[another from the archives of Sidhe Mail BBS, member of PODSNet]

16 Jan 90

Besom Chant

“Besom, besom long and lithe
Made from ash and willow withe
Tied with thongs of willow bark
In running stream at moonset dark.
With a pentagram indighted
As the ritual fire is lighted;
Sweep ye circle, deosil,
Sweep out evil, sweep out ill,
Make the round of the ground
Where we do the Lady’s will.

Besom, besom, Lady’s broom
Sweep out darkness, sweep out doom
Rid ye Lady’s hallowed ground
Of demons, imps and Hell’s red hound;
Then set ye down on Her green earth
By running stream or Mistress’ hearth,
‘Till called once more on Sabbath night
To cleans once more the dancing site.”

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Comments on the above by the original poster to PODS:

• I understand that this chant was written by Lady Tamara of the WCC. (However, I have no evidence for this except hearsay, and the fact that the WCC appears to use it, so I may be wrong.)
• I don’t have a published source for it – but it’s one of those things that every Witch in town seems to have a copy of.
• There is absolutely NO reason to think of it as traditional Gardnerian or Alexandrian. However, it’s an example of the kind of thing that finds its way into a lot of BOSs, regardless of tradition. There appears to be no equivalent to this in the “standard” BOS, and some people feel a need for it, so a lot of people have added this chant to their BOS.