Broom upside down
A broom stood upside down keeps its bristles straight, so the way it rests decides how well it sweeps tomorrow, and the same goes for you. Transylvanians read a broom left upside down before the door as a good omen.
What it may mean
Lean a broom on its bristles for a few weeks and they splay, curl and stop sweeping well; stand it on its handle and it keeps its shape for years. The work it does tomorrow depends on how it rests tonight. That is an easy truth to apply to people. How you stop at the end of the day, what you rest on, whether your weekend lets you recover or just bends you a different way, decides how well you sweep on Monday. An upside-down broom behind the door can be your cue to look at the way you put yourself away: slumped on your bristles in front of a screen, or stood up properly so you keep your shape.
Depending on how you saw it
Bristles up behind the door
A broom stored upside down behind the door is a common sight in older kitchens, and it lasts much longer that way. The habit takes two seconds a day. What two-second habit would help something you use daily last much longer?
A broom with bent, splayed bristles
A broom that has rested on its bristles for months sweeps in arcs and leaves lines of dust. It still works, just worse. Which tool, routine or relationship of yours has lost its shape from being leaned on the wrong way?
A broom across the doorway
In Alabama, a broom laid across the door was said to let departed friends come and speak to the living. A broom on the threshold marks a line people notice. What line in your house or your week deserves a clear, visible marker?
Hanging the broom on a hook
Plenty of households hang their brooms from a hook or a loop on the handle, off the floor and out of the way. Storage that is easy is storage that happens. What could you set up so that the right habit becomes the easy one?
Why it happens in nature
Brooms last longer when they are hung up or stood on their handle with the bristles in the air, because resting on the bristles bends them and keeps them damp. Both straw and synthetic bristles lose their shape under steady weight. That practical habit may sit behind some of the many customs about how a broom should stand.
What folk beliefs say
Transylvania (Romania)
In Transylvania, a broom left upside down before the door was a fortunate sign.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 1 (1903), vol. 1, p. 502. View the page
Alabama, United States
In Alabama, it was said that if you placed a broom across the door, any departed friends who wished to come and speak with you could do so freely for as long as the broom stayed there.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 1 (1903), vol. 1, p. 502. View the page
To reflect on
How do you put yourself away at the end of the day, and does it help you keep your shape?