To the untrained eye, witches’ broom can look an awful lot like an overgrown and scruffy birds nest, but to gardeners, folklorists and folk witches alike, we know better!
These tree deformities, which can vary in size and have multiple growths even on one single tree are also known as chloranthies or phyllodies and collectively they are known as virescenses. The witches’ broom malformations are caused by microorganisms which can either be fungal, bacterial or viral. This multiple source of infection can confuse many with lots of folks just resorting to classing witches’ broom as a fungal infection alone, ignoring the possible other causes of viral or bacterial.
In the early stages of growth, the witches’ broom will infect a bud, triggering it to duplicate, and, eventually these buds go on to form the mass tangle of shoots and twigs that become visible in the later stages of infection.

In general, witches’ broom is relatively harmless to trees, so many choose to not actively remove the growth, seeing as there is little point when it is mostly benign. Witches’ broom is a common life form seen throughout the British isles, and once you know what it is you’re looking for, you will spot it fairly often.
For me, there is an abundance of witches’ broom around the village of Barley in Pendle, Lancashire. However, it’s not easily accessible unless you’re either tall or have access to a ladder!

The Folk Ways and Folk Lore Of Witches Broom.

The name witches’ broom holds no particular mystery and is named largely for it’s resemblance to how many believe a witch’s broom looks. Annoyingly, the old stereotypical witch complete with hook nose and broom still lingers to this day…

Magically speaking though, the witches’ broom has some very interesting folklore and folk ways attached to it. Here in Lancashire, it is believed that if you collect some of the twigs from a cluster of witches’ broom and place it under your doormat, it will protect you from malevolent witch’s spells and negative energies. Not only this, but should a malicious witch ever fire curses or some other malevolent working at you, the witches’ broom will ‘fly’ the negative energy straight back to the sender. This is an interesting and straightforward example of typical Lancashire like for like and sympathetic magic.
Other witch lore suggests that if one should sprinkle the ground up witches broom around the perimeter of a competitor witch’s home it will confuse and stump their workings, thereby making it inefficient and giving you, the competitor the upper hand.
You can see why a working such as this may has been popular historically for local wise and cunning folk who relied on folk ways and divination to make a living. We can see examples of local witch cult factions throughout history, especially in the Pendle Witch trials where both the Chattox and Demdike witch clans hated each other for being in direct competition.
Protection wise, an interesting local piece of witchlore suggests that hanging a bunch of witches’ broom from ones bed will protect them from both nightmares and sleep paralysis. I find this particularly interesting as sleep paralysis in itself is steeped in folklore and urban myth, with many still referring to the condition as being ‘hag ridden’. The term hag ridden stems from the old belief that sleep paralysis was caused by a witch or other ‘evil’ spirit sending out their form to choke and crush you while you slept.
Witches’ broom has also be known to be incorporated into witches’ ladders and other such charms in order to bring power or build upon existing power the witch has. For this, the twigs are worked into the main length of string that forms the basis of the ladder. Other items may also be placed along the charm, such as blackthorn, feathers, hag stones and crystals.

Energetically speaking, the witches’ broom is complex creature with seemingly no dominant male or female vibe, but rather a gender neutral tone – unsurprising really as many trees are dioicous (with both male and female parts on the same tree) and fungi can have untold variety of sexual forms. As well as this, their established (although brief, hence why this blog is not as long as usual) lore suggests that the witches’ broom is as complex as the witch archetype themselves, being neither wholly good or bad, but rather a shade of grey, much like most folk witches. This could explain why the witches’ broom can be used in both helpful and protective workings as well as those that bind or trip up others.
Unfortunately, lore around witches’ broom is far from extensive and this may be in part because it grows fairly high up in the tree, and therefore is not easy to reach, combined with the fact that so many do not recognise it or it’s relevance. But then this is also very ‘folk witch’, as just like the witches’ broom, the folk witch figure can often walk about and appear inconspicuous or entirely un-perceived when they want to.

From the times, mists and the distance between us, blessings from me to you.