A woman’s water breaks before she gives birth. Holy water confers blessings. Water is the purifying agent of baptism. When we’re “in the flow,” we’re being creative. Water is often depicted with qualities that signify life and healing. But water is also violent and destructive.
Think of what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans in 2005, and Superstorm Sandy to the Northeast in 2012. The movement of the Earth shapes these violent tempests. Earth is in perpetual orbit and rotation thereby continuously invigorating the air and waters.
There is a mythological vision of a defined space where the mixing of elements occurs. It is a cauldron. Magical cauldrons contain the raw materials that are necessary for the creation and sustenance of life. Our precious Earth can be considered The Grand Cauldron of Creation, a vessel encircling all these elements. Add in motion, or agitation, or rotation and you not only get storms, but the recipe for genesis.
In the arc of evolution, life grew out of oceanic expanses. In the arc of humanity, the fetus develops in amniotic fluid. Motion churned waters are the foundation of many cross-cultural origin stories.
Here are three examples of waters as antecedent, the womb of earth-life:
- The Rig Veda, the Hindu creation myth says In ‘darkness concealed in darkness’, in those ‘unilluminated waters’ . . . there is generated the primordial unitary force.[1]
- In Genesis 1:2, creation develops out of the “watery abyss” or “the deep” which is the Hebrew word tehom. These translations hide the original derivation of tehom, which is its connection to the Babylonian goddess, Tiamat.
- In Greece, “Homer tells us that River Ocean, a deep and mighty flood, encircling land and sea… was the source of all.”[2]
Once upon a time, it was goddesses who presided over the water-filled cauldrons. They protected and stirred the elemental raw materials. Arguably, the most famous is the Celtic-Druid goddess named Ceridwen whose cauldron was said to be filled with “inspiration, science and immortality.”[3] Ceridwen, Tiamat and Tehom were all goddesses who shepherded and inflamed the waters to create magic. And what could be more magical than the formation of life itself?
Waters aren’t just our cradle; they are the connective tissue linking us to the larger world and to each other. The seas evaporate into clouds, which then fly all over the world carrying along its watery treasure. Think about it; the water we drink once sailed the seven seas. Each drop has cycled through the packed ice of glaciers, mountainous waterfalls, rushing rainforest rivers and more.
When Ceridwen, Tehom or Tiamat stir our Earth-cauldron, bubbling over with mystery, we can just imagine them flicking their wrists to send the elements off to dance across the globe in the form of hurricanes, monsoons, and more. The movement of these waters is a grand dance composed of flow, moon swollen tides, churning seas, waves, clouds, and driving winds. Even as they move around us, they move through us.
When we spew waste into the Earth’s seas, it is our own lifeblood that we are spoiling. As long as life exists, the goddesses Ceridwen, Tehom and Tiamat will never stop their agitating, just as Earth will never stop its spinning. The waters will continue to be roused into creating their storm dances. What they carry within them is up to us.
Toxins injected into water, any water, will flow throughout the world and through our own bodies. We need to stop poisoning this core element that carries life and healing throughout our beloved world.
I felt this blogpost needed something more and so to complete it, I picked a card from Rachel Pollack’s Shining Tribe Tarot Deck. I asked the deck for water inspirations. The card I picked is the Gift of Rivers (Queen of Cups in a traditional deck.) Inspirational indeed! Below is the poem that Rachel wrote for this card.
Dance, dance
in the coolness of the night.
Drink deeply
from the holy splendor.
This is the gift more precious than any,
the fountain of love.
For more information or to purchase a Shining Tribe Deck (which won a silver medal, Nautilus Book Awards) you can go to the Weiser book site or any bookseller.
[1] Mircea Eliade, From Primitives to Zen, Harper and Row; 109.
[2] Charles Mills Gayley, The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art, Blaisdell Publishing, reprinted, 1968; 3.
[3] Eleanor Merry, The Flaming Door, New Knowledge Books, 155.
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Thank you, Janet. I loved the reminder that the waters swirl around the earth — from the oceans to the glaciers to the clouds. Beautiful.
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Mni Wiconi. Water is Life. Thank you, Janet!
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Oh Janet I loved this post – you embody wise -woman here. Water is indeed the source of life. Life as we know it cannot exist without the element of water not just on this planet but anywhere else – The element of Water belongs to women! I know that this statement sounds sexist – maybe it is – but water is life – and women who nurture, women who know how to flow, women who stir the cauldron – (may we somehow create some kind of positive change)- without water, well – this year living through the worst drought I ever remember changed the summer landscape – endless blue days now match the endless gray days of November – almost no rain falls – and here in the N/east we are 8-10 inches below normal (what’s normal?) I like that you do bring in both the destructive as well as the positive side of water because our planet is in such a state that flooding and drought are destroying lives. There are always two sides… what we want most is to flow with these changes…I feel like I’m stuck in drought. Ugh
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Sara, thank you. It is women in the old mythologies who stir the cauldrons. And without these women, the cycles of water get skewed. Drought and flooding can happen in the best of times, but we now are seeing these aspects more and more frequently, more widespread, and arguably more damaging. I read an article where they are contemplating evacuating Tehran because not only has there been no rain in years, but the aquifers are used up. We need those cauldron Goddesses to stir things up and gift us with their magic.
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Oh you are so so right…. Let’s return to the old pre biblical stories where women were VISIBLE
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I have been thinking about this since we’ve discussed. A quick internet search (unfortunately AI) came up with 3 male cauldron keepers – Brân the Blessed (Welsh Mythology) and Andhrímnir (Norse Mythology). Both of them associated with war and esp dead heroes of war. The 3rd one is The Dagda (Irish Mythology) who seems closest to the energy that the female brings to this story – fertility and abundance although ultimately, he is associated with war activities and battles in Ireland. I guess that just illustrates how important it is to have the female goddesses to counteract the gods in stories and legends.
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This is very curious – maybe it’s because I grew up with fairy tales that I associate cauldrons with women – One thing Jung said was that fairy tales were close to archetypal truths (patterns) – archetypal roots – and i think this is true – but fairy tales aren’t part of our present lexicon and doesn’t the male cauldron idea seem ridiculous somehow or is it me? Women are always. concocting things….cooking…. staying with a process – is this just me? I think patriarchy stole it – hell it stole everything else..
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I loved this post Janet. Because I live in a cliff top with the sea outside the window of my apartment, I find myself listening to the voice of the sea. Today she is grey and stormy with more water in lashing rain. Sometimes she is pale blue, sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight or soft and beguiling with a gold or silver moonlit path between the shores of Wales and Somerset. She hold the mysteries of our planet’s Soul, which is why we should not pollute her. Our bodies contain a high percentage of water which responds to the energies around us, taking in joy and inspiration from positive, wise, joyful people and situations, or feeling heavy and depressed with the opposite. Sometimes we pollute ourselves, when we slide into negative thoughts or encourage situations that affect us badly. When my mood is not so good Sara I feel better diverting attention towards the dolphin spirit, because they appear sympathetic to us humans, they live mostly in pods, know how to flow, and to play. The light from sun, moon and stars that shines on the water, can also illuminate the water in each of us, awakening us to its Goddesses and the Song of the Soul. Sitting out under the moon and stars as well as the sun, has helped me to deal with the recent challenges I have had to face. Thanks again Janet.
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Thank you Iona for adding to this piece. Love the idea how “She holds the mysteries of our Planet’s Soul” and how you bring in the dolphins. Just beautiful.
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