“THE BIRD FIGHTS ITS WAY OUT OF THE EGG. THE EGG IS THE WORLD. WHOEVER WILL BE BORN MUST DESTROY A WORLD.”
- HERMANN HESSE

I’ve been making Pysanky since I was thirteen. I was lucky enough to learn from a friend. Her family had made them for generations. Part of the magic of psanky is the process of sitting at a table with others as you spend hours putting beeswax on eggs. This is still my favorite way to make them.

Psyanky is an ancient art of spell making. Like Tibetan sand painting, it is also a spiritual practice and lesson in letting go. It’s common to spend hours drawing with beeswax on an egg, every line and design having meaning, and then you drop it or it explodes as you melt the beeswax off. I believe when that happens, the spell is complete. No more needs to be done. Eggs must break to release life, so a broken egg also symbolizes something new being born. Sometimes it takes years for a psanky egg to break, but as someone who has been making them for decades, I can attest that eventually almost every egg breaks. They are not meant to last.

Women were making psyanky in the Ukraine long before Christ was born. Eggs were (and are) magical objects, a source of life. The egg was especially honored during spring festivals. It makes sense that eggs represent rebirth, fertility and creative growth of all kind. When winter is over the earth bursts forth and is reborn just as eggs burst forth with new life. The Ukrainians were correct in believing eggs to have special powers. These powers were increased and directed by drawing symbols and magical designs on them with beeswax. Like batik, the eggs are then dipped in dyes, drawn on again until eventually there is a multi-colored egg when the beeswax is melted off.

Psanky were and are made for every important juncture at life. They are given to those who want to conceive, those just born, as spells for new jobs, homes, partners, good health, and of course, waving goodbye to the patriarchy. And they are put in coffins to help the dead on their journey.

From Wikipedia: “The Hutsels––Ukrainians who live in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine––believe that the fate of the world depends upon the pysanka. As long as the egg writing custom continues, the world will exist. If, for any reason, this custom is abandoned, evil––in the shape of a horrible serpent who is forever chained to a cliff–– will overrun the world. Each year the serpent sends out his minions to see how many pysanky have been written. If the number is low the serpent's chains are loosened and he is free to wander the earth causing havoc and destruction. If, on the other hand, the number of pysanky has increased, the chains are tightened and good triumphs over evil for yet another year.” My good friend Mikey has pointed out that this serpent is patriarchy. Which is another good reason to spread the word and make psanky!!!

“Do you see this egg? With this you can topple every theological theory, every church or temple in the world.” 
― Denis Diderot

Making psanky is one way we destroy and wave goodbye to Patriarchy.