Pysanky Symbol - Triangle

Blog Post #13

Of all the symbols informing the beauty of Ukrainian pysanky, the triangle – ancient and beloved – contains within its deceivingly simplistic construction symbolism that reflects the great human potential to attune to the omnipotent soul within to successfully achieve a desired outcome.

“To Write”

Pysanky (the traditional name for Ukrainian Easter eggs) and pysanka (refers to a single egg) originate in the Ukrainian verb pysaty which means “to write.” Folklore related to pysanky indicates that the symbols used to create their beauty are a talismanic writing meant to convey deep meaning and purpose.

During my time as a kindergarten teacher, I was asked to implement a reading program for my students based on their ability to write. The program considered that children of this developmental age, even without reading/writing decoding skills, were already writing, using hand-drawn images for words in the stories that they were telling through their pictorial creations.

The foundation of this reading program is Glenda Bissex’s book, Gyns at Wrk, and the associated work of the Vermont Writing Program. It resonated with me because of its similarity to ancient pysanky’s use of symbols as a means of writing before a letter-based writing system was known.

The symbol of the triangle has various ancestral and modern meanings including the goal of life, attainment, fearlessness, creation and consciousness. Ultimately, a symbol’s meaning is determined by the pysanky prayer writer, according to the intention they seek to manifest when writing the symbol.

Pysanky Symbol: Reindeer

Repetitive Writing

The repetitive use of a symbol on a pysanka represents the prayer writer’s affirming effort to create thought-patterns that reflect the joyful, truthful divinity of their soul.