Of sacred cauldrons & summer's end

I share a meditation with a version of Dagda's cauldron of plenty, plus reflections on the journey to 'summer's end' through these early days of October.

Friday 3rd October - a quick prelude

I feel the time is right to create a post and meditation that invokes the spirit of a sacred cauldron and wild wisdom of the end of Summer. So, I have created a pathworking audio to connect with the cauldron of plenty further on in this post, with the intention of supporting a healing experience. Also to help support anything you might be looking to transform or ‘call in’ for spiritual nourishment.

Samhain (or Samhainn, Samhuinn, and Samuin - older Gaelic spellings of the term) which begins at the end of the month is a way to honour the end of Summer and to prepare for winter. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals and it is also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for the month of November. So it can be considered a period of time rather than a short event linked to one day.

Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins, and some Neolithic passage tombs in Great Britain and Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain.¹

I am sensing the journey to Samhain on my walks this week, even with the stunning sunny, calm weather - there has been an eerie disquiet lurking beneath the Autumnal picture perfect glow. Today, Storm Amy has arrived, so I guess I was sensing the calm before the storm. Here is hoping that our wild and other kin stay safe tonight and tomorrow!

The light starts to fade around 4pm and there is a sense of waning light energy too, so the quality of the light is already feeling like winter.

I heard Tawny Owls calling to each other a few nights ago and it marked for me the beginning of Samhain, or Summer’s End. It’s not that I only hear owls here in the darker months but the way they were calling and that they called for longer and were close to the house. They were not in a rush to move on, all of this brought me into a sacred pause feeling the change of season in a deeper way.

In terms of an oracle connection, I have often said in previous posts to notice the surrounding energies and intuitive responses you feel when you hear or see or connect with an ally (be it a physical one or spirit). As this is as important as the actual being itself. It could have easily been a different ally who brought me the message of Summer’s End, but in that moment it was the owls.

Tawny Owl, Kai Wenzel, Unsplash.

Before I share the guided pathworking meditation, I will share more insights into the role of magical cauldrons in Celtic myths, namely the Dagda’s cauldron of plenty.

---