Neptune's Dolphins

 

As a tool of magic, the cauldron has many mythological qualities. As one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danann, the Cauldron of the Dagda (the Good God) (Note 2.) provided eternal abundance through food. The Lord of Abundance, the Dagda allowed no one to leave his hall hungry. One of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, the Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant would not boil meat for cowards. This Cauldron (Pair Dyrnwch Gawr) separated the heroic person from the others. The Cauldron of the Head of Annwfyn also would not cook food for a coward. Moreover, this cauldron was the holder of mysteries. In the Mabinogion, the Cauldron of Rebirth (Pair Dadeni) would return the Dead to life, although they could not speak. Other cultures such as the Greeks have their myths about cauldrons as well.

 

In magical practice, the cauldron has many uses. Representing the Divine Feminine, the cauldron is the Womb of the Goddess, which makes it a tool for transformation. As Ceridwen, a Welsh Goddess, makes magical potions in her cauldron, so can the modern wizard. A cauldron full of water can be used for scrying. On an altar, it can represent the Four Elements, according to Doreen Valiente, the mother of modern Wicca. (Note 3.) The cauldron is a tool of creation, abundance, and transformation.

 

In “The Witch’s Cauldron,” Laura Tempest Zakroff lists items that could be considered a cauldron. Since the utensil itself has undergone many changes through time, modern things can substitute for the traditional cauldron. She writes, “the cauldron is first and foremost a container. It is shaped to hold things and is designed to conduct and retain heat.” Zakroff compiles nine uses for a cauldron – container, maker (cooking), transformer, purifier, gateway (connection between realms), marker (guide), drum, divination, and rebirth (renewing life). Things such as the bathtub, washing machine, and tea kettle fulfill many of the uses that Zakroff lists. A stockpot, Dutch oven or crockpot could also be considered a suitable substitute.

 

Pondering Zakroff’s list of uses, I decided that a tea kettle is a worthy substitute. After all “cauldron” also means “kettle.” To me, the brewing and consumption of tea is sacred and transformative. In Japanese Tea Ceremony, the selection of the kettle is as important as the selection of the tea cups. Since the kettle brews the magic potion known as tea, I chose mine with great care. It does hold all the elements as Valiente detailed in “Witchcraft for Tomorrow.”

 

To consecrate my tea kettle, I first clean it with hot water, and let it air dry. Then I ask the Roman Gods to bless it – Vesta of the Hearth for the kettle. Fons for the water, and Libera and Liber for the tea. Then I make an offering of tea to the Gods by spilling the liquid on the earth. Then the kettle is ready for magical use.

 

Notes:

Note 1. The full chant is:

“Round about the cauldron go;

In the poisoned entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights has thirty-one

Sweltered venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i’ th’ charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil, and bubble.”

(“MacBeth,” Act IV, Scene 1.)

 

Note 2. The Cauldron of Plenty is also known as the Undry.

 

Note 3. Valiente in “Witchcraft for Tomorrow,” writes “need water to fill it, fire to heat it, the green herbs or other productions of the earth to cook in it, while the steam arises from it and spreads it aroma into the air.”

 

Works Used.

Ellis, Peter Berresford, “The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends.” Constable & Robinson Ltd: London. 2002.

Greer, John Michael, “The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2003.

Michelle, Heron, “Elemental Witchcraft.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise, “Celtic Gods and Heroes.” Dover: New York, 2000.

Zakroff, Laura Tempest, “The Witch’s Cauldron.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.” Franklin Lakes (NJ): New Page Books. 2004.

 

In the Roman Polytheist tradition, the Door is the liminal space between the inside and the outside. Two-faced Janus watches the Door, keeping the bad out and the good in. Or He lets the bad out and the good enter. In Roman rituals, Janus receives the first and last offerings. He opens the Door to the Gods and watches over the ritual. When the rite is over, He closes the Door.

 

In divination, I asked Janus if the panticle I had purchased would be acceptable to Him. Janus replied no. Then I asked what would be. I finally bought a small silver metal disk with a pentagram in a circle. Wheat shafts were inscribed around the circle.

 

To prepare for the consecration of the panticle, I decided to practice tracing a circle containing a pentagram. Tracing a pentagram in the air with a wand creates a portal between the worlds. I wanted to understand more of the movement of energy and the focus of the will in magic.

 

As a part of my continuing brain therapy, I practice writing in cursive a letter of the day. Vimala Rogers in “Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life” says that “each stroke of the pen reaffirms a thinking habit, and each thinking habit shapes our self-image, and self-image is the lens through which we see life, and this lens determines our behavior.” Rogers continues, “We write the way we do because we think the way we do. Our thought habits are reflected in the neurological patterns in the brain. When we alter the way we write we are simultaneously altering the way we think, and the neuronal pathways shift accordingly.”

 

Drawing the pentagram within the circle has enhanced my magical skills. As Rogers indicated, doing repeated tracing of the pentagram surrounded by the circle changed how I view energy. It helped me to understand the use of the will within magic. I felt the power of the panticle, which became more than an inert object. By repeatedly tracing the panticle, that I had purchased, I activated it.

 

Heron Michelle cautions, “opening the elemental gateways feels like turning a faucet of pure energy to flow into and fill the temple. When done effectively, there is a tangible shift to the energy of the circle once the elements are flowing and mixing. They need the circle to contain them.” She stresses to think of safety in doing this. Tracing the panticle on paper helped me to focus on safely concerning these energies.

 

I made offerings to Janus to bless and to use the panticle in my magic working. In divination, Janus indicated that it could act as a Door. I left the panticle on the altar for four days, since four is a magical number for Romans. At the end, I made final offerings to Janus to close the portal. In using the panticle for magical workings, I will make offerings to Janus at the beginning and at the end of each.

 

Notes

Note 1. Mankey and others refer to the “panticle” as “pantacle.”

Note 2. This is the common symbol used in pentacles (pantacles) – a pentagram in a circle.

 

Works Used.

Adkins Lesley and Roy Adkins, “Dictionary of Roman Religion.” New York: Oxford University Press. 1996.

Greer, John Michael, “The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2003.

Mankey, Jason and Laura Tempest Zakroff, “The Witch’s Altar.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Michelle, Heron, “Elemental Witchcraft.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Rogers, Vimala, “Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life.” New York: Fireside. 2000.

Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.” Franklin Lakes (NJ): New Page Books. 2004.

When I first pondered the magical tools of Western magic, I looked for similarities with my Roman Polytheistic practice. Going deeper, I realized that the two used dissimilar spiritual technologies for different ends. Since Roman Polytheists are focused on proper relations with the Gods, their altar items reflect this. Meanwhile, Western magicians, exercising their personal sovereignty, wield their tools to create a new reality.

 

Eliphas Levi, noted French occultist, introduced the chalice as a tool into Western Magic in the 19th Century. Levi was inspired by the suits of the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn expanded on his intent to have the chalice represent the feminine power of the Cosmos. For modern witches, the chalice represented the Goddess (Note 1) in the Great Rite. In “The Witch’s Altar,” Jason Mankey and Laura Tempest Zakroff write “The love of the Goddess is expressed in the waters and wine of the chalice. May all who come to this altar never thirst. Blessed Be!” The chalice then becomes a sacred tool to convey the essence of the Goddess.

 

Heron Michelle noted in “Elemental Witchcraft” that Modern Witchcraft restores “the full complement of tools to our magickal tool box so that we may attain true mastery as humans forsaking neither god nor goddess.” One thing that it does well is “reconciling the tensions between the chalice and the blade.” (Note 2.) “This becomes the Great Work of transformational magick.” Traditionally the chalice is symbolic of the receptive womb of the Goddess. Heron Michelle says that since “creation flows from union,” the Great Rite of the Male (the Blade) lowering into the Female (the Chalice) need not be hetero-centric. It can be thought of as the merging of the projective and receptive mysteries into a harmonious relationship. She refers to these mysteries as “Two who move as One.”

 

In “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard,” Oberon Zell-Ravenheart observed that the chalice contains the “Mysteries of Life and Death.” According to him, the chalice represents that ancient Cauldron of the Goddess Cerridwen. This cauldron gave poetry and inspiration to those who drank from it. Since the chalice is the tool of emotions “especially Love,” it contains the “Elemental Water of Life.”

 

Various blogs written by witches offer suggestions for devising a chalice. One common one is to use a paper cup. For me, a red plastic Solo Cup does not seem to be a proper receptacle for the Goddess. I think something more elegant would be appropriate.

 

Zell-Ravenheart suggests using a drinking goblet (a cup on a stem with a base). I took this to mean a wine glass. Obtaining one would be easy since the stores that sell wine often sell wine glasses. Since wine is the usual offering for the Gods, a wine glass would be acceptable. Wine is regarded to be the creator of new realities. It was a sacrament for various sacred mysteries such as the Dionysian ones.

 

To consecrate the wine glass as the chalice, I would first rinse it out with salt water and pass it through a candle flame. Then I would sprinkle flour in the chalice (a traditional Mesopotamian method of protection) and ask Ninhursaga, the Mother of the Gods to bless it. (I am a follower of Mesopotamian Gods as well.) Then I would wrap it up in flannel to keep it safe.

 

Ninhursaga is the Goddess of the Womb, who gave birth to eight Gods. Among her titles are “Mother of Wildlife,” “Mother of all Children,” Form Giver,” and “Birth Giver.” The chalice would be the representation of Her powers of creation and fertility.

 

I would dedicate the chalice singing traditional praises of this Goddess: (Note 3).

“Ninhursaga, being uniquely great,

Makes the womb contract;

Nintur, being a great mother,

Sets the birth-giving going.”

 

“Mother Nintur, the Lady of form-giving,

Working in a dark place, the womb (lit. “heart”)

To give birth to lords, to place the crown

On (their) heads, is in her hands.”

 

Notes:

Note 1. In Western magic and Modern Witchcraft, there is a Goddess and a God. This differs from Polytheism which has many Gods and Goddess.

Note 2. Michelle is referring to the athame.

Note 3. Translations are from original texts as selected by Jacobsen.

 

Works Used.

Greer, John Michael, “The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2003.

Jacobesen, Thorkild, “The Treasures of Darkness.” New Haven: Yale University. 1976.

Mankey, Jason and Laura Tempest Zakroff, “The Witch’s Altar.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Michelle, Heron, “Elemental Witchcraft.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.” Franklin Lakes (NJ): New Page Books. 2004.