The Cauldron
The cauldron is a symbol of the Goddess and the womb, the container in which transformation takes place. Our ancestors believed that cauldrons had regenerative properties that would revive anything thrown into them, as in the case of warriors who could be brought back to life and full fighting power by immersion. And they saw the earth as a container in which the dead were laid in a fetal postition, like a child in the womb. They often surrounded the body with flowers and painted it with red ochre, a symbol of life giving blood. The transformative image of the cauldron offers us hope and fills us with anticipation that our souls seek new bodies and new life after the cessation of the old; that we renew in the womb of the Goddess.
Cauldrons produced by Celtic ironworkers in 500 BC and earlier still exist. The Gundestrap cauldron, with its seated Cernunnos (a god of the forest) and his snakes, is a famous example. The Celtic and pre-Celtic cauldron imagery eventually evolved into the Arthurian cauldron, and later it was Christianized in the Grail legends, wherein the life-affirming properties in the cup could heal the land or bring the soul to redemption. Such a hold does this imagery of gestation, nurturing, and healing have on our collective psyche that similiar legends abound throughout stories and folklore, emerging in paintings, novels, and film. In the myth of Taliesin, for example, Ceridwen boils a potion for a year and a day to produce a magical elixir intended to transform her ugly son Avagaddu into someone who will be admitted among men of noble birth. But Gwoin Bach accidentally ingests the elixir when Morda, the blind man, upsets the cauldron. Gwoin Bach acquires the special powers intended for Avagaddu, and an angry Ceridwen chases after him until, finally, she catches and eats him. He is born again nine months later as Taliesin.
Within witchcraft and Wicca the cauldron serves us as both a sacred vessel and a practical container that can be utilized withing ritual. A cast-iron cauldron is the most fireproof container, but even so, the legs should rest on fireproof tiles, or a large piece of slate. Some people choose to place the cauldron, containing a lit candle, in the center of a cast circle to represent the Goddess. When it is not possible or practical to have an outside bonfire, you can place a lit candle in a cauldron to represent the bonfire on Beltane or other festivals when the fire in traditionally leapt.
My practice is to put spell candles in a cauldron while festivals are in progress. Our group also places fruit, flowers, corn, greenery, or earth in teh cauldron. Poppies and wheat look sensational at Lammas: holly, ivy, and mistletoe are wonderful at Yule; roses at Midsummer; snowdrops and floating candles in water at Imbolc; and apples are good at Samhain.
The cauldron's dark interior is the ideal container for water when you want to practice scrying. You can gaze into the flame of a candle floating upon the water, or you can put a silver coin in the bottom to give the eye a focal point while the mind disengages and becomes open.
I own two cauldrons. One is a large vessel at least two hundred years old that I found at a local market. This was a lucky find, not something that you will come across often, thought it's worth keeping a eye out for similiar bargains. It was in a sorry state, but removing layers of rust and treating its surface helped me to get familiar with it; and even though it's now used in magical work, I often think about the family who once must have cooked their meals in it. My other cauldron is a modern reproduction bought from an occult shop. Other sources are Oriental shops, which often have copper or bronze containers with a cauldron-like shape; or garden centers and hardware stores, which will often sell metal cauldrons to contain logs or plants. While these are typically of flimsier construction than their iron counterparts, the shape is authentic.
The cauldron is one of the best known symbols of the modern Craft. It is a profound metaphor for the creation of life itself. It's also a visual chiche' that evokes the image of Witches of old. In the very deepest sense, the cauldron represents the circle of life that contains and protects us all as it renews the seasons in nature and each phase within our lives. And in the end, the cauldron receives us when our present term on Earth has ended, cradling us once more until we are ready for rebirth.
Elen Hawke
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