{"id":3273,"date":"2010-03-01T01:10:22","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T06:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=3332"},"modified":"2010-03-01T12:44:35","modified_gmt":"2010-03-01T17:44:35","slug":"lets-spell-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2010\/03\/01\/lets-spell-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Spell Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eostre\u2019s Eggs of Ostara<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eostre\u2019s Day: Ostara<\/span><\/p>\n

Ostara is the pregnant phase of the fertile season.\u00a0 This is due to the fact that animals are either giving birth or are going through their sexually receptive or estrus period (named after the goddess Eostre).\u00a0 Because of this, the egg is a prevalent symbol of the Spring Equinox and the theme of birth, life, death and life renewed.<\/p>\n

Eggs and those that lay them are harbingers of Spring and the fertile season to come.\u00a0 For instance, schoolchildren are taught that the sight of a Robin is a sure sign that Spring has actually sprung.\u00a0 The turquoise-shelled eggs of the Robin have since become such a symbol; the Earth Goddess and the Sun God are back from such a long winter.<\/p>\n

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The Eostre\/Astarte Connection <\/span><\/p>\n

Eostre is the German goddess of the Spring and dawn and eggs are a predominant symbol for the Rites of Spring.\u00a0 They are decorated, exchanged, buried or ritually eaten to symbolize the rebirth of Springtime as well as the union with the gods of Spring.\u00a0 The egg has been a symbol of renewal around the world.<\/p>\n

The egg was so special to the Celts that the Druids adopted it as the sacred emblem of the order.\u00a0 The Hindus have a tale of golden world-egg. The sacred egg of Japan is of a brazen color.\u00a0 The Chinese paint eggs for their sacred festivals. The Greeks consecrated an egg in a nocturnal ceremony during the Dionysiaca (the mysteries of Bacchus).<\/p>\n

To the peoples of Egypt and Syria a great goddess was born form an egg on wondrous size: Astarte.\u00a0 This egg fell from the heaven and landed in the Euphrates River. \u00a0Fish gathered together to push the egg to the riverbank so doves could sit on it and hatch it.\u00a0 Venus, who later came to be called Astarte by the Syrians was born form this egg.\u00a0 Astarte, who also lent her name to Easter, took the egg as one of her symbols.\u00a0 This Mystic Egg had two meanings; one was the \u201cmundane egg\u201d, meaning the egg of the world or the world\u2019s inhabitants.\u00a0 The other meaning was used by the Church in reference to the ark of the great flood.\u00a0 In this egg, or ark, the earth\u2019s inhabitants were like a chick enclosed within the shell waiting to be safely hatched.\u00a0 In the Hebrew language, the egg is called Baitz (masculine) or Baitza (feminine).\u00a0 In the languages of the Chaldean and the Phoenicians, the word is Baith or Baitha, also meaning \u201chouse\u201d.\u00a0 The Church adopted this mystic egg and the doves of the goddess Astarte along with her name for the purposes of Christ\u2019s resurrection.\u00a0 They even created a prayer to be used: \u201cBless, O Lord, we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that is may become a wholesome sustenance unto thy servants, eating it in remembrance of our lord Jesus Christ\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The Easter\/Ostara Connection<\/span><\/p>\n

Like other Pagan festivals from around the globe, the Spring Equinox celebration was also Christianized.\u00a0 Yule was used to commemorate Christ\u2019s\u2019 birth and the Vernal Equinox, or Ostara as we now call it, or Easter as the Christians call it, was used to celebrate his resurrection.\u00a0 At the end of the Middle Ages the day was named Easter after the goddesses Astarte and Eostre.\u00a0 The day was also given a formula so that it would coincide but not directly fall upon the Vernal Equinox.\u00a0 Easter Sunday is chosen by an ancient Moon calendar; the fist Sunday after the first Full Moon either on or immediately following the Vernal Equinox.<\/p>\n

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Why All the Fuss About Eggs Anyway?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vernal Equinox is a balance of light and dark because the sun crosses the celestial equator on this day.\u00a0 Because of the time of the year that they are available and the yolk inside, eggs are symbolic of the Sun and also sacred to such deities as Vulcan and Helios.\u00a0 Today we can buy eggs at any grocery store any time of the year, but this was not the case for our Pagan ancestors.\u00a0 Foods were seasonal and eggs were no exception.\u00a0 The retina of a hen\u2019s eyes need more than twelve hours of light stimulation for the hen to lay eggs.\u00a0 The retina is the part of the eye that captures both light an images and when the retina ceases to get enough light stimulation, she stops laying eggs for that year.\u00a0 Fire was not a strong enough light source to fool the hen\u2019s eye so humans only had eggs for one half of the year; starting to lay eggs at the Vernal Equinox and ceasing Autumnal Equinox.\u00a0 The Vernal Equinox is a celebration of life renewed while the Autumnal Equinox is associated with such themes as death and dying.\u00a0 Therefore, as the world bloomed and greened, the egg became a natural symbol for renewed life.<\/p>\n

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The Origin of the Easter Bunny<\/span><\/p>\n

It is so common these days, you find it everywhere; pastel colored baskets, fake grass and plastic eggs or dye kits.\u00a0 But where do Easter Baskets and the Easter Bunny come from anyway?\u00a0 What do they have to do with Christ dying and rising form the dead?<\/p>\n

The answer is really nothing; it is yet another Pagan practice that has been adopted by \u00a0and added to the new religion.\u00a0 The root of the Easter Bunny and the Easter Basket is actually in Eostre, the Pagan goddess for which the holiday Ostara is named.<\/p>\n

The basket that the Easter Bunny uses to deliver the eggs and treats to children is steeped in Pagan symbolism as well.\u00a0 The very first baskets that mankind used may have been inspired by nature; watching birds weaving their nests. \u00a0The basket is also symbol of life renewed at Spring.\u00a0 It is a form of the chalice or cauldron; the fertile womb of the Mother Earth Goddess where male and female meets and unites to create new life.\u00a0 The Hare or Easter Bunny is also a symbol of rebirth (resurrection) and was the sacred totem of many Moon goddesses including Eostre.<\/p>\n

As the story goes, the Easter Bunny came to be from one hare in particular.\u00a0 He wanted to give a gift to the Goddess, but what could a hare give to a Goddess?\u00a0 After all, she can have anything that she could ever want, right?\u00a0 But, one day while foraging around for something to eat other than dried grasses; the hare came across a fresh egg.\u00a0 Hungry, the hare wanted to eat it, but thought better of it so he could give it to the Goddess instead.\u00a0 The hare decided to make this egg extra special so it would be fit for a Goddess and began to decorate it in symbols and colors of the woods and fields that Eostre\u2019s animals lived in.\u00a0 Once he felt is was a fit offering, he gave it to Eostre and she was so pleased with this offering that she wanted all of her human children to enjoy it as well.\u00a0 Since then, that hare\u2019s descendants, Eostre\u2019s Bunnies, or rather Easter Bunnies, have been given the task of delivering treats and decorated eggs to children at springtime.<\/p>\n

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Egg Decorating: Pysanky <\/span><\/p>\n

The art of Pysanky is Ukrainian egg decorating that is both beautiful and magickal at the same time.\u00a0 During the Vernal Equinox, also called Ostara, these naturally dyed eggs are placed in either baskets or bowls after being magickally inscribed so they can be used within the home or to be given away.\u00a0 Depending upon the designs the Pysanky are powerful amulets for prosperity, fertility or protection.\u00a0 Their creation is ancient tradition that once was practice solely by women.<\/p>\n

The Pysanky also protected the Ukrainian people from a monster that if not kept chained, would devour the entire world.\u00a0 The monster strains and pulls on the chains throughout the year which weakens the links.\u00a0 The only thing that keeps him from getting loose is how many Pysanky are created and exchanged during the Vernal Equinox.\u00a0 The more Pysanky, the stronger the chains.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 988 CE that the Ukraine accepted Christianity as the official religion.\u00a0 As in other areas of the world, the people refused to give up their Pagan practices easily.\u00a0 Eventually, the Church had to assimilate these practices, including the art of Pysanky.\u00a0 The eggs became known as \u201cEastern Eggs\u201d, named after Pagan goddess Eostre.\u00a0 The ancient pagan symbols were reinterpreted and Christian symbols like crosses, steeples and fish from the New Religion were added in.\u00a0 And the monster that had to be kept chained by the strength of the Pysanky was reinterpreted as well.\u00a0 No longer did it stand for the need of balance and harmony.\u00a0 It now represented the Church\u2019s view of the struggle of good over evil.<\/p>\n

To create your own Pysanky, you need dye (see below for ideas to create your own dye), a tool called a kitska and beeswax.\u00a0 A kitska has a pencil-like handle with a tiny metal cup at the end that holds the beeswax but disperses it through a narrow opening.\u00a0 After the beeswax is poured into the metal cup, it is held over a candle flame to melt the wax.\u00a0 The wax is used similarly to the method of batik and the kitska is used to draw the design onto the egg.<\/p>\n

The word Pysanky is a derivative of the root word \u201cpysati\u201d which means \u201cto write\u201d because signs and symbols are written on the egg\u2019s surface for magickal purposes.\u00a0 Depending on your purpose you can combine various symbols and colors, creating a powerful talisman that like a fingerprint, no two are alike.\u00a0 To begin, decide if you are going to use animals, vegetables, geometric shapes or a combination of all three.\u00a0 For fertility, a man would have been given a Pysanky with a rooster and his wife might have received a Pysanky with eggs drawn upon it.\u00a0 To protect the home from fire, water designs in shades of blue were drawn on the Pysanky.\u00a0 For a bountiful harvest, a Pysanky might have wheat inscribed on it.\u00a0 Curls and spirals were used to bestow divine protection upon the owner of the Pysanky where dots and small circles represented stars which bestowed good luck and success.<\/p>\n

If you are not sure where to start, go with the tried and true method of using encircling bands. These represent the birth-life-death-rebirth cycle and where two bands intersect, you create a solar cross which represents the union of opposing forces like spirit and matter or God and Goddess.\u00a0 Within these bands are geometric designs which also have symbolism; triangles represent the Triple Goddess, squares symbolize the element of Earth, ladders represent the various worlds of planes or even the planes within planes, rakes were used for agriculture and the Sun was represented by either pinwheels (feminine)or eight-pointed stars (masculine, the eight solar Sabbats).\u00a0 Sometimes the shapes are filled with a cross-hatch of intersecting lines that resembles netting which also represent the solar cross.\u00a0 Sometimes the symbols are repeated within a band, like triangles which were called \u201cwolf\u2019s teeth\u201d which transformed the egg into a Pysanky of protection, wisdom and strength.\u00a0 Sometimes the lines and not straight but instead meander.\u00a0 These usually mean one of two things; fire or water, dependant upon which color you use for the line.<\/p>\n

After a design is decided on and the wax is ready, the next step is to begin dying the egg to transform it in the Pysanky.\u00a0 The dyes for Pysanky are transparent, so you will need to begin with the lightest color and work you way up to the darkest.\u00a0 For instance, you would work your way through the color spectrum of yellow, then orange, followed by red, then brown, followed by purple or black.\u00a0 Let\u2019s say you started with yellow; any part of your design that you wish to remain yellow would need to be waxed before moving on to the orange dye.\u00a0 Then, you would simply repeat this process until you have gone through all of the colors that are in your design.<\/p>\n

Once dying is complete, set your oven to about 200 degrees.\u00a0 Place your egg(s) inside with the oven door cracked slightly and keep watch until the egg(s) look wet.\u00a0 At this point, the egg(s) can be rubbed with a paper towel to remove the wax and reveal your intricate design.\u00a0 If you wish, you can finish your egg(s) with glossy varnish.<\/p>\n

Like the people of Pagan Ukraine, you can either exchange, give away or keep your Pysanky, depending on your design and what it\u2019s for.\u00a0 Pysanky with protective symbolism were kept in the home as amulets of protection and proudly displayed throughout the year, not just used as a seasonal decoration.\u00a0 Because eggs are symbolic of the birth-life-death-rebirth cycle, Pysanky are powerful amulets that help maintain the balance between the light half of the year (starting on the Vernal Equinox) and the dark half of the year (beginning with the Autumnal Equinox).<\/p>\n

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Egg Decorating: Colors<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we have commercially dye kits, but it is possible to use the methods of our Pagan ancestors to achieve the same results.\u00a0 Yellow onion skins will yield a yellow color, a single red onion skin will produce a soft orange and deep rust comes from a handful of onion skins.\u00a0 Use beet juice to achieve a pink hue.\u00a0 For a shade of blue; use blueberries for a light blue and red cabbage leaves for a robin\u2019s egg blue.\u00a0 A half-teaspoon of turmeric produce a sunshine yellow, blackberries will give you lavender, carrots for orange and for the color green use wither spinach or kale.\u00a0 Additionally, you can use white grapes for a pale yellow, vanilla extract for a yellow-orange, daffodil blossoms for a yellow-green, dandelions for orange, orris root for a rusty-orange, paprika for a brownish-orange, heather for pink, madder root for red, bracken for green, iris blossoms for a pinkish-blue, mulberries for a blue-violet and cayenne for rust.<\/p>\n

How can you choose which colors to dye your eggs?\u00a0 That depends on which symbolism you wish to represent.\u00a0 For instance, in Asia red-colored eggs are offered at events such as births and funerals due to their connection to birth-life-death-rebirth cycle.\u00a0 Use yellow to represent the sun, intellect and communication.\u00a0 Orange is another Sun color that is connected to the third chakra and friendship.\u00a0 Red is the color of the blood of the Mother Earth Goddess, from which all things are born (the Greek Orthodox Church adopted using red eggs in their Easter Eve service and the Druids had a similar practice).\u00a0 Another Mother Earth color, green is the color of Spring, Summer and prosperity.\u00a0 Blue is a color of the Maiden Goddess, peace and healing.\u00a0 The color of the Crown Chakra, violet is connected to Spirit.\u00a0 White is an all-purpose color and can substitute for any other color in a pinch.\u00a0 Brown is the color of the element of Earth and its animals.\u00a0 The color of the Crone Goddess in Western thinking, black is actually the color of life in Eastern cultures.\u00a0 For romantic love, use the pastel or \u201cspring\u201d pink.\u00a0 For the Moon Goddess use silver.\u00a0 For solar deities or wealth, use gold.<\/p>\n

The Easter Egg Hunt<\/span><\/p>\n

It is thought that the first \u201cEgg Hunts\u201d were done by the hunter-gatherers in the Spring after the sparse Winter.<\/p>\n

Keeping with the theme of life renewed, hunting for hidden eggs in India and Asia at springtime was commonplace thousands of years ago.\u00a0 These cultures believed that each individual was responsible for their own actions and that each of us must find their own path.\u00a0 Because of their belief in reincarnation and that connection to the egg, the egg-hunt was a time to think about the karmic balance of right and wrong as well as how to improve their position in their next lifetime.\u00a0 In the eastern culture, the egg hunt represented the soul\u2019s quest for renewal, striving for perfection and ultimately uniting with the Divine.<\/p>\n

To the north, those living in the Scandinavian and German regions had a practice offering eggs to the Goddess at Springtime in exchange for a boon.\u00a0 The Teutons placed eggs under human beds or animal dwellings and in the fields to encourage fertility and abundance (modern-day Pagans still use this practice when tending their magickal gardens).\u00a0 But, after the rise of Christianity and Pagan practices made illegal, these offerings had to be placed so that only the Goddess could find them.\u00a0 The authorities were ones who instigated the \u201cegg hunt\u201d and over time it became a children\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until President Abraham Lincoln ordered what we now call the Easter Egg Hunt that this practice came to be commonplace.\u00a0 In the middle of the Civil War, the Spring of 1862, Lincoln invited the children of Washington DC to come to the White House lawn on Easter morning to search for eggs and popular treats.<\/p>\n

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Egg Magick & divination<\/span><\/p>\n

Eggs have been used for magickal purposes because in Metaphysics and Alchemy, they contain all five of the elements of magick; Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit.\u00a0 The outer shell is representative of Earth, the egg-white represents Water, Air is represented by the membrane that connects the white to the shell, the yellow yolk represents fire and Spirit is represented by the embryo.\u00a0 Because of this, a simple egg is symbolic of beginnings and endings, birth and rebirth, fertility and death, creativity and stagnation, endless possibilities.\u00a0 The egg also has planetary associations; the Moon is found in the egg-white and the Sun is found in the Yolk.<\/p>\n

The Great Cosmic Egg is a concept that has been passed down fro thousands of years.\u00a0 For instance the Egyptians had a goose god called Gengenwar and he was given the job of keeping the Greta Cosmic Egg (from which all life sprang) safe.<\/p>\n

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Adder\u2019s Tongue Spell <\/span><\/p>\n

The pan-Celts had form of a necklace called the \u201cAdder\u2019s Tongue\u201d (called \u201couion anguinum\u201d in Gaulish) which was both a protection amulet as well as a sort of telephone to the spirit world.\u00a0 Usually made form a snake or adder\u2019s egg (sometimes substituted with a black stone or a seashell), it was worn at the neck by a leather thong.<\/p>\n

You can create a modern-day version of the Adder\u2019s Tongue.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry if you are fresh out of adder\u2019s egg in you magickal pantry.\u00a0 You can make a trip to your local arts-and-crafts-store to find what you need.\u00a0 This time of year, you might even be able to find a bead or a charm in the shape of an egg.\u00a0 But if not, you may find something that would make a good substitute.\u00a0 If yours not into having and egg hanging form your neck, perhaps you would like to go with a seashell or a black stone substitution.\u00a0 Or, you may be able to find a black stone that will rest atop of a shell, that would very nice and no one would have to know that you are wearing a magickal talisman that you created yourself!<\/p>\n

Whichever you choose to hang from the leather thong, the next step is to find that part of the necklace.\u00a0 You may wish to buy this at the \u00a0\u00a0arts-and-crafts-store as well, but you could always buy a pack of leather shoestrings because those will definitely hold up to wear-and-tear.<\/p>\n

So, will your Adder\u2019s Tongue necklace be one of protection or one to wear to connect to the Divine?\u00a0 Perhaps you would like it to serve as both?\u00a0 Then you can alternate using the following two chants.\u00a0 Whichever you decide, while you are crafting your necklace, make sure to chant with magickal intent.<\/p>\n

Protection From Harm<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday I create an Adder\u2019s Tongue,<\/em><\/p>\n

To serve me as a talisman;<\/em><\/p>\n

This necklace will protect me,<\/em><\/p>\n

With harm to none, so mote it be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Psychic Connection to the Divine<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday I create an Adder\u2019s Tongue,<\/em><\/p>\n

To serve me as a talisman;<\/em><\/p>\n

With it, I connect to Divinity,<\/em><\/p>\n

With harm to none, so mote it be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Here are many more ways that you can use the eggs that are most likely already in your refrigerator:<\/p>\n