Unanswered Questions, Part 6...
The next feminine symbol is the Cup. At first I thought this would be easy. Cochrane talks a lot about the Graal, so I presumed it would be the same. I thought the Cauldron would be the same for a bit, as well. Then I noticed something.
A Witch's Esbat:We work steadily creating Caer Ochlen in the cave until at last everything is ready. The graal and cup reflect with silver the red flame of the fire. I build up the tripod and hang the cauldron. It swings gently in the heat. Joan brings over the wine in a thermos flask and pours it into the cauldron. Fragrant steam rises as the cold wine meets the hot brass base of the pot.
Unless Cochrane was deliberately trying to mislead in this section, the Cup, Graal, and Cauldron are three different objects. Mentioned in the same paragraph is the Shift. This is the only other place Cochrane mentions the Flask, the Cup, or the Shift. Is the fact that they create Caer Ochlen and not one of the other castles in Preiddeu Annwn? It is the last one...
I will not allow praise to men of drooping courage,
They know not on what day the chief arose,
Or at what hour in the splendid day the owner was born,
Or what animal they keep of silver head.
When we went with Arthur of the mournful contention,
Except seven, none returned from Caer Ochren
Though the animal with the silver head is the answer to another riddle, I don't see anything here that will help with the Cup, or the Flask or Shift, for that matter. Caer Ochren means "the castle of the shelving sides", which doesn't help either. It doesn't look like the clues we're looking for lie here.
What is a cup for, then? It holds liquid from which to drink. The Graal does too, but would be bigger than a cup. The Caudron is similar, but heats and combines things, and is not used to drink from. So, a cup is used for drinking from. The liquid inside would represent Water, just as it did in the Flask. If pouring Water into the Cauldron is putting the power of Water into the Cauldron, drinking from the Cup brings the power of Water into yourself. You are drinking from the Feminine.
In heraldry, the Cup represents fertility, and the Chalice used in Catholic Mass. Let's look at fertility first. The Virgin is symbolic of fertility, so in this way, the Cup would represent the Virgin. By the Mother, the idea of fertility is waning, and gone completely with the Hag. Fertility brings Life/Birth, and is an important part of Love. It leads to Maternity and the Mother. So, it is the first part of the cycle.
The Chalice of the Latin Mass, is a little more difficult, since it is the combination of different symbols. It can be seen as the Graal, which took on the identity of the wine Cup Christ and his disciples shared, but appears in legends apart from this. There is some evidence that the Graal began as the Cauldron. The Chalice is supposed to contain the blood of Christ, just as the wine in the cup represented his blood. There also many places where the idea of drinking the blood of your enemies out of a cup shows you conquered them. So, the sense here is blood. Blood is the life of someone, so in that sense, it is Life/Birth. Blood is also connected with the Virgin's fertility, in the menstrual blood, and in the moving of the Virgin to Mother, in the blood from the hymen, and in the blood shed in childbirth, hence is both Love and Maternity. Blood is also Death/Resurrection, as the spilling of blood brings death. So, if the wine in the Flask, which is poured into the Cauldron and Cup, and drank from the Graal and Cup, is symolic of Blood, as it would look in fire's light, all five parts (except Wisdom? I think that is there, too. I just haven't seen it yet) and all three aspects of the Goddess are present. Blood is also related to sacrifice. Is this symbolism present here as well?
What did the Cup look like? If it is a long-standing thing, it would originally be made of either horn, wood, or metal. There are many forms they could have taken, though having a neck like wine glasses today probably would place them newer than older. They would have been round, regardless, with a bottom, a hollow centre, and an open top. I think it might be stretching it to take any symbolism from the shape, but it might not be. Either way, I won't know.
So, I'd say the Cup represents the Virgin in fertility, containing within her the potential for the rest of the cycle and the other two aspects.
~Muninn's Kiss
A Witch's Esbat:We work steadily creating Caer Ochlen in the cave until at last everything is ready. The graal and cup reflect with silver the red flame of the fire. I build up the tripod and hang the cauldron. It swings gently in the heat. Joan brings over the wine in a thermos flask and pours it into the cauldron. Fragrant steam rises as the cold wine meets the hot brass base of the pot.
Unless Cochrane was deliberately trying to mislead in this section, the Cup, Graal, and Cauldron are three different objects. Mentioned in the same paragraph is the Shift. This is the only other place Cochrane mentions the Flask, the Cup, or the Shift. Is the fact that they create Caer Ochlen and not one of the other castles in Preiddeu Annwn? It is the last one...
I will not allow praise to men of drooping courage,
They know not on what day the chief arose,
Or at what hour in the splendid day the owner was born,
Or what animal they keep of silver head.
When we went with Arthur of the mournful contention,
Except seven, none returned from Caer Ochren
Though the animal with the silver head is the answer to another riddle, I don't see anything here that will help with the Cup, or the Flask or Shift, for that matter. Caer Ochren means "the castle of the shelving sides", which doesn't help either. It doesn't look like the clues we're looking for lie here.
What is a cup for, then? It holds liquid from which to drink. The Graal does too, but would be bigger than a cup. The Caudron is similar, but heats and combines things, and is not used to drink from. So, a cup is used for drinking from. The liquid inside would represent Water, just as it did in the Flask. If pouring Water into the Cauldron is putting the power of Water into the Cauldron, drinking from the Cup brings the power of Water into yourself. You are drinking from the Feminine.
In heraldry, the Cup represents fertility, and the Chalice used in Catholic Mass. Let's look at fertility first. The Virgin is symbolic of fertility, so in this way, the Cup would represent the Virgin. By the Mother, the idea of fertility is waning, and gone completely with the Hag. Fertility brings Life/Birth, and is an important part of Love. It leads to Maternity and the Mother. So, it is the first part of the cycle.
The Chalice of the Latin Mass, is a little more difficult, since it is the combination of different symbols. It can be seen as the Graal, which took on the identity of the wine Cup Christ and his disciples shared, but appears in legends apart from this. There is some evidence that the Graal began as the Cauldron. The Chalice is supposed to contain the blood of Christ, just as the wine in the cup represented his blood. There also many places where the idea of drinking the blood of your enemies out of a cup shows you conquered them. So, the sense here is blood. Blood is the life of someone, so in that sense, it is Life/Birth. Blood is also connected with the Virgin's fertility, in the menstrual blood, and in the moving of the Virgin to Mother, in the blood from the hymen, and in the blood shed in childbirth, hence is both Love and Maternity. Blood is also Death/Resurrection, as the spilling of blood brings death. So, if the wine in the Flask, which is poured into the Cauldron and Cup, and drank from the Graal and Cup, is symolic of Blood, as it would look in fire's light, all five parts (except Wisdom? I think that is there, too. I just haven't seen it yet) and all three aspects of the Goddess are present. Blood is also related to sacrifice. Is this symbolism present here as well?
What did the Cup look like? If it is a long-standing thing, it would originally be made of either horn, wood, or metal. There are many forms they could have taken, though having a neck like wine glasses today probably would place them newer than older. They would have been round, regardless, with a bottom, a hollow centre, and an open top. I think it might be stretching it to take any symbolism from the shape, but it might not be. Either way, I won't know.
So, I'd say the Cup represents the Virgin in fertility, containing within her the potential for the rest of the cycle and the other two aspects.
~Muninn's Kiss