KEYWORDS: Blending, synthesis of energies.

The main emphasis in this Sagittarian card, in other decks called Temperance, is the concept of blending and synthesizing energies and elements of nature. For this purpose, I chose the Celtic image of Cerridwen and her magical cauldron.

As I researched Cerridwen, I was struck by the amazing cross-cultural similarities in the symbology of the Cauldron. From Scandinavia to the Orient, from the Middle East to ancient Greece, the cauldron is revered as a sacred symbol of transformation, regeneration and transmutation; it is also a symbol of the Great Mother within whom life is transformed.

Christians even adopted the cauldron as their “Holy Grail.” “In nearly all mythologies there is a miraculous vessel. Sometimes it dispenses youth and life, at other times it possesses the power of healing; and occasionally, as with the mead cauldron of the Nordic Ymir, inspiring strength and wisdom are to be found in it. Often … it effects transformation.”

The cauldron also signifies cyclic rather than linear time. “Among the Celts of Gaul and Britain, the Cauldron of Regeneration was the central religious mystery: reincarnation within the womb of the Goddess.”

Cerridwen, the Celtic Druid Moon Goddess, is the central figure in this card. Her name translates as both “Cauldron of Wisdom” and “Fortress of Wisdom”. She has presided over the “Mysteries,” brewing her magical cauldron of Inspiration. She appears above the Cauldron of Transformation, Regeneration, and Inspiration. She is pouring elixir from the cup of intuition to the cup of the intellect, blending and merging these two principles.

Cerridwen straddles her island home with one foot while the other is immersed in the magical lake waters. This is a metaphor for the blending of the spiritual and material planes, as well as the elements of water and earth. The lake waters beneath her are symbolic of the “Mighty Roaring Cauldron, force of life-giving waters at the foundation of the earth” from Scandinavian mythology. The huge snake which encircles her island is the kundalini serpent, a symbol of female sexuality from the Tantric tradition of India.

Dancing erotically around the sacred cauldron are the nine Druid Fire Priestesses who maintain the flames beneath the vessel for one year and one day. The nine maidens are similar to the nine Muses of Greek mythology.

The tradition of fire-keeping is a very ancient female ritual, as in the cults of the Arani or the “Vestal Virgins.” These priestesses’ outward purpose in their temples was to tend the sacred fires; this ritual was merely a metaphor for an even more sacred act. Within these traditions, wood is considered a female element. By rubbing pieces of wood together, fire is created. To ritualize this natural phenomenon, the fire priestesses rubbed against (tribadism) or made love to each other. This act raises the sacred fire (symbolic of the fire of sexuality) to ignite the sacred flame. This ritual also celebrates the creative aspect of Mother Nature as She engenders new life. Perhaps Sappho and her lesbian maidens were adherents of this tradition!

A rainbow frames Cerridwen’s powerful Celtic body. Rainbows are formed by a blending of sunlight and rain – fire and water; the rainbow is a perfect symbol for Sagittarius, the mutable fiery ruler of this card.

The Cauldron, as Mother Nature, synthesizes all four of the elements: fire heats the water and herbs (earth element) and turns them into steam (air).

When you draw this card in a reading, it is a time when various elements of your life and/or personality are blending and synthesizing. It can also be a time of neutralizing extremes. With all your energies balanced and blending, this can be an extremely creative time, when all the forces from within and without are harnessed in full harmonic cooperation. Become your own alchemist and fearlessly toss all your cares, confusions and toxic material into the Cauldron. The solution may come as you add fiery energy to transmute the sum of these parts. It’s time to use and blend the left and right side of your brain, the inner and outer aspects of your personality, the material as well as spiritual sides of life. Dualities dissolve and peace incites creativity