Miraculous cauldrons are a symbol one comes across time and time again in the study of Celtic mythology. Cauldrons in different tales, cauldrons with different properties... some give the gift of life, some give wisdom and knowledge, others provide food... each serving as a particular source of enlightenment and inspiration.
Often, cauldrons were under the watchful protectorship of a deity, such as Dagda, Ceridwen or Bran. Similarly, other civilizations and later cultures also incorporated the idea of a 'magical vessel' into their folklore and mythology. Most notable of these today is perhaps the Holy Grail contained in the Arthurian legend.
The Celts, holding their mythology dear, put their artistic skills to work and crafted wide varieties of cauldrons and ornate vessels from virtually all materials known to them at the time. Today, there are many surviving relics of such, made of bronze, copper, silver, gold, wood and even carved from stone. To the Celts, the power of cauldrons was far more than a good bed-time story, it was a firm belief in the supernatural 'force', which surrounded them and pervaded every aspect of their life.
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