34. The Cauldron of Wisdom / The Cailleach
The Cauldron of Sois / Wisdom
Welcome to the Coire Sois. (COReh SOSH). The Cauldron of Wisdom. The Cauldron of the Cailleach.
Link to the translated The Caldron of Poesy by Amergin Gluingeal
“Mo coire coir goiriath
gor rond n-r Da dam a dile dnemrib;
dliucht sir serna broinn
blrae mbil brchtas ad.”
“My perfect cauldron of warming
has been taken by the Gods from the mysterious abyss of the elements;
a perfect truth that ennobles from the centre of being,
that pours forth a terrifying stream of speech.”
Lol. The terrifying stream of speech. Yeah. The Universe is communicating with us 24/7 and it’s a challenge to unravel the meaning behind the constant broadcast.
This is where the far-sightedness and experience of The Cauldron of Sois/Wisdom, the Cauldron of the Cailleach is invaluable. You have access to ancient wisdom - the cycles and patterns of the world through this Cauldron. This Cauldron of experience can help you choose and shape what lens of perception you use to view the world and the events of your life.
Dr. Roy Casagranda’s video below is based upon Cat Bohannon’s book, which he cites without credit.
We choose in every moment what to pay attention to and what to filter out and that choosing determines what our world becomes. Accessing the wisdom of The Cailleach (the Witch, the Hag, the Crone, the Ancestor, the Land Goddess, the Storm Witch, the Mage, the Sage, the Sorcerer, the Magician), the Cauldron of Sois is allowing the life eternally lived in cycles to have bearing and influence on decisions and perceptions you choose today.
The Cailleach is a powerful, authoritative, ancient source of both spiritual and physical wisdom. They are deeply connected to the physical world and walk both sides of the Seen and Unseen.
There is a reason that witches were persecuted by the church. There’s a reason that the media and patriarchal society want to ignore and diminish and dismiss old women; because they are plugged into the network of scale, connection and a knowledge that sees beyond the hierarchy and made up institutions of this created society.
There is a reason that women live for another 25 years or more after becoming infertile. If Nature only cared about procreation, women would die when they hit menopause, but we don’t. We live on. All great mammals live on for another quarter century after their time of fertility. Why?
To teach.
Nature believes that old woman wisdom and experience is more important than fertility.
The Cailleach has power, authority and ancient wisdom to pass on to younger generations. This is yours, available now, and you have access to it at all times. You don’t have to wait to be old in your own body to access the Cauldron of Sois.
The Caldron of Poesy
(Poesy is an old-timey way of saying Poetry)
For the Draoidh, speaking poetry was an act of creation; it was magic and manifestation. Words braided with feeling, spoken into the world created the physical world.
Poetry was an avenue of development and craft that wielded authority and influence at court. Kings didn’t speak until the Draoidh had spoken - that’s how important and revered was their knowledge and perspective.
Another of Amergin poems is The Song of Amergin. This is the poem he said/sang as he first stepped foot in Ireland after winning the battle against the Tuatha de Danaan (the supernatural ‘gods/goddesses). The act of reciting (or singing) poetry is a magical act of “claiming” the land. He is calling his belonging to the Land into manifestation with the Song.
Interestingly, the original, ancient method of belonging to or “claiming” land, was to join in marriage with the Goddess; the representation of the Land.
There was never a sense of ownership over the land - there was stewardship that was won by being a superior human being and being accepted by the goddess as an equal.
Rhiannan is a land goddess figure, as is Brìd and The Cailleach - though often the hero has to get over his revulsion of the old woman and accept her into his bed in order to prove his worth at belonging to the Land.
In the morning the old hag turns into a beautiful young women… so win/win I guess. Lol.
Dùthchas
Dùthchas is the ancient Gaelic right of inheritance and belonging to Land.
There was no sense of the right of individuals or families to own Land in ancient Gaelic society. Land belonged collectively to the people. Amergins’ song calls to his intention and manifestation of belonging to the Land of Ireland.
Sacred intention in spoken word is powerful magical creation.
The back cover of Manchán Magan’s “32 Words for Field”
Manchán Magan writes often of Irish as a creative language that brings our awareness to the Unseen aspects of the world.
Sois is an interesting word in Irish and Gàidhlig. It means knowledge and wisdom. It also means comfort and luxury.
Soise is a fire ball from the sky - which makes me think of the inspiration aspect of the Cauldron of Sois. It also reminds me of Balor and his evil eye that explodes from his forehead and scorches the earth and his enemies. The Cauldron of Sois sits at the head. The Cauldron of Goireth at the genitals and the Cauldron of Ernma at the heart.
There is a sense in the Cauldron of Sois of the sudden and brilliant cosmic inspiration that lights your understanding like the brilliant flash of a comet in the sky.
A Mythical Aside inspired by comets
Lugh, Cù Chulainn and King Arthur have been mused as representations of Halley’s comet in 536. Apparently pieces fell from the comet and impacted the Earth as it passed and may have lowered temperatures around the globe.
It may have been a volcano, or there may have also been a volcano.
“In 1007 A.D., a wondrous comet appeared. It gave off fire and flames in every direction. It was seen in Germany and Welschland and it fell onto the earth.” Wikimedia Commons
What was recorded at this time was large scale crop failure. It was called the “Failure of Bread.” Folks already weakened by this famine were the first to fall when the initial wave of the Black Plague arrived. This time in British history is captured as the “wasteland” in the stories of the Fisher King, the maimed King and the death of King Arthur.
The ancient king was partner to the Land Goddess and duty bound to steward the Land. If the people and the Land were failing and impoverished, it was the duty of the King to sacrifice himself to the Land; for the Land and the people. This is the ancient sacrifice of the Grain god. This is the ancient origin of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Cù Chulainn has 3 colours of hair; brown at base, blood-red in the middle and a crown of golden hair… like a comet as seen from Earth. His hair stands out like porcupine quills during his berserker destructive phase (lol Super Saiyan), and his forehead splits open and fire comes out, comet-like.
Arthur had flaming red hair and his sword was told to be carved as two chimeras that breath fire. He was also from the line of Pendragon - the dragon breathing fire. (Naithar-sgiathach - winged snake)
Lugh of the Long Arms had a face like the sun, but was travelled in the opposite direction. His weapon was Tathlam, a sling shot ball and Gáe Assail - the Lightening Spear. Cú Culainn had the Gáe Bulg - the barbed spear.
All of these descriptions were the personification of the light in the sky with the gods of the Land. Everyone and their weapons were too bright to look at. They rivalled the sun and brought harm and plague and pestilence to the Earth. The comet inspired stories of dragons and fiery weapons all over Europe at this time. The Beowulf saga was inspired by the Tain Bó in the Ulster Cycle.
All of these mythical stories had the same basis - the god was a sun god and the comet was the enemy and was slain by the sun god. The comet was an usurper.
-=-=-=-=-=-= End of Mythical Aside =-=-=-=-=-=-
Soisgeul is Irish and Gàidhlig for gospel, like biblical gospel. ‘So’ is good and ‘sguel’ is story, so the gospels are a ‘good story’.
‘So’ as good connects me to ‘mino’ in Anishinaabemowin. Mno bmaadzwin means “the good life” - but it goes much deeper than just ‘good’. (‘Good, right and natural’ is also connected to Dùthchas - which is belonging to land… but that’s another story).
Mno and “the good life / in a good way” implies a resonance with all scales of being, all time and place. A “good life” is lived in accordance and in harmony with all beings, all nations, all aspects of life, all scales and in balance with the larger philosophy of interconnected relationship in Anishinaabe culture and tradition.
There is an assumed harmony and balance in all relationships, at all scales; within self and the self in relationship with community (which includes all beings, not just human beings), sustainability for self and community and sustainability for 7 generations in the future. There is an assumption of balance in all ways of being and knowing; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, and a balance in relationship with the Seen and Unseen.
I make this ‘so’ / ‘good’ connection with the Cauldron of Sois. Sois is the wisdom and understanding that comes from eons of living in cycles with the world as it is. It is an implicit trust of both the Seen and Unseen worlds and all the ways of knowing available to us.
The Anishinaabe tell stories in the winter; stories that instruct and inspire and help place the people in good relationship with themselves, the community and all the beings of the world. The Anishinaabe understand that stories comes from Spirit, stories come from the manitou and the storyteller is just a messenger.
Coire Sois is telling you the story of everything. The Cauldron of Wisdom is lighting your spirit and body with inspiration of total interconnectedness - and you are the messenger that brings that wisdom out into the world in your life through your words and actions (that’s the Cauldron of Rmai / Érnmae).
When it comes to the Cauldron of Sois, we are the puppets of the “terrifying stream of speech”, the constant stream of knowledge flowing from Creation. The key is the allowing of what is - learning how to surrender to Sois and deliver what is yours to share in the world. Learning to come into trust and surrender to the greater being of Sois can bring great happiness and deep fulfillment - but it requires enormous vulnerability and courage.
13.77 Billion years. We’ve been here for all of it. Image Source.
Time, Space + Place
The Cauldron of Sois is the eternal future. There will always be an older, wiser version of you available to learn from. The Witch, the Wise Woman, the Grandmother, the Fairy Godmother… these are all symbols of the Cauldron of Sois.
It is the wisdom that comes from long time being, observation and presence in Place. The Anishinaabe are in deep connection with this land through the relationship of presence over thousands and thousands of generations in this Place. Our Indigenous Gaelic ancestors on our Indigenous Gaelic homelands had that same kind of relationship and connection to Land and the wisdom of long relationship with Place.
Sois is the wisdom of relationship with Time.
The pattern recognition, the familiarity of cycles and symptoms - it is knowing what things mean and recognizing what is probably coming, what is probably changing and how to engage with that shift. The wisdom of eons of The Cailleach in the Cauldron of Sois, is in balance with the transforming creative naivety of the Magical Child in the Coire of Goiriath. This is beautiful and powerful. This is wisdom in humility; applying wisdom and the willingness to be shown anew.
The pattern of tri-chasag is the Gaelic infinity symbol representative of the Three Cauldrons, the Three Witches.
There is no ending to learning.
We go deeper and further into inter-connected cycles and turning of the world. The innocence of magic and miracles is flowing with the wisdom of experience and expression into the field of the world - living in time.
Both of these states - innocence and experience are filtered through the Cauldron of Ernmae/ Vocation; the Cauldron of movement, action - the you now.
Whatever stage of life you’re in will always have a past and a future feeding into the movement and moment of NOW. We will work with this deeper and further in the coming months.
A slide from The Witch Wound Webinar
The Cauldron of Sois is the Cauldron of Power and Authority
The Cailleach is the power to be who you are and the authority (to be the AUTHOR) of your life as you see fit. There is SMEDDUM in the Cauldron of Sois. Smeddum is what got women accused of witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries. Smeddum is Gàidhlig, it means Spirit, Mettle, Sass.
The Coire Sois is your power of authorship and sovereignty over your life, as you see fit.
The Cailleach will help you find your Smeddum.
This is Hag power. This is the power of menopause to deliver to you the inability to give any fucks about what the Patriarchy or White Supremacy or Capitalism or Christianity or Colonialism want you to be.
The Cauldron of Sois sits outside the gaze of society. It sits outside the structures and systems of control and allows you to see your Power and Authority as it is. As Spirit sees you - the Co-Creator of your own world and what is. This is the freedom and power to be who you are meant to be.
Menopausal women have evolved to teach the younger generations. Our knowledge and experience of life and what is valuable and what needs to be continued is so important that women continue to live for 25 years after we lose our fertility. This is the Wisdom of the Cailleach and the Cauldron of Sois.
“Ara-caun coire sofhis sernar dliged cach dno dia moiget mon mras cach ceird coitchiunn con-utaing duine dàn.
I sing of the cauldron of wisdom which bestows the nature of every art, through which treasure increases, which magnifies every artisan, which builds up a person through their gift.”
The Cauldron of Sois is building your Dàn.
Dàn is Gàidhlig. Dán is Irish.
Dàn means song, gift, fate, craft, calling, purpose, art and poetry.
Dàn is your purpose, and your purpose is to be who you are in the world and share your unique presence as you are. Self-Actualization and expression of self in the world is your purpose.
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Madeline Whetung, Vine Deloria Jr., Basil Johnston, Nii Gaani Aki Innini (Dave Courchane Jr.) and Gidigaaa Migizi (Doug Williams), among many, many others speak about the value and honour of the individuals’ right to walk their own path.
Aanjigone is the ethic of non-interference.
You will be counselled on the possible outcomes but you are free to make your own choice about what to do. This is a foundational, principle tenet of Anishinaabeg nations. This is beautiful and fosters freedom, authority and power in the person to create their own world according to their own Dàn.
According to the Siksiksa nation - self actualization is the foundation needed to live a good life. Your purpose is realized when your self-actualization of gifts and talents adds to the continuity of your community and adds to the fulfillment of everyone’s way of life.
The assumption is that your strengths, interests, gifts - your DÀN is needed and wanted and useful to the community - or else it wouldn’t exist at all.
The adults in the community encourage and support each individual’s connection and relationship with Spirit to actualize their gifts and talents in the world. Having every member of the community fulfilling and their unique way of being in the world, makes the community strong. This way of being allows for diversity, creativity and innovation to allow the community to grow and change in ways that benefit everyone.
Dàn is rooted in the joy and engagement of life and living. Being about your Dàn is the central focus of your life.
Being about how your Dàn benefits the community is inherent in Gaelic and Turtle Island Indigenous world view. There is always more happening than just right now. There is scale and connection to larger and larger communities to which we belong.
You are the center of your world and your purpose is to connect and develop your Dàn and then express your Dàn in relationship to ever-growing groups to which you belong: personal, family, clan, nation, globe, universe, Spirit. We are part of them all together. The Cauldron of Sois will help you realize your Dàn.
The Practice
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