History Main / CosmicEgg

* In ''OracleOfTao'', Ambrosia uses one of these to make all existence real [[spoiler: (before that, it was more a LotusEaterMachine with herself as the only real person)]].

* One of the [[MultipleChoicePast many origins]] of the ''{{Discworld}}'' universe given by the Great Spells in ''Discworld/TheLightFantastic''. Apparently, the Cosmic Egg was "distinctly rubbery."
** And in the {{Discworld}} novel {{Discworld/Eric}}, it turns out that life was created by Rincewind (who had gone back in time) tossing away the '''Egg'''-and-Cress sandwich given to him by The Creator.

* Mentioned in the {{Kalevala}}.

* [[http://www.mythome.org/creategy.html Egyptian myth]].

** By gum, Tokyo in ''ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'' sure is round like the inside of a cosmic egg! Which it is, and it's up to the main character to determine what kind of world will emerge from it. [[spoiler:Or he can destroy the restarter mechanism and goes on a RageAgainstTheHeavens.]]

A common CreationMyth {{motif}}: the world, {{God}}, or some [[OurTitansAreDifferent primordial entity]] comes into existence by hatching from an egg or similar structure.

This is generally used so that the universe's life-cycle mimics those of many of its creatures, giving the trope metaphorical significance as a symbol of life's beginning. As such, it is found in many religious stories and ancient mythologies, but it is also commonly found in many modern {{Mythopoeia}}s as a way to begin the narrative.

See also PrimordialChaos, which may be where these are located, and WorldTree, which has similar connotations.
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!!Examples:

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]
* This is said to be the theory behind Reality Marbles in the {{Nasuverse}} -- the MentalWorld of the magus is what's inside the CosmicEgg, and the Reality Marble is the ability to switch the world outside the egg with the world inside. This "creation" is only temporary though; since the event is an unnatural occurrence, the larger world will attempt to revert the disturbance back to normal, which is why Reality Marbles require a large amount of prana to maintain even for a few minutes.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* According to one story, this is how {{Galactus}} managed to survive the last big crunch.
* This is how worlds are born in the BooksOfMagic. Tim restores the dying realm of Faerie by finding a world egg to hatch a new Faerie.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''TheGodsThemselves'' by IsaacAsimov, these are used as ''[[PoweredByAForsakenChild fuel]]''.
* One of the [[MultipleChoicePast many origins]] of the ''{{Discworld}}'' universe given by the Great Spells in ''Discworld/TheLightFantastic''. Apparently, the Cosmic Egg was "distinctly rubbery."
** And in the {{Discworld}} novel {{Discworld/Eric}}, it turns out that life was created by Rincewind (who had gone back in time) tossing away the '''Egg'''-and-Cress sandwich given to him by The Creator.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Resurrected as an idea in modern science with the Big Bang: for the first few Planck Times the universe was a highly-compressed [[BuffySpeak ball of proto-universal stuff]]. More often thought of as this within the big bang/big crunch model of an oscillating universe (now discredited by discovery of dark energy).

[[AC:Religion and Mythology]]

* The Taoist idea of Pangu from ChineseMythology is this trope.

** And given that much of Judaism (and Christianity) developed because of contact with Egypt during its period of bondage, it's not surprising that the opening line "God created the heaven and the earth", the word "created" is supposedly similar to that for giving birth.
* In Hawaiian mythology, the fire-goddess Pele carries [[EggMacGuffin an egg]] from her original home in Tahiti to the Hawaiian archipelago. The egg hatches out her fully-formed sister [[NaiveEverygirl Hi'iaka]], the goddess of dance. (In fact, Hi'iaka's much longer full name translates (very) roughly as "carried in the arms of Pele").

[[AC:VideoGames]]

* Arceus is a godlike Franchise/{{Pokemon}} that was born from one of these.

* While it's never stated whether or not the universe itself hatched from them, the Cosmic Eggs of ''ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial have the power to remake the Earth as a world of absolute Law or Chaos.]] [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption They can also be detonated in order to destroy the Schwarzwelt instead.]]]]

* Arceus is a godlike {{Pokemon}} that was born from one of these.

* Appears in ''TauZero'' at the end of the universe, during the Big Crunch.

-->-- ''PokemonPlatinum''[='s=] '''Pokédex description for [[OlympusMons Arceus]]'''

A common CreationMyth {{motif}}: the world, {{God}}, or some primordial entity comes into existence by hatching from an egg or similar structure.

* In ''OracleOfTao'', Ambrosia uses one of these to make all existence real [[spoiler: (before that, it was more a LotusEaterMachine with herself as the only real person)]].

This is generally used so that the universe's life-cycle mimics those of many of its creatures, giving the trope metaphorical significance as a symbol of life's beginning. As such, it is found in many religious stories and ancient mythologies.

That makes this trope OlderThanDirt, but it is also commonly found in many modern {{Mythopoeia}}s as a way to begin the narrative.

* Provided the name and album cover for {{Wolfmother}}'s second full album.

* The Rig Veda and certain Puranas use this to describe the universe in its early stages in HinduMythology.

* While it's never stated whether or not the universe itself hatched from them, the Cosmic Eggs of ''ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial have the power to remake the Earth as a world of absolute Law or Chaos.]] [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption They can also be detonated in order to destroy the Schwarzwelt instead.]]]]

* Mentioned in the {{Kalevala}}.

[[caption-width-right:204: Now we know which came first. Wait, [[VoodooShark who laid this one?]]]]

[[AC:Television]]
* {{Mork and Mindy}}'s Mork traveled to earth from the planet Ork in an egg-shaped spacecraft.

[[caption-width-right:204: Now we know which came first.]]

* Resurrected as an idea in modern science with the Big Bang: for the first few Planck Times the universe was a highly-compressed [[BuffySpeak ball of proto-universal stuff]]. More often thought of as this within the big bang/big crunch model of an oscillating universe.

[[caption-width-right:204: [[CreationMyth Origin of Everything]].]]

* According to one story, this is how Galactus managed to survive the last big crunch.