Stars are among the most common motifs found on pysanky.  They are the ancient symbols of Dazhboh, the god of the sun, and of the life-giving properties of the sun. Pysanky with such sun motifs were said to have been especially powerful, because they could protect their owner from sickness, bad luck and the evil eye. In Christian times the sun symbol has come to represent life, warmth, and the love and eternal existence of God.

They are not easy to draw free-hand – the points often end up being of different lengths and sizes.  How does one make a symmetric star*?  Geometry.  You must divide your space into even sections and, using lines and circles, connect the dots.  With experience, you will learn to look at a design, see its constituent shapes, and learn how to build complex shapes from simple ones.

Or you can just follow the instructions on the following pages!

(Note: the instructions that follow are for making the pencil guidelines for the patterns.  New lines for each step are in red.  Not all of these lines will be waxed in.  Waxing is usually shown only in the final step(s), and the lines to be waxed – several options may be given – are indicated.)

There are two types of stars commonly used as motifs in pysankarstvo.  The first is the square star (above, left), a boxy-looking star with eight points.  The second is the circle star (above right), a more versatile star that can have any even number of points (but usually has multiples of eight).  Instructions for their creation can be found here (click on the egg):

Square Star

Circle Star

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Note:  All photos, illustrations and text © Luba Petrusha 2007. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction prohibited without expressed consent.  May contact via e-mail (link below).