Apple Folklore

Apple Folklore Many myths and legends are associated with the apple. Apples were frequently used in Greek, Roman, Norse and other mythologies as symbols of immortality or reincarnation. They are the food of the gods/goddess or are given to humans by deities as rewards for various acts. The apple tree is also symbolic: King Arthur was taken by a goddess to Avalon, the “apple-land” of eternal life. Apple tress have often marked the “axis of the world” or the “center of life” in various tales, as in the Romanian folktale of the fairy Magdalena, who appeared sitting in a cosmic apple tree, “those branches touched the sky and whose roots reached into the bottom of the ocean.” As the apple fruit is five-locular, when cut in transverse section, it reveals the pentacle a sacred sign in some cults and pagan beliefs. Apples were cut in this way at Gypsy weddings,, each half eaten by the bride and groom. Because of connections with deities and magic, apples are said to confer some healing or telepathic powers. Fever could be cured if a holy name was written on an apple and eaten on three consecutive days. Abortion would occur if the words sator arepo tenet opera rotas were inscribe on an apple before eating it. One’s future spouse would be revealed in one’s dream of an apple was eaten on Halloween, according to legend which is the origin of bobbing for apples. Apple Folklore