 2009 concerning Samhain.
SAMHAIN
Samhain is one of the most powerful of the Pagan Sabbats. It is the Witches' New Year. The turning of the wheel is most celebrated at this time.
Summer, with its related growing season is truly gone by Samhain. The long nights of Winter are just around the corner. We realize that the Sun God is dying and that the days are getting shorter. During this time of the year, the Crone aspect of the Goddess is the dominating figure. We welcome and honour Her as being such.
Common practices include looking back upon the last year, and rituals to help to promote a happy and healthy New Year. We also recognize this as the Last Harvest of the last growing season. The harvest can be of prosperity, health, love, and other bounty.
We find that the veil is thinnest between the worlds at this time. We often set plates of food on the table for our friends and relatives that have passed on. This is done to honour them and to promote the belief that no one or no thing should be left out of the bounty from the past year. Many people believe that this is where 'trick or treating' originated from.
You will find that because the veil is thinnest, divination can be very powerful at this time. Deceased ancestors and other spirits are easiest to contact. Rituals to honour the dead are performed on Samhain night, and divination is at its high point. Scrying into a fire, a glass, or a dark bowl is a popular method of contacting the dead on this night, and guided meditation for the purpose of past-life regression is most successful on this night as well.
Spirits will help you in divination, and you may also wish to contact the recently departed to strengthen your karmic ties with them if you wish to help ensure that you will be together again.
It is an Irish custom to place black candles in the windows for protection against evil spirits and to leave plates of food out for the spirits who will come and visit you on this night.
The Crone is called upon during this night, the dying God is mourned, and we reaffirm our beliefs in the oneness of all and in the knowledge that physical death is not the end.
Other names for this Sabbat include Halloween, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic). Samhain is the Celtic name for this Sabbat.
Many covens and circles celebrate this most sacred of pagan holidays as groups, often opening their circles to non-initiates and others who wish to participate. I find myself preferring a solitary ritual, perhaps with some socializing earlier or later in the evening. For me, much of the meaning of Samhain suggests such a practice, though traditionally it is a communal celebration.
Samhain is pronounced as sow-in (in Ireland), sow-een (in Wales), and sav-en (in Scotland). It marks the end of the harvest, the end of the year, and the death of the god. Self-reflection becomes not simply a custom, but a necessity. One cannot (or at least should not) allow the Wheel of the Year to turn without some kind of examination of what has occurred. How have I spent the last year? Did I grow or remain stagnant? Did I live according to the values I claim to embrace? These are questions which must be addressed in solitude and solemnity.
Just as Samhain ends the old year, it must begin the new, though many witches do not celebrate the New Year until Yule. Reflection should continue during this dark time, but reflection should be accompanied by a growing sense of the changes to be made and the light to be sought.
The Goddess tells us: "And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without." We must look inside ourselves for self-knowledge and for the spirit that will sustain us in life's trials. Silence is one of the keys to seeking truth, for we cannot hear the answers in the midst of this noisy world in which we walk everyday, nor in the noise of holiday celebrations however joyous.
Samhain is also said to be the time when the veil between the living and te dead is thinnest, allowing us some communication with those who have departed. How befitting this is for such a time of endings and beginnings. Reflections on death can be as instructive as the self-examinations just mentioned. When we think of those who have died, it reminds us of time passing by and of things we could have or should have done. These reminders, coupled with our lists of past and future actions, encourage us to take our New Year's resolutions far more seriously. We know our time is limited, and most of us have much to do in our allotted time. Most of us have to make a living somehow, but death reminds us that we had better spend some of that time in pursuit of our other dreams lest they be lost in the struggle merely to survive.
Colors:
Orange, Gold, Silver, Black
Herbs:
Rosemary, Acorns
Crystals:
Obsidian, Smokey Quartz, Jet, Amber, Pyrite, Garnet, Quartz, Sandstone, Hematite
Food:
Pork, Rosemary, Pumpkin, Apple, Turnip, Nuts
Blessed Be!
Samhain is one of the most powerful of the Pagan Sabbats. It is the Witches' New Year. The turning of the wheel is most celebrated at this time.
Summer, with its related growing season is truly gone by Samhain. The long nights of Winter are just around the corner. We realize that the Sun God is dying and that the days are getting shorter. During this time of the year, the Crone aspect of the Goddess is the dominating figure. We welcome and honour Her as being such.
Common practices include looking back upon the last year, and rituals to help to promote a happy and healthy New Year. We also recognize this as the Last Harvest of the last growing season. The harvest can be of prosperity, health, love, and other bounty.
We find that the veil is thinnest between the worlds at this time. We often set plates of food on the table for our friends and relatives that have passed on. This is done to honour them and to promote the belief that no one or no thing should be left out of the bounty from the past year. Many people believe that this is where 'trick or treating' originated from.
You will find that because the veil is thinnest, divination can be very powerful at this time. Deceased ancestors and other spirits are easiest to contact. Rituals to honour the dead are performed on Samhain night, and divination is at its high point. Scrying into a fire, a glass, or a dark bowl is a popular method of contacting the dead on this night, and guided meditation for the purpose of past-life regression is most successful on this night as well.
Spirits will help you in divination, and you may also wish to contact the recently departed to strengthen your karmic ties with them if you wish to help ensure that you will be together again.
It is an Irish custom to place black candles in the windows for protection against evil spirits and to leave plates of food out for the spirits who will come and visit you on this night.
The Crone is called upon during this night, the dying God is mourned, and we reaffirm our beliefs in the oneness of all and in the knowledge that physical death is not the end.
Other names for this Sabbat include Halloween, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic). Samhain is the Celtic name for this Sabbat.
Many covens and circles celebrate this most sacred of pagan holidays as groups, often opening their circles to non-initiates and others who wish to participate. I find myself preferring a solitary ritual, perhaps with some socializing earlier or later in the evening. For me, much of the meaning of Samhain suggests such a practice, though traditionally it is a communal celebration.
Samhain is pronounced as sow-in (in Ireland), sow-een (in Wales), and sav-en (in Scotland). It marks the end of the harvest, the end of the year, and the death of the god. Self-reflection becomes not simply a custom, but a necessity. One cannot (or at least should not) allow the Wheel of the Year to turn without some kind of examination of what has occurred. How have I spent the last year? Did I grow or remain stagnant? Did I live according to the values I claim to embrace? These are questions which must be addressed in solitude and solemnity.
Just as Samhain ends the old year, it must begin the new, though many witches do not celebrate the New Year until Yule. Reflection should continue during this dark time, but reflection should be accompanied by a growing sense of the changes to be made and the light to be sought.
The Goddess tells us: "And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without." We must look inside ourselves for self-knowledge and for the spirit that will sustain us in life's trials. Silence is one of the keys to seeking truth, for we cannot hear the answers in the midst of this noisy world in which we walk everyday, nor in the noise of holiday celebrations however joyous.
Samhain is also said to be the time when the veil between the living and te dead is thinnest, allowing us some communication with those who have departed. How befitting this is for such a time of endings and beginnings. Reflections on death can be as instructive as the self-examinations just mentioned. When we think of those who have died, it reminds us of time passing by and of things we could have or should have done. These reminders, coupled with our lists of past and future actions, encourage us to take our New Year's resolutions far more seriously. We know our time is limited, and most of us have much to do in our allotted time. Most of us have to make a living somehow, but death reminds us that we had better spend some of that time in pursuit of our other dreams lest they be lost in the struggle merely to survive.
Colors:
Orange, Gold, Silver, Black
Herbs:
Rosemary, Acorns
Crystals:
Obsidian, Smokey Quartz, Jet, Amber, Pyrite, Garnet, Quartz, Sandstone, Hematite
Food:
Pork, Rosemary, Pumpkin, Apple, Turnip, Nuts
Blessed Be!
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