Imagine finding yourself in Cerridwen's Cauldron! You are swirling around, as Gwion stirs and tends the brew inside the cauldron - the brew being your emotional/shadow self. At first you are on the surface, but you are still able to maintain control, as he stirs faster, you begin to sink. Slowly delving deeper into your greatest fears, your resentments, your anger, your hatred, your bitterness, your insecurities, your inadequacies and feelings of unworthiness. Gwion stirs faster and faster - suddenly the brew has escalated into a whirlpool! You try to struggle with thoughts of denial, and feelings of rage, but it is all you can do to keep your head above the liquid to keep from drowning. Finally, the brew overcomes you, pulling you down to the bottom of the cauldron. You lose control of all that you ever were, all that you had planned on being!

The brew begins to boil, and suddenly, you are once again being forced to the surface by bubbles of scalding heat. You are surrounded by confusion, as you swiftly rise closer and closer to the rim of the cauldron. Just before you surface, you come to a realization - a realization of knowing that it's not you against the brew, but rather you are merely a part of the brew - one ingredient among many! One ingredient of something that is so grand, so magnificent, that mere mortal men cannot comprehend it. And you revel in knowing you are part of this. But it doesn't end here...

For once you have been born from the Cauldron, you now are thrown into the darkness and cast out onto the sea of the subconscious once again. Only this time, you are searching for all those things about you that were honorable/light. And as you float upwards through the waves of desires, other characteristics attach to you like barnacles to a ship. And from the things that were a part of you before, and the things that have become a part of you now, you are a new and different person. In some aspects, the same as before, only improved for the better - in some aspects, different, but changed for the better!

Now you have drifted ashore, and have been released from darkness. You now find yourself in the role of being your own foster parent. And it is your responsibility to nurture and tend all that you have become, and all that you will become as a result of this lesson.

 

 

About the Author: Veinjhada Anruth is founder and ArchDruidess of the Grove of the Dancers of the Otherworld. She is an accomplished psychic, and herbalist. She writes that her other hobbies and interests include Druidic/Avalonian studies, Ancient History, Mythology, Genealogy, making incense and soap, other craft related projects, playing guitar and flute, drumming, learning harp and bagpipes, writing, (mostly poetry/lyrics) belly dancing, motorcycle riding, Reiki and other forms of Alternative Healing, especially aromatherapy and gemstone healing - the list goes on from there!

 

Well of Brigid photo courtesy of Olivia Robertson, AU, FOI co-founder.