A is for ‘Apple’: Mythology & Magical Correspondences of the Apple
Few fruits are as familiar to us as the apple. The many varieties of genus Malus are grown around the world. The species of Malus Domestica (the tree of the common ‘eating apple’) finds its roots in southern Kazakhstan in Central Asia, hailing from the Malus Sieversii, a wild apple tree whose fruits are near identical in appearance to the domestic apple. Thousands of years of cultivation later and the apple is easily one of the most recognizable fruits in the world, appearing in children’s alphabet songs, in some of the most famous works of art mankind has yet produced, and in lore and fairytales throughout the ages.
Apples are seen as important symbols and tools in many religions and cultures, and they bear mythological significance across the globe. In this piece we’ll take a look at some of the fruit’s magical correspondences and a portion of the deities, and their lore, associated with the apple.
Magical Correspondences of the Apple
Death
Fertility
Health
Immortality
Knowledge
Love
Luck
Sexuality
Success
Psychic Ability
the Unseen
Wealth
Wisdom
DEITIES
Of deities associated with apples, the list is quite lengthy. It would be time consuming and difficult to name them all. The best I can do for you is to include those deities whose connections to apples I am most familiar with, as that would be better than to chance presenting you with inaccurate information.
Eris & Aphrodite
ERIS is the Greek goddess of chaos, strife, and discord. She was not included on the guestlist of the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. Whether this was a mere oversight or an intended slight, it was a decision that would bring unimaginable disaster.
Eris, enraged at being left out, stole into the Garden of the Hesperides and stole from a tree there a golden apple, the Apple of Discord. She took the apple and snuck to the outskirts of the wedding celebrations. There, she carved into the apple the words, ‘to the fairest.’ She then tossed the apple into the crowd and quickly took her leave.
Enter APHRODITE – Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual pleasures.
Most of the guests stepped back from the apple, distrusting its sudden appearance among them. Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, however, all stepped forward to claim the apple, insisting themselves the fairest. An argument broke out amongst them, and the goddesses took the matter to Zeus. He refused to decide, not wishing to insult any one of the goddesses or play favourites among them. “Take the matter to young Paris,” suggested Zeus. “Let the Trojan prince decide.”
The three goddesses appeared before Paris to seek his judgment. When Paris could not decide between them, finding the three equally beautiful, the goddesses then moved on to bribing the prince. Hera offered Paris dominion over Europe and Asia. Athena offered him great wisdom and glory in battle. Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman on earth for his bride.
Paris chose Aphrodite and went on to claim Helen of Sparta as his own, despite her already being married to King Menelaus of Sparta. This act birthed the famed Trojan War, during which Aphrodite looked over Troy and Paris. Hera and Athena, on the other hand, sided with Sparta.
Thus, Eris and Aphrodite are forever linked with the Apple of Discord, and both are depicted with it often. Aphrodite is famously depicted with the apple in the sculpture ‘Aphrodite Naples Fréjus,’ which is housed at the Musée du Louvre.
Gaia & the Hesperides
GAIA is a Greek earth goddess and mother of beauty, as well as the mother of the Titans, Giants, and Cyclopes. It is said that Gaia gifted Hera and Zeus, on the occasion of their wedding, a golden apple tree from Hisperia, the Garden of the Hesperides.
THE HESPERIDES were nymphs (known as the nymphs of evening and ‘the Daughters of the Evening’) and were Gaia’s grandchildren, the daughters of her Titan son Atlas. They guarded the garden paradise and the golden apples within. The nymphs are almost always depicted lounging or dancing amongst trees of golden apples, as in Frederic Leighton’s painting, ‘the Garden of the Hesperides.’
Iðunn
IÐUNN is a Norse goddess of youth and fertility, and keeper of the magic apples that maintain the youth and vigor of the gods. She appears in Snorri Sturluson’s Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. She keeps magic apples that, if bitten into once one begins to age, will make one young again. This is a service she provides for her fellow gods, keeping them young and fighting fit in doing so.
There is a tale in the Prose Edda in which the god Loki strikes an eagle with a pole and is snatched up by the eagle, pole and all, and drug up into the skies…
But the eagle was not an eagle at all. It was the jötunn Þjazi in disguise. Flying, he slams Loki into treetops and mountainsides. Loki cries out to the eagle, “Please, let me down! Have mercy!”
To this the eagle replies, “I will have mercy, but only if you vow to me that you will, in return, bring Iðunn and her apples out of Asgard to me.”
Loki agrees to this and is, as promised, returned safely to the ground. He returns to Asgard and goes to Iðunn. “I have found fruits that would delight you, Iðunn! They are greater marvels even than your apples. Come, bring your apples to compare! I shall take you there to show you.”
Iðunn, bringing with her the apples, follows Loki out of the safety of Asgard and into a wild forest where Þjazi awaits. The jötunn, in his eagle form, swoops upon her and snatches her up. He steals her away to his hall in Þrymheimr, high in the mountains of Jötunheimr.
The gods in Asgard eventually noticed aging taking form. Their hair grayed, their vitality faded, and they wondered what had become of Iðunn. They called an assembly to ponder what had happened and it was said there that Iðunn was last seen in the company of Loki. They had Loki arrested and brought before them, and they threatened him with violent torture and death. Fearing this, Loki turns to Freyja. “Lend me your falcon shape, goddess of seiðr. I will fly and find Iðunn in the mountainous lands of Jötunheimr.”
Freyja brings Loki her cloak of falcon feathers, with which the wearer can shapeshift into a falcon. Loki uses the cloak to fly to Jötunheimr, where he makes his way to Þjazi’s hall in Þrymheimr. He discovers Þjazi away, out boating on the sea, and Iðunn left alone. Loki uses his magic to transform the goddess into an acorn, which he plucks up safely in his falcon claws and flies away with.
There is, of course, a pursuit after Loki by Þjazi in his eagle form, for it doesn’t take him long at all to realize that Iðunn and her apples were stolen from him. But Þjazi cannot pass into Asgard and, when he tries, his wings catch fire and he crashes to the ground to be killed by the Æsir. Iðunn is returned to her true form and reunited with her fellow gods. Then she presents them each with an apple, and through the magic of the fruit they’re youth is returned.
Manannán mac Lir
MANANNÁN MAC LIR is ‘the Son of the Sea’, warrior king of the Irish Otherworld, and Irish sea god. Manannán mac Lir resides at Emhain Abhlach (‘the Plain of Apples’) and has in his possession a magic silver bough with fine apples, which features in the tale Echtra Cormaic.
One morning, in the early hours, the High King of Ireland Cormac mac Airt stood upon the ramparts of Tara. Looking out, he saw a man heading his way. The man carried with him a shining, silver branch bearing apples of red gold.
By some accounts, the branch has three apples; by others, it has nine; and in some tales the apples are silver as well. I shall relay it as I have heard it, and I had always heard it with red gold apples.
King Cormac welcomed the man into his court and sat and spoke with him, enjoying his company for hours and hours. By the end of their lengthy conversation the king wished to make a vow of friendship between them. But first he would ask for the stranger’s silver bough, wishing to keep it as a token of their new friendship. The man replied, “Aye, you may keep my bough. In return, however, I should be granted three wishes from thee.” This was agreed upon. The warrior gave his bough over to King Cormac and then left Tara.
King Cormac, with great elation, came to learn that the branch was magic. When shaken, it produced the most beautiful, peaceful music, which could heal any wound, ailment, or illness, and brought a swift end to sleeplessness. Cormac used the branch’s magic music to heal his warriors and to keep his court in happy, peaceable spirits.
To learn of what followed for King Cormac and of what the warrior’s return to Tara would bring, I recommend reading Echtra Cormac (“Cormac’s Adventure”). It’s a truly enjoyable tale, but one which we’ve no time to delve further into just now. The Silver Bough belonging to Manannán mac Lir features also in the tale ‘Imram Brain’ (“the Voyage of Bran”) and is believed to represent a key of entry into Tír na nÓg (“Land of the Young”), the Irish Otherworld.
Pomona
POMONA is a Roman goddess of abundance and keeper of orchards, fruit trees, and gardens. The name Pomona comes from the Latin word ‘pomum,’ meaning ‘fruit’. When the apple trees, or any fruit tree, are healthy and full, it is Pomona believed to be at work watching over and caring for them. You may have seen her likeness captured in the works of Rembrandt, Fouché, or Rubens. She is believed to be a wood nymph and is often depicted as such. She is also always shown with an abundant harvest of fruit nearby.
HaSatan
HASATAN – Satan, the Devil, the fallen angel who rebelled against HaShem, the Serpent of Eden, the Dragon of Revelation, the tempter of the Gospels.
It was never specified what the forbidden fruit mentioned in Bereishit, or the Book of Genesis, was. The Hebrew word used is ‘peri,’ which in biblical and modern Hebrew means ‘fruit’. Many biblical scholars pose that the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge may have been a pomegranate or an etrog, while in the Talmud it is presented as a fig tree or even stalks of wheat. Rabbi Meir argued in the Talmud that the Tree of Knowledge was a grapevine, “for nothing causes more heartbreak than wine…”
Whatever the truth of the matter may be, it is the apple tree that has long since become the most widely accepted interpretation of the Tree of Knowledge, and, thus, the apple that is now seen as the forbidden fruit. This theory and interpretation was birthed in the late 4th century from a Latin translation of the Bible by historian, theologian, and Latin priest Jerome of Stridon. The Hebrew word ‘peri’ became then the Latin ‘malum’ – malum meaning ‘apple’ but also ‘evil,’ ‘wrongdoing,’ and ‘harm’. Perhaps, given the double meaning of the word, depicting the apple as the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was a deliberate, artistic choice on St Jerome’s part. In any event, it is now so that the apple is associated with the tale of Adam and Eve (or Chava), and so, too, associated with the Serpent of Eden.
The story goes that HaShem created Adam and Eve, and created a paradise in which they were to live – the Garden of Eden. In Eden there was no shortage of food from the land that Adam and Eve could eat from, including a great number of fruit-bearing trees. HaShem forbid they eat from only two of these trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. In the garden, there was also a serpent. The Serpent of Eden was a trickster, a deceiver.
‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord G-d had made. He said to the woman, “Did G-d really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but G-d did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For G-d knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like G-d, knowing good and evil.”
Eve trusted the serpent and ate of the forbidden fruit. She, too, took fruit to Adam and he ate as well.
‘Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked…’
Thus, the apple became a symbol associated with Satan. Though it was never specified in the texts that the serpent and the Devil were one in the same, Christian interpretation depicts them as such and has since forever linked the two. Because of this interpretation, depictions of the Devil have oft included the forbidden fruit; this includes one of the most recognizable works portraying the Devil, the famous sculpture by Guillaume Geefs ‘Le génie du mal’ , in which a bitten apple can be found lying at the angel’s feet.
Venus
VENUS is the Roman goddess of beauty, love, fertility, sexuality, and victory. Symbols of Venus include the rose and myrtle, but she is also often depicted holding an apple, such as in Bertel Thorvalden’s sculpture ‘Venus with the Apple,’ or in the 17th century Italian painting attributed to Domenichino – ‘Venus Gathering Apples’ – or Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s famous painting ‘Venus Verticordia’. This artistic choice is not due to any known tale connecting Venus and the apple, but rather with the apple being a commonly used symbol of beauty, love, and youth.
Apples being sacred to or linked with all the deities listed above, a simple apple would make for a fitting and meaningful offering to any of these figures. There are, of course, a great many more deities and spirits with which the apple is associated, and perhaps I’ll write a sequel to this post in the future to cover more of them. Doing so now, however, would make this post even lengthier than I already have. I hope that you’ve enjoyed these posts exploring the apple and its uses, meanings, and associations. Are there any spirits, gods, or lore associated with the apple in your practice or culture? Please feel free to share them in the comments of any of these posts.
Sources & further reading:
MAGICAL CORRESPONDENCES: ‘A Compendium of Herbal Magick’ by Paul Beyerl
‘Mother Nature’s Herbal’ by Judith Griffin, PH.D
‘the Master Book of Herbalism’ by Paul Beyerl
ERIS: www.greekmythology.com/other_gods/eris
www.greekmythology.wikia.org/wiki/Eris
APHRODITE: www.mythopedia.com/greek-mythology/gods/aphrodite
www.britannica.com/topic/aphrodite-greek-mythology
www.learnreligions.com/aphrodite-greek-goddess-of-love-2561955
APPLE OF DISCORD: www.greekmythology.com/wikia.org/wiki/apple_of_discord
www.theoi.com/olympios/JudgementParis.html
‘Stories of the Ancient Greeks’ by Charles D. Shaw
‘the Iliad’ attributed to Homer
THE TROJAN WAR: www.britannica.com/event/Trojan-War
www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/trojan-war
GAIA: www.mythopedia.com/greek-mythology/titans/gaia
THE HESPERIDES: www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Minor_Gods/Hesperides
www.theoi.com/Titan/Hesperides.html
www.britannica.com/topic/Hesperides-Greek-Mythology
IÐUNN: www.mythopedia.com/norse-mythology/gods/idun
www.skjalden.com/idunn-and-her-apples-of-youth
www.norse-mythology.org/tales/the-kidnapping-of-idun
‘the Poetic Edda’ by Snorri Sturluson
‘the Prose Edda’ by Snorri Sturluson
MANANNÁN MAC LIR: www.britannica.com/topic/manannan-mac-lir
www.isleofman.com/welcome/history/mythology-and-folklore/manannan-mac-lir
CORMAC MAC AIRT & THE SILVER BOUGH: ‘Scel na Fir Flatha, Echtra Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri ocus Ceart Claidib
Cormaic’ edited by Whitley stokes
‘Fagháil Chraoibhe Cormaic’ edited by Standish H. O’Grady
POMONA: www.learnreligions.com/pomona-goddess-of-apples-2562306
THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE: ‘the Talmud’
www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid?983693/jewish/what-sort-of-fruit-tree-was-the-tree-of-knowledge.htm
ADAM, EVE, & THE SERPENT: ‘the Torah – the Book of Bereishit: Chapter 3’
‘the Bible – the Book of Genesis: Chapter 3’
SAINT JEROME OF STRIDON: www.britannica.com/biography/saint-jerome
SATAN: www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-the-devil
www.sacred-texts.com/evi;/hod/index.htm
Disclaimer: Each of the Crowsbone writers and guest bloggers has their own magical background, beliefs, traditions and practices. These post represent the opinions, research and beliefs of the individual writers. We do not believe that they represent beliefs and rules associated with all magical practice or witchcraft; nor do they represent the beliefs and opinions of all of the Crowsbone community.