by R.A. Harper
We’ve all seen them, the stacks of charred and blackened cauldrons left to collect dust in corners, on back steps, or occasionally used as planters in gardens. They are the pewter cauldrons we start with, or the ones we can afford in the moment, or maybe the cauldrons we use because we aren’t sure we want to risk melting a really good cauldron on a recipe we aren’t feeling so confident about; hard working, but doomed to eventual irreparable failure.
What to do? There are only so many cauldron shaped planters one can really have, and if you live near non-Wixen neighbours having more than one or two stops being a fun curiosity and starts becoming a risk to secrecy.
You could vanish them; but banishing old cauldrons to some nether dimension that no one isn’t really clear about makes the brain itch in a peculiar way. Besides, no one likes a litter bug.
No! Put them to new and fun uses that even a non-magical family member or friend will find charming and completely not suspicious even if they do think you are a bit dotty about things medieval and historical reenacting.
Get out your wands, it is time to elevate the humble pewter cauldron!
Terrariums and Aquariums:
- Start by removing the handle from your cauldron and use Parillis Verto to change the metal to a thick transparent glass. You now have a round sphere suitable for all sorts of elegant uses.
- Try adding some attractive rocks or bits of wood in the bottom. Anchor your composition with attractive plants, ikebana style floral arrangements, or plants that give some interest to the tank if it’s to be an aquarium. You may also try sand painting by layering colored sand in the bottom and using toothpicks to push the layers down on each other to make interesting designs.
- If you are planning to use the cauldron to house fish or small animals, be sure that you choose plants and materials that will not be poisonous or harmful to the creatures in question if they nibble on them. Add enough plants to allow creatures a bit of privacy or places to disappear from view. Match your plants to the creature’s native habitat and the temperature you plan to keep your aquarium at. If you plan to give your froggy familiars a second home, make sure you match the environment to the frog as some prefer warm, dry, desert conditions and others a wetter environment. If you are keeping creatures likely to jump out, you may want to change the cauldron’s original lid to be a humane, breathable, screen that is heavy enough to stay put but looks attractive when in place.
- Consider using environmental spells to support your aquarium/terrarium so that it is healthy for animals or may become mini-greenhouses for exotic plants like orchids. Warming spells and spells that control light or moisture may be just the thing to add interest and turn your old cauldron into a useful habitat for rare creatures or delicate plants.
- If you know the Bubble spell, it could be helpful in aerating water if you are creating an aquarium. Think about turning an item into a “bubbler” to help keep your water fresh and your fish healthy.
- If you choose to keep your cauldron handle on and are using a relatively smaller sized cauldron, this may be a helpful way to transport plants or animals for exhibition, educational displays, or visits to consult magizoologists, or herbologists in the event that your plants or creatures need special care. This has the benefit of being least disruptive to the organism and allowing a specialist to see the entire environment to diagnose causes for ailments or suggest changes.
- For very large cauldrons: If you have a very large cauldron you are upcycling, a terrarium of this kind might make a beautiful focal point in a larger garden to protect tender or new plants, either upright or inverted as a cloche; or simply provide a restful spot. You may want to turn larger cauldrons into fountains or water features, perhaps using smaller cauldrons as upper tiers.
- Think about layering your cauldrons if you have a very large sized cauldron. You could place one inside the other to create a submerged effect where fish are swimming around in the outside larger cauldron, while a Bonsai tree remains healthy and growing in a center cauldron as an example.
Cauldron Skittles Game Ground Quidditch for Kids
Have little ones underfoot? Too small for Hogwarts but begging to be Quidditch players? Turn your old cauldrons into goals on either side of your back garden. Equip your “players” with toy brooms and croquet mallets. Drop a few soft balls (either tennis balls or bigger bouncy balls) and let the kids score a few goals. Rules are you have to be on your broom properly in order to score and you may not wallop the other players with your mallet. For the safety conscious, or those with particularly vicious, er, enthusiastic young Wix; you can tone down the mayhem a bit with a few spongify spells on those mallets.
What could go wrong? You are Wixen, if the kids accidentally break a window or a nose, you’ve got spells for that!
Very smol kids can join in the fun too! Paint an old cauldron in cheerful and bright colours, perhaps with a dragon or phoenix motif? Maybe house colours, never too early to get the kids into the right path at school right? Use the decorated larger cauldron as a toy collector for kids rooms. When it’s time to clean up, its “Quidditch” time! Have the youngsters gallop around their room on their brooms collecting the “snitches” (all those toys left lying about) and dump them into the toy cauldron to score goals. If the little ones “clean the pitch” maybe there will be a nice treat for dessert, eh?
*Hint, colovaria the lid of a larger cauldron used for toy collecting to a bright colour, attach a cushion with the sticking charm, and hit it with the feather light charm to make it super lightweight and easy for a child to handle, and you create a little seat where your child can sit to read or play… hiding the toy clutter and oh so comfy! And honestly, what could be cuter than a tiny kid curled up for nap time in a cauldron full of soft toys?
(Don’t hesitate to try this with some of your more interesting antique cauldrons with unique shapes in more dignified finishes and fabrics for your sitting room or reading nook. Great for storing your latest read, a needlework project, or whatever else you may fancy.)
Children’s Helmets and Costumes
Following on from above, repurpose some of your smaller used cauldrons as children’s quidditch helmets! A bit of reshaping, some padding on the inside, a featherlight charm and you are there. Responsible parenting. You can keep the kids busy on rainy afternoons painting numbers and team animals on their “helmets”. Don’t forget to attach a chin strap.
Make believe knight’s helmets and space helmets could be fun for costumes and play acting for youngsters. Once shaped by your spells, let the kids contribute with their own ideas…feathers, paint, sequins, antennae, wherever their imagination takes them.
Food Storage
Boring but true, nothing is worse than finding the cat has been laying down on the job as mice interfere with your pantry stores. Those old cauldrons may not be safe to put on a fire anymore, but they are certainly not likely to be chewed on by even the hungriest mice. Line old cauldrons with clean dry straw in layers to store potatoes and root vegetables safely. Sacks of rice or grains can be kept neatly and pest free in old cauldrons as well. Just be sure that the cauldron lids still sit securely.
Singing Bowls, Crystal Organs and Musical Cauldrons
For those with a musical leaning, a fun experiment is to both shape and “tune” your old cauldrons as singing bowls or bells. Varying the shape and thickness of the outer wall of metal as you transfigure it will result in changes to tone and pitch of the bowl when struck. Try this as a fun transfiguration challenge and relaxing exercise and you will end up with a decorative and inspiring addition to your home meditation corner.
Alternatively, converting your cauldrons to glass bowls provides the opportunity to create a glass organ! A beautiful and ethereal sound when filled with water and allowed to resonate. Again, a great transfiguration challenge for Wixen with a bit of time to spend turning their junky old cauldron into an elegant musical voice.
Just some ideas, write in with other ideas you might have tried with your cauldrons! Send pictures of your work!
