by Rayne Poppy

As kids, we always loved dyeing eggs during the spring time. Many of us celebrated Easter with our families. Now we can bring this tradition back to it's roots and dye the eggs naturally for Ostara!

You can dye eggs using herbs. You prepare the herbs almost as you would to make tea. It's economical and a great alternative to those store bought chemical dyes.

To Prepare the dyes:

Boil a handful of an herb of flower until the water is well colored, simmer for 30 minutes and strain. Place the water into a heat-resistant cup or bowl, stir in a tsp of vinegar. (Use 1 tbsp vinegar to 1 qu liquid) Add a pinch of salt. Allow soaking, The longer you leave the eggs in, the darker they become.


Coloring Herbs
Yellow= Carrots, White Grape Juice
Orange= Onion Skins, Madder Root, Cayenne
Red= Red Onion Skins, Madder Root, Cayenne, Cranberries
Red-Violet= Purple Grape Juice, Red Raspberries
Green= Carrot Tops, Bracken, Colts-foot, Spinach
Black= Raspberries
Blue= Blueberries, Red Cabbage, Black Raspberries
Blue-Violet= Blackberries, Beet Juice, Mulberries, Red onion skins (for best results boil the onion skins with the eggs)
Pink= Heather, Madder Root

Once the eggs are dyed to your desired color you can write symbols on them. These can be symbols of the season or runes of some sort. Get creative!