CARIDWEN The Welsh witch who prepared in her cauldron a magic brew which, after a year's boiling, was to yield three blessed drops, which would bestow knowledge of the secrets of the past, present and future on he who drank. When the boy Gwion Bach accidentally became the recipient of the elixir, Cardiwen pursued him vengefully, finally catching him and ate the boy, she disguised as a hen, he as a grain of wheat.