The Cauldron is one of the most basic cooking pots. Typically suspended on chain over an open fire, these large pieces of crockery have been used for everything from heating water, making dinner and making soap. It has been attributed to the Leprechaun’s container of great treasure, a classic image from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Endora making trouble on Bewitched. In the Southern portion of the US, one may find them in yards filled with flowers signifying prosperity and a welcome hearth for all well intended visitors.

Cauldron Earrings

The Cauldron like many other basic and everyday tools have been used as a metaphor for other more esoteric ideas: in Wicca it represents the Womb of the Goddess a place of death and rebirth, a symbol of amalgamation. Joseph Campbell inferred in his lectures thepre-Christian imagery of the Grail was the Cauldron, signifying the source of Virtue, the potency of inquiry and purity of heart.

One of my first designs: tiny Cauldron Earrings. The intent: to culminate all of these ideas into an amulet form. Cauldrons look best hung from chain as you would find them in actual use; thus I selected tiny lengths of chain and suspend them from Shepherd’s hooks, giving them a fluid, pendulous look. The Cauldron Earrings were scaled down to the smallest I could and still be recognizable: large enough for a drop of scented oil, spilling and perfuming neck and hair as they are worn; or simply a sparkling frame for your countenance. Each Cauldron has a tiny star signifying balance and clarity; ready to cast spells of joy and blessings where ever you go.