Apple

The Apple Tree

The apple has appeared extensively in many traditions as a mystical or forbidden fruit. It may have picked up its negative connotation as a catalyst to the fall of man, in the garden of Eden, because the Latin word for apple is mālum and the Latin word for evil is mălum. To confuse the matter even more the word Apple was used as a term for any fruit or nut that wasn’t a berry up until the 17th century. So it’s probable that the fruit many attribute to the onset of original sin was not in fact an apple at all.

Crab apples are the only tree native to the British Isles; all other apple trees were probably introduced by the romans. They were listed by the celts as one of the seven nobles of the wood and can symbolise the virtues of wholeness, purity and good will. Apples trees have been planted on ancient highways and byways for millennia to give travellers a welcome snack.

The apple is an emblem for the mystical pursuits of art and poetry. When cut down the centre it reveals a 5 pointed star or pentagram and number that was seen as sacred by the celts, it is a symbol of divine perfection and the 5 way symmetry of the human body. It also makes up the 5 elements that can be attributed to man. Air = breath, Fire = energy, Water = fluid, Earth = matter and Psyche + mind.

Druids believed that spending time around an apple tree could lead to magical transformations and transport them to other worlds. Strong cider produced from the fermentation of apples may have aided them on their journeys to the other realms. The apple has been proven to have healing properties, meaning the adage ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ has a degree of truth to it. The vitamins and minerals found in apples can help the body detox and strengthen brain function. The arrival of its blossom ushers in spring and the falling of its fruit symbolises the end of the pagan year.

Apples are linked to the Celtic story of Connla who was seduced by a fairy maiden, she gave him a magic apple, which once eaten, would replenish itself. He ate nothing but the apple for a month, soon after the faerie reappeared and transported him on a crystal boat to the otherworld, where all the trees bore magical replenishing fruit, giving him eternal youth, yet he was never allowed to return to the realm of men.

Apple Tree

Towering queen of the serene

Your will is strong

My heart wants to belong

To your inner rhythmic song

All is well, whole and full

You are beautiful

Energy brims

Feelings of love and tranquillity rise

As hands skate across your skin

Your warm arms want to pull

Out the creative in me

Life is art in the making

Eternally Creating >¦<