#cerridwyn

This one is small and they are broken and they are loud and they are angry- yet none of these are their name.

56- Ceridwen. Welsh Mythology.

Dark Mother. Crone. Enchantress.

When you think of the quintessential old witch standing above her bubbling cauldron, brewing up potions in fits of ecstasy and magic, it is Ceridwen whose image you are recalling. From Welsh medieval legend and Celtic mythology, Ceridwen is a figure who appears in various sources and tales, most notably in the Mabinogian (the collection of tales and stories from the 11th or 12th century that are the earliest prose in British literature). Ceridwen has been adopted by modern Pagans and witches, and transformed into one of the most prominent Goddesses of the NeoPagan pantheon.

The original source material for Ceridwen has often been debated, but what is certain is her involvement in the story The Tale of Taliesin. Ceridwen had two children, the beautiful daughter Creirwy and her grotesque son Morfran. Ceridwen’s most iconic imagery and association is her cauldron, which was the source of all poetic inspiration called Awen. Like any good mother would for the son she loved, Ceridwen sought out to make her hideous son brilliant in compensation for the physical appearance he lacked. She brewed a great potion in her cauldron to imbue Morfran with the poetic inspiration and abilities of Awen.

Ceridwen’s mixture had to be brewed for a year and a day. To ensure that no one would steal the potion or her secrets, Ceridwen entrusted a blind man named Morda to stoke the fire while a young boy, Gwion Bach, stirred. Her potion was so potent that only the first three drops were needed to instill Awen, the rest would cause certain death. While stirring, Gwion splashed the three drops intended for Ceridwen’s son onto his thumb. Without realizing what he was doing, he put is thumb in his mouth to soothe the burn from the hot mixture, thereby gaining the knowledge and inspiration concocted for Mofran.

Knowing that Ceridwen would be angry with him, Gwion fled. In what is perhaps one of the greatest chase scenes in ancient mythology, Ceridwen pursued. Gwion tried to outsmart Ceridwen and conceal himself from her, but she, in her infinite wisdom, stayed several steps ahead of him. With his newly acquired powers, Gwion transformed himself into a hare. Ceridwen saw this and raised his prey with a predator, turning herself into a greyhound. This dynamic continued— Gwion became a fish, and Ceridwen an otter. He became a bird, she became a hawk. In a last ditch effort to escape her wrath, Gwion turned himself into a grain of corn. His fate was sealed, as Cerdiwen turned herself into a hen and gobbled him up.

Due to the nature of her potion, Gwion was not fully killed. Instead, the potion impregnated Ceridwen. She knew the child would be the reborn Gwion. In her anger she wanted to kill the child, but upon seeing how beautiful he was at birth, decided to throw him into the ocean instead, placing him inside a leather bag. The child was saved on the shores of Wales, and grew up to become the great Bard Taliesin. Taliesin became one of the most renowned poets of Briton following the collapse of the Roman Empire.

It is easy to see why, from this story, Ceridwen is associated with inspiration, transformation, magic, and rebirth. For modern witches and Pagans, Ceridwen is further associated with the Triple Goddess, namely the Crone figure. It is as the Crone that Ceridwen governs the underworld and is the keeper of the gates between the worlds. As a Goddess of death and rebirth, Ceridwen stand’s at the final phase of womanhood, with her wisdom and magic, transforming ones soul beyond death into rebirth.

Ceridwen’s cauldron has become iconic (and the name of many occult shops, even in the Harry Potter universe). This magic icon of inspiration and power has further associated Ceridwen with witchcraft. It has been suggested that Ceridwen’s story and the archetype of her cauldron were potential prototypes for the later creation of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. Ceridwen’s power and mystery have solidified her as a great witch goddess of modern paganism. While her original identity can be debated as a historic figure, goddess, or literary creation, she has once again transformed into the powerful crone of magic and rebirth that she is today.

practice makes perfect!

Empowerment Message:

You are a child of infinite potential, and the Celtic goddess Cerridwyn is here to remind you of the power that resides in the womb of your heart and the chalice of your mind. Everything you need is coming together right now, as if your life’s reflection were shining brightly in a golden liquid in Cerridwyn’s magical, transformative cauldron.

Imagine greatness and there will be greatness; envision peace and there will be peace. Choose love, choose gratitude, and choose faith in the Divine magic that flows through you. These are the only ingredients needed for the goddess Cerridwyn to work her transformation magic on your behalf. Regardless of the limitations imposed on your world by fate, culture, and conditioning, your true destiny is coalescing on your behalf.

You can be anything you imagine. Remember this: dream and trust that everything you need exists to make that dream a reality. This is the promise of the goddess Cerridwyn.

Alignment message

When you become complacent in your comfort zone,you run the risk of never moving beyond where you are.your true potential remains dormant and inaccessible.This may feel like a vague boredom,an envy of others,or an axiety accompanied by a sense of low self-worth,reinforced by habit or an addiction to feeling like life will be amazing for everyone else but you.Or in so many cases it’s just been trained into you after generation upon generation of repression and conformity.

Cerridwyn tells you that’s time to course correct.Your alignment task is to turn this around by releasing all judgement toward yourself and others and reclaiming those dreeams you seem to have lost.Write down your dreams and set your intentions.Then look in a mirror,imagining that you’re looking into Cerridwyn’s transformative cauldron,and say them aloud as if they have already happened.You are so much more than you allow yourself to be.Only good will come of your growth.