This beautiful 925 silver pendant features a wonderfully detailed depiction of a witch flying on a broomstick. The besom is a symbol of banishing, fertility, and cleansing. Its earlier use was specifically for Western European fertility rites. These Western European rites are the reason why people think witches ride on their besom. The besom has an important symbolic role to play in the Wiccan rituals and practices. Brooms and besoms are used for protection, to ward off evil spirits, and cleansing of ritual spaces. Usually held a few inches above the floor, a special broom is used to cleanse a space of negative energies or "energetic clutter" before creating a magic circle. Early witches were people who practiced witchcraft, using magic spells and calling upon spirits for help or to bring about change. Most witches were thought to be pagans doing the Devil's work. Many, however, were simply natural healers or so-called “wise women” whose choice of profession was misunderstood.