Monday 29 October 2012

Witchy Brooms

I have a real thing for witchy brooms and I'm always on the lookout for them when traveling. I saw these lovely brooms a few years ago when we were in Italy. They were lying about in Monterosso, one of the picturesque Cinque Terre villages on the Italian Riviera.


I'm convinced these brooms belonged to a local strega (witch) who was stockpiling them for a midnight ride with her sisters.


I saw some great witchy brooms this spring in Japan too. These beauties were spotted at the Asakusa Sensoji Temple in Tokyo. Perhaps a local witch was moonlighting as a groundskeeper?


And I found these in mountainous Takayama, tucked away behind historic government buildings dating from the Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo era). As you can see from the snow in this photo, local witches really needed those plastic snow shovels too!


[All photos by Debra She Who Seeks]

35 comments:

A Beer for the Shower said...

I hope they fly better than they clean, because those do not look like they're very good at sweeping up much of anything.

Sulky Kitten said...

You are a broom-seeking missile. I shall keep my eyes peeled for similar beauties in my neck of the woods.

Robin Larkspur said...

Great brooms. Maybe the snowy witches fly on the broom whilst wielding the shovel...multitasking the witchy way.

Tricky Nag said...

Good eye for brooms!

Anonymous said...

They are a work of art, they say a well made hand made broom will last for a long long time, I suppose it depends on how many miles one puts on them,

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

I too have a penchant for brooms! Perhaps we can meet in the middle (Saskatchewan) and fly about on them ;)

DEZMOND said...

I sure wouldn't fly on those, they seem awfully unstable... I'd rather ride on a vacuum cleaner like all modern witches and warlocks!

Birdie said...

Those brooms are definitely for flying because there is no way they are for sweeping!

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

great brooms. I too have a thing for lovely primitive looking brooms.
You're very fortunate to be able to travel to see many international models......

Ken said...

I'd have to assume, that flying about on a broomstick in the middle of winter in Canada might get a tad nippy. Is there such thing as witchy long-underwear?

Cool brooms by the way. :)

Jeanne said...

Lovely Brooms! So full of character...
{{and every Witch living in a cold northern climate must have a trusty snow shovel!}} :0)

Anonymous said...

My neighbors used those brooms when I lived in Germany. Pretty cool brooms for outside work.

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

I love those types of brooms, too. I don't know why they appeal to me so much. Perhaps there's some witchery in the family gene pool. That would be lovely :)

Mistress Maddie said...

Very cool, but Debs, how are they to ride upon? I see these all over New Hope here.

Wendy S. said...

I love witchy brooms too and found a perfect one for me over 20 years ago. There's something about the image of flying over the world with a kitty in tow that makes Halloween perfect

Workingdan said...

So are you gonna sweep by and take me up for a ride?

yellowdoggranny said...

every halloween i buy the cinnamon brooms and keep them even after they don't smell any more.

Laeli said...

Those brooms look so much nicer than the modern ones I have now.

Riot Kitty said...

Well, the snow shoveling equipment is practical...hard to fly around if you're stuck in a drift. (Trust me, I know ;)

sonia said...

I do wonder if they clean better than the ones today that are all bound up. Maybe I should take one for a spin...

Unknown said...

Witches around the globe salute you! Happy flying!

Lois said...

Beautiful! I love the look of handcrafted brooms and whisks. I need a good corn-broom, I have a nasty plastic broom. Canadian Tire, here I come!

The Dancing Crone said...

They are truly beautiful! And I'll bet they work fwell too. Heck, a girl could probably move at warp speed on one of those puppies!

Southpaw said...

Those are very cool. What a great thing to keep your eye our for while travelling too!

Victoria said...

Ohh..super lovely brooms..besoms..and strega treasures..lucky girl..! Love them all..i love collecting them too..such fun..and amazing power symbols!
Beautiful!
Victoria

jaz@octoberfarm said...

you would love my brooms! i have cornered the market with great brooms! hoping they work to sweep me away from this storm. even for me this is starting to be scary. i literally laid everything down in my gardens, bungee corded my outdoor drapes, closed my hundred and fifty year old shutters and tied up as much as i can. it is snowy like crazy just south of us. they are expecting 3 feet of snow!

Jane said...

You certainly have an eye for brooms! What model is yours? I'm quite partial to the classic Nimbus 2000 myself :D

Introverted Art said...

They look really cool. Do day sweep away the evil eye? ;-)

CraveCute said...

Very cute Debra!

Samantha Stephens said...

I bought my first broom when I was 19 (long ago and far away) and I am always on the look out for a 'cool' broom. Your last picture could be someone's garage - winter and summer transport.

laughingwolf said...

too cool :)

Melanie said...

love it!!

Snap said...

Love your broom photo collection. I should go by Trader Joes to see if they have their brooms out....never know what they might not handle since we are in a *conservative* area. I can't look at a broom now without seeing the GEICO commercial in my mind --- with the witch at the broom factory! YEEHAW!!!!

Magic Love Crow said...

I love these witchy brooms! They are fantastic in every way! Very special places you found them in too! Thank you for the comment about Medusa! It meant a lot to me!

Unknown said...

I have a passion for besoms and have acquired a few along the way. My favourite hangs on the front door of my home and i see it as kind of an equivalent to crossing the threshold sort of thing.
When my father was back home in Italy a few years back he went to a sort of market place with his sisters and told me one whole stall was just Brooms. He wanted to buy me one for my collection but was told he couldn't get it through customs. Shame, from the photos they looked beautiful.