Paganicon
The second Paganicon was this weekend. It was great. I've already registered for next year. The best couple of presentations were by jenett about online privacy, and Steve Posch reading his poetry.
I promised I would post information about our egg dyes. This is from an article Steve wrote many years ago for the Wiccan Church of Minnesota newsletter. I've updated it at the end.
Ostara Egg Dying
The humble, mysterious Egg holds pride of place in practically every human mythology. Its meanings are universal: renewal, springtime, wholeness, the microcosm (Shell: Earth, Membrane:Air, Yolk:Fire, White:Water) The Ostara egg is the ancient and pre-eminent emblem of Spring, for deep and practical reasons: egg-laying in domestic fowl (indeed, in most birds) is light-induced. The waxing light of late-winter stimulates the rich new crop of spring eggs. So the feast and its greatest symbol are both about the same thing: more light: more life. Yeah.
The good Pagan folk of Europe have welcomes the Spring with dyes eggs for literally thousands of years now (and your thought it was the Ostara Bunny!) Over the millennia we've worked up quite a repertoire of natural, organic dyestocks. These are rich Earth Mama colors, vibrant, complex, gutsy, tribal. Yes, they're more expensive and more work than commerical dyes. They're also much, much more beautiful. Once you've dyed eggs Nature's way, you'll never, ever go back.
RED/ORANGE: Onionskins. Add a handful or two to the water as you hardboil your eggs. The more onionskins you use, and the longer you boil them, the richer and more beautiful the eggs. Produces a whole range of shades, from yellow through orange to a deep glossy brick red. Certainly the best-beloved and probably the most widely used egg dye in the world.
DARK BLUE: Blackberries. Puree 2 cups blackberries (canned or frozen are okay) and cold dye hard boiled eggs, soaking them overnight in the fridge.
DEEP PURPLE: Blueberries. As with blackberries, above.
BRIGHT YELLOW: Turmeric. Add a tablespoon of turmeric to the water as you hard boil the eggs.
LIGHT BLUE: Purple cabbage. Chop several cups of cabbage, cover with water and boil 30 minutes. Strain out the cabbage and use the water to cold dye hardboiled eggs. The longer they steep, the deep the color becomes. A beautiful robin's egg blue color.
Egg Dying Secrets of the Wiccan Elders:
Don't boil the eggs in aluminum pans.
A dash of (white) vinegar in the dye will help the colors last, but these are not permanent dyes: sacredness inheres in the ephemeral.
It's local tradition here in the North Country that the more eggs you dye (and eat), the sooner spring comes. So unless you're really fond of egg salads, dye small or medium sized eggs. Ostara eggs are too wonderful to get sick of.
Remember that these eggs are sacred; the shells should be returned directly to the Earth, not just thrown away.
For God's sakes experiment! Eggs are very picky, though, about just what dyes they'll take. Beets, apparently, will dye everything in the universe EXCEPT for eggs. Also, bear in mind that eggshells are semi-permeable membranes, so don't cook them with anything you wouldn't want to eat.
In recent years, we have found that adding a couple of tablespoons of Yerba Mate tea to the water you boil the eggs in produces a pale green color. Logwood, brazil wood or madder root gives a deep purple added to the boiling water; these are dyes used for yarns, and can sometimes be found in yarn stores that carry dyes.
We are still looking, so if you know of other natural dyes that have worked for you, please let us know.
I also wanted to post a few references for my presentation
Books:
The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk and M. Macha Nightmare, Harper, 1997
Dealing Creatively with Death, a manual of death education and simple burial, 14th edition by Ernest Morgan, Upper Access Books, 2001
Caring for the Dead, your final act of love, a complete guide for those making funeral arrangements with or without a funeral director by Lisa Carlson, Upper Access Books, 1998
The Party of Your Life, getting the funeral you want by planning it yourself by Erika Dillman, Santa Monica Press, 2011
The Hennepin County Libraries own at least one copy of each of the above, and many others.
Websites:
The Green Burial Council is a nonprofit organization working to encourage environmental sustainability in funerals
http://www.greenburialcouncil.org
Consumer's checkbook has a free article about what has to be done when someone dies that is very informative. The ratings are behind a paywall, but I can tell you, the prices at in the $8-10k range for standard funerals.
http://www.checkbook.org/interactive/funeralHomes/all/twn/article.cfm
I promised I would post information about our egg dyes. This is from an article Steve wrote many years ago for the Wiccan Church of Minnesota newsletter. I've updated it at the end.
Ostara Egg Dying
The humble, mysterious Egg holds pride of place in practically every human mythology. Its meanings are universal: renewal, springtime, wholeness, the microcosm (Shell: Earth, Membrane:Air, Yolk:Fire, White:Water) The Ostara egg is the ancient and pre-eminent emblem of Spring, for deep and practical reasons: egg-laying in domestic fowl (indeed, in most birds) is light-induced. The waxing light of late-winter stimulates the rich new crop of spring eggs. So the feast and its greatest symbol are both about the same thing: more light: more life. Yeah.
The good Pagan folk of Europe have welcomes the Spring with dyes eggs for literally thousands of years now (and your thought it was the Ostara Bunny!) Over the millennia we've worked up quite a repertoire of natural, organic dyestocks. These are rich Earth Mama colors, vibrant, complex, gutsy, tribal. Yes, they're more expensive and more work than commerical dyes. They're also much, much more beautiful. Once you've dyed eggs Nature's way, you'll never, ever go back.
RED/ORANGE: Onionskins. Add a handful or two to the water as you hardboil your eggs. The more onionskins you use, and the longer you boil them, the richer and more beautiful the eggs. Produces a whole range of shades, from yellow through orange to a deep glossy brick red. Certainly the best-beloved and probably the most widely used egg dye in the world.
DARK BLUE: Blackberries. Puree 2 cups blackberries (canned or frozen are okay) and cold dye hard boiled eggs, soaking them overnight in the fridge.
DEEP PURPLE: Blueberries. As with blackberries, above.
BRIGHT YELLOW: Turmeric. Add a tablespoon of turmeric to the water as you hard boil the eggs.
LIGHT BLUE: Purple cabbage. Chop several cups of cabbage, cover with water and boil 30 minutes. Strain out the cabbage and use the water to cold dye hardboiled eggs. The longer they steep, the deep the color becomes. A beautiful robin's egg blue color.
Egg Dying Secrets of the Wiccan Elders:
Don't boil the eggs in aluminum pans.
A dash of (white) vinegar in the dye will help the colors last, but these are not permanent dyes: sacredness inheres in the ephemeral.
It's local tradition here in the North Country that the more eggs you dye (and eat), the sooner spring comes. So unless you're really fond of egg salads, dye small or medium sized eggs. Ostara eggs are too wonderful to get sick of.
Remember that these eggs are sacred; the shells should be returned directly to the Earth, not just thrown away.
For God's sakes experiment! Eggs are very picky, though, about just what dyes they'll take. Beets, apparently, will dye everything in the universe EXCEPT for eggs. Also, bear in mind that eggshells are semi-permeable membranes, so don't cook them with anything you wouldn't want to eat.
In recent years, we have found that adding a couple of tablespoons of Yerba Mate tea to the water you boil the eggs in produces a pale green color. Logwood, brazil wood or madder root gives a deep purple added to the boiling water; these are dyes used for yarns, and can sometimes be found in yarn stores that carry dyes.
We are still looking, so if you know of other natural dyes that have worked for you, please let us know.
I also wanted to post a few references for my presentation
Books:
The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk and M. Macha Nightmare, Harper, 1997
Dealing Creatively with Death, a manual of death education and simple burial, 14th edition by Ernest Morgan, Upper Access Books, 2001
Caring for the Dead, your final act of love, a complete guide for those making funeral arrangements with or without a funeral director by Lisa Carlson, Upper Access Books, 1998
The Party of Your Life, getting the funeral you want by planning it yourself by Erika Dillman, Santa Monica Press, 2011
The Hennepin County Libraries own at least one copy of each of the above, and many others.
Websites:
The Green Burial Council is a nonprofit organization working to encourage environmental sustainability in funerals
http://www.greenburialcouncil.org
Consumer's checkbook has a free article about what has to be done when someone dies that is very informative. The ratings are behind a paywall, but I can tell you, the prices at in the $8-10k range for standard funerals.
http://www.checkbook.org/interactive/funeralHomes/all/twn/article.cfm