A kettle can be looked at much like the cauldron, a goddess symbol with connections to both Earth and Water elements.
The above quote is from Juniper on one of the tools of hearth craft. This idea really resonates with me and I’m amazed that I didn’t make that connection before. Sure, I see my apartment’s electric stove as the modern hearth and the heat it produces as an extension of Brighid’s sacred flame – but why didn’t I ever see my kettle as a type of cauldron? As a tea lover, it is such a central part of my life! I think my world was just rocked.
Author M. A. Phillips 
It makes sense to me. Making tea on the stove in my teapot and drinking it, it’s always been something a little sacred to me. There’s a connection I sense in the process and a blessing felt at the first sip, something I don’t feel with brewed coffee or when I heat water for tea in the microwave.
Once upon a time I did feel that connection with coffee, but it was when my Native American grandmother would make the coffee by slowly boiling it on her gas stove with egg shells in it to hold the grounds down.
I definitely feel that drinking tea is sacred and has many ritualistic and/or magical uses. I just can’t believe I never thought of my kettle as a cauldron before! It’s changed the way I work in the kitchen.
I’ve never had a cup of coffee made that way! That must have been very special. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I have a earthenware tea pot and I adore itl. I hope to get a cast iron tea kettle to match my cauldron one day as well.
Oh, that would be lovely! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in a shop… I’ll have to keep my eyes opened…