The Making of a Besom Broom

My Besom Broom

For several years we lived in Baughurst, a small village near Tadley in Hampshire, UK and one of our next door neighbours was Jill a Besom Broom maker. A settled traveler making these was in her blood and she was a joy to watch. In the summer Jill used to sit on a chair outside her garage, a pile of Birch twigs and wood handles ready and weave her magic.

Since at least the 14th century Tadley and Baughurst had a proud history of Besom Broom making. The villages were near enough London to send carts loaded with brooms to sell. The growth of the use of these brooms had blossomed after the Black Death when people began to be required to clean the streets in front of their accommodation. In 1953 there were at least ten ‘broom squires’ working in the area, by 1965 this had fallen to two and I was lucky enough to live next door to one of them.

My big regret has always been that we took the brooms and access to them for granted. So much so that we never thought to buy one, even though we had seen them being made from scratch. Sadly Jill is no longer with us now to buy one from.

Fast forward many years and all of my memories of watching Jill came flooding back when as part of my training with the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids(OBOD) was the suggestion to make a Besom Broom.

I live in an area with many mature trees and in the garden have Ash and Hawthorn as well as immature Oaks but sadly not a Birch in sight. Having had the hedges tidied in early spring before the birds began nesting we had left the trimmings in a pile at the end of the garden. I began by thinking I would find what I needed there even if it wasn’t Birch and sure enough pulled out loads of twigs that looked long enough for the brush part and two pieces of wood that had been part of the winter windfall, one of Ash and one of Hawthorn strong enough for handles. These I put to one side to dry out further.

As soon as I began to collect the twigs together once they were dry, it became quite clear that they would not be strong nor flexible enough for a broom. My husband came to the rescue suggesting that I cut back some of our overgrown bamboo and used that instead. At first sceptical I researched this online and found it to be a good substitute for Birch and so I cut what I thought I would need and left them to dry.

Once the leaves on the cut bamboo had dried and were easy to brush off I collected the stems I needed together and bound them tightly (with a little help to hold them tight). Too lazy to cut, strip, soak and dry brambles I admit I cheated a little and used some artificial sinew left from shamanic drum making. I was undecided between the two pieces of wood for the handle until the Hawthorn made it quite clear to me that it was that I was meant to use. Once it had I realised how Well it fitted into my hand.

As soon as the handle was fitted into the bamboo I wanted to try it out and so used it to sweep the stone slab outside of our conservatory. I’d like to say it worked but sadly not. The bristles splayed and although tied securely felt as though they were twisting round the handle. The solution was to tie again, twice more this time further down the broom to hold the bristles further. Problem solved.

I have just used my Besom Broom to sweep the carpet in the shed I use for crafting. The carpet was covered in twigs, leaves and who knows what else, but the broom made short work of it. It feels firm, solid, strong and although I can see things I could have improved on, for me it is a thing of beauty, a really practical tool, magic in the way it cleans and it is all mine 🙂

Omen Days – Signs and Omen for 2022

December 2022 omen

I decided to wait until I had finished the Omen Days of the 12 days of Christmas before sharing anything I had picked up. All I am going to do is post the signs or omens I was given each day and what I was intuiting from these for the corresponding month. If you have been doing this too it would be really interesting to know if you see any patterns or what you found for 2022 so please share in the comments.

26th Dec – January

My attention was drawn over and over to groups of gulls, different species all hanging out together. There was a bit of space between them but they were still clearly groups. The message here was that life is too short to spend it isolating, hiding away to stay safe. Time now to start mingling safely 

27th Dec – February

Too wet to go outside but my attention was drawn to the pine tree at the bottom of my garden. The top 5/6ft of this is bare branches and all greenery some way below. So even when it looks like there is nothing happening and everything is dead or dormant there is much going on underneath the surface.

28th Dec – March

Walking down a country lane asking for clear omen I saw a traffic cone on top of a gate in a field which made me laugh and immediately got ‘expect the unexpected’. Further on I came across a road work sign only visible because the hedge had been tidied and then further on down a tiny lane was another one. From all of this I am getting to pay attention and expect the unexpected but it might be fun. 

29th Dec – April

On my walk today after asking for signs or omen I found my attention drawn to the colour yellow – broom in flower, autumn leaves laying on the banks, a yellow sign on a pole….I asked for a clear sign as I wasn’t sure if it was the items or the colour and then rounding a bend I saw in front of me yellow tape tied on a post. So today and for April it’s the colour yellow representing joy, happiness, new beginnings, sunshine and of course spring.

30th Dec – May

The omen today came right from the start with me waking to an unseasonal 11 degrees rising to 13 later today and with nature coming inside to meet me in the form of a wasp. We also have very heavy rain and dark skies which is not unusual but very much feels part of it all. With the wasp and mild temperatures being totally out of season here I am getting that May will be unexpected, unseasonal, out of time in some way, nothing quite how it should be. There may also be a chance for purification this month, for ourselves as well as the world. Wasp carries a whole lot of symbolism but this didn’t feel appropriate for me here, only the fact that out was out of time.

31st Dec – June

Today was all about sound. The sound of children playing, water rushing over rocks in a stream and a Robin singing it’s heart out. From this I feel June will be about really listening, being aware of what is around and the variety and meaning of sounds or what is heard.

1st Jan – July

The omen today was the wind; strong, blustery, pushing me forward, holding  me back, tipping me sideways and then not there at all. Then the realisation that it wasn’t the wind that was changing though but me changing direction as I walked. July may be changeable and not always easy but when it is hard or difficult it is us that needs to shift our stance or direction not whatever we are up against. 

2nd Jan – August

Walking today my attention was drawn to the unevenness of surface I was walking on, the amount of branches the gusting winds from yesterday had brought down and which I was having move around and the red berries of the holly that were strewn on the ground. Had I not been being aware and mindful as I walked these could all have been obstacles but because I was were not a problem. So for August there is a need to be mindful, to be aware, to keep an eye out for potential obstacles but know that if we do they will be easy to avoid and will not cause us any difficulty. 

3rd Jan – September 

Beach walk today. Blue skies, high clouds and a mirror like surface where the tide had gone out, these were the omens I was given as I walked. Calmness and serenity came with this. The wind of the last days was still present but instead of being blustery and difficult, today it felt steady and invigorating invigorating. Before I walked was aware of the dip today, counting how many more days were left to go asking for signs and omen in nature, feeling the weight of them, but I returned home feeling renewed and reinvigorated. 

4th Jan – October

The temperature today is half what it has been for weeks so winter with a bang here. Blue skies again but no wind despite it being crisp and clear. What really caught my attention whilst walking though was the stillness and how quiet it all was. So maybe we are in for a calm, quiet October or at least one in which we are able to stop, be still, reflect and gather our strength.

5th Jan – November 

The icy cold on my face as I walked and the heavy frost on the ground, quickly followed by the sound of a plane (very unusual here), seeing its flight overhead and then a blackbird flying low and fast directly across in front of me. The sudden noticeable shift from stillness into movement. The movement was later reinforced by a flock of seagulls flying in the sun and the sunlight flashing on their bodies lighting them up. I was hoping the plane was a sign of travel ahead but my intuition is pointing instead to the sheer joy of movement during the month after the stillness of October/early November.

6th Jan – December

Out walking today in the strong and gusty wind, sunshine on one side, dark sky on the other and then the rainbow appeared. Faint at first but getting stronger and stronger against the dark sky. So for December it seems that there may be challenges but there are brighter things ahead. Not a bad omen to end 2022 🙂 .

Oak part 2

The first time I wrote about my oak was in April this year. At that time I shared a picture taken last summer.  Over the winter the oak naturally lost its leaves and it was slow coming back this summer and I was concerned it had been lost.

Last year I was told that they liked being planted with companions and that this where they were happiest and when I was gifted the oaklings I had made a mental note of the fact that wherever they were growing holly saplings were growing alongside them so I was wondering about planting the oak with holly.

I then spoke to a fellow OBOD member who quite successfully grows oak from tiny saplings and acorns and learnt that his are potted in large pots and given room to grow.

My poor oakling was in the tiniest pot and so a new home was found and it seems to be growing now. I’m hoping that if all goes well it may be big enough and strong enough this time next year to be planted out in the garden in its permanent home.

Oak

 

For as long as I can remember I have been draw to the Oak tree. I have, over the years, collected leaves, twigs, windfall wood and two years ago was gifted three tiny oak saplings. When I say tiny I really do mean tiny as none measured more than six inches.

The saplings were planted in pots and nurtured over the last two winters. Sadly one didn’t make it and so I now have two. They haven’t grown much but are producing new leaves which I hope is a good sign.

Last year I was told they grow best with company and as they are in individual pots I may now move them to a larger pot, all together and with a holly sapling for company. In the wild they grow alongside holly so I figure this is worth a go. I have space in the garden but they are too tiny to plant out and as we have rabbits I wouldn’t rate their chances very highly if I did.

There is a lot of tree lore related to trees and much can be found online but I want to share this with you: OBOD Tree Lore Oak

Brigid and Brigid’s Cross

One of the first things that I learnt to do when I moved to Ireland was to make a St Brigid’s cross. I hadn’t heard of them at all before I moved and had to be taught not only how to make it but also what to do with it when it was made.

Describing how to make one is complicated without diagrams so having found this online today I thought I would share it in case anyone else is drawn to make one. This link includes a nice video if a child making one, it’s not difficult 🙂 I like that the instructions say to use straws or reeds for there are a special type of reed that grow in wetlands, used to make them here, a reed I recognise whenever I come across it, but the site of which I always forget come February.

I was told that it was the tradition where I live, to make a new Brigid’s cross every year and to place it in the loft on a rafter to protect the house from fire, which used to be a common problem in old houses in Ireland. In old houses chimneys were left unlined and any chimney fire could easily escape and leap through the loft space taking the roof and very often the whole house. I have since discovered that they are also used to ward off evil but maybe I looked too innocent to be told that I might need to do this 🙂 It was a long time ago!

So who was Brigid?

Brigid was a Pre-Christian, Celtic goddess who was associated with smithcraft, poetry, healing, childbirth. She is sometimes spoken of as a Triple Goddess and is always closely associated with fire. In fact the fire associations are so strong that a perpetual fire was set at Kildare in her honour, a fire which still burns today. Brigid is also known of as  Brid, Bride, Brighid, Brigit, Brigantia, Briginda, and Brigdu.

In Irish mythology Brigid appears as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and was the daughter of the Dagda, wife of Bres and had a son named Ruadán. To the Catholic Church though she is known as Saint Brigid and spoken of only as sharing her name with the Celtic goddess. It is said that St Brigid was the child of  Brocca, a Christian woman baptized by Saint Patrick, and that her father was Dubthach, a Leinster chieftain. As Brocca was a slave, Brigid was born into slavery. Some stories say that Brigid was baptised by St Patrick, others that she grew up as his friend.

If you would like to read more about Brigid, the Celtic goddess though the OBOD have an article that can be accessed here and which contains a lot of additional information.

What is known is that the the pagan festival of Imbolc or Imbolg, is associated with the goddess Brigid. The festival marks the beginning of spring has been celebrated since ancient times. It is a Cross Quarter Day, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.  It can actually fall anywhere between 2nd & 7th of February as it is calculated as the mid point between the astronomical Winter Solstice and the astronomical Spring Equinox, however it is often celebrated on 1st February, which is the same date as the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion celebrate St Brigid’s Day.

And what about Brigid’s crosses?

There are many stories her as to how the tradition of these crosses originated and this is just one of them:

There was an old pagan Chieftain who was on his deathbed in Kildare when his servants summoned Brigid to his beside in the hope that the she might be able to calm his restless spirit. Brigid is said to have sat by his bed, consoling and calming him . Whilst she was here she picked up some rushes from the floor and began weaving them into the distinctive cross pattern. As she weaved, she explained the meaning of the cross to the sick Chieftain and it is thought her calming words brought peace to his soul and requested that he be baptised as a Christian  before his passing. Ever since that day it has been customary on the eve of Brigid’s Feast Day on 1st February, to fashion a St Brigid’s Cross of straw or rushes and place it in the roof of the house over the door as a means of protecting the house.

Brigid has always been held in high regard in Ireland, many wells in all parts of the country are named after her, the symbol of her cross is to be found in many Irish designs and there is even a pilgrimage route that can be walked, known as an the Brigid’s Way an Ancient Path between Sky and Earth

 

Monday Musings – Becoming a Bard

According to the dictionaries, in medieval times a Bard was a tribal singer, poet or one who recites epic or heroic poems, but having just spent around 18 months studying the Bardic level of the Order of the Bards, Ovates and Druids I can safely say that I am still none of those.

I can’t sing, my poetry is naive to say the least and I have a memory like a sieve so reciting anything yet alone an epic or heroic poem is completely out of the question.

So what did becoming a Bard do for me?

Without giving any secrets away, for the OBOD is a basically a mystery school where everything is unfolded as you reach it, rather than like a lot of courses and training, presented upfront, I can safely say that for me the Bardic training gave me a different outlook on many aspects of my life, it helped to shift and heal more than a few things for me, connected me on a much deeper level with the elements as well as with myself, but above all it taught me patience.

In the modern world we are used to having everything at our fingertips, to being able to make things happen, get information instantly and so on and so forth and it did me good to work in a way where this doesn’t happen. There is something really exciting about having to wait and see what comes next, anticipating the arrival of the next set of materials, not knowing what is coming, what is ahead. There is also something incredibly freeing about knowing that there are no right or wrong answers to anything, no right or wrong way of doing anything, there is just the way it happens for you. There is also freedom in being given the space to allow everything to unfold at the right pace and in its own time.

I talk often about how our lives turn in cycles, about how we have to go through life, death and rebirth continuously in all we do but for 18 months I lived this over and over. Many times I had no choice but to be still and wait, to focus only on what was happening, on the journey and not the outcome, waiting to see how and when I would come out the other side. This then spilt over into other areas of my life.

When we are working on ourselves not everything comes instantly in fact far from it. I know this from working as a healer and trainer and I have infinite patience with clients and students but not so with myself yet through training as a Bard I learnt to treat myself more gently, I learnt to allow myself the time to complete something and enjoy the completion of it rather than looking at where it might lead me.

During the training I was working on a piece of art work, a piece where I was finding the process frustratingly slow, then something clicked and I found the work became like a meditation, it was calming and restful. I found myself enjoying the process of making the art, each tiny piece at a time became enough in itself. Instead of looking at how much I still had to do I found I was enjoying and getting satisfaction from working for hours on a very small area of the picture. This is not like me or at least not like the who I was before I began training as a Bard.

And maybe that is partly what a Bard is, not specifically a singer, a poet or a reciter of epic tales, but someone who gives their full attention to whatever they are doing, who lives in the moment, who lets the creative process unfold rather than worrying about the outcome, who allows it all to happen without getting in the way, who knows when to stop and wait and when to move on, someone who enjoys the journey rather than the destination.