Symbol Dictionary: Womb
An obvious symbol of creation, the womb has been symbolized and worshipped in a variety of forms from ancient times to today. Caves, burial chambers, and temples were seen as wombs of the Mother Earth in the Far East where a burial garbha meant “womb;” the Sanskrit word for temple is garbha-grha, “womb;” the Greece oracle of Delphi from delphos meant “womb;” and even Megalithic and Neolithic peoples buried their dead in womb-shaped tombs and carved the shape into stone, according to Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983). The downward pointing triangle is also a common symbol of the womb.
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Cauldron: In the general sense of the word, a Cauldron represents a container for magical potions, energies, intentions, or spells and can be a shell, a bowl, or any other container. In a stricter sense, a Cauldron is a black kettle pot that is a tool of Wicca. Man, Myth And Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Mythology, Religion And The Unknown (1995), explains that “as a symbol of plenty, the cauldron was connected with fertility… Certain mythological cauldrons were allegedly capable of reviving the dead. Others were believed to contain a liquid that could confer poetic inspiration on those who drank it.” At its origins in the Bronze and Iron Age, the cauldron stood as a symbol for the Triple Goddess of fate, and even today retains this connotation with its connection to the Weird Sisters of fate. |
In Egypt, the hieroglyphic sign for the threefold Creatress of the sun, universe, and gods, was a picture of three cauldrons. Norse and Aryan legends both tell of magical cauldrons that appear in sets of three and contain the ambrosia of life. British, Welsh, Celtic, Hittite, Pagan myths all tell of Cauldrons of the Goddess that have special powers of renewal and healing. In her book The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), Barbara Walker points out “the symbol commonly opposed to the cross, as the witches’ object of worship; in pagan tradition, the Great Mother’s cosmic womb. As the “pot of blood in the hand of Kali,” the cauldron signified cyclic recurrence, as opposed to the patriarchal view of linear time” (Walker, 1983).
Cave: A cave symbolizes the womb of the earth and has been used as sites of worship since before churches were constructed. According toBarbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), “The cave was universally identified with the womb of Mother Earth, the logical place for symbolic birth and regeneration.” Both the Sanskrit and Roman words for a place of worship (the cave) meant ‘womb.’ Some of the earliest evidence of religion that is known today comes from sophisticated cave paintings in France that appear deep within caves. Many goddesses of early cultures claimed the cave as their domain and/or entrance through which they created life, including the Hindu goddess Kurukulla, pagan goddesses Cybele and Mithra, Latin goddess Sybil, Cretan goddess Rheapagan, as well as others. By 376 C.E. the Vatican was seizing caves dedicated to the worship of the Goddess Mithra in an attempt to promote Christianity. In the 15th century, Pope, Calixtus II attempted to outlaw religious ceremonies in sacred caves. In her book The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), Barbara Walker, explains, “as entrances to the underworld, caves were still associated with the Great Mother’s yonic gate.”
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Chalice: Many ancient earth-worshipping religions recognized a divine feminine goddess, symbolized by a cup, cauldron, chalice, or moon—all representing fertility and immortality. Likewise, a divine masculine god was symbolized by a rode or blade. The chalice is among these symbols for the goddess (other symbols include the cauldron, cup, and the moon). Sir Laurence Gardner, in his lecture The Hidden History of Jesus and the Holy Grail (1997) states, “a chalice or a cup was the longest-standing symbol of the female. Its representation was that of the sacred vessel—the vas uterus, the womb.” At its most basic form it is the shape of a V or an upside down triangle and physically this corresponds to the female reproductive genitals of both the vulva and the womb (uterus) which speaks to one of this symbol’s basic meanings, that of fertility, creativity, and prosperity. |
The symbol of the chalice appears in many mythic tales including Arthur/Merlin legends of Holy Grail quests (the magical cup given by the priestesses of Avalon on the Isle of Apples, that has been lost), "Cauldron of Rebirth," given to Bran, and the "Healing Cauldron of Goibniu.” The chalice is also used in Catholic communion ceremonies in which the “blood” of Christ is held within a cup. In his article, The Sacred Cauldron (2000), Michael Ragan, explores the Cauldron’s symbolism and explains, “It is the symbol of primary creation, the Great Womb, the source, the Mother Goddess herself... It can feed, give drink, heal, restore life, soothe raging spears, contains wisdom and throughout retains its otherworld connections. Within that cauldron are healing, inspiration, wisdom, sustenance (both physical and spiritual), and the very essence of life itself.” The Chalice and the Blade as symbols are connected. The Blade creates the space for the Cauldron to exist by not only making it safe, but also creating the integrity necessary for the gifts of the cauldron through truth. Michael Ragan explains that, “included in the Cauldron as the necessary elements of ‘Wisdom’ (Sword) or Illumination and the ‘Fire in the Mind’ of our Sword of Inspiration. It [the Cauldron] cannot be possessed as in ownership. It can only be protected and held in safety by the masculine figure.” With these new understandings of these important sacred symbols, new meanings can be gained from ancient mythic tales.According to Myth, Man And Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Mythology, Religion And The Unknown (1995), edited by Richard Cavendish, “The cup is a female sex symbol but it also carries connotations of nourishment and abundance. When it becomes the cup of the Eucharist, and still more when it becomes the Grail, it has clearly far transcended its simple anatomical reference.”