I was away for a couple of days, an unexpected chance to go to the mountains for a small break came along so I grabbed the opportunity. While I was away the son of a friend of mine found out that I was a witch and he asked a great question...Do witches really fly on brooms?  It may sound funny but you would be amazed how many times that question or a comment about witches flying does come along. the answer is that no....witches do not fly on brooms, although brooms are very important to a witch. A broom is used in our cleansing and purification ritual. The broom is used to sweep away any negativity or evil from the area in which we perform our rite.  During the ritual, the broom never even touches the floor, it is used in a sweeping manner, but it sweeps the air above the floor and not the floor itself.   I am sure that most of you have seen a witches broom, they look like the one you see in the Wizzard of Oz,  today they still look the same, the ones that we use in rituals look like the brooms made hundreds of years ago. You dont have to be a witch to use a broom all you have to be is a little superstitious. Here in Salem, you will see brooms nailed or fastened to the front doors of peoples homes, believe it or not, that is an old tradition that started here in the 1600's. When a broom is laid across the threshold of a house or across the windowsill, it is put there to keep evil and curses out of the house. If the broom is across the threshold or across the windowsill, then evil and curses sent to you from another cant get in to the home. Today in Salem, you will see the old fashioned witches broom nailed to the front door, that is done for the same reason, to keep evil away, but some also do it as a decorative measure too. So, how did the old stories about witches flying on brooms get started?   That story started centuries ago in the very early days of the christian church. Back then, the christian church was  "competing" for followers and they found that people were very reluctant to give up the old traditions and beliefs. The christian clergy started the story about witches flying on brooms to try to put a fear into the people that being a witch or that following the old ways was being in league with the devil. The clergy started the story that witches flew on their brooms at midnight to meet with Satan.  That was one of the ways that they tried to win converts, it didnt work so well so from there they just started to kill witches , that was during a period known as   " The Burning Times".  Someday I might go into that part of history, but the broom does have a great significance to witches and always has, its just that we dont ride them. In fact, I drive a Miata.