Apple Lore

With autumn hitting its stride (and Samhain coming right up), there's no better time to explore the fantastic folklore surrounding the good old apple. Apple lore could fill a book, so these are just a few tidbits.

 

Apples are a big part of Samhain in many ways, including their place in the traditional "mute supper" (see my October 7th blog post on Samhain traditions and lore for details). If you happen to be looking for love this time of year, there’s a very old-school Samhain apple tradition just for you. Peel an apple in front of a mirror on October 31st, and make sure to keep the peel long. Throw the peel over your left shoulder while still looking in the mirror. When you turn to examine the peel, look closely—lore has it that you’ll see the first initial of the name of your true love in its shape.

 

When you cut an apple open, you’ll see a five-pointed star, or pentagram. Four of the points on the pentagram represent the four elements—earth, air, water, and fire—and the fifth represents Akasha, or the human spirit. The pentagram is a very powerful symbol in both ancient and modern magic (and in Christian tradition, where it symbolizes the five wounds sustained by Christ), and its appearance in the apple has given the fruit elevated status in its use in magic, spells, and potions. Apples are said to be highly protective when used in any form: consumed, rubbed on the skin, worn dehydrated in a Juju bag on the person, etc. The apple’s traditional link to good health is well-known.

 

In Judeo-Christian tradition, the apple is assumed to be the fruit of the tree of forbidden knowledge, though this fruit was probably initially a fig. When this story spread to Western Europe, the fig was replaced with their own local sacred fruit, the apple. In Norse folklore, the apple tree was the tree of immortality. The goddess Idunn was the Keeper of Apples, and she fed them to other gods and goddesses to keep them forever young. Apples were representative of wisdom and love to the Norse as well.

 

One of my favorite legends is tied to Avalon, the eternally beautiful island of the dead and land of faeries where King Arthur was taken after he was fatally wounded in the Battle of Camlann. “Avalon” comes from the Welsh word for apple, “afal” (pronounced “aval”); Avalon is also known as Avallach, the Isle of Apples. Arthur is taken there by Morgan le Fay and her two sisters to be healed and live life eternal. This is yet another example of the apple’s link to longevity, immortality, health, and rebirth.

 

Even the Evil Queen’s "gift" of a poison apple to Snow White has its roots in old beliefs: the Medieval church believed that apples could be purposefully enchanted, then given to unsuspecting victims to cause them to become demonically possessed. Then there’s bobbing for apples, also called Snap Apple in Scotland (where Halloween is also called Snap Apple Night). Tradition dictates that the first to bite into an apple while bobbing would be the first among the participants to marry. This is just another one of many forms of divination practiced around Samhain.

 

Apples are everywhere this time of year. When you bite into a fresh, crisp Granny Smith, or have an apple pie, apple cobbler, apple cider, etc., give a little extra thought to the long and remarkable history of this little wonder fruit!