Saturday 3 March 2012

The Magical Egg

Eggs symbolise the essence of life, rebirth and fertility.  Within that they also symbolise long life and also immortality.  An egg itself encompasses the mystery and magic of creation.

In legend faeries would consume eggs of mythical birds such as the phoenix. 

Throughout history people have eaten eggs for lots of different reasons.  Some to absorb the magical properties by eating them, others to ensure fertility. 

In the Slavonic and Germanic lands people also smeared eggs onto their hoes to ensure fertility for the soil.

In Iran brides and grooms exchange eggs for fertility.

In 17th century France, a bride would break and egg when she entered her new home for the first time.

The idea that eggs were a symbol of fertility and life force compelled certain cultures not only to shun them as food but also to avoid destroying them at all costs.

Certain aborigional groups in Australia believed eggs descended from the emu, so strict taboos were placed on eating eggs of these ancestral birds.

Eggs were often used though, for divination.  This stemmed from the belief that eggs symbolised life and particularly life in the future.  One method involved painting the eggs, boiling them and reading the patterns in their cracks.  Another method involved tossing the eggs and divining the future, a system of divination known as oomancy.    Egg white can also be used, by dripping it into a bowl of water and reading the shapes that it makes. 

In Egypt eggs were hung in the temples to bring fertility, for birth and renewal. 

The Hindu description of the beginning of the world saw it as a cosmic egg.

The yolk in the centre of the egg has also been used to represent the Sun.

Cascarilla is made from egg shells that have been crushed and ground to a powder.  It is used in hoodoo and folk magic as well as other magical practices.   The powder can be dusted on the body to protect from spirit possession and also acts as a shield from psychic or magical attack.  It can be sprinkled around the perimeter of your home to create a peaceful environment and to protect from intruders.    It can also be used for drawing runes, sigils or other symbols in rituals and workings.

The egg is a complete set of elements in one handy pack:  The shell represents Earth, the inner membrane represents Air, the yolk is Fire and the white is Water.  

Tansy
x



Cosmic egg image from fearedbumblebee.wordpress.com

4 comments:

  1. I love this post :)

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  2. An interesting post. I especially like the thought that it can protect the home from intruders and produce a peaceful environment. Thank you! :)

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  3. Part of blessing my garden - I bury an egg.

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  4. I once did pyzanka, the Ukranian egg painting technique involving lots of wax, dye, and a boat load of patience. I was told that, in that tradition, you should never hard-boil or 'blow out' the egg because it was believed that it represented, or even held the entire universe inside of it. Obviously that would be disastrous! It made me giggle a bit, but I liked the idea just the same.

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