Cauldron

The pot of the witch of legend and a sign of change. Today a fireproof bowl.

A cauldron is a round pot of iron or bronze that hangs or stands over a fire. For most of history it was the one cooking pot of a household, and whatever went into it came out changed: raw into cooked, plants into medicine, water into soup. That is why it became a sign of transformation.

In Welsh legend the enchantress Ceridwen brews a potion of wisdom in her cauldron for a year and a day. Shakespeare's three witches in Macbeth stir theirs to "Double, double toil and trouble", and since then the bubbling pot has belonged to the witch of stage and picture book.

Modern witches use a cauldron to hold things that change: water, salt, a candle, slips of paper. Any fireproof bowl or small cooking pot will do. Stand it on a heat-proof surface, never burn anything in it indoors without an open window, and keep a lid nearby to smother a flame.

Related: tools of the craft, chalice, kitchen witchcraft.