Gundestrup Celtic Cauldron Replica - original c. 1st or 2nd century BCE
Good Evening Magickal Reader,
In this back to basics discussion it would be easy to simply have you go out and buy a cauldron, a small cast iron one to burn charcoal in and then burn dried herbs, resins and powdered incenses. Yet, the cauldron in magickal witch lore goes back thousands of years to at least the Gundestrup Celtic Cauldron which was created in the first or second century BCE - Before the Common Era (before the year 0) and was absolutely a magickal vessel simply by the depictions inscribed around it's entire surface.
In ancient mythology from Wales, Scotland, the Netherlands, to the far east to ancient Chinese lore cauldrons have a long and reputed magickal legend and one of the strongest magickal powers the cauldron contains, in just about every culture it is found in, is transformation.
In truth, so many objects had dual purposes in ancient times, a practical purposes and a magickal purposes in legend and lore, from the swords that could defend and could also denote the natural ruler or a good man as opposed to a coward or one not worthy. A bow that would only shoot straight for one who was worthy or kingly, but it could also hunt. The Hebrew hoshen (Priestly Breastplate) was part of the priestly garments in ancient Judah but the breastplate itself contained twelve semi precious to precious stones inlaid which in addition to representing the twelve tribes of Israel also each had specific magickal qualities, as the same stones, crystals and minerals are thought to have magickal properties to this day.
I truly believe this, as I believe in magick. Not simply because I know it to be true as I have seen it manifest as I have set it forth to, time and time again, but it is a comfort also to know that the same magickal/spiritual beliefs that ancient cultures, races and peoples have believed for thousands and thousands of years. History is filled with things that did not work, and ideas that fell short quickly going out of vogue. If magick did not work, then it would not be here in any fashion 3,000 years later.
Back to the cauldron. The Cauldron, like any pot you put on heat add liquid to, and add ingredients to, the heat and the water vapors combine to transform anything you have put into the pot. It will break down the hardness, the fibrous, the raw, the crunchy, chunky, rough and stringy and to cook it over a long period of time, it will break down and become softer, or smoother, or more tender and flavors will meld and combine one changed flavor, "marry" is the culinary term and this is what the cauldron does in all ways it is used, physically and metaphorically. It transforms, changing one base material which when exposed to friction/heat and so becomes something else. Well the cauldron is also a huge metaphor for ourselves, our bodies in our body, mind and spirit, and how our life experiences transform us, and who we are on the other side, and that other side can be tomorrow, and again next week, or next year.
So, is our bodies the cauldron, our lives themselves, our very thoughts, our actions, our reactions. Our choices, our decisions, . . . yes, we can say our body is the skin of the cauldron, the air outside is the world, and what we put into the cauldron is everything that affects us and that we deal with, that we bring in and process on any level. So what we put into the cauldron includes all from actual food and drink, to thoughts, words, deeds, boundaries we set, what we allow, our fears, our triumphs, our joys, our sorrows, everything, and what do we ladle out after it is done?
Now, mind you and this is very important, I am not telling you, and won't tell you what to put into your cauldron. That is up to you and even those experiences and circumstances you would not have chosen consciously for yourself, know your soul chose those experiences. All of the days and experiences you go through go into your cauldron and you mix it up and the person that comes out once the mixture is done brewing is what you "make of it".
Oh! Did you want everything to go smoothly now that you have an idea of how things really work!!?? Hahahah, allow me a moment to cackle!! Sorry, but no witchling, actually it tends to go in the opposite direction, sorry to say. The more you are aware of the ways and means the more challenging the universe becomes. Kind of like finally finding the perfect road to where you really, really need to get to! It is a perfect road, straight, smooth, recently paved and flat and not a bump on the surface!
You fuel up the car, pack everything up and head out on your way. But what would normally take a day or two to get there, well you run into a terrible storm on your way. A large tree falls across your path and you have to wait a day for the utility crews to come and clear it (as there is no other way to go once you have started and are this far along on your chosen path, roadway) then after the road is clear again, and you start off again, then you have some digestive upset from that diner food you ate last night, and are forced to make many stops along the way. Many people would say, throwing hands up in the air "It isn't meant to be!, the signs are telling me to turn back! Bad omens!!" No, not at all!! A bad omen would be your car not starting in your driveway the morning you were setting off! No, the Universe is simply testing you.
Are you serious about this path? Really? Because you will get what you desire so very badly, but remember you only get the amount payback in relation to the amount of effort you put into it. So, maybe you need to prove to the universe and to yourself how serious you really are!! DO your magick!! Or whatever else you desire to do! Do not let anything sway you or set you aside!
Many tell me they do not get to spend as much time practicing magick as they would like, then do more. Some say they have so many magickal books that they have to read, then take a book right now, open it and start reading it. And mark your calendar with various magickal things you want to do, on different days and on each month mark a new book you will start.
Everyone benefits from having a special magickal calendar not only to follow their moons and Sabbats but to also jot down when to do a cleansing banishing spell, when to charge crystals under the full moon, when to do a love spell, or a money spell or . . . you get my point. Fill your calendar even with one additional magickal thing a week, or if you are ambitious a day, and soon it will be a way of life not something you do, but the way you live.
Do not bemoan the unfortunate or uncomfortable, or unhappy experiences you find in your cauldron, learn what you can from them and hopefully you allow them to make you softer and gentler and not harder, bitter or tougher. So challenging times, the most difficult and life changing will transform us, sadly it seems more so than happy and joyous occasions, but we can assist in our transformation if we are aware of the possibility of each and every occasion having that possibility.
So pay close attention and allow the moments, the magickal of each day and for each magickal moment you create to help transform you into the magickal person you desire to be.
In the past year I have gone through a lot of change and transformation, and have come to a place, wiser, much more intuitive, and where I am always sure with my clients as to my psychic ability from over 30 years of having psychic experiences, over the past year I have come to know I am very accurate as to my psychic insight into my life and now I believe it much more readily. Someone tried to make me question my ability a year ago, but after all shook out that really awful, negative person is not in my life and my magick is, and I am the winner in every possible way, and so very happy and fulfilled with all the love, light and happiness I find myself surrounded with.
Sometimes you may find yourself walking alone but that is okay also. The only things I will not walk along with is hate, regret, anger, bitterness, fear, hurt or any negative emotions. I simply do not have room for that inside. My cauldron stirs and stirs and I will only accept love and light to come out of it. That doesn't mean being walked over, taken advantage of or being a push over, if anything it means being a stronger person and holding others accountable for for their participation in your life! Yes, hmmmmm, think about that!! That is right any who are in your life, if you are an adult, and a magickal person, are in your life because you allow them to be, no matter who they are. That is your choice. Be good with it. Or change it. As simple as that. And sometimes the change is within you and sometimes the change is how you allow them to participate in your life, but you always have the control. Always. That is the work of your cauldron, YOU are the only one stirring it. No one ever else gets to touch the stirring stick,
There is more magick, more alchemy, more magickal and spiritual manifestation in this work than in any spell you can cast. This sounds advanced, because it is. I introduce it as a basic concept because it is. You start with it in the beginning and you never stop working it. Ever.
So look around, look within, and see what it is you are adding and how you are stirring and what you plan to have come out when this stew is ready. Then plan what your next batch will be.
Live, Laugh and Always Love!!
© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.
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