Post by wren on Oct 4, 2006 18:24:05 GMT -5
by Erynn Rowan Laurie
During the 7th century CE, an Irish fili or sacred poet composed a poem on one of the mysteries of the Irish wisdom tradition. This poem is preserved in a 16th century manuscript 1, along with the glosses in 11th century language explaining some of its more obscure references. When it was finally "discovered" by modern scholars, it was named "The Cauldron of Poesy" for its references to poetry being created in three internal cauldrons.
Three translations of this text exist, published by the Celtic scholars P.L. Henry 2 and Liam Breatnach 3, and by the well-known occultist Caitlin Matthews. 4 I am aware of two other discussions of the text in the Pagan press, one by the Canadian druid Sean O'Tuathail 5 and the other in my own work under the name Erynn Darkstar. 6 In this article, I offer my own translation of the poem and commentary, along with some theories and suggestions for working with the internal cauldrons as a path to poetic and magical achievement.
There is some debate in the scholarly community about whether the filidh were a subclass of druid, or an independent order of poets and magicians. Fili is cognate with vates, a Gaulish religious functionary, and ovate, a similar British station. The highest ranking filidh were called ollamh. The word fili probably means "seer." 7 The word derives from the Archaic Irish *weis by way of the Insular Celtic word *wel- which had the original imperative meaning "see!" or "look at!" and is related to the Irish verb to be. 8 Their work included divination, blessing and blasting magic, creating praise poetry for their patrons, the preservation of lore and genealogies, and occasionally the rendering of judgments. Cormac's Glossary derives fili from "fi, 'poison' in satire, and li 'splendor' in praise, and it is variously that the poet proclaims." 9
The early Irish filidh wore cloaks of birds' feathers called tugen and were sometimes ecstatic hermits known as geilta 10, composing their poetry and seeking mantic visions through various techniques involving incubatory darkness, liminal times or places such as dawn and dusk or doorways, and the ingestion of raw substances such as the meat of sacrificed animals. 11 The chewing or eating of raw flesh is apparently a link to the Otherworld, for spirits and the inhabitants of the Sídhe mounds are said to eat raw foods. 12 By the 14th century, the filidh were divided into seven grades of achievement, requiring at least twelve years of study to attain the highest grades. During the eighth year of study, mantic and divinatory techniques began to be taught, and those capable of practicing them were known as ollamh. 13 This title is still in use in Ireland to denote a university professor.
During the time of the Christianization of Ireland, the druids were repressed or absorbed, and the filidh subsumed many of their social functions and status in Irish society. Filidh were often associated with monasteries, and this association was maintained until at least the 17th century, when the English began earnest attempts to destroy Irish Catholicism. 14
My translation of this fili text is offered with the understanding that my command of the Old Irish language is not perfect. I render some lines and words very loosely and others with a stubborn literality, choosing that which suits me and attempting to make the whole understandable as an important magical text. It should be understood that every translator has biases, whether or not they are spoken. For the most complete understanding of the text, I can only recommend that you undertake to make your own translations.
The commentary that I offer on the poem is based not only on research, but also on personal intuitions and practical workings. Some of it will be quite subjective, and your own experiences may lead you to other conclusions. I encourage every would-be modern fili to study and work with this material from many angles and in its several translations in an ongoing search for enlightenment.
THE CAULDRON OF POESY TEXT
My true Cauldron of Incubation
It has been taken by the Gods 15 from the mysteries of the elemental abyss
A fitting decision that ennobles one from one's center
that pours forth a terrifying stream of speech from the mouth.
I am Amirgen White-knee
pale of substance, gray of hair,
accomplishing my incubation
in proper poetic forms
in diverse color.
The Gods do not apportion the same to everyone --
tipped, inverted, right-side-up;
no knowledge, half-knowledge, full-knowledge --
for Eber and Donn,
the making of fearful poetry,
vast, mighty draughts of death-spells
in active voice, in passive silence, in the neutral balance between,
in the proper construction of rhyme,
in this way it narrates the path and function of my cauldron.
I sing of the Cauldron of Wisdom
which bestows the merit of every art,
through which treasure increases,
which magnifies every common artisan,
which builds up a person through their gift.
Where is the root of poetry in a person; in the body or in the soul? They say it is in the soul, for the body does nothing without the soul. Others say it is in the body where the arts are learned, passed through the bodies of our ancestors. It is said this is the seat of what remains over the root of poetry; and the good knowledge in every person's ancestry comes not into everyone, but comes into every other person.
What then is the root of poetry and every other wisdom? Not hard; three cauldrons are born in every person, i.e., the Cauldron of Incubation, the Cauldron of Motion and the Cauldron of Wisdom.
The Cauldron of Incubation is born upright in a person from the beginning. It distributes wisdom to people in their youth.
The Cauldron of Motion, however, after turning increases. That is to say it is born tipped on its side in a person.
The Cauldron of Wisdom is born on its lips (upside-down) and it distributes wisdom in every art besides (in addition to) poetry.
The Cauldron of Motion, then, in every other person is on its lips, i.e., in ignorant people. It is side-slanting in people of bardcraft and strophes (mid-level poetry). It is on its back in the "great streams" (highest poetic grades) of great wisdom and poetry. On account of this not every mid-level person has it on its back because the Cauldron of Motion must be turned by sorrow or joy.
Question: How many divisions of sorrow that turn the cauldrons of sages? Not hard; four. Longing, grief, the sorrows of jealousy and the discipline of pilgrimage to holy places. It is internally that these are borne although the cause is from outside.
There are then two divisions of joy that turn the Cauldron of Wisdom, i.e., divine joy and human joy.
In human joy there are four divisions among the wise. Sexual intimacy; the joy of health untroubled by the abundance of goading when a person takes up the prosperity of bardcraft; the joy of the binding principle of wisdom after good (poetic) construction; and, joy of fitting poetic frenzy from the grinding away at the fair nuts of the nine hazels on the Well of Segais in the Sìdhe realm. They cast themselves in great quantities like a ram's fleece upon the ridges of the Boyne, moving against the stream swifter than racehorses driven in the middle-month on the magnificent day every seven years.
The Gods touch a person through divine and human joys so that they are able to speak prophetic poems and dispense wisdom and perform miracles, as well as offering wise judgment and giving precedents and wisdom in answer to everyone's wishes. But the source of these joys (the Gods) is outside the person although the actual cause of the joy is internal.
I sing of the Cauldron of Motion
understanding grace,
accumulating knowledge
streaming poetic inspiration as milk from the breast,
it is the tide-water point of knowledge
union of sages
stream of sovereignty
glory of the lowly
mastery of words
swift understanding
reddening satire
craftsman of histories
cherishing pupils
looking after binding principles
distinguishing the intricacies of language
moving toward music
propagation of good wisdom
enriching nobility
ennobling non-nobles
exalting names
relating praises
through the working of law
comparing of ranks
pure weighing of nobility
with fair words of the wise
with streams of sages,
the noble brew in which is boiled
the true root of all knowledge
which bestows after duty
which is climbed after diligence
which poetic ecstasy sets in motion
which joy turns
which is revealed through sorrow;
it is lasting power
undiminishing protection
I sing of the Cauldron of Motion
What is this motion? Not hard; an artistic turning or artistic after-turning or artistic journey, i.e., it bestows good wisdom and nobility and honor after turning.
The Cauldron of Motion
bestows, is bestowed
extends, is extended
nourishes, is nourished
magnifies, is magnified
invokes, is invoked
sings, is sung
preserves, is preserved
arranges, is arranged
supports, is supported.
Good is the well of measuring
good is the dwelling of speech
good is the confluence of power
which builds up strength.
It is greater than every domain
it is better than every inheritance,
it brings one to knowledge
adventuring away from ignorance.
"I AM AMIRGEN WHITE-KNEE"
Amirgen, one of the most powerful Irish filidh, is credited with the authorship of the poem. The practice of crediting famous and powerful poets with the creation of poems is common in Irish and Welsh literary practice, as one can see from the immense body of poetry of many periods said to have been composed by the Welsh poets Taliesin and Aneirin, or poems ascribed to Fionn Mac Cumhail. While this may be simply a device to garner honor for the poem, I have to wonder if, in some cases, it was not believed that a poet may have been possessed by the spirit of these great filidh during the process of composition.
The poetry is said to be composed for Eber and Donn, both of whom were brothers of Amirgen. Eber was one of the kings of the Milesians, and Donn became a God of the dead. He is said to greet the descendants of Mil at Teach Duinn, the House of Donn, after their deaths. This house is often described as being on or in a rock by the same name that is found off the furthest southwest point of Ireland. I believe that this line refers to the poet's duty of creating praise poetry for kings and patrons, and of making poetry for the Gods and for the dead so that we remember them.
"THREE CAULDRONS ARE BORN IN EVERY PERSON"
In this poem, three cauldrons are described. I have rendered them as the Cauldron of Incubation, the Cauldron of Motion, and the Cauldron of Wisdom. The word used to indicate "incubation" (goiriath) may equally mean "warming," "sustenance," or "maintenance." These three cauldrons are said to be born in every person, taken by deific forces from out of a great mystery. The cauldrons are described as bestowing nobility upon people through the process of the creation of poetry, the pouring forth of "a terrifying stream of speech from the mouth."
My own experience, and the comments of others, lead me to place the cauldrons within the body as one might understand the positioning of chakras. It should be understood that the cauldrons are not identical to chakras, and their functioning is different. Rather than "wheels" of energy, they are containers, holding or pouring out different substances. Within these cauldrons one may heat, boil, or brew one's health, talents, emotions, and wisdom or poetry.
The Cauldron of Incubation is in the abdomen, upright in every person. It is upright because it is necessary for maintaining one's health and basic survival needs. This cauldron might spill onto its side in cases of severe illness, and turn "on its lips" or upside down at the point of physical death or during a near-death experience.
The Cauldron of Motion is in the chest. It is said to be born on its side in some people. This is the cauldron which processes and expresses our emotions, and from which the beginnings of the poetic art arise. In its side-slanting position, it holds only a little, and it must be turned through the understanding, expression, and transformation of powerful emotions in order to attain a fully upright position. I believe that this central, pivotal cauldron is the one that determines access to the next cauldron according to our inborn talents.
The Cauldron of Wisdom is in the head, and is born "on its lips" in all people. This cauldron is turned through training and through deific inspiration. Its gifts are not limited to poetry, but are said to be "every art besides." In the imagery of the Well of Wisdom as described by Manannan 16, the people with this cauldron active are those who have drunk from both the well and all of the streams of the senses issuing from the well. This cauldron "magnifies every common artisan," taking them beyond human capacity into a semi-divine level of functioning, and "builds up a person through their gift." The Irish believe that every person was capable of exceeding the limitations of their initial station in life, saying "a man is better than his birth" 17, and this philosophy is clearly shown throughout the poem and its commentary.
The qualities of these cauldrons can be thought of as similar to a triad of yogic concepts 18 in the same way that the cauldrons themselves bear a passing resemblance to chakras. This may point to a common Indo-European heritage for these concepts of internal energy structures and their workings.
The first of these yogic concepts, tamas, meaning obscurity or heaviness, could be related to the qualities found in the Cauldron of Incubation. Physicality is conceptually "heavier" and denser than thought, motion or inspiration. In yogic thought it "obscures" the spirit or soul, hiding it within a veil of flesh and mortal weakness. The Irish Celts dealt with this dichotomy by announcing that the seat of poetry was in both the body and the spirit.
Rajas is the concept of energy. Motion and transformation are ways that energy is transmitted into or through objects. The Cauldron of Motion moves and transforms our emotions, and our emotions are said to "move" us in many ways. Energy is found at liminal points between this realm and the Otherworld, between day and night, summer and winter. The Cauldron of Motion is at a significant, liminal point between the body and the illumination of pure wisdom. It is the gateway between.
Sattva is the concept of illumination or purity. The Cauldron of Wisdom provides illumination and enlightenment through the processes of poetic composition and creativity, ennobling a person, "purifying" them of their baser components.
The poetry that results from the activation of the cauldrons is described as "a terrifying stream of speech," "fearful," and "vast, mighty draughts of death-spells." These are no mere rhymes. They are words and images of immense magical power, truth summoned from the Otherworlds and named by the fili, who is acting with passion and intensity. Through our poetry, we reach into the liquid fires of creation, the fire that arises from the Well of Wisdom. The fire fills us until we can hold no more, and then fills us even further. The creation of this true, fearful poetry is inherently ennobling, raising the poet from the basest of conditions into enlightenment.
We can see from these phrases that the translation of the word imbas as "poetic frenzy" is not an overstatement of the condition. This Celtic form of enlightenment is no gentle melding with the oneness of the universe. Instead, it is a passionate, sometimes uncontrollable engagement with the fabric of reality. The energies accessed when all the cauldrons are turned into their upright positions does indeed feel like fire flowing through the head, expanding, quickening, and burning, as when Amirgen proclaimed "I am a God who shapes fire for a head."
The tilted condition of the cauldrons is equated with the state of knowledge of the poetic practitioner: "no knowledge, half-knowledge, full-knowledge." It is stated outright that not everyone has the same capacity and talent, but also implied that what we have can be worked with and improved, whatever our initial state. We each have gifts that are given to us, and it is our sacred duty to take those gifts and hone them to a fine edge. In doing this, we show our divine origin as children of the Gods, becoming aes dána, or "people of art."
(cont.)
During the 7th century CE, an Irish fili or sacred poet composed a poem on one of the mysteries of the Irish wisdom tradition. This poem is preserved in a 16th century manuscript 1, along with the glosses in 11th century language explaining some of its more obscure references. When it was finally "discovered" by modern scholars, it was named "The Cauldron of Poesy" for its references to poetry being created in three internal cauldrons.
Three translations of this text exist, published by the Celtic scholars P.L. Henry 2 and Liam Breatnach 3, and by the well-known occultist Caitlin Matthews. 4 I am aware of two other discussions of the text in the Pagan press, one by the Canadian druid Sean O'Tuathail 5 and the other in my own work under the name Erynn Darkstar. 6 In this article, I offer my own translation of the poem and commentary, along with some theories and suggestions for working with the internal cauldrons as a path to poetic and magical achievement.
There is some debate in the scholarly community about whether the filidh were a subclass of druid, or an independent order of poets and magicians. Fili is cognate with vates, a Gaulish religious functionary, and ovate, a similar British station. The highest ranking filidh were called ollamh. The word fili probably means "seer." 7 The word derives from the Archaic Irish *weis by way of the Insular Celtic word *wel- which had the original imperative meaning "see!" or "look at!" and is related to the Irish verb to be. 8 Their work included divination, blessing and blasting magic, creating praise poetry for their patrons, the preservation of lore and genealogies, and occasionally the rendering of judgments. Cormac's Glossary derives fili from "fi, 'poison' in satire, and li 'splendor' in praise, and it is variously that the poet proclaims." 9
The early Irish filidh wore cloaks of birds' feathers called tugen and were sometimes ecstatic hermits known as geilta 10, composing their poetry and seeking mantic visions through various techniques involving incubatory darkness, liminal times or places such as dawn and dusk or doorways, and the ingestion of raw substances such as the meat of sacrificed animals. 11 The chewing or eating of raw flesh is apparently a link to the Otherworld, for spirits and the inhabitants of the Sídhe mounds are said to eat raw foods. 12 By the 14th century, the filidh were divided into seven grades of achievement, requiring at least twelve years of study to attain the highest grades. During the eighth year of study, mantic and divinatory techniques began to be taught, and those capable of practicing them were known as ollamh. 13 This title is still in use in Ireland to denote a university professor.
During the time of the Christianization of Ireland, the druids were repressed or absorbed, and the filidh subsumed many of their social functions and status in Irish society. Filidh were often associated with monasteries, and this association was maintained until at least the 17th century, when the English began earnest attempts to destroy Irish Catholicism. 14
My translation of this fili text is offered with the understanding that my command of the Old Irish language is not perfect. I render some lines and words very loosely and others with a stubborn literality, choosing that which suits me and attempting to make the whole understandable as an important magical text. It should be understood that every translator has biases, whether or not they are spoken. For the most complete understanding of the text, I can only recommend that you undertake to make your own translations.
The commentary that I offer on the poem is based not only on research, but also on personal intuitions and practical workings. Some of it will be quite subjective, and your own experiences may lead you to other conclusions. I encourage every would-be modern fili to study and work with this material from many angles and in its several translations in an ongoing search for enlightenment.
THE CAULDRON OF POESY TEXT
My true Cauldron of Incubation
It has been taken by the Gods 15 from the mysteries of the elemental abyss
A fitting decision that ennobles one from one's center
that pours forth a terrifying stream of speech from the mouth.
I am Amirgen White-knee
pale of substance, gray of hair,
accomplishing my incubation
in proper poetic forms
in diverse color.
The Gods do not apportion the same to everyone --
tipped, inverted, right-side-up;
no knowledge, half-knowledge, full-knowledge --
for Eber and Donn,
the making of fearful poetry,
vast, mighty draughts of death-spells
in active voice, in passive silence, in the neutral balance between,
in the proper construction of rhyme,
in this way it narrates the path and function of my cauldron.
I sing of the Cauldron of Wisdom
which bestows the merit of every art,
through which treasure increases,
which magnifies every common artisan,
which builds up a person through their gift.
Where is the root of poetry in a person; in the body or in the soul? They say it is in the soul, for the body does nothing without the soul. Others say it is in the body where the arts are learned, passed through the bodies of our ancestors. It is said this is the seat of what remains over the root of poetry; and the good knowledge in every person's ancestry comes not into everyone, but comes into every other person.
What then is the root of poetry and every other wisdom? Not hard; three cauldrons are born in every person, i.e., the Cauldron of Incubation, the Cauldron of Motion and the Cauldron of Wisdom.
The Cauldron of Incubation is born upright in a person from the beginning. It distributes wisdom to people in their youth.
The Cauldron of Motion, however, after turning increases. That is to say it is born tipped on its side in a person.
The Cauldron of Wisdom is born on its lips (upside-down) and it distributes wisdom in every art besides (in addition to) poetry.
The Cauldron of Motion, then, in every other person is on its lips, i.e., in ignorant people. It is side-slanting in people of bardcraft and strophes (mid-level poetry). It is on its back in the "great streams" (highest poetic grades) of great wisdom and poetry. On account of this not every mid-level person has it on its back because the Cauldron of Motion must be turned by sorrow or joy.
Question: How many divisions of sorrow that turn the cauldrons of sages? Not hard; four. Longing, grief, the sorrows of jealousy and the discipline of pilgrimage to holy places. It is internally that these are borne although the cause is from outside.
There are then two divisions of joy that turn the Cauldron of Wisdom, i.e., divine joy and human joy.
In human joy there are four divisions among the wise. Sexual intimacy; the joy of health untroubled by the abundance of goading when a person takes up the prosperity of bardcraft; the joy of the binding principle of wisdom after good (poetic) construction; and, joy of fitting poetic frenzy from the grinding away at the fair nuts of the nine hazels on the Well of Segais in the Sìdhe realm. They cast themselves in great quantities like a ram's fleece upon the ridges of the Boyne, moving against the stream swifter than racehorses driven in the middle-month on the magnificent day every seven years.
The Gods touch a person through divine and human joys so that they are able to speak prophetic poems and dispense wisdom and perform miracles, as well as offering wise judgment and giving precedents and wisdom in answer to everyone's wishes. But the source of these joys (the Gods) is outside the person although the actual cause of the joy is internal.
I sing of the Cauldron of Motion
understanding grace,
accumulating knowledge
streaming poetic inspiration as milk from the breast,
it is the tide-water point of knowledge
union of sages
stream of sovereignty
glory of the lowly
mastery of words
swift understanding
reddening satire
craftsman of histories
cherishing pupils
looking after binding principles
distinguishing the intricacies of language
moving toward music
propagation of good wisdom
enriching nobility
ennobling non-nobles
exalting names
relating praises
through the working of law
comparing of ranks
pure weighing of nobility
with fair words of the wise
with streams of sages,
the noble brew in which is boiled
the true root of all knowledge
which bestows after duty
which is climbed after diligence
which poetic ecstasy sets in motion
which joy turns
which is revealed through sorrow;
it is lasting power
undiminishing protection
I sing of the Cauldron of Motion
What is this motion? Not hard; an artistic turning or artistic after-turning or artistic journey, i.e., it bestows good wisdom and nobility and honor after turning.
The Cauldron of Motion
bestows, is bestowed
extends, is extended
nourishes, is nourished
magnifies, is magnified
invokes, is invoked
sings, is sung
preserves, is preserved
arranges, is arranged
supports, is supported.
Good is the well of measuring
good is the dwelling of speech
good is the confluence of power
which builds up strength.
It is greater than every domain
it is better than every inheritance,
it brings one to knowledge
adventuring away from ignorance.
"I AM AMIRGEN WHITE-KNEE"
Amirgen, one of the most powerful Irish filidh, is credited with the authorship of the poem. The practice of crediting famous and powerful poets with the creation of poems is common in Irish and Welsh literary practice, as one can see from the immense body of poetry of many periods said to have been composed by the Welsh poets Taliesin and Aneirin, or poems ascribed to Fionn Mac Cumhail. While this may be simply a device to garner honor for the poem, I have to wonder if, in some cases, it was not believed that a poet may have been possessed by the spirit of these great filidh during the process of composition.
The poetry is said to be composed for Eber and Donn, both of whom were brothers of Amirgen. Eber was one of the kings of the Milesians, and Donn became a God of the dead. He is said to greet the descendants of Mil at Teach Duinn, the House of Donn, after their deaths. This house is often described as being on or in a rock by the same name that is found off the furthest southwest point of Ireland. I believe that this line refers to the poet's duty of creating praise poetry for kings and patrons, and of making poetry for the Gods and for the dead so that we remember them.
"THREE CAULDRONS ARE BORN IN EVERY PERSON"
In this poem, three cauldrons are described. I have rendered them as the Cauldron of Incubation, the Cauldron of Motion, and the Cauldron of Wisdom. The word used to indicate "incubation" (goiriath) may equally mean "warming," "sustenance," or "maintenance." These three cauldrons are said to be born in every person, taken by deific forces from out of a great mystery. The cauldrons are described as bestowing nobility upon people through the process of the creation of poetry, the pouring forth of "a terrifying stream of speech from the mouth."
My own experience, and the comments of others, lead me to place the cauldrons within the body as one might understand the positioning of chakras. It should be understood that the cauldrons are not identical to chakras, and their functioning is different. Rather than "wheels" of energy, they are containers, holding or pouring out different substances. Within these cauldrons one may heat, boil, or brew one's health, talents, emotions, and wisdom or poetry.
The Cauldron of Incubation is in the abdomen, upright in every person. It is upright because it is necessary for maintaining one's health and basic survival needs. This cauldron might spill onto its side in cases of severe illness, and turn "on its lips" or upside down at the point of physical death or during a near-death experience.
The Cauldron of Motion is in the chest. It is said to be born on its side in some people. This is the cauldron which processes and expresses our emotions, and from which the beginnings of the poetic art arise. In its side-slanting position, it holds only a little, and it must be turned through the understanding, expression, and transformation of powerful emotions in order to attain a fully upright position. I believe that this central, pivotal cauldron is the one that determines access to the next cauldron according to our inborn talents.
The Cauldron of Wisdom is in the head, and is born "on its lips" in all people. This cauldron is turned through training and through deific inspiration. Its gifts are not limited to poetry, but are said to be "every art besides." In the imagery of the Well of Wisdom as described by Manannan 16, the people with this cauldron active are those who have drunk from both the well and all of the streams of the senses issuing from the well. This cauldron "magnifies every common artisan," taking them beyond human capacity into a semi-divine level of functioning, and "builds up a person through their gift." The Irish believe that every person was capable of exceeding the limitations of their initial station in life, saying "a man is better than his birth" 17, and this philosophy is clearly shown throughout the poem and its commentary.
The qualities of these cauldrons can be thought of as similar to a triad of yogic concepts 18 in the same way that the cauldrons themselves bear a passing resemblance to chakras. This may point to a common Indo-European heritage for these concepts of internal energy structures and their workings.
The first of these yogic concepts, tamas, meaning obscurity or heaviness, could be related to the qualities found in the Cauldron of Incubation. Physicality is conceptually "heavier" and denser than thought, motion or inspiration. In yogic thought it "obscures" the spirit or soul, hiding it within a veil of flesh and mortal weakness. The Irish Celts dealt with this dichotomy by announcing that the seat of poetry was in both the body and the spirit.
Rajas is the concept of energy. Motion and transformation are ways that energy is transmitted into or through objects. The Cauldron of Motion moves and transforms our emotions, and our emotions are said to "move" us in many ways. Energy is found at liminal points between this realm and the Otherworld, between day and night, summer and winter. The Cauldron of Motion is at a significant, liminal point between the body and the illumination of pure wisdom. It is the gateway between.
Sattva is the concept of illumination or purity. The Cauldron of Wisdom provides illumination and enlightenment through the processes of poetic composition and creativity, ennobling a person, "purifying" them of their baser components.
The poetry that results from the activation of the cauldrons is described as "a terrifying stream of speech," "fearful," and "vast, mighty draughts of death-spells." These are no mere rhymes. They are words and images of immense magical power, truth summoned from the Otherworlds and named by the fili, who is acting with passion and intensity. Through our poetry, we reach into the liquid fires of creation, the fire that arises from the Well of Wisdom. The fire fills us until we can hold no more, and then fills us even further. The creation of this true, fearful poetry is inherently ennobling, raising the poet from the basest of conditions into enlightenment.
We can see from these phrases that the translation of the word imbas as "poetic frenzy" is not an overstatement of the condition. This Celtic form of enlightenment is no gentle melding with the oneness of the universe. Instead, it is a passionate, sometimes uncontrollable engagement with the fabric of reality. The energies accessed when all the cauldrons are turned into their upright positions does indeed feel like fire flowing through the head, expanding, quickening, and burning, as when Amirgen proclaimed "I am a God who shapes fire for a head."
The tilted condition of the cauldrons is equated with the state of knowledge of the poetic practitioner: "no knowledge, half-knowledge, full-knowledge." It is stated outright that not everyone has the same capacity and talent, but also implied that what we have can be worked with and improved, whatever our initial state. We each have gifts that are given to us, and it is our sacred duty to take those gifts and hone them to a fine edge. In doing this, we show our divine origin as children of the Gods, becoming aes dána, or "people of art."
(cont.)
