Brahma: The Bad Witch's God of the Week

Is it just my imagination, or is there the image of a man with long hair within the golden crystal egg in the photo to the right? If there is, then it could be the reflection of the photographer - or it could be the sacred image of the god Brahma.

The Hindu god Brahma was said to have sprung from a golden egg and so I have picked the God of Creation as The Bad Witch's God of the Week in the run-up to Easter, the time for egg-giving.

There are several variations of how Brahma was born, mostly involving eggs, water and lotus flowers. Venetia Newall gives a summary of them in An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study. Here is the one I like best: "In the Bhagvata-Purana, the separate elements at the beginning of time ... formed an egg in the waters of creation. For 1,000 years the first deity sat inside it. Then a lotus, shining like 1,000 suns, sprang from his navel, and from this Brahma was born."

To me, that lovely creation story sounds like it could be an allegory for the Big Bang - or is that my imagination just as much as the image in the egg?

Brahma is one of the three main gods in Hinduism, along with Vishnu and Shiva. Although Hindus respect Brahma, he is less widely worshipped than the other two deities. According to legends, the reason for this is that Brahma was cursed by a sage who was pissed off that the god had ignored the huge fire he had lit to honour him.

An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study, by Venetia Newall, is available from Amazon for £5.86.

The golden healer egg from Pagan Magic costs £19.99.

Links:
An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study
http://pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/golden-healer-p-8713.html?ad=badwitch
http://pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/selenite-egg-p-8726.html?ad=badwitch
http://www.mystical-www.co.uk/eggs.htm#EGGCR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/origins-of-easter.html