Three Cauldrons of the Soul...
I was looking at a PDF called The DustBunnies/MarchHares Big Damn Handout Volume 1 by Valerie Walker. It's a handout of Feri-related exercises and lessons. Feri is an ecstatic Mystery Witchcraft tradition, for lack of a better description, founded by Victor Anderson. It comes from Italian Witchcraft roots, but draws heavily from Kabbalah, KaHunna (Hawaiian), and African sources.
Anyway, it describes the three souls (which I've talked about in several contexts) as the three Cauldrons. The Vivi (Fetch), which is the Kabbalah Nefesh, is called the Cauldron of the Pelvis. The Emi (Talker), which is the Kabbalah Ruach, is called the Cauldron of the Ribcage. The Ori (Godself), which is the Kabbalah Neshimah, is called the Cauldron of the Skull.
Each Cauldron corresponds to a Feri Pentacle. The Cauldron of the Skull, Ori, is the Blessing Pentacle, which has Devotion, Truth, Radiance, Grace, and Blessing as its five points. The Cauldron of the Ribcage, Emi, is the Pearl Pentacle, with Love, Law, Knowledge, Liberty, and Wisdom. The Cauldron of the Pelvis, Vivi, is the Iron Pentacle, with Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion as it's points.
The connection with Kabbalah is obvious. Both have the same parts of the soul, just with different names. As such, these three Cauldrons are also the three Kabbalah souls. All three are part of a whole; all three are important.
Some traditions relate connect the Sword and the Wand as one thing (the Sword can also be a dagger, and the wand can be a Spear or Javelin). Loki's sword is also his wand, and is also a spear. The Pentacle and Cup, present in both the Tarot and Italian Witchcraft, can also be seen as the same thing. The Pentacle carved in a stone is a container, a vessel, just as the Cup is. The Cup is physical, whereas the Pentacle is spiritual. The Sword is physical and the Wand is spiritual.
Keeping this in mind, the Pentacle is the Cup, the Chalice, the Graal, the Cauldron. So, the correspondence of a Pentacle to a Cauldron isn't just a Feri (NightHares) thing.
Robert Cochrane also talkes about the Cauldron.
Third Letter:So you come to the true meaning of the Cauldron and the understanding of the Rite of the Cauldron. Bring forth the Star son, and you have Dionysus, the Horn Child and Jesus Christ in one - So the Cauldron is Generation and Re-generation. Taliesin asked 'what two words were not spoken from the Cauldron? A question I now ask you, giving these pointers. The Cauldron at this level means movement, a becoming of life - ever giving birth, ever creating new inspiration. There is within the Cauldron all things and all future - fate. Therefore, there is one state the Cauldron cannot be - What is it? In finding the answer you will come to understand the Cauldron.
Fourth Letter:The Cauldron is the same, constantly moving, creating, bringing forth, tearing down, building up, movement - therefore the simplest way of expressing what the Cauldron is not is by saying 'Be Still'. Even death is movement, one disintegrates and is recreated. The past moves in the future, since past shapes the future to come - this is Fate. All things that are of this world belong to the past, the flesh is heir to the sins and wisdom of the past - therefore the past lives on. There is no such time as 'Now' since that would require stillness to create it, and now is an impossible fragment of time - even to think of now is to think of the past. Therefore, and very simply to put your feet on the road - the words are 'Be Still'. Mayhap the true pursuit of man is in capturing stillness - since when the moment of silence is created magically man becomes as God.
First, the Cauldron is Generation and Re-Generation. This fits the Feri rituals of the three souls. The goal is to align the souls, which involves working through any issues you have. The pentacles are used to do this, in meditation. You are Generating and Re-Generating within your souls to being about this alignment. Second, the Cauldron is life and birth. The Feri concept is of the lust of the Star Goddess continually creating the universe, just as Kabbalah teaches G-d constantly creating. If the creating, the giving birth, stops even for a moment, there is no world, no creation, no us. The Cauldron also creates new inspiration. This is an idea very heavy in Feri. One way to worship the Divine in Feri is through art. But it's not a structured art; it's letting the Vivi inspire the art. Each part of the soul brings out inspiration. Each part breathes it. Fourth, the Cauldron is all things, all futures, Fate. The three souls represent the entirety of each one of us in Feri, and each of us is a reflection of the Star Goddess, who is everything. All future comes from the decisions of the Now, the decisions made by each part of the soul. But these decisions are made outside the Cauldron, in the stillness, for the last thing about the Cauldron is that it is movement. When we step out of the Cauldron into Stillness, we are stepping out of the thee Cauldrons, the three Pentacles, the three Souls. The moment of Now, the Stillness and the Silence, is beyond each part of the soul. It is all parts of the soul, but none of them. Where does the Cauldron sit? In the Compass, in the Circle. Where do our three souls, our three Cauldrons sit? The same place.
The three Souls in Kabbalah correspond to the three Mothers, Shin, Aleph, and Mem. These three can be related to the three Cauldrons, and hence the three Pentacles.
Shin is the Cauldron of the Skull, which is the Blessing Pentacle, and the Cauldron of Fire. It relates to thoughts, to Kether, the Crown, Chokmah, Wisdom, and Binah, Understanding.
Aleph is the Cauldron of the Ribcage, which is the Pearl Pentacle, and the Cauldron of Air. It relates to emotions, feelings, to Chesed, Mercy, Geburah, Judgement, and Tipherah, Beauty.
Mem is the Cauldron of the Pelvis, which is the Iron Pentacle, and the Cauldron of Water. It relates to actions, to Neztach, Victory, Hod, Glory, and Yesod, Foundation.
~Muninn's Kiss
Anyway, it describes the three souls (which I've talked about in several contexts) as the three Cauldrons. The Vivi (Fetch), which is the Kabbalah Nefesh, is called the Cauldron of the Pelvis. The Emi (Talker), which is the Kabbalah Ruach, is called the Cauldron of the Ribcage. The Ori (Godself), which is the Kabbalah Neshimah, is called the Cauldron of the Skull.
Each Cauldron corresponds to a Feri Pentacle. The Cauldron of the Skull, Ori, is the Blessing Pentacle, which has Devotion, Truth, Radiance, Grace, and Blessing as its five points. The Cauldron of the Ribcage, Emi, is the Pearl Pentacle, with Love, Law, Knowledge, Liberty, and Wisdom. The Cauldron of the Pelvis, Vivi, is the Iron Pentacle, with Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion as it's points.
The connection with Kabbalah is obvious. Both have the same parts of the soul, just with different names. As such, these three Cauldrons are also the three Kabbalah souls. All three are part of a whole; all three are important.
Some traditions relate connect the Sword and the Wand as one thing (the Sword can also be a dagger, and the wand can be a Spear or Javelin). Loki's sword is also his wand, and is also a spear. The Pentacle and Cup, present in both the Tarot and Italian Witchcraft, can also be seen as the same thing. The Pentacle carved in a stone is a container, a vessel, just as the Cup is. The Cup is physical, whereas the Pentacle is spiritual. The Sword is physical and the Wand is spiritual.
Keeping this in mind, the Pentacle is the Cup, the Chalice, the Graal, the Cauldron. So, the correspondence of a Pentacle to a Cauldron isn't just a Feri (NightHares) thing.
Robert Cochrane also talkes about the Cauldron.
Third Letter:So you come to the true meaning of the Cauldron and the understanding of the Rite of the Cauldron. Bring forth the Star son, and you have Dionysus, the Horn Child and Jesus Christ in one - So the Cauldron is Generation and Re-generation. Taliesin asked 'what two words were not spoken from the Cauldron? A question I now ask you, giving these pointers. The Cauldron at this level means movement, a becoming of life - ever giving birth, ever creating new inspiration. There is within the Cauldron all things and all future - fate. Therefore, there is one state the Cauldron cannot be - What is it? In finding the answer you will come to understand the Cauldron.
Fourth Letter:The Cauldron is the same, constantly moving, creating, bringing forth, tearing down, building up, movement - therefore the simplest way of expressing what the Cauldron is not is by saying 'Be Still'. Even death is movement, one disintegrates and is recreated. The past moves in the future, since past shapes the future to come - this is Fate. All things that are of this world belong to the past, the flesh is heir to the sins and wisdom of the past - therefore the past lives on. There is no such time as 'Now' since that would require stillness to create it, and now is an impossible fragment of time - even to think of now is to think of the past. Therefore, and very simply to put your feet on the road - the words are 'Be Still'. Mayhap the true pursuit of man is in capturing stillness - since when the moment of silence is created magically man becomes as God.
First, the Cauldron is Generation and Re-Generation. This fits the Feri rituals of the three souls. The goal is to align the souls, which involves working through any issues you have. The pentacles are used to do this, in meditation. You are Generating and Re-Generating within your souls to being about this alignment. Second, the Cauldron is life and birth. The Feri concept is of the lust of the Star Goddess continually creating the universe, just as Kabbalah teaches G-d constantly creating. If the creating, the giving birth, stops even for a moment, there is no world, no creation, no us. The Cauldron also creates new inspiration. This is an idea very heavy in Feri. One way to worship the Divine in Feri is through art. But it's not a structured art; it's letting the Vivi inspire the art. Each part of the soul brings out inspiration. Each part breathes it. Fourth, the Cauldron is all things, all futures, Fate. The three souls represent the entirety of each one of us in Feri, and each of us is a reflection of the Star Goddess, who is everything. All future comes from the decisions of the Now, the decisions made by each part of the soul. But these decisions are made outside the Cauldron, in the stillness, for the last thing about the Cauldron is that it is movement. When we step out of the Cauldron into Stillness, we are stepping out of the thee Cauldrons, the three Pentacles, the three Souls. The moment of Now, the Stillness and the Silence, is beyond each part of the soul. It is all parts of the soul, but none of them. Where does the Cauldron sit? In the Compass, in the Circle. Where do our three souls, our three Cauldrons sit? The same place.
The three Souls in Kabbalah correspond to the three Mothers, Shin, Aleph, and Mem. These three can be related to the three Cauldrons, and hence the three Pentacles.
Shin is the Cauldron of the Skull, which is the Blessing Pentacle, and the Cauldron of Fire. It relates to thoughts, to Kether, the Crown, Chokmah, Wisdom, and Binah, Understanding.
Aleph is the Cauldron of the Ribcage, which is the Pearl Pentacle, and the Cauldron of Air. It relates to emotions, feelings, to Chesed, Mercy, Geburah, Judgement, and Tipherah, Beauty.
Mem is the Cauldron of the Pelvis, which is the Iron Pentacle, and the Cauldron of Water. It relates to actions, to Neztach, Victory, Hod, Glory, and Yesod, Foundation.
~Muninn's Kiss