The Witches Cauldron
Copyright 2005 Amita Dragonspell
some
information from Full Moon Paradise
Cauldron Magick
Copyright 1998
Gerina Dunwich
In contemporary Witchcraft, the cauldron is an
important magical tool that symbolically combines influences of the
ancient elements of air, fire, water, and earth. Its shape is
representative of Mother Nature, and the three legs upon which it
stands correspond to the three aspects of the Triple Goddess, the
three lunar phases (waxing, full and waning), and to three as a
magical number. Additionally, the cauldron is a symbol of
transformation (both physical and spiritual), enlightenment, wisdom,
the womb, of the Mother Goddess, and rebirth.
Since early times, cauldrons have been used not
only for boiling water and cooking food, but for heating magical
brews, poisons, and healing potions. They have also been utilized by
alchemists and by Witches as tools of divination, containers for
sacred fires and incense, and holy vessels for offerings to the gods
of old.
If a large cauldron is needed in a ritual, it is
generally placed next to the altar, on either side. Small cauldrons,
such as ones used for burning of incense, can be placed on top of
the alter.
In Middle Ages, most of the population believed
that all Witches possessed a large black cauldron in which poisonous
brews and vile hell-broths were routinely concocted. These mixtures
were said to have contained such ingredients as bat's blood,
serpent's venom, headless toads, the eyes of newts, and a gruesome
assortment of animal and human body parts, as well as deadly herbs
and roots.
In fourteenth-century Ireland, a Witch known as
Lady Alice Kyteler was said to have used the enchanted skull of a
beheaded thief as her cauldron. Also in the fourteenth century, a
male Witch by the name of William Lord Soulis was convicted in
Scotland for a number of sorcery-related offenses. His peculiar form
of execution was death by being boiled alive in a huge cauldron.
According to an old legend, if a sorceress dumped
the vile contents of her cauldron into the sea, a great tempest
would be stirred up.
Ancient Irish folklore is rich with tales of
wondrous cauldrons that never run out of food at a feast, while an
old Gypsy legend told of a brave hero who was boiled in a cauldron
filled with the milk of man-eating mares.
It is said that bad luck will befall any Witch who
brews a potion in a cauldron belonging to another. If the lid is
accidentally left off the cauldron while a magical brew is prepared,
this portends the arrival of a stranger, according to a
superstitious belief from Victorian-era England.
The cauldron and its powers are associated with
many goddesses from pre-Christian faiths, including Hecate (the
protectress of all Witches), Demeter/Persephone (in the Eleusinian
mysteries), the Greek enchantresses Circe and Medea, Sirius (the
Babylonian goddess of fate and mother of the stars, whose cauldron
was made of lapis lazuli), the Celtic goddess Cerridwen, from whose
cauldron bubbled forth the gifts of wisdom and inspiration.
Although the cauldron has traditionally been a
symbol of the divine feminine since the earliest of times, there
exist a number of male deities from various Pagan pantheons who also
have a connection to it. Among them are the Norse god Odin (who
acquired his shape-shifting powers by drinking from the cauldron of
wise blood), the Hindu sky god Indra (whose myth is similar to
Odin's), Bran the Blessed (the Welsh god of the sacred cauldron),
and Cernunnos (the Celtic horned god who was dismembered and boiled
in a cauldron to be reborn).
Depicted on the famous Gunderstrup cauldron (circa
100 B.C.) is the stag-horned Cernunnos in various scenes with
different animals. Believed by many to be of Celtic origin, this
large silver cauldron may have once been used in sacrificial rites.
The use of sacrificial cauldrons can be traced to
the ancient religious and magical practices of various European
cultures, as well as to some shamanic traditions. Human and animal
victims would first be beheaded over the cauldrons and then have
their blood drained out into the cauldron, where it would be boiled
to produce a mystical substance. Among the Celts, a potion of
inspiration was said to have been brewed in such a manner by the
priestess of the lunar goddess.
The cauldron is linked to the Holy Grail - a
chalice that is beleived by Christians to have been used by Jesus
Christ at the Last Supper. However, prior to its incorporation into
Christian myth in the twelfth century, the Grail belonged to British
paganism as a symbol of reincarnation and the divine womb of the
Goddess.
The Cauldron of Cerridwen
Cerridwen, a deity associated with the feminine
symbols of water and the Moon, is the shape-shifting Celtic Goddess
of inspiration, wisdom, and the magical arts of enchantment,
divination, and prophecy. She possesses the three aspects of the
maiden, mother, and crone, and is a goddess whose invocation is a
significant aspect of both the initiatory and mystery rites of
Celtic magic.
In her mysterious cauldron, according to ancient
Celtic legend, Cerridwen prepared a potion of enlightenment for her
son that consisted of the yellow flowers of the cowslip, fluxwort,
hedgeberry, vervain, the berries of the mistletoe (a plant sacred to
the Druids), and the foam of the ocean. It was warmed by the breath
of nine maidens, and required brewing for a year and a day.
A youth named Gwion drank three drops of the
potion, causing the rest of the brew to turn into poison and destroy
the cauldron. To hide from the angry goddess, he used his
newly-acquired shape-shifting powers to change himself into a grain
of wheat. However, Cerridwen transformed herself into a black hen
and devoured him.
Cauldron Spirit
Many Witches pour a bit of ordinary surgical
spirit (rubbing alcohol) into their cast iron cauldrons and light it
carefully dropping in a lit match. This is often done as part of
healing rituals, invocations to the elemental spirit of fire,
scrying divinations, sabbat fire festivals, and various working
rituals. (Note: A quarter cup of alcohol will burn for approximately
three minutes.) Be sure that the cauldron is resting securely on a
fireproof stand and is not close to any flammable substances. Do not
touch the cauldron while it is hot unless you cover your hands with
protective oven mitts. If the fire must be extinguished before it
burns itself out, smother it by covering the cauldron with a lid or
by sprinkling salt or sand over the flames. Remember, whenever
working with the element of fire, use caution and common sense, and
respect the spirits of the flame.
The sight of a cauldron blazing with fire can be
very magical and mesmerizing, and when the alcohol has ben steeped
in aromatic herbs, a sweet but gentle incense-like fragrance is
produced. To make an herbal cauldron spirit, put a small bunch of
any or all of the following into a glass bottle: fresh lavender
flowers and leaves, fresh mint leaves, fresh rosemary flowers and
leaves, and fresh thyme flowers and leaves. Fill the bottle to the
top with the alcohol, cap it tightly, and then give it a good shake.
Keep it in a cool place for thirteen days, shaking it twice daily
(every sunrise and moonrise). Strain it through a double thickness
of muslin into clear bottle. Cap it and store it away from heat and
flame. Cauldron spirit will keep indefintely.
Cauldron Divination
Divination is an art that has been practiced in
one form or another since the ancient times and in all levels of
culture.
There are a number of ways in which a cauldron can
be used for divining. One method is to fill the cauldron with water
or wine and place it between two burning candles or under the bright
silver rays of the Full Moon. Relax, clear your mind of all
distracting thoughts, and then gaze into the cauldron as you would a
crystal ball. As with other forms of scrying, your vision will begin
to blur after a while and a slight haze will begin to materialize.
Keep your gaze focused and eventually a vision, either of an actual
or symbolic nature, may be revealed to you.
To determine good or bad omens, according to an
old Pagan method, place a cauldron on the ground and burn some
incense (traditionally frankincense) or a handful of dried herbs in
it. Mugwort, rose petals, vervain, and yarrow are popular herbs of
divination among Witches. If the smoke rises straight up to the
heavens, this indicates a good omen. If it does not rise or if it
touched the ground, this indicates a bad one.
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