From the Cauldron Born Quotes

“Her bare feet hardly make a sound as she leaves the little grove of trees and heads for the cauldron. The contents of her basket are cast into the shimmering, bubbling belly of the cauldron—each item in turn is lifted and honoured as she sings to it and, with a gentle throw, casts each one into the liquid. She smiles, she sings, the boy stirs, the cauldron bubbles.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“In order for the mysteries to be admitted unhindered, it is necessary for certain human functions to be temporarily suspended.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“In the Book of Taliesin we are offered the following verse, which sings the praise of the bodily senses: I give praise to my sustainer, Who added through my head A spirit into my design. Happily it is made for me, My seven consistencies Of fire and earth And water and air And mist and flowers And sweet southerly winds. My senses were designed One with which I exhale, And two with which I breathe, And three by which I have voice, And four with which I taste, And five with which I see, And six with which I hear, And seven by which I smell.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“The message is clear: Cerridwen epitomises aspects of the physical art of learning, of study, of knowing our Craft. Taliesin acts as the bridge that connects us to the universal flow of Awen by means of the Prophetic Spirit. For us to move lucidly through life we must be in possession of both facets, the structure of learning and the ethereal quality of the Prophetic Spirit. Both are essential aspects of the adept. The ability to swim between the two is perfectly articulated in the discourse of The Life of Merlin: Vita Merlini: I was taken out of myself and I was as spirit, and I knew the acts of peoples past and could predict the future of things. Since then I know the secrets of things and the flights of birds and the wandering motions of the stars and the gliding of fish.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“Throughout the chase, Cerridwen retains her gender as she becomes a greyhound, an otter, a hawk (the female of which is reputed to be the more effective hunter), and finally a black-crested (or tufted) hen. In each case she initiates the transformative process. Immediately before her claws seize upon the escaping initiate, she forces him to transform, to leave the significance of one element and enter another. The chase is a complex and symbolic process that is controlled by the witch in her various guises. She is forcing the initiate forward, and we can assume that in this liminal state the true meaning of the entire sequence is made clear to her. Previously she was driven by the needs of a mother, but within the chase she is partially liberated from her human component; we are informed that her form is changed but not her nature. Therefore, in the shapes of animals and birds, she maintains aspects of her humanity whilst simultaneously accessing the source. Ultimately her task is to initiate.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“The trial and confession of Isobel Gowdie, a Scottish witch tried in 1662, echoes some of the transformation sequences in Cerridwen’s tale. Her vivid account offers a detailed and unique glimpse into the practise of Witchcraft during the seventeenth century. O I shall go into a hare, with sorrow and sighing and mickle care, and I shall go in the Devil’s name, aye, till I be fetched home again. Hare, take heed of a bitch greyhound, will harry thee all these fells around,
for here come I in our Lady’s name, all but for to fetch thee home again.
Cunning and art he did not lack, but aye her whistle would fetch him back. Yet I shall go into a trout, with sorrow and sighing and mickle doubt, and show thee many a merry game, ere that I be fetched home again. Trout take heed of an otter lank, will harry thee close from bank to bank, for here come I in our Lady’s name, all but for to fetch thee home again.69”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“In the manuscript recorded by Elis Gruffudd we are provided the following wonderful description of her abilities: “a oedd geluydd a dysgedic ynn y tair Kyluyddyd, yr hrain yssyd y’w henwi: hud, witshkrafft, a sossri (and she was learned in the three arts of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery).”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“All current practitioners of Witchcraft throughout the Western world can trace their Craft back to the islands of Britain and claim Cerridwen as their patron. The same can be said for all modern-day students and initiates of Druidry, for she is the mother of the cauldron, the one that gives substance to the quest for inspiration.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“The identification of Cerridwen as a goddess in the above translation has led to her subsequent deification and serves to demonstrate the complex and colourful nature of this archetype.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“Cerridwen’s womb is the second cauldron of the journey.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“All of it is singing—every single ingredient of the brew and the creatures they interact with raise their voices in sheer praise of the world. In our quest we reach down and breathe in tune with a primrose that has been singing its little head off in praise of the sun that sustains it; we feel and sense its part of the story, and within it an explosion of magic unfolds. As we acknowledge its presence, its role in our brew, we sense the beating heart of our nearest star, burning with heat beyond imagination, its nuclear fusion and radiations pelting our planet, reaching through the atmosphere to be reflected in the tiny flower we hold in our fingers.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“Lovingly referred to as the three rays, the central ray represents the sun at its zenith during the summer and winter solstices, the left ray the sun at midday on the vernal equinox, and the right-hand ray at noon during the autumnal equinox. These delightful correspondences connect the symbol to the cycle of the sun and the season.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“In the same manuscript, the poet further elaborates that “Mi a gefais Awen o bair Karidwen (I received my Awen from the cauldron of Cerridwen).”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore

“In Wales they were specifically trained in the old tongue and were primarily members of the bardic orders. Their task was to memorise countless tales, prose, poetry, and songs, and to retain this information and knowledge and then transmit it via the narrative tradition to the people. They were simultaneously servants of society, tradition, the gods, and the spirit of culture and heritage. Within the Welsh language another meaning for the word bard is daroganwr, meaning “prophet,” and it is true that much of the old poetry of the Celtic bards contains prophecies, some of which have been realised and others which speak of things yet to come.”
― Kristoffer Hughes, From the Cauldron Born: Exploring the Magic of Welsh Legend & Lore