Broomstick

Witches were said to ride through the air on switches or broomsticks on their nocturnal journey to the Sabbat. Various other mounts were supposed to be used by witches, including a cleft stick, a staff, a distaff, or even a shovel. These objects were smeared with a special witchcraft ointment before the flight. Other witches were believed to make their aerial journeys on such animals as a wolf or a goat. These flights were named transvection by demonologists.

Sources:

Robbins, Rossell Hope. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology. New York: Crown Publishers, 1959.

broomstick a brush with twigs at one end and a long handle, on which witches were traditionally said to fly.

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