I think everyone has a favorite magical tool, I have a friend who can never pass up an interesting Athame, another friend of mine collects candle holders and incense holders. I have read of broom and wand collectors, Chalice lovers and multiple different Books of Shadows. (Hmmm… actually I might fall into all of these categories… good thing I clean out my house annually!) But the big one for me, the item I am always drawn too is the Cauldron! It doesn’t matter that I have a great Cauldron… or four! Anytime I go to a Pagan, Witch and New Age shop I am drawn to the Cauldrons. I even check out the Cast Iron Dutch Ovens in sporting goods shops (yes I visit those, often actually, I am a Redneck after all!) And when I am not using or playing with my “Magical” Cauldrons then I am using one that some would consider to be more mundane! So for your entertainment (or boredom) here are my favorite cauldrons!
10 Coffee Pot: my husband will agree with me 100% on this and depending on the day he might even score it higher than I would. I know it is bad but I am totally addicted to coffee! I have usually two to three cups a day (always in the morning) and if my friends and I get together for coffee I come home so wired that I actually will start scrubbing floors at One AM. But why do I consider this a cauldron?
Well the essential power of the cauldron is transformation right? The mixing of ingredients to make something new! Cauldrons play a huge part in many Pagan traditions and Myths. And in a coffee pot you take coffee beans and water, filter and voila! A hot, brown brew that takes a person who will literally growl at anything that moves first thing in the morning to a functioning member of society who is able to verbally express herself!
There is also something about gathering friends together and sharing a cup of coffee. At the youth group I work with we often have early morning activities. We of the adult staff will often meet before the activity over a “Timmies” (or for you non Canadians our there: a cup of Tim Hortons Coffee). We stand together, talking, sharing until the kids start showing up. I have had some of my best conversations this way and it strengthens our bonds of teamwork and friendship. (and for those of you who say that the coffee is delivered to us via a cup and so that would be a Chalice… don’t worry the coffee cup is on my top ten favorite chalices for the same reasons above!)
9 Dutch Oven: Ok so I really should not call this one my cauldron since it technically is my husband’s cauldron, but I will count it on this list anyway! When he gets his own blog he can claim it then! Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand, why is it on this list? Well how many of you camp? Actually let me back up for a second, you see my husband and I are epic campers! We did not get out much last year but we plan to rectify that situation this year. We usually like to be out for four days, at least. A weekend just isn’t enough for us. Now we do the weekend camp thing in a small tent, but we are looking at purchasing a nice big canvas outfitters tent, one that can take a stove (hello year round camping!!!!)
While we are camping our resources are obviously different. Food has to be kept in coolers rather than a refrigerator, or it has to be canned as food poisoning is not on my agenda. So what my husband will do is cook up some hamburger and throw it in a container. We put it in the cooler with a ton of ice and frozen veggies. With the amount of ice he uses the cooler stays cold for three days… easily. On the second day of camping he will throw the hamburger, the frozen veggies, a bit of beef stock and some spices into that Dutch Oven and then sit it in the campfire. He lets it cook over the day and by night we have a great one pot meal.
We have used it in the house with the BBQ and once in the regular oven but it is not the same. There is something magical about sitting at the campfire, watching the sun creep its way under the horizon, and eating our dinner as our ancestors once did. I also treasure these moments because my Husband and I are very busy people, we both work full time and work with the youth group. We often are at one form of a work or another, even at home. The moments that we have to camp, to gather around the fire together, share a meal, just us and the pooches, that is magic at its finest!
8 Crock Pot: My reason for loving this invention is sheer laziness. I throw something in, next day at supper I have food! SIMPLE! But the simplicity of it does not negate the power it has. First of all, like any cauldron there is the essence of transformation. A chunk of raw beef is slapped down, some broth poured over it and in a day you have a tender roast that fills the stomach and makes you feel at home (I grew up in Alberta, roast beef is a staple in our households). The convenience of this is magical not only in that it feeds us, but in the time it saves.
You see our work at the youth group gives us some late nights, especially Tuesday. On a Tuesday we can expect it to be midnight before we even get home, and living out of town from where we work means getting up at six in the morning. Wednesday is BRUTAL! Working on minimum sleep we somehow find the strength to slug our way through the day. By the time we get home we are mentally and physically exhausted, not always thinking clearly and often a tad on the grumpy side (more me than my Husband). Having a hot meal ready as soon as we walk in the door is a blessing! We get well fed in a snap, without having to resort to fast food restaurants that often have the nutritional equivalent to a catcher’s mitt. We also get to sit together, share a moment and some light conversation.
When supper is over, the leftovers are super easy to deal with. I put the leftovers back into the pot, lift it out of the heating unit and place it in the fridge. The dishes go in the dishwasher and we both get to sit back, relax and go to bed early! The internet has allowed me the opportunity to explore multiple recipes to use in the Crock Pot and they have come in handy on other occasions. I throw everything in the pot the night before, have supper and still have time to perform my rituals and spells, while feeding my body well, and ensuring I can still get to bed at a decent time. My husband has also loved the experimentations of soups and stews during our long winter nights. A good stew warms you up, and fills you up for those wonderful moments of shoveling 3 feet of snow off the driveway.
Stay tuned for part two!
10 Coffee Pot: my husband will agree with me 100% on this and depending on the day he might even score it higher than I would. I know it is bad but I am totally addicted to coffee! I have usually two to three cups a day (always in the morning) and if my friends and I get together for coffee I come home so wired that I actually will start scrubbing floors at One AM. But why do I consider this a cauldron?
Well the essential power of the cauldron is transformation right? The mixing of ingredients to make something new! Cauldrons play a huge part in many Pagan traditions and Myths. And in a coffee pot you take coffee beans and water, filter and voila! A hot, brown brew that takes a person who will literally growl at anything that moves first thing in the morning to a functioning member of society who is able to verbally express herself!
There is also something about gathering friends together and sharing a cup of coffee. At the youth group I work with we often have early morning activities. We of the adult staff will often meet before the activity over a “Timmies” (or for you non Canadians our there: a cup of Tim Hortons Coffee). We stand together, talking, sharing until the kids start showing up. I have had some of my best conversations this way and it strengthens our bonds of teamwork and friendship. (and for those of you who say that the coffee is delivered to us via a cup and so that would be a Chalice… don’t worry the coffee cup is on my top ten favorite chalices for the same reasons above!)
9 Dutch Oven: Ok so I really should not call this one my cauldron since it technically is my husband’s cauldron, but I will count it on this list anyway! When he gets his own blog he can claim it then! Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand, why is it on this list? Well how many of you camp? Actually let me back up for a second, you see my husband and I are epic campers! We did not get out much last year but we plan to rectify that situation this year. We usually like to be out for four days, at least. A weekend just isn’t enough for us. Now we do the weekend camp thing in a small tent, but we are looking at purchasing a nice big canvas outfitters tent, one that can take a stove (hello year round camping!!!!)
While we are camping our resources are obviously different. Food has to be kept in coolers rather than a refrigerator, or it has to be canned as food poisoning is not on my agenda. So what my husband will do is cook up some hamburger and throw it in a container. We put it in the cooler with a ton of ice and frozen veggies. With the amount of ice he uses the cooler stays cold for three days… easily. On the second day of camping he will throw the hamburger, the frozen veggies, a bit of beef stock and some spices into that Dutch Oven and then sit it in the campfire. He lets it cook over the day and by night we have a great one pot meal.
We have used it in the house with the BBQ and once in the regular oven but it is not the same. There is something magical about sitting at the campfire, watching the sun creep its way under the horizon, and eating our dinner as our ancestors once did. I also treasure these moments because my Husband and I are very busy people, we both work full time and work with the youth group. We often are at one form of a work or another, even at home. The moments that we have to camp, to gather around the fire together, share a meal, just us and the pooches, that is magic at its finest!
8 Crock Pot: My reason for loving this invention is sheer laziness. I throw something in, next day at supper I have food! SIMPLE! But the simplicity of it does not negate the power it has. First of all, like any cauldron there is the essence of transformation. A chunk of raw beef is slapped down, some broth poured over it and in a day you have a tender roast that fills the stomach and makes you feel at home (I grew up in Alberta, roast beef is a staple in our households). The convenience of this is magical not only in that it feeds us, but in the time it saves.
You see our work at the youth group gives us some late nights, especially Tuesday. On a Tuesday we can expect it to be midnight before we even get home, and living out of town from where we work means getting up at six in the morning. Wednesday is BRUTAL! Working on minimum sleep we somehow find the strength to slug our way through the day. By the time we get home we are mentally and physically exhausted, not always thinking clearly and often a tad on the grumpy side (more me than my Husband). Having a hot meal ready as soon as we walk in the door is a blessing! We get well fed in a snap, without having to resort to fast food restaurants that often have the nutritional equivalent to a catcher’s mitt. We also get to sit together, share a moment and some light conversation.
When supper is over, the leftovers are super easy to deal with. I put the leftovers back into the pot, lift it out of the heating unit and place it in the fridge. The dishes go in the dishwasher and we both get to sit back, relax and go to bed early! The internet has allowed me the opportunity to explore multiple recipes to use in the Crock Pot and they have come in handy on other occasions. I throw everything in the pot the night before, have supper and still have time to perform my rituals and spells, while feeding my body well, and ensuring I can still get to bed at a decent time. My husband has also loved the experimentations of soups and stews during our long winter nights. A good stew warms you up, and fills you up for those wonderful moments of shoveling 3 feet of snow off the driveway.
Stay tuned for part two!
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