Eggs in Magic: History, Uses, Substitutions

Mar 15, 2021

Eggs and magic

Down through time, folk magic has thrived among rural dwellers who had to use whatever magical ingredients were handy. After all, it's not the item itself that is magic, it's the power we assign to it, the energy it lends to the spell. As long as that vibe matches the goal, we're golden.

Pow Wow magic

In Pow Wow magic I've read that eggs are used in healing and hex breaking magics. The Pow Wow moves an egg over the patient, then cracks it into a bowl. If there's blood, there's evil afoot.

One might paint their name or initial, a spell or a sigil, onto an egg in ink or in blood, and then bury it where it decomposes, smash it to release the magic, or cook and eat the egg to absorb the magic into them, all depending on the goal of the spell.

The Greeks

In the Greek Orphic religion, the entire universe was believed to have emerged from within a sacred egg. The very first emanation from this egg was light itself.

The Pagans

To the Celts and early Pagans, the egg represented the triple goddess. The yolk is the Maiden, pure potential. The white is the Mother, life-living energy. The shell is the hard won wisdom of the Crone.

The Druids

Druids had the mysterious "Druid's Egg" which is a very strange object according to Pliney. Here's what he had to say on the subject.

There is also a sort of egg, famous in the provinces of Gaul, but ignored by the Greeks. Innumerable snakes coil themselves into a ball in the summertime. Thus they make it so that it is held together by a bodily secretion and by their saliva. It is called an anguinum. The Druids say that [the snakes] hiss and cast it upwards, and that it is to be caught in a cloak so that it not touch the ground. One must immediately ride off on a horse with it, for the snakes will continue to pursue until the course of a stream blocks their way. If one tests it, the anguinum will float against the current of a river even when covered in gold. And, as the magi will throw a cloak of deception over their trickery, they make out as though the eggs are to be taken only on a particular point in the lunar cycle, as though it was up to human beings to determine the snakes’ role in this procedure. Nonetheless, I have seen one of these eggs myself. It was round the size of a small apple. The shell was cartilaginous, and mottled with cups like the tentacles of a squid. – Pliny's Natural History, XXIX.52

And of course, as the Vernal Equinox draws near, thoughts of colored eggs and easter abound.

Why eggs?

It's not hard to puzzle this out. An egg holds a new live within it, along with all the nourishment that life needs to grow. All it needs is warmth to grow into a chicken. Warmth or heat is energy. That energy is transformed by the egg and a chick grows.

The energy, the vibration of the egg is the vibration of pure potential. So for me, that virbration matches new life, new starts, rebirth. Anything that we are starting, renewing, growing. It's about beginnings. Pure energy that can be shaped and directed.

Why not eggs?

More and more magical people are avoiding animal proteins for health, environmental, and ethical reasons. We are doing the same here at chez-Shayne, but that's not our topic. If you're reading this you already know your why and if you are interested in more info on a plant-based lifestyle, you can visit our sister site. We're putting this here on the Bliss Blog specifically for magical people looking for ideas. To each their own.

Substitutions

To find substitutions for one magical ingredient, all we have to do is identify other things that match the same energy or vibration. The energy and vibe of eggs is that of pure potential. They are almost like the primordial ooze from which all life emerged. They represent the raw material we can use to create whatever we want. They are the stuff life itself. So what else resonates with that energy?

Use seeds!

A seed is also a self-contained universe. New life awaits within to burst forth. Identical energy to the egg. A big seed or pit would make a really excellent representation in a spell, so maybe the pit of an ethically grown, organic avocado, mango, or peach.

Use a nut!

Nuts are also seeds, and self contained universes. And if you buy them whole, there's a shell holding the tender seed, just as an egg holds its yolk.

Use an apple!

The apple is very magical! Most people associate it with the the Biblical fruit that tempted Eve to disobey the penis and take charge of her own life. I find the apple the most appealing substitute for the egg in magic, because of the secret it hides within.

Lay an apple sideways. Cut it in half. Behold the sacred pentagram, the 5-pointed star of earth, air, fire, water, and life force or spirit. The five elements of all creation.

Both peanuts and apples have the added bonus of being delightfully smashable. You can get a very satisfying SMACK from whipping an apple at something hard, like a boulder or brick wall. In fact, there are lots of fruits one could imbue with magic, then smash to release the spell as it is said the folk healers did with eggs. Or you could hack them in two with a cleaver to release the energy. How satisfying would that be? (Gosh this is sounding violent.)

If it's the egg's consistency you need...

If you want an eggy consistency in your spell (or in your recipes, for that matter) make vegan egg replacer: 1 tbsp flax seed to 3 tbsp water = 1 egg. Allow to soak for 15 minutes. It gets a nice egg-white-ish consistency.

Substitutes for coloring eggs

These brown cardboard eggs from Amazon come apart in the middle so you can put your spell inside.

Paint or draw magical sigils and signs. Use colors that match the energy of the goal.

These could also sub in for Easter eggs to color.

And these are hand painted wooden Pisanki eggs. They are a slavic tradition and I think they are absolutely breathtaking. However, they are not hollow as the previous ones were. Gorgeous, though, aren't they? And there are lots of versions, sold by the dozen or half dozen if you like, so shop around. I loved the colors and the photo in this listing.

Eggs are indeed sacred and powerful magical objects, as is the womb, as is this time of year. Life is renewing before our eyes. Like the song says, "Blessed be, the light has come!"

Have a beautiful Ostara!

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