I have always associated the cauldron with witchcraft. As a child when I closed my eyes and imagined mysterious witches outside at night casting spells under the full moon they were always in the woods surrounding a cauldron that was bubbling over a fire. I’m aware that this is a stereotypical image, but for me there is a thread of truth to be found there within the exaggeration. Since I’ve lived in New England my entire life I often visited living museums such as Plimouth Plantation and Old Sturbridge Village; both museums present what life would have been like for people living during the 1600’s and 1800’s respectively and every home you visit within the museum centers around the hearth, which always has a cauldron
bubbling over the fire. For me, this validates the idea that the cauldron was and is an important piece of not only the history of the land I live on, but the women who played vital roles within their community and who had a literal hand in sustaining her family and community.
The cauldron represents both life (the womb of our primordial Mother) and death (the tomb); from whence we came and will return. While there is a place for the chalice within my practice it has similar yet difference energetic impressions for me. My chalice also represents life, but not always death. While it holds water and often wine that I drink and offer as libations during ritual, it cannot withstand heat nor can it contain fire as the chalice is made of glass. Because the cast iron cauldron is able to contain the element of fire as well as water within itself it calls to my mind the alchemical process of creation, in which water and fire give birth to all other elements and is able to be used in conjunction with them all … the cauldron itself represents earth, is able to contain water or fire and when boiling water will create steam or can burn herbs to create smoke which represents air.
The cauldron is the tool of transformation and metamorphosis and is the source (Mother) from which all magick flows and as such has a prominent place within my own Craft and magickal practice.
The cauldron represents both life (the womb of our primordial Mother) and death (the tomb); from whence we came and will return. While there is a place for the chalice within my practice it has similar yet difference energetic impressions for me. My chalice also represents life, but not always death. While it holds water and often wine that I drink and offer as libations during ritual, it cannot withstand heat nor can it contain fire as the chalice is made of glass. Because the cast iron cauldron is able to contain the element of fire as well as water within itself it calls to my mind the alchemical process of creation, in which water and fire give birth to all other elements and is able to be used in conjunction with them all … the cauldron itself represents earth, is able to contain water or fire and when boiling water will create steam or can burn herbs to create smoke which represents air.
The cauldron is the tool of transformation and metamorphosis and is the source (Mother) from which all magick flows and as such has a prominent place within my own Craft and magickal practice.
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