The Pagan Heart
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August-September 2005 Issue
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Hands On - working with physical items
By Micah Barnsley
I have yet to come across a faith that doesn't have some sort of vessel to use in select rituals. There are offerings made in baskets, small bowls used to hold certain elements or crystals, cups holding wine or water on altars, and cauldrons used for everything from scrying to building fires in. The vessels themselves mean many different things to many different people, and are called by different names: bowls, chalices, cups, cauldrons, pots, horns and cornucopia�s. Most faiths that I found information on recognize vessels as representing the element of water, if there is an element assigned. Sometimes, in Euro-pagan and Wiccan ritual the elements associated with the cauldron change to reflect air and fire as well. Though if the cauldron is being used to hold or contain an element of fire or air, there is also a cup involved in the ritual holding some sort of liquid to hold down the water aspect. The Hopi spin things a bit though when setting up a six-directional altar. They use a bowl with water to symbolize the "middle", with lines of cornmeal branching out from the bowl indicating the directions. While the bowl is a representative of water, it also seems to act as a hub connecting with the dirt strewn across the floor to represent earth, or the down direction, with the bowl (and water inside) acting as a symbol for up in addition to �middle�. In the better known Celtic and Wiccan paths, the bowl, or chalice and cauldron, take on more common meanings. The cup becomes the primary symbol for water on the altar, as well as a symbol for fertility and the Mother Goddess. When a cauldron is used, the meaning changes ever so slightly, and conjures up the symbol of birth, rebirth, fertility or plenty and wisdom. With this added dimension, the cauldron becomes a tool for scrying. To lean a little heavier on the Celtic side, there is the belief that the soul goes into the cauldron and waits to be reborn. In the coming months, we will see this idea repeated with some Halloween traditions of the crone stirring the cauldron. Kitchen witchery however, bends that idea a little by using the cauldron for potion making--taking things in a more mundane route. That still doesn't change much though, as the crone is the one who passes on her secrets of healing to her followers, and that's just one of the things one does with kitchen witchery. Buddhists regard the bowl as one of the 8 precious things, and it represents the stomach of the Buddha and sometimes represents the urn for the bones of the dead. To a certain extent, this falls in line with the rebirth ideas as well as the ones about plenty. The "plenty" meaning is backed up further by the fact that some monks eat only what is placed in their begging bowl that day. Their bounty is only as much as the people they petition give them, and they must not let it go to waste. The Greeks picked up the cup, or horn aka Cornucopia, to be a symbol for plenty from the legend of Amalthea's horn. Zeus took one of her horns to his kingly caretaker of Crete that would fill with food or drink depending on its owners need. This reinforces the symbol of plenty and fulfillment. Whatever the use--a holder for the element of water and a symbol for plenty, or a container of fire and a symbol of rebirth, vessels definitely have a place in daily ritual. Added meaning to such personal objects can be further played out by what you make (or purchase) your chosen vessel out of--though most stick with the commonalities of their faith. Enjoy working with the prevalent and multi-faceted vessel, and use what is right for you. Happy trails!
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Primary article for August-September - How to Become a Healer Without Harming Yourself III
Secondary article for August-September - Finding a Guide
Secondary article for August-September - Empty Handed
Return to the Index of articles for Tools of the Trade
