Editing Broom (section)

== Magic ==
[[File:Goya - Caprichos (68).jpg|thumb|left|[[Francisco Goya]]'s ''[[Los Caprichos]]'': ''¡Linda maestra!'' ("The Follies: Beautiful Teacher!")&nbsp;– witches heading to a [[Witches' Sabbath|Sabbath]] on a broomstick]]

In the context of [[witchcraft]], ''broomstick'' is likely to refer to the broom as a whole, known as a ''[[besom]]''. The first known reference to [[witch]]es flying on broomsticks dates to the 11th-century Islamic traditionalist theologian [[Ibn Qudamah]]in his book al-Mughnī ( The Persuader ). The first reference to [[witch]]es flying on broomsticks in Europe dates to 1453, confessed by the male witch [[Guillaume Edelin]].<ref>''[[Man, Myth & Magic (encyclopedia)|Man, Myth and Magic]]: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural''. 1970, edited by Richard Cavendish.</ref> The concept of a [[flying ointment]] used by witches appears at about the same time, recorded in 1456.

In [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]'s 1939 film, ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', the [[Wicked Witch of the West]] used a broomstick to fly over [[Land of Oz|Oz]]. She also used it to skywrite "[[Surrender Dorothy]]" above the [[Emerald City]]. [[Wizard of Oz (character)|The Wizard]] commands [[Dorothy Gale|Dorothy]] and her three traveling companions to bring the Wicked Witch's broomstick to him in order to grant their wishes. Dorothy carries it to the Wizard with the [[Scarecrow (Oz)|Scarecrow]], [[Tin Woodman|Tin Man]], and [[Cowardly Lion|Lion]] after the Wicked Witch's death.

In [[Disney]]'s 1940 film ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', [[Mickey Mouse]], playing [[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]], brings a broom to life to do his chore of filling a well full of water. The broom overdoes its job and when chopped into pieces, each splinter becomes a new broom that flood the room until [[Yen Sid]] stops them. This story comes from a poem by [[Goethe]] called ''Der Zauberlehrling'' ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice"). The Disney brooms have had recurring cameos in Disney media, mostly portrayed as janitors, albeit not out of control or causing chaos such as in the original appearance.

This flight was also in ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]'' as well as ''[[Hocus Pocus (1993 film)|Hocus Pocus]]''.

In [[Eswatini|Eswatini (Swaziland)]], witches' broomsticks are short bundles of sticks tied together without a handle.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Spooner|first1=Samantha|title=From hippie bans to broomstick flying limits, here are Africa's most absurd laws|url=http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-10-14-from-sex-toy-bans-to-broomstick-flying-limits-presenting-africas-absurd-laws|work=[[Mail & Guardian|Mail & Guardian Africa]]|date=15 October 2014|access-date=29 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029223232/http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-10-14-from-sex-toy-bans-to-broomstick-flying-limits-presenting-africas-absurd-laws|archive-date=29 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Flying brooms play an important role in the fantasy world of [[Harry Potter]], used for transportation as well as for playing the popular airborne game of [[Quidditch]]. Flying brooms, along with [[Flying carpets]], are the main means of transportation in the world of [[Poul Anderson]]'s 
[[Operation Chaos (novel)|Operation Chaos]].

The [[Flying Broom]] ({{langx|tr|Uçan Süpürge}}) is a [[feminism|feminist]] organization in [[Turkey]], deliberately evoking the associations of a Flying Broom with witches.