by Ellen Evert Hopman
illustration by Will Hobbs
In “the Song Of The Forest Trees”, a thirteenth century Irish poem of wood wisdom, the following trees are identified as not to be burned; “Woodbine, monarch of the forests, Apple, a tree ever decked in blooms of white, Blackthorn, throughout his body…birds in their flocks warble, Willow, a tree sacred to poems, Hazel, spare the limber tree, Ash, rods he furnishes for horsemen’s hands”.
The common Wild Apple was a component of the mixed hardwood forests of the post-glacial Indo-European homeland. The domesticated Apple was probably developed in the southern Caucasus as part of the Neolithic farming revolution and soon spread to Switzerland and Britain. Apples were an important and popular food source being sweet, high in calories, and easy to dry. According to the historian Tacitus, milk, deer, and apples were the main diet of the Germanic tribes.
Apples had magical and religious significance for Celtic, Greek, Slavic, and Germanic peoples. They are so embedded in our cultural imaginations that the Biblical story of Adam and Eve is said to revolve around an apple even though no apples are mentioned in the Bible!
The Apple was one of the Chieftain trees of Ireland, the wanton felling of which meant death to the offender. It was said to shelter both the hind and the unicorn. Scandinavian tradition relates that Loki stole the apples which the Goddess Ithunn had bestowed on the Gods to keep them immortal. When the Gods began to age Loki had to return them.
In English folk tradition warts can be cured by rubbing them with two halves of an apple which are then buried. As the apple decays so will the warts. Cutting down an Apple tree was considered sacrilegious. In Herefordshire it was said that hops would never grow in a felled Apple orchard. A piece of common land could be claimed by fencing it and planting an Apple tree. As long as the yearly crop was taken the landowner maintained his claim. In Yorkshire it was said that one apple must be left on each tree after harvest as a gift for the Fairies. If a bloom appeared on a tree which had already borne fruit it was an omen that someone would die. Wassailing the orchard is an old custom of Twelfth Night. Farming families ate hot cakes and drank cider and then proceeded to the orchard where a cider soaked cake was placed in the fork of an Apple tree. More cider was poured on the cake as a libation and then noise makers were employed, such as pots and pans, to drive away evil spirits. Cider was then sprinkled on orchard and field to encourage the vegetation Fairies.
The Seneca indians used the root of Wild Apples for tuberculosis and malaria. The Meskwaki used it to cure smallpox. Apples are rich in magnesium, iron, potassium, and vitamins C, B, and B2. Peeled apples will help diarrhea, stewed whole apples are laxative. Eating apples oxygenates the blood, cleans the liver, and eases insomnia. Baked apples make a poultice for sore throats and fevers.
Dried apple peel tea taken several times a day eases rheumatic pain. Apple cider restores intestinal flora (especially important after a round of antibiotics), reduces stomach acidity, clears gas, and clears the liver. It is slightly diuretic and helps the kidneys to expel uric acid (four cups a
day is recommended for gout).
Adding garlic and horseradish to apple cider makes a drink that clears skin blemishes, eczema, psoriasis, infections, bone necrosis, tumors, abscesses, and benefits Lupus. The mixture can be applied externally as well. Apple wood is a traditional choice for magic wands and the scent is considered a potent love charm. Associated with immortality and The Summerland, Arthur’s Island of Avalon was said to be covered with Apples. Unicorns are very fond of Apples and may be seen cavorting in the orchard on a misty day.
about the author:
Ellen Evert Hopman is a Druid Priestess, herbalist and author of “Priestess of the Forest: A Druid Journey”, “A Druids Herbal – Of Sacred Tree Medicine”, “Walking the World in Wonder – A Children’s Herbal” and other volumes. Visit her website for more!
Bibliography
Adams, Barbara Means, Prayers Of Smoke, Renewing Makaha Tribal Tradition; Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA 1990
Baker, Margaret, Discovering The Folklore Of Plants; Shire Publications Ltd., Aylesbury, Bucks, U.K. 1975
Beith, Mary, Healing Threads, Traditional Medicines of the Highlands and Islands; Polygon, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1995
Brunaux, Jean Louis, The Celtic Gauls: Gods, Rites and Sanctuaries; Seaby, London, 1988
Calder, George (translator), Book of Ballymote: Auraicept Na nEces (The Scholars Primer); Edinburgh, 1917
Carmichael, Alexander, Carmina Gadelica, Hymns and Incantations; Floris Books, Edinburgh 1992
Cunliffe, Barry, The Celtic World; St. Martin’s Press, New York, New York, 1993
Cunningham, Scott, Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs; Llewellyn Publications, St Paul, MN 1986
Ellis, Peter Berresford, Celtic Women; Wm. B. Erdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996
Erichsen-Brown, Charlotte, Medicinal and Other Uses Of North American Plants; Dover Publications Inc., New York, NY 1989
Evans-Wentz, W.Y., The Fairy Faith In Celtic Countries; Citadel Press, New York, NY 1990
Farrar, Janet and Stewart, The Witch’s Goddess; Phoenix Publishing Inc, Custer, WA 98240
Frazier, James G., The Golden Bough, The Roots of Religion And Folklore; Avenel Books, NY 1981
Friedrich, Paul, Proto-Indo-European Trees; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL 1970
Green, Miranda J., The Celtic World; Routledge, London, 1995
Green, Miranda J., The World of the Druids, Thames and Hudson, London 1997
Grieve, M., A Modern Herbal, Dover Publications Inc., New York, NY 1971
Hoagland, Kathleen, 1,000 Years of Irish Poetry, The Gaelic and the Anglo-Irish Poets From Pagan Times To The Present; The Devin-Adair Company, Old Greenwich, CT 1981
Hopman, Ellen Evert, A Druids Herbal For The Sacred Earth Year; Inner Traditions/Destiny Books, Rochester, VT 1995
Hopman, Ellen Evert, Tree Medicine, Tree Magic; Phoenix Publishers, Custer, WA 1991
Kelly, Fergus, A Guide To Early Irish Law; Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, 1991
Kondratiev, Alexei, The Apple Branch; The Collins Press, Cork, 1998
Lust, John The Herb Book; Bantam Books, New York, 1974
Markale, Jean, The Druids; Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 1999
Matthews, Caitlin & John, The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom; Element Books, Rockport, MA 1994
Matthews, John, The Druid Sourcebook; Blanford Press, London, 1996
McNeill, F. Marian, The Silver Bough, Vol. One; William Maclellan, Glasgow, 1977
Meyer, Kuno, Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry; Constable, London, 1959
Moerman, Daniel E., Medicinal Plants Of Native America; University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Technical Reports, Number 19, Ann Arbor, MI 1986
Mooney, James, History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees; Bright Mountain Books, Ashville, NC 1992
Naddair, Kaledon, Keltic Folk and Faerie Tales; Century Hutchinson Ltd., London, 1987
O’Boyle, Sean, Ogam, the Poet’s Secret; Gilbert Dalton, Dublin, 1980
Rees, Alwyn and Brinley, Celtic Heritage; Thames and Hudson, New York, 1989
Ross, Anne, Pagan Celtic Britain; Columbia University Press, New York, NY 1967
Saintine, X.B., The Myths Of The Rhine; Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rutland, VT 1967 (Reprint of the 1875 edition)
Squire, Charles, Celtic Myth and Legend; Newcastle Publishing Co. Ltd., USA, 1975
Stone, Merlin, Ancient Mirrors Of Womanhood; Beacon Press, Boston, MA 1984
The Midsummer Solstice Dawn Observance will be celebrated on the Hill of Tara next weekend, Sat/Sun 20/21st June, The Longest Day, by the Order of druids in Ireland ( Dal na Drui) presided over by the Archdruid of Ireland, Michael McGrath ( Elected, Traditional, Hereditary ).
So fly into Ireland fast and don’t miss The Gathering !
Thousands are expected to hear the wisdom of the Irish Druids.
Beir Beannacht !
M.M.
( Trinity College Dublin ) .