Contemplation on the Three Cauldrons

In my contemplation on the matter of the Three Cauldrons I have developed a relationship between them and the dúile of the self and the elements of being (since both sets of concepts seem to address relationships between qualities within ourselves and in the universe). As a guide in this development, I followed the lead of the ancient Vedic seers in seeing the actions and interactions of the Three Cauldrons upon one another. In the development of the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas, the qualities of life), the Vedic Seers discovered and expressed these relationships[i]  in the following manner:

The Three Gunas

Sattva (The Concentrating Tendency) Consciousness, Light, Interlinking and Cohesion

Rajas (The Revolving Tendency) Experience, Periodic Motion, Rhythmic Activity, Creative Thought

Tamas (The Dispersing Tendency) Existence, Disintegration, Darkness, Dissolution

The Stages of Existence[ii]

Consciousness of Consciousness	the Self or Atman
Existence of Consciousness	Divinity or Isvara
Experience of Consciousness	Human Nature or Jiva
Consciousness of Experience	the inner faculties or Antahkarana
Existence of Experience	life energies or Prána
Experience of Experience	the feelings and emotions or Rasa
Consciousness of Existence	the senses or Indriya
Existence of Existence	principals of the elements or Mahábhuta
Experience of Existence	the inanimate world

 The Three Cauldrons (from the Cauldron of Poesy materials attributed to Amergin) almost directly correspond to the Three Gunas from Ayurvedic teachings. The Stages of Existence seem to describe the same things as the Dúile in Druidic cosmology. I’m not surprised that such commonalities exist between the Vedic traditions and the Celtic practices, since both were very conservative, orally preserved traditions with a class/cast responsible for their integrity and preservation. Both groupings were derived from a common Indo-European traditional/cultural source and the vision seers, poets and holy teachers interpreted each.

The Stages of Existence of Vedic tradition and the Dúile from Celtic tradition could be considered to be related in the following ways:

Self -Soul (Head)

Divinity - Brain

Human Nature - Face

Inner Faculties - Intuition (Mind)

Life Energies - Breath

Feelings and Emotions - Blood

Senses - Skin (Nature)

Elements - Flesh

Inanimate - Bones

 The Three Gunas also seem to have correspondences to the Cauldrons of Poesy and their characteristics as:

Sattva (Consciousness) - Soís (Wisdom),

Rajas (Motion and Experience) - Érma (Motion and Vocation),

Tamas (Existence) - Goriath (Formation and Incubation)

I considered the effects that the Three Cauldrons have on one another, as well as their actions and interactions. The similarities that exist between them and the Gunas suggested the following tables of correspondences for the cauldrons and the dúile, as well as their states of being:

The Three Cauldrons

Coire Soís (Cauldron of Wisdom) Consciousness - Future Creation, Knowledge, Inspiration

Coire Érma (Cauldron of Vocation) Experience - Present Motion, Observation, Training

Coire Goríath  (Cauldron of Formation) Existence - Past Incubation, Formation, Tradition

The Nine Dúile

Consciousness of Consciousness Existence of Consciousness Experience of Consciousness	Head, Self, Sky  Brain, Spirit, Stars  Face, Image, Sun
Consciousness of Experience Existence of Experience Experience of Experience	Mind, Intuition, Moon  Breath, Creativity, Wind  Blood, Actions, Sea
Consciousness of Existence Experience of Existence Existence of Existence	Skin, Interaction, Nature  Flesh, Form, Earth  Bone, Structure, Stone

The following table details these relationships of the Cauldrons with the properties of the Three Gunas:[iii]

Properties of the Three Gunas

Quality	Soís - Sattva	Érma - Rajas	Goríath - Tamas
Cauldron	Wisdom	Vocation	Incubation
Color	White - purity, harmony	Red - action, passion	Black - darkness
Time	Day - clarity	Sunrise, Sunset - transition	Night - darkness
Energy	Neutral Balanced	Positive Sets things in motion	Negative Retards motion
World	Sky - Heaven or Space home of the gods region of peace	Sea - Atmosphere realm of the Fomorii region of storms	Land - Earth lands of the people realm of inertia
Cosmic Levels	Spiritual - Causal Or Ideal	Mental - Subtle Astral	Physical - Gross or Physical
Beings	Deities and Sages	Humans	Ancestors Minerals, Plants, Animals
States	Waking	Dreaming	Deep Sleep

The relationship between Tamas and Goríath appears to be inverted in some respects, since formation implies action. I think we should view this formation as more of a continuation of existence through family, tribe, and social structure.  Each of these forms tends to retard change and promotes that which already exists. Some of the differences between the two systems become similarities when the cauldron’s other meaning of “incubation” is considered. Incubation occurs within darkness. It is a continuity of formation produced by that which already is. Inertia or resistance to change is only another way of describing the effects of cultural traditions and standards on a society. Among the Druids, knowledge was learned through repetition, association, and incubation within the darkness of the student’s bed or room. Each day’s lessons of newly acquired knowledge were learned and saved as memories that were linked with existing knowledge in a Memory Grove of the mind. Among the Filidh, this darkened cell of learning was known as the “Bed of the Poets.”

 

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[i] Alain Daniélou ,The Myths and Gods of India, pp. 22-25.

[ii] Ibid, p.27.

[iii] Dr. David Frawley, Ayurveda and the Mind, the Healing of Consciousness.