Related Terms • Wands • Crucified serpent • Jesus fish • Vesica pisces Related Resources • Hermetic Tradition • Alchemy • Historical interest • Hellenismos/Greek Revival • New Age     Glossaries  • Symbol Glossary • Alternative Religions Glossary • Glossary of Magick and the Occult

The Orphic egg is usually represented as an egg surrounded by a coiled serpent. The egg ymbolizes the belief in the Greek Orphic religion that the universe originated from within a silver egg. The first emanation from this egg, described in an ancient hymn, was Phanes-dionysus, the personification of light:

"ineffable, hidden, brilliant scion, whose motion is whirring, you scattered the dark mist that lay before your eyes and, flapping your wings, you whirled about, and through this world you brought pure light."

The image below depicts Phanes' birth from the egg:

Related Symbols:

• Hermetic Tradition
  Named after Hermes Trismigestus (Hermes the three times great), the Greek moniker of the Egyptian God Tehuti (Thoth), alleged author of hundreds of mystical tractates, the Hermetic tradition is an eclectic spiritual tradition that encompasses elements from from many religions.
• Hellenismos/Greek Revival
  The Hellenistic revival...modern attempts to reconstruct the rich religious traditions of Ancient Greece.
• Religio Romana
  Religio Romana is the main name under which various Neopagan groups attempt to accurately reconstruct ancient Roman Pagan worship.