ㄥᴀ ɴ ᴅ ᴏ ɳᚩ

Once you know this, the rest is (relatively) easy to figure out. For instance, broom: This is Donderbezem (thunder broom), a protective symbol used in Holland and northern Germany as a protection from lightning strikes and evil spirits... That the fact that "thunder broom" is a broom is important, can be seen from the fact that sometimes actual brooms were hang under the roof as a protection from thunder... I couldn't find any explanation in Germanic mythology or folklore for why people would believe that a broom was able to protect their houses from thunder strike. I have to admit I didn't do a thorough search, so I could've missed some important info. Anyone knows? Traditionally, brooms are made from the twiggy growth of the birch tree... So I thought: could it be that the reason why broom was used as a protection against thunder strikes was because birch tree was believed to protect against thunder strikes? Again, I couldn't find anything in Germanic mythology or folklore about people believing that birch was able to protect their houses from thunder strike. I have to admit I didn't do a thorough search, so I could've missed some important info. Anyone here knows? But interestingly, Slavs believed that the birch, planted near the house, repels evil and protects from lightning...And even better, they believed that stuck under the roof of the house, birch branches (broom) protected the house from the lightning, storm, and hail... From my post Donderbezem oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.… Hence storm making witches riding on birch brooms...