The cauldron – The Cauldron Goddess

When the Cauldron Feels Empty-The Sacred Void

As the darkness increases and the cold sets in, we can experience a challenging time emotionally and mentally, here in the northern hemisphere. Late Autumn and the Scorpio season brings themes of death, transformation and rebirth, as well as deep diving into the locked closets of our emotions, lineages and past life memories. We may find ourselves in the sacred void of the unknown, a place of release and cleansing, and a liminal emptiness that calls for pause, rest and recalibration before the new light of Solstice comes.

This year is particularly emo, with tons of planets in water signs, and in retrograde, bringing the past right up in our faces- to tie up loose ends, close old chapters, clear away baggage and anything that we’re holding onto that doesn’t belong in the new cycle being birthed in 2026.

We all seem to be going through our own rebirthing process, myself included. It reminds me a lot of the labor of childbirth. Waves of change flowing through me as old skins and inherited patterns release and something new slowly gets closer to being born within. My nervous system and body have been undergoing deep healing as I clear old patterns and trauma from my current and past lives as well as lineage wounds. It has been laborious and not fun to say the least, but I know it is helping me get where I need and want to be in the future. I am already amazed at how much lighter and freer I feel after releasing a lot of stuff over the past few months.

I want more for myself. I want my authentic self fully back home within so I can share more with the world. I am freeing myself of the weight of others’ expectations that I’ve been carrying my whole life. I am breaking unspoken rules and releasing absorbed projections that have taken up a lot of internal space, keeping me small. These have been streaming out of me- through my dreams, my emotional and physical body. Thankfully, I have the support of healers in both human and spirit form and the Earth with me on this journey.

Some days in this liminal transition time, I feel unmotivated and empty. When I was thinking of what I wanted to write for this post, all that came to mind was ‘my cauldron is empty’.

I felt like I didn’t have anything to share. No inspiration or helpful information I thought people would want to hear. Because, I have been in liminal space, a bit of a personal void. Yet there is nothing empty about the void. It’s actually quite fertile and filled with gratitude, grace, magic and mystery. It has transformed me in powerful ways and continues to. I’ve become impressed and fond of it. Surely there must be something I can say about this void or emptiness that could be helpful? I’ll give it my best.

Finding our Way through the Dark

We may find ourselves in the void in many instances in our lives when things are in transition. Between one chapter and another. During times of loss, illness, healing, separation, death, as well as birth, marriage, moving house, starting a new job, lifestyle or embracing a new identity. It can also be in a seasonal change.

We recently unexpectedly got a heavy dumping of snow here in Toronto, before all the leaves had changed and dropped. Temps dropped to winter levels. It felt like the vitality of the earth had just suddenly gone before I got to say goodbye. It triggered a heaviness in my heart- a reminder of the times circumstances or people slipped away in my life unexpectedly, and I never got to say goodbye or grieve properly.

We also recently changed the clocks back to standard time- much better for our circadian rhythms, but it takes some getting used to. All of a sudden the night goes on forever and the daytime, if it’s overcast or rainy, just feels like more darkness. This combo of darkness, dampness, and saying goodbye to the growth season made me feel particularly low and old wounds came to the surface to be felt and healed. Our environment can affect us on deep levels.

The seasons always mirror a part of our life- fall reminds us of what is on its way out, what is dying, or ending its cycle. We may feel more emotional or on edge as we clutch to nostalgia, ride waves of grief or fear the unknown. We know an emptiness awaits us, and we may fear that emptiness.

Yet, in order for new life to bloom, a period of slowness, rest and incubation is necessary.

Emptiness is simply potential- it holds all the fertility and possibility in the universe.

It awaits our spark of energy to ignite it and set in motion a whole new path of possibility. But there is a time to simply wait, to allow it to be- so our energy can build itself up before the new spark can come into existence.

Life requires a time of rest, integration, recalibration and renewal. We sleep 1/3 of our lives for this reason. We don’t function well without this sacred surrender to the void. The surrender to rest allows us to awaken with new energy the next day.

Having experienced a lot of insomnia over the last year, I was reminded just how precious sleep is. I saw a sleep therapist for a few months which really helped me get back on track. One thing I learned was how important it was for me to re-learn how to surrender and trust my body’s natural capabilities and the Great Mystery itself. Practicing surrender and trust helped me perhaps more than any sleep remedies.

Part of the issue for me was that surrender felt like pain and powerlessness, which stemmed from old traumas, some of which involved my body being in physical pain or emotional suffering. I’ve relived so much of my past over the last year- my moments of powerlessness since birth or even before.

My faith was tested this year, as I grappled with my past and self-doubt and was pushed to strengthen my faith in Spirit and learn the art of surrender, while discerning it from powerlessness.

My attempts to escape my fears and old pain never worked, and my attempts to control the healing process (which is also a type of escape) backfired and made me feel worse. I spent a lot of time with trees and water and listening to the voice of the earth, my body and my intuition to help me stay afloat. The more I practiced this, the more it proved to be helpful and the more I was able to embody my faith and trust the process.

I know I am part of nature and move with its rhythms and its organic, non-linear ways. The more I trusted the messy, non-linear process in my body and psyche, the easier it became to sleep, and to release my past pain, and feel better than I ever have in many ways. I now sleep well again and have more freedom and lightness in my body, and a growing inner sovereignty than I can remember ever having.

Surrender to the divine and practicing faith offers us the power we need when we’re faced with the uncertainty life brings. I also cultivated a strong daily gratitude practice which expanded my faith.

How do you deal with uncertainty and the unknown? Do you grip onto controlling smaller things in your life, like diet, your body, environment, or do you escape or numb out? How does your spiritual practice support you?

Creative Droughts and Spaces Between

Sometimes, when the cauldron feels empty, it is more on a creative level, where we’re between projects, or something we put a lot of energy into has ended and we have yet to conceive a new plan, idea or pathway forward.

As creative beings, it can sometimes be hard to admit it when we feel empty, uninspired, unmotivated, tired, or just like we’re in the void and have no clue what we’re doing or what’s next. It feels like we aren’t moving, and that can be scary in a culture that moves too fast and expects us to always be doing and producing.

But being in a phase of nothingness is totally normal and ok! We are nature and nature moves in cycles. Slowing down is often what we need to do when there is a lot to process and integrate during times of transition. Some stages last longer than others. Sometimes they don’t go in a predictable way. But each stage serves a purpose and happens in Divine timing.

Patience and divine timing is something I’ve really had to learn to trust over the years. I like to feel in control, so life has brought me many lessons in surrender and letting go. I’ve learned to embrace the void, as a sacred cauldron of rebirth. A beautiful space of pure potential and possibility. This space only asks us to wait, and to let ourselves dream.

But the void can feel scary. Especially in a culture that raises us to feel that rest, slowness, darkness, transition or stillness are dangerous, and the unknown is akin to death. But death always leads to rebirth. Energy is continuously in a flow of changing form, it doesn’t end.

The dark womb is where life begins. It is where we can allow new dreams to take shape.

Do you give yourself space and time to simply wonder and dream? Do you let yourself simply wander and be in a space of not-knowing and enjoy it? If not, what if you did?

Embracing Sacred Pause, Silence and Honing our Intuition

We live in a very logical and visual culture, so it can be helpful to become more well-rounded by honing our other skills, especially non-linear and intuitive ways of processing and being.

We need to balance ourselves by learning to feel our emotions- no matter how painful or messy they are. We need to practice trusting our intuition- that calm, quiet inner knowing we feel when we embrace the mystery that lies within the present moment.

Pause and darkness are what allow us to become more present and hear these parts of us.

When it is dark outside, we need to rely on our senses other than sight to get around. We need to feel what’s in our heart and our gut, feel the moment with our feet and hands, smell the air, sharpen our hearing. Attune to what we sense, rather than what we think or what is visible on the surface.

Silence can feel scary because it allows us to hear the voices of our buried truths and dreams that we’d maybe rather not see or hear, for fear that they may take us off into the unknown wilderness. But these voices carry the gifts of the new life awaiting us beyond the void.

We can plant seeds in this season for next year- But how can we know what to plant if we don’t slow down and listen to the new life that’s calling us?

When we pause, turn off our phones, noise and take a moment to simply be- what arises?

What if we embrace the darkness, the silence and simply light a candle? Take a moment to check in with ourselves to hear the whispers from deep within?

What if instead of trying to figure out our next step logically or force a plan, we simply tuned into this moment and allowed our instincts or intuition guide us forward?

Emptiness brings the Magic

Energy and inspiration need to have space to enter. Often when life seems to be slowing us down, or forcing a pause, it is because we need to receive something, but have been too busy to let it in.

Magic requires receptivity- our open hands, arms, and heart. When we fill every moment with action, noise or distraction, we cannot receive the new idea, spark, inspiration or energy we really want.

Sometimes our manifestations get blocked because on some level we don’t believe we deserve it, or that we don’t have what it takes to get it, or maybe we’re simply holding onto something else that is taking up too much space for it to come in.

So, when it comes to creating something new, we can start by clearing and making that space, then letting ourselves be empty and open to receive.

What is something you wish to have in your life? Is there space for that right now? Is there perhaps a belief or attachment to something else taking up that space in yourself or life? Are you open to creating space and letting yourself receive the new energy and inspiration that awaits?

In the cyclic flow of life, we cannot skip steps. In order to create, to renew and birth new life, we must embrace the stage of emptiness- which is actually full of potential. Perhaps the darkness is actually the most fertile phase of all. The more we practice simply being in it- in surrender, patience and trust, the more magic will be able to come through and ignite all we wish to manifest in the future.

I am here in the dark womb cauldron with you- may we embrace this sacred pause and open to the magic being formed- unseen yet full of new life!

If you’d like to feel the warmth and love that exists in the void, I recommend this beautiful music for meditation and relaxation called ‘Within the Void’ by Mei-Lan and Ali Pervez Mehdi.

Blessed New Moon in Scorpio and the depths of Samhain season!

Serena

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The Cauldron- Sacred Symbol & Tool of the Witch

What comes to mind when you see a cauldron? Witches casting spells, a bubbling potion, or perhaps a hearty stew cooking over a fire? The cauldron is historically both a very mundane and mystical object that continues to be a powerful symbol of many things. It is one of my favourite tools as a Witch and a representation of my practice and path.

In celebration of The Cauldron Goddess’ birthday month (we are one year old!), I thought I’d share a bit about my own reflections and experiences with the cauldron- as a symbol and sacred tool of the Witch.

The Hearth & Cooking

At its most mundane, the cauldron is a cooking pot. A staple of our ancestors far and wide, this portable and durable vessel has served humanity for generations, providing nourishment, and sustaining life.

The pot cooking over the fire conjures deep memories of comfort, warmth, family, and home. It is for this reason that the cauldron is a strong symbol of the hearth. For nomadic peoples, I imagine the cauldron felt like an anchor of home while on the move. For those rooted to place, the cauldron held a central position to the home and served as faithful provider of nourishment and comfort.

The cauldron is the container where raw, unintegrated ingredients come together to create something delicious and sustaining for our work and growth. Cooking may seem very mundane yet cooking always involves a transformation of energy and materials. There is creative energy and magick weaved into the process.

Cooking has historically been deemed ‘women’s work’ because of its nurturing and domestic properties. Patriarchy has devalued these qualities and therefore the healing or magickal aspects of cooking are less valued than its artistic or competitive forms. There are currently so many competitive cooking shows taking centre stage, that it almost seems that for this ‘woman’s work’ to be valued, it must fit into the capitalistic/patriarchal paradigm, along with other art forms that have become more about competition than soul-nourishment and love.

There’s nothing wrong with refining one’s skills, of course. But, I suppose I think of cooking as something soulful, as our original magick, the mother of all rituals and witchcraft. It is where one thing becomes another and serves to heal and nourish us. We can add intentions, prayers, healing herbs and energy medicine into our culinary creations. There is power in the cauldron. It is here where we can connect the cauldron to the Witch.

The Witch

The Witch is the one who nourishes and sustains life, who heals and transforms, who makes magick and serves their family and community.

Healing and Witchcraft are deeply intertwined. Through history, the village Wise Woman was the healer and midwife everyone would call on when ill or in labor. With the influence of patriarchy, colonization and modern medicine, folks who followed the old ways, the Wise Woman ways were punished, ostracized or even killed. They twisted the healing, life sustaining Wise Woman into something evil, a repulsive and fearful death-bringer or spirit of chaos- a ‘Witch’ in the negative sense of the word. Yet the Witch is and always was simply a Healer. The word Witch is connected to ‘wit’ and wisdom, implying that witches were also sacred knowledge keepers.

Women’s power as healers and community leaders has been diminished over centuries and we are still in the process of reclaiming this power within ourselves. For me, using the cauldron is one way that I reclaim my power as Witch and Healer.

The cauldron remains a powerful symbol of healing and witchcraft to the modern psyche. Since we don’t use cauldrons much anymore, it also represents something ancient and mysterious from the past. We associate it with spells, potions, witches and some other mysterious things related to the sacred feminine…

The Womb & Creativity

The cauldron can be seen as representing the Mother energy. It contains, nourishes, sustains, and protects the creation within it. The pagan chant ‘one thing becomes another, in the mother, in the mother’ is one of my favourites to chant over my cauldron as I make a brew or do a spell. The cauldron is resonant with the womb, as a vessel of nourishment and protection of new life.

Within our womb space, in our pelvic bowl lies the energy of creation. Our sensual, sexual energy and our creative ‘flow’ stem from here, whether or not we have a physical womb. Those of us with wombs can also physically carry life here.

The pelvic bowl is very much like our own physical cauldron which holds our creative power.

An Embodied Cauldron Practice

In the Irish bardic poem, ‘The Cauldron of Poesy’, three internal cauldrons found within the body are referenced. The Cauldron of Warming, the Cauldron of Motion, and the Cauldron of Wisdom. I created my own personal grounding practice with these 3 cauldrons, even before I had heard of this poem, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it.

The Cauldron of Warming sits within our pelvic bowl, where our creative ‘fuel’ resides. I like to think of this cauldron sitting within my pelvic bowl with its 3 legs energetically reaching to the earth like roots from my sitz bones and coccyx. I meditate on this cauldron, imagining its contents as fluid creative energies within me. I notice if they are stagnant, clouded, toxic or flowing, vibrant and well. I feel my connection the Earth Mother and imagine that healing energy flowing through my cauldron. I chant ‘oooohhh’ here, while connecting to the energies of the land. Chanting helps to transmute any negative energies.

The Cauldron of Motion sits in the heart centre. Here, we experience what ‘moves’ us, such as art, poetry, music, love, relationships, sorrow, and grief. I imagine this cauldron’s legs energetically connected to the cauldron below it, and its contents fluid again. Ideally, the energies flow clearly and vibrate with love. Chanting helps to transmute the energy. I chant ‘eeeeee’ here while connecting to the energies of water and sea. The combination of ‘ooohhh’, ‘eeee’ and ‘oooo’ sounds are one way to connect with the Awen- the Divine inspiration that flows through all life.

The Cauldron of Wisdom sits within or atop the head, and I imagine it open, facing upward to the skies above as a direct link to Spirit and the Awen- the divine inspiration that flows through all life. I imagine it receiving inspiration from above and its contents are the energy of flowing light. I imagine my thoughts cleared and stagnant energy released. Through this meditation I become a channel for the Awen, for divine inspiration, for the healing energy of the goddess Cerridwen- my matron goddess to come through. I chant ‘oooo’ here to transmute the energies.

Doing this practice helps me to become a channel for creative energies on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.

Cerridwen- The Cauldron Goddess Herself

Cerridwen is one of the main goddesses I work with, and she is the classic Witch from Welsh myth. I share her story and some of my thoughts on it here. Cerridwen is famous for her cauldron in which she brews a potion of Awen- divine inspiration and knowledge for her ugly son, Afagddu, for whom she wants a better life. The potion takes a year and a day to complete. After all this hard work it accidentally ends up going to a servant boy, Gwion, who through a process of initiation and transformation becomes the most inspirational of bards, Taliesin.

Cerridwen’s cauldron is important because her role is that of Wise Woman, Witch, Healer and Mother. Her cauldron is like an extension of herself.

When her potion went to the wrong boy, Cerridwen was quite angry her spell went awry. The cauldron cracked and broke, turning the potion to poison. Its breaking could symbolise Cerridwen’s emotions, or a forced breaking of her old self and initiation to a new level of spiritual growth. It could represent the laws of magick being broken, or the appearance of fate taking over.

Cerridwen is also an initiatrix of change and transformation. Not only does she push Gwyion to become more than he ever thought he could be, but she too, is transformed in the process.

There is much symbolism in Cerridwen’s story- about power, fate, the wise use of magick and the emotional intensity of motherhood. The cauldron can represent any of this as well.

Transformation & Rebirth

I think of the cauldron as symbolic of the transformational events in our lives. Those challenging times where we must change or be changed. Those times where we must surrender to a power greater than us to carry us forward. When we must let go of who we are to become who we are meant to be. The cauldron is like a crucible- an agent of change, transformation and rebirth. What goes in comes out as something new.

Can you think of a time in your life where you underwent deep internal changes that left you feeling like you died and were reborn? That’s a cauldron experience. I think these can also be felt as smaller and less dramatic as well, like when we are pushed out of our comfort zone and make changes to adapt.

I feel like I am undergoing some kind cauldron experience most of the time, in at least one area of my life. Some cauldron experiences are slow boiling and take time, like Cerridwen’s brew, for a year or several. Others are more fast-acting and short term.

Some cauldron life experience examples are: Undergoing an intense course or learning program where you learn new skills and change as a person; Becoming a mother or a parent; Losing a loved one and your sense of self being changed from the loss; Divorce or separation; Becoming ill; Healing from illness; Being in a relationship that tests you; Moving to a new place; Changing Careers, etc.

One thing about the cauldron is that what goes in comes out differently, in a new form. Our transformational experiences remake us anew. We are not meant to stagnate or stay the same forever.

The cauldron is the mother that pushes us to grow and become who we have the potential to be. She is also that safe container who enables us to be vulnerable while the change is happening.

I explore the relationship between the cauldron and holding safe space for healing & transformation in this post.

How to use the Cauldron as a Witch’s tool

The cauldron may not be used in everyday cooking anymore, but we can use it as a magickal tool to enhance our own personal healing and transformation. Cauldrons come in every size, from large dinner-size cauldrons to tiny purse-size cauldrons. I love them all. Here are a few ways I like to use them:

Smoke cleansing: The cauldron makes an excellent holder for herbs and resins. You can place a piece of charcoal within it and burns your smoke cleansing herbs on it or, you can place the herbs directly into the cauldron and light them. The smaller cauldrons are great for this.

Grounding practice: The cauldron is usually made of iron and therefore an excellent grounding tool. You can use it like I do in the above grounding ritual or make up your own!

Burning spells: The cauldron is a safe container to burn pieces of paper with words written on it or other objects that are part of your spells.

Scrying: The black cauldron is a perfect backdrop for scrying. Fill the cauldron with water and take your time to ground and centre before gazing into the cauldron to see visions. This works best with a medium to large cauldron.

Potions & Cooking: Use a larger cauldron to hold your potions or healing soups, the old-fashioned way. I purchased a couple of beautiful large cauldrons from Bristow Iron Works, including the stand and hooks for this purpose.

An altar in itself: The cauldron can make a wonderful keeper of sacred energy. A large cauldron can be filled with crystals, herbs, beautiful images, and objects to anchor the sacred into your space. A small cauldron makes a great travel altar- fill it with herbs and crystals to uplift your energy while away.

Salt Bowl or Centrepiece: I have used a cauldron as a salt bowl and centrepiece for my dining room table. I filled it with salt to absorb negative energies, and with herbs and crystals to help bring harmony to my dinner table.

Symbol: You can use the cauldron as a symbol on your altar, your desk or bedside table for anything we discussed in this blog- symbol of your inner Witch or Wise Woman, the womb, the sacred feminine or Mother energy, transformation & rebirth, etc. Keep it as a reminder of your magick!

If you are interested in the symbolism of the cauldron and its connections to myths, I highly recommend the book The Witch’s Cauldron, by Laura Tempest Zakroff.

What does the cauldron symbolise for you? Do you use one in your practice?

May the cauldron bring you the warmth and soul-nourishment you need in these transformational times.

Serena

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