background: egg talismans
I was raised in a Ukrainian-American family. My mother, who instilled in me a love for our cultural heritage, taught me the folk art of decorated eggs called pysanky. The word pysanka (a single decorated egg) is derived from the verb pysaty, which means “to write,” as the designs on the shell are “written” with beeswax as part of the batiking process used to decorate the shells. This decorating process is used to turn the egg into a talisman.
This ancient art form is rooted in a Neolithic culture that viewed the egg as a power object, for it had new life within and it represented the sun itself – the giver of all life. Roosters announced the dawn then - chasing away the scary darkness - and eggs are its offspring. Springtime celebrations always included egg decorating – as the sun warmed the earth and brought back life.
The talisman-making process combined the power (new life) in the egg with designs that were symbols for the meaning of how that pysanka would be used. A reindeer connotes a wish for health & prosperity, a chicken for female fertility, a rose for love, ladders helped the aged accept death, etc. Pysanky were placed in the eaves of homes to protect it from fire and lightening, in the furrows of the fields for bountiful harvests, in the barn for healthy livestock, in caskets to accompany the dead on the their journey in the after-life, etc. The arrival of Christianity in eastern Europe around 1000 C.E. caused many of these symbols to change meaning and represent Christ, but the cultic practice of making talismen out of eggs continued into modern times.
I am the carrier of a tradition that is ancient and sacred – it touches hope and the possibility of magic – which is simply using intent and action to alter the course of events – whether real or manifest or illusory is not important – the self-empowerment revealed through the practice of magic is itself a self-fulfilling act – for the act of doing is a manifestation in itself and all creations are a balm to the psyche of the creator and an experience (event) that ennobles the practitioner and gives him wisdom – wisdom being the accretion of increased knowing acquired through awareness in experience…practice makes perfect –and the practitioner of magic – or any human endeavor – learns how and when to apply this magic – making it efficacious if only through the development of inner wisdom…this magic works in the natural world – one that is not familiar to our post-modern (post-everything) worldview.
Into this tradition I stepped at a tender 10/11 - my mother taught me – like she taught me so much – an inspired honoring of our ancestry – the poor humble, yet noble, Ukrainian peasant stock that retained this ancient practice of talisman making. Most people I find put my eggs on their altars – pieces that I composed for the sheer beauty of a particular flower or male figure – so I guess they consider my work a sacred art. This experience demonstrates to me that the egg retains its ancient symbolism & potency and the inherent power reflected on their being subjects – acts – a res – a thing in itself – the one – new life – rebirth – fragile – potent and rich in meaning today as with our common forebears.
This ancient art form is rooted in a Neolithic culture that viewed the egg as a power object, for it had new life within and it represented the sun itself – the giver of all life. Roosters announced the dawn then - chasing away the scary darkness - and eggs are its offspring. Springtime celebrations always included egg decorating – as the sun warmed the earth and brought back life.
The talisman-making process combined the power (new life) in the egg with designs that were symbols for the meaning of how that pysanka would be used. A reindeer connotes a wish for health & prosperity, a chicken for female fertility, a rose for love, ladders helped the aged accept death, etc. Pysanky were placed in the eaves of homes to protect it from fire and lightening, in the furrows of the fields for bountiful harvests, in the barn for healthy livestock, in caskets to accompany the dead on the their journey in the after-life, etc. The arrival of Christianity in eastern Europe around 1000 C.E. caused many of these symbols to change meaning and represent Christ, but the cultic practice of making talismen out of eggs continued into modern times.
I am the carrier of a tradition that is ancient and sacred – it touches hope and the possibility of magic – which is simply using intent and action to alter the course of events – whether real or manifest or illusory is not important – the self-empowerment revealed through the practice of magic is itself a self-fulfilling act – for the act of doing is a manifestation in itself and all creations are a balm to the psyche of the creator and an experience (event) that ennobles the practitioner and gives him wisdom – wisdom being the accretion of increased knowing acquired through awareness in experience…practice makes perfect –and the practitioner of magic – or any human endeavor – learns how and when to apply this magic – making it efficacious if only through the development of inner wisdom…this magic works in the natural world – one that is not familiar to our post-modern (post-everything) worldview.
Into this tradition I stepped at a tender 10/11 - my mother taught me – like she taught me so much – an inspired honoring of our ancestry – the poor humble, yet noble, Ukrainian peasant stock that retained this ancient practice of talisman making. Most people I find put my eggs on their altars – pieces that I composed for the sheer beauty of a particular flower or male figure – so I guess they consider my work a sacred art. This experience demonstrates to me that the egg retains its ancient symbolism & potency and the inherent power reflected on their being subjects – acts – a res – a thing in itself – the one – new life – rebirth – fragile – potent and rich in meaning today as with our common forebears.
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