The Cauldron

The Cauldron hangs in the hearth. As the source of warmth, light, and food, the hearth has become synonymous with “home”; an anchor of comfort and protection. The cauldron is the mixing pot, where soups simmer and stews stew. Thanks to Shakespeare, it has also acquired a more ominous meaning: three witches mix up a prophetic brew in a cauldron with all manner of ghastly, fortune-telling ingredients to conjure up a dark spell and a warning for the doomed Macbeth. “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”