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| Drawing by Vannessa Card |
On a previous post I have discussed upon
the correspondence between the Arthurian Avalon and the significance of the
apple fruit for the Celts, who recognize all of the features of the apple tree
and view it as pleasing in every way.
Let's assure that is even a symbol of creativity (as
well as creation) and is an emblem of art and poetry. The
meaning of apple trees is also associated with virtue, and the tree (as well as
the fruit) is a symbol of purity and mortherhood.
In Medieval Irish story Connla the Fair, an Irish prince,
fell in love with a beautiful Faerie woman, who arrived on the Irish shore in a
crystal boat. She offered him an apple from the world of Faerie, and he took
the fatal bite, and was hers forever. They set sail for her magical island
where the trees bore both fruit and blossom, and winter never came. There, they
ate an ever replenishing stock of apples, which kept them.
In Irish lore, the God Óengus offered three miraculous
apple trees from the magical woods, Bruig na Bóinde (New
Grange), as a wedding gift for the one of the Milesians. One was in full bloom,
one shedding its blossoms, and one in fruit. (Mountfort, page 103) The
deliberate felling of an Apple Tree was punishable by death in ancient Irish
law. (Gifford, page 97).
In the Welsh Câd Goddeu (The Battle of the Trees), the
Apple is described as the noblest tree of them all, the tree that symbolized
poetic immortality. For obvious reasons the ancient Celts consider the
apple tree a treasure among the Ogham tree clan.
It’s brilliant flowers burst forth in the spring,
usually ranging from pink to white. These flowers have a light aroma that lifts
the spirit of all who pass by them. Ancient Celts would decorate
bedchambers with the apple blossoms as a fertility gesture and to
tribute the beauty and bounty life provides.
After the glory of the blossoms, come the fruit of the
apple. Druids recognized the powerful transformative qualities experienced
when consuming the apple. It was thought the fruit could transport the eater to
other worlds, typically of a paradise-like ilk. Further altered states could be
induced by pressing the apples and allowing them to ferment over time, thus
producing a “hard cider.”
Apples were highly valued by the ancient Celts because
of their ability to keep over a long period of time when stored in a cool dry
place. This was symbolic of the presence of love, even long past the time of
peak ripeness. In other words, when the waves of passion subside, love
lingers even afterwards when simple companionship is the prime
comfort.
Even the formation of the tree trunk in her various
poses was said to have a female form to it, and was considered
a beacon of fertility. Indeed, apple wood was often burned during fertility
rites and festivals carried out in the winter months. These were demonstrations
to beckon bountiful abundance upon the return of spring as well as symbolically
insure continuation of large, healthy families.
The Apple Tree on Druidry
The sacred Druid plant, an t-uil-oc (Mistletoe), is
often found on Apple trees, making it an especially holy tree to the Druids,
along with the Oak.
The Apple Tree is closely linked to Druids, in their
aspect as magicians and shamans. The tree is often used when the Druid
undergoes a magical transformation or journeys in the Otherworld. In The Voyage
of Bran, an Otherworldly woman appears with an apple branch laden with bells,
entrancing Bran with wondrous tales of the Otherworld. So enraptured is he by
this damsel with the magical apple branch, that he sets sail immediately for
the enchanted shores, having epic adventures on his journey. (Blamires, page
142).
“In Druid lore, the essence of three sacred apples
growing on the Tree of Knowledge came from three drops that
fell from Cerridwen’s cauldron, which correspond with the Druid’s most holy
symbol, the Three Rays of Light.” (Gifford, page 99).
The Druid Merlin was purported to work in a magical
Apple Grove guarded by birds, revealed to him by his master, Gwendolleu. He was
said to receive the gift of prophecy from the Faerie Queen, conferred through
the consumption of one of her magic apples. Merlin was also said to take
shelter under an apple tree during his bout with madness.
Thomas the Rhymer, of Ercledoune, in 13th Century
Scotland, was warned not to eat the Otherworldly Apple offered by the Faerie
Queen, or he would be unable to return to mortal life.
Bards (poets) and Ovates (shamans) carried apple
branches, (with bronze, silver, or gold bells), called the Craobh Ciuil (Branch
of Reason) as symbols of their office. “As with all trees whose
fruits are the basis of alcoholic drinks, the apple tree has close associations
with divine inspiration and poetry.” (Gifford, page 94)
La Mas Ushal was brewed at the end of
October in preparation for the Druid’s “Day of the Apple” on November 1st. This
recipe has come down to us as the Wassail Bowl, made from baked or roasted crab
apples, brown ale or cider, honey, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and
ginger.
Apples are much in evidence in Samhain rituals of
prophecy. Peeling an apple in front of the mirror and throwing it over the left
shoulder, a young maiden can recognize the initial of her future husband.
Bobbing for apples, another traditional Samhain
pastime, was a reference to the Celtic Emhain Abhlach, "Paradise
of Apples," where the dead, having eaten of the sacred fruit, enjoyed a
blissful immortality.
Related Source:
Find out more information upon Celtic Tree Lore on my
book
Celtic Tree Wisdom and Magick"
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