Fruit Seeds can remain viable in soil for more than 80 years.

Flowers The fragrant yellow flowers are borne in loose terminal racemes, unlike those of Cytisus scoparius which are usually solitary in the axils. The alternate leaves are simple, entire and more or less strigose, having short petioles. The shrub is virgately branched and contains no spines, unlike gorse ( Ulex europaeus). Foliage Spanish broom has long, slender, leafless or few-leaved, green branches. Not for use during pregnancy.Spartium junceum, Spanish broom Overview Appearance Spartium junceum is a perennial shrub, that can grow up to 9.8 ft. Scent: An invitingly warm floral, with honey-like sweetness, and nuanced powdery notes.Ĭautions: If taken internally can cause renal irritation, effect heart rhythm, and lower blood pressure. Gifts for the Skin: Helps lighten dark spots, improves skin luster, reduces the appearance of acne or other blemishes, and the appearance of scars. Promotes deep restful sleep and is a hypnotic. Helps to rid the body of excess fluid, a vasoconstrictor.

Supports, the emptying, cleansing, purging and/or evacuation of the bowels. Named heretics in 1215, Waldensians, threatened the church authority by allowing preaching and consecration of the sacrament by any layperson, including women.įolk Wisdom: Increase the efficiency and improves the contraction of the heart muscle, which leads to improved blood flow to all tissues of the body. The inscription above their heads identifies them as Waldensians. In the two drawings, one woman soars through the air on a broom. In folklore brooms are associated with witches, the earliest known image of witches on brooms dates to 1451, when two illustrations appeared in the French poet Martin Le Franc’s manuscript Le Champion des Dames (The Defender of Ladies).

Broom is a powerful ally on the heroines journey.īroom also expresses uncanny energy, sorcery and magic. Unlike Mickey, she stayed the path and faced her difficulties head on and as a result reaped a great reward. In the tale of Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, broom marks the beginning and the end of Vasilisa’s tasks / learning. Before all is lost the Sorcerer appears and sets all back to order and Mickey has to start his tasks / learning from the beginning. Soon all goes terribly wrong as he is out of his depth and is literally drowning in the chaos he has created, due to him skipping steps in his training, desiring to jump ahead to the end. In Disney’s 1940 classic Fantasia, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Mickey Mouse tries to shirk his duties and enchants a broom to life to do his work for him. Many households and businesses mark the start of day by sweeping the floor, life then occurs in a task driven way, lessons are learned, challenges are met, then the end of day is brought to close by sweeping the floor. In Pagan ceremonies, it is said that the broom handle represents the male phallus and the bristles represent female energy.īrooms are thresholds: the beginning and the end, and importantly the journey in-between. In Christian ceremonies, the broom handle represents God, the bristles signify the couple’s families. Jumping the broom at weddings seals the union and the couple leave their individual lives behind and start a new life as one. From the get go, brooms were linked primarily with women, and this ubiquitous household item became a powerful symbol of female domesticity. The word broom comes from the actual plant Spartium junceum L., or shrub, that was used to make many early sweeping devices.