The cauldron was a common tool of sorcerers and witches used as the receptacle in which philtres, ointments, and poisons were brewed.

Cauldrons often are three-legged and made of iron. They come in all sizes ranging from a few inches in diameter to several feet across. 

In medieval folktales, literature, and art, every witch's house had a cauldron set over a blazing fire. Within the cauldron, you might find concoctions made of baby fat, snakes, bat's blood, and decapitated and flayed toads. It can also be filled with water and used for scrying into the future.

Before going to a Sabbath, witches prepared their flying ointments and other drugs in their cauldrons. Then, they often carried their cauldrons with them to the Sabbath in order to boil small children for a feast. Witches could dump the contents of their cauldrons into the ocean to cause a storm at sea.  

In ancient Celtic times the cauldron was considered to be a source of knowledge and sustenance; it was something positive relating to the improvement of life. The cauldron was also an important tool for alchemists in their never-ending searches for formulae to transmute lead into gold, and small gems into large gems.

In Neo-Pagan, the cauldron is a symbol of the Goddess and corresponds to the element of Water. Mostly used in ritual as a container in which magical transformations can occur, the Cauldron is  often a focal point of a ritual.

During spring rites, it can be filled with water and fresh flower petals and in winter, fires can be lighted within the cauldron to symbolize the rebirth of the Sun.