More on the Three Cauldrons of Poesy
Searles O'Dubhain

Sun Dec 17 12:03:47 2000
The following material is mostly excerpted from my book, _Ogham Divination, a Study in Recreating and Discovering the Ancient Knowledge of the Druids_:*p*Regarding the role of the Three Cauldrons of Poesy in Druid magic and energy use:*p*There is a fifteenth century poetic tract found within an ancient Irish legal manuscript that describes the body as containing Three Cauldrons rather than Nine Dúile. These Three Cauldrons are known as the Coire Goiriath (Cauldron of Warmth), the Coire Ernma (Cauldron of Vocation), and the Coire Sois (Cauldron of Knowledge). The authorship of this metaphysical treatise is attributed to Amergin, the Milesian Ollamh and to Nede Mac Adne, Chief Ollamh for Conchobhar Mac Nessa. The relative positions of these cauldrons within each person were thought to determine the overall health of a person as well as the state of their mind and psyche. *p*I'd say that the meanings of the names of the three cauldrons lend themselves to being interpreted and expressed in that way:*p*1) Coire Áiged, Soís - spiritual knowledge and celebration*p*2) Coire Goriath - warming, incubation*p*3) Coire Érma - movement, vocation, aptitude*p*I see these qualities of the tree cauldrons of Celtic tradition as being akin to those forces seen to be involved in any part of the world by the philosophy and science of Ayurveda.  These are the three gunas which are described in this quote from an article found in "Hinduism Today(http://www.hinduism-today.com/1998/11/), Spiritual Growth, How astrological keys can open the door to a righteous and rewarding life," by Chakrapani Ullal :*p*"The three gunas--sattva, calmness; rajas, action; and tamas, inertia--coexist in a varying degree of dominance, also evident from the chart. The interplay of the gunas determines the nature of all our thoughts, feelings, and actions, hence sadhana is recommended according to the predominate guna. Hatha yoga and meditation for those of sattvic nature, devotion for the rajasic person and selfless religious service for the tamasic. "*p*The parallels between the cauldrons and the gunas stand out more for me when I consider the works and teachings of David Frawley (http://www.vedanet.com/ThreeGunas.html):*p*"Ayurveda provides a special language for understanding the primal forces of Nature and shows us how to work with them on all levels. According to Yoga and Ayurveda, Nature consists of three primal qualities, which are the main powers of Cosmic Intelligence that determine our spiritual growth. These are called gunas in Sanskrit, meaning 'what binds' because wrongly understood they keep us in bondage to the external world. "*p*1) Sattva - intelligence, imparts balance *p*2) Rajas - energy, causes imbalance *p*3) Tamas - substance, creates inertia *p*"The three gunas are the most subtle qualities of Nature that underlie matter, life and mind. They are the energies through which not only the surface mind, but our deeper consciousness functions. They are the powers of the soul which hold the karmas and desires that propel us from birth to birth. The gunas adhere in Nature herself as her core potentials for diversification. "*p*As I've said in my own book on the subject:*p*"The Three Cauldrons text could represent the Druid’s approach to the concept of "chakras," in the opinion of some scholars. They seem to have an almost direct correspondence to the three gunas of Vedic tradition as well: Tamas - Érma, Rajas - Goriath, Sattva - Sois. These three sets of qualities represent experience, existence and consciousness in the Vedic culture and are considered to be the three parts of Wisdom in Celtic culture. The state of one’s being and the emphasis that we each place upon the individual Cauldrons, determines just who we are, and just how deeply we are involved within the activities of each of the Three Worlds. "*p*"The Three Cauldrons are centers of being within each of us, which were identified by Nede mac Adne and Amergin White Knee. Evidence for the concept and the functions of the three cauldrons within each of us is based upon text found within a 15th century manuscript that was transcribed by Annie Power into " Anecdota from Irish MS, vol. 5." It is commonly called "The Cauldron of Poesy." Erynn Rowan Laurie has done an excellent translation and discussion of the poems in this work, which can be found on the Nemeton website, and at Obsidian magazine’s website. Caitlin Matthews also translated this text in a section of _An Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom, which is widely available through bookstores and book clubs."*p*All the cauldrons must be oriented properly to receive and sustain their gifts, but the Cauldron of Knowledge or Wisdom is the one IMO that grants the greatest gifts and magical power (i.e. flow of directed spirit). Again from my book (and according to Amergin):*p*"When the Cauldron of Knowledge is turned by divine ecstasy, rather than by human joy alone, its special grace is a gift that transforms a person, who become both sacred and knowledgeable, so that their works include miracles, prophecies, judgements and precedents. It is these people who establish the wisdom that guides our knowledge and regulates the forms of our speech. Though this knowledge comes from within a person, its truth and its power is from the Gods and originates from outside of a person."*p**br* *br*"Good is the wellspring of measured speech.*br*Good is the home of the well of inspiration.*br*Good is the joining of their powers:*br*Strength is made durable.*p*It endures longer than any fortress.*br*It is better than any tradition.*br*It is our guide to wisdom,*br*As we free ourselves from ignorance."*p*There's a lot more that can be said about the three cauldrons of poesy that exist within us and also about their correspondences that are found within the three worlds of being. It is a matter of years of practice and discipline in physical health, mental focus and spiritual questing. A by-product of these activities are magical powers but these should not be the heart of the matter or one's life.*p*Searles*br*