Apple as Symbol: Apple Divination - The Symbolism of Apples

By Cheryl Lynne Bradley

We have all heard and used the expression, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." This expression is based on a very old superstition, and is one of many associated with apples. You have probably also held an apple in one hand and twisted the stem while reciting the alphabet to ascertain the initial of that "special someone" - the apple of our eye. Most of us have gotten happy feet and sung along with the Andrews Sisters "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me." In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we are moved by the gracious and dignified austerity of Hester Prynne's declaration that "A is for Apple." There is a very long tradition of prediction and divination with apples. A great many of them, of course, are associated with love and relationships.

Apples were once considered to be the food of the gods; if you cut an apple in half crosswise, the center is revealed to be a five-pointed star. Apples and apple trees are symbolic of the guarantee of immortality in Irish tradition, and the apple tree is universally esteemed as a holy tree. The expression "apple of the eye" has biblical origins, and means the pupil of the eye and something or someone that is very precious and in need of protection. (Deuteronomy 32:10, Proverbs 7:2, Lamentations 2:18, Zechariah 2:8)

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. (Psalm 17:8)

Traditional Christianity generally regards the apple as the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which Satan tempted Eve with in the Garden of Eden. Since that time, superstition has dictated that to eat an apple without polishing it first is a challenge to Satan. By contrast, Carl Jung interpreted the same apple as a symbol of life. Apples were also sacred to the goddess Venus and symbolized her; she "was worshipped on one half of the apple as the evening star Hesper...and as Lucifer, son of morning, on the other."

To dream of ripe, sweet, red and green apples is a promise of well-deserved reward and shows the achievement of harmonious balance in your life. If the apples dreamed of are green and bitter, it indicates that you could face a loss through your own foolishness and fickle friendships. Red, ripe apples denote true, dependable friendships.

If you dream of an apple that is rotten on the inside, it can indicate a relationship with serious problems, even if the surface appears perfect. Eating apples with a friend or other people is a happy omen. Eating alone in a dream generally indicates a need to protect yourself from loss of status and friendships. Apple pie or baked apples in a dream can portend high expectations leading to disappointments. To dream of apple trees in blossom or an orchard may predict unexpected joys and prolonged advancement. A crabapple tree is an indication of a new experience approaching.

In keeping with the traditions of the Gypsies, a young lady wishing to dream of her future husband was to obtain an apple from a widow on the Eve of St. Andrew. No thanks were to be given. The young lady consumed half of the apple before midnight and the other half after, thereby ensuring a dream of her intended.

We have all played the children's Halloween game of bobbing for apples. Traditionally, girls were to polish, mark and then float an apple in the tub of water. The boy that retrieved her apple with his bite would be her spouse. There is another apple game for boys called Snap Apple. Apples are hung from the ceiling on strings, then the boys leap and try to sink their teeth into them. The first boy to bite into an apple would be the first to marry.

Peeling apples for a prediction has been popular for ages. This method was used if someone had a very important question. The apple was peeled very carefully so that the questioner ended up with a long, unbroken peel. The question was asked and the peel was thrown over the shoulder. The answer was "no" if it fell in the shape of a "U" or an "O," and it was "yes" if it was anything else.

Another very popular form of peeling prediction was one that allowed a girl to find out who her future husband would be. The apple was peeled, again in one long continuous piece, and thrown over her left shoulder. If the peel remained unbroken, it would fall in the shape of the initial of her future spouse. If the peel broke, she would remain unmarried.

The seeds and cores from the apple were often used to make difficult decisions. There is a tradition in Europe for a woman who has several lovers and is unable to choose. She is to take an apple core, state the name of one of the men, and throw the pip in a fire. If the pip "pops" it means he is "bursting" with love for her.

An Apple Spell for What the Heart Desires

Whatsoever your heart desires

Write it down in words of fire

Cut the Sacred Apple through

Place your wish between the two

Seal with twigs from the Lady's Tree

Place in a kiln until dried it be

Sleep upon it night or day

Until good fortune comes your way

If you are having difficulty making up your mind between two people, places or situations, just take two apple seeds and assign one to each of your choices. Stand in front of a mirror and stick the seeds on your forehead. The one that falls off last is the right choice. For people desiring to know the initial of the person who will be their next relationship, take an apple seed and stick the seed to your forehead. Recite the alphabet. The letter you are saying when the seed falls is the initial you seek.

Counting the seeds was also a form of divination. To find out what the future held, people would cut an apple in half and count the seeds in the core. If the seeds were even in number, good luck was coming. An odd number indicated a disappointment and cutting one of the seeds in half indicated that the future could hold hard lessons and uncertainty.

In Austria, if a girl cut an apple in half on St. Thomas' Night, it was believed she would learn her future. An even number of seeds indicated that she would marry soon, but if one or more of the seeds were cut, she would have troubles in her future and be widowed.

Many cultures have interesting beliefs and traditions about apples. An apple appearing in the grounds of your teacup indicates an achievement. In Britain, if an apple tree comes into bloom out of season while still bearing fruit, it was an augury of a death in the family. In the rest of Europe, this same event is viewed as an omen of extremely good fortune.

You were never to pick all the apples off the tree at harvest; some were to be left for the birds. If any apples were left on the tree in spring, there would be a death in the family within the year. It is also a good idea and considered lucky to leave a fallen apple or two on the ground in the orchard for any spirits who may be wandering through. In Germany, if the first apple on a new tree is picked and eaten by a mother with many children, the tree will be abundantly fertile as well.

I hope you have some fun with this. Don't worry; only people who have read this article will know how those two little dents in your forehead got there!

Only God can count the apples in a seed.

Sources:

·  A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions by Philippa Waring, Souvenir Press, 1978. ISBN 0-965-63619-4

·  The Mammoth Dictionary of Symbols by Nadia Julien Robinson, 1996. ISBN 1-85487-273-7

·  The Kids Guide to Fortune Telling by Louise Dickinson, Kids Can Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55074-479-8

·  The Holy Bible, King James Version

Cheryl Lynne Bradley is an international tarot reader and psychic. She is the President of Tarot Canada International. Visit her website at http://TarotCanada.tripod.com/