Apple Blossom Flower Buds (Pyrus Malus)

Description ShareTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail Apple Blossom Flower Buds (Pyrus Malus) HERB COMMON NAME :  Apple HERB SCIENTIFIC NAME :  Pyrus Malus OTHER NAMES :  Malus Pumila, Malus Domestica, Malus Sylvestris, Malus Communis FAMILY :  Rosaceae ASSOCIATIONS & CORRESPONDENCES : Element: Water Planet: Venus Day: Friday Direction: West Zodiac Sign: Taurus Chakra: 6th Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) Energy: Yin Gender: Feminine Rune: Ing Tarot Card: Lovers Tarot, Nine of Pentacles Number: 5 Spirit Animal: Hedgehog, Pig Sabbat or Holiday: Lupercalia (February 15) ; Beltane / Walpurgis / May Day (April 30 – May 1) ; Mabon / the Autumn Equinox (btw. September 21-24) ; Samhain (October 31 – November 1) ; Yule / the Winter Solstice (December 21 – January 1) ; the Full Harvest Moon (September or October) Deity or God / Goddess Association: Venus, Dionysus, Olwen, Apollo, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Diana, Zeus, Iduna, Eros, Lugh, Manannan, Vertumnus, Freya, Pomona, Eris   Parts Used:  Flower, Fruit, Seeds, Wood Description:  Apple trees are found all over the Northern Hemisphere.  The fruit is used in cooking, baking, and brewing. The blossoms are also edible, are highly aromatic, have a sweet flavor, and are used in teas, salads, and for cooking and baking. The seeds are used to make apple seed oil, which is used in hair conditioners, to supplement animal feed, and for making shoe polish and varnish. The wood is used for smoking meats, for carving, and for firewood. Historical Uses: Apples and apple flower blossom tea are used to help hangover. Mystical Attributes:  Apples are arguably the most magical and symbolism-laden of fruits. In the Edda, an old Scandinavian Saga, Iduna kept apples that the Gods would eat to ensure their eternal youth. In Greek folklore, the Hesperides guard apple trees that will provide the same gift to those who eat of them. Although the Bible never actually says so, many people believe that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was an apple. The Trojan war was started when the Goddess Eris threw an apple into the midst of a party of Goddesses, saying that it was for ‘the fairest’. Unicorns are believed to live beneath apple trees (as well as those of the ash). The sacred Isle of Avalon is also known as the Isle of Apples. The widespread availability and fertile abundance of apples associates them with life, longevity, youth, love, healing, harmony, fidelity, marriage, beauty, vanity, wisdom, and fertility. Folklore associates the apple with the afterlife, the soul, immortality, fairies, creativity, generosity, and the otherworld. Before growing season, bless your garden by sprinkling apple skins across the dirt. Pour apple cider on the freshly turned ground in your garden before you plant to give the earth life. Also pour libations on apple roots just before tree rituals. If you grow apples, bury thirteen leaves of an apple tree after harvest to ensure a good crop of apples next year. If you slice an apple width-wise, you can see a five-pointed star. They are often cut this way to decorate altars during harvest rituals. The apple has long been used in spells of love. Apple blossoms can be used in love and healing incense. The blossoms and dried fruit are also added to love sachets, brews and incenses, and they are infused in melted pink wax, then strained out, to make candles suitable to burn for attracting love. To ensure fidelity, give an apple to your lover as a gift. In this simple love spell, you eat one half, the lover the other. This ensures that you will be happy together. A similar spell directs you to hold an apple in your hands until warm, and then give it to your intended.  If he or she eats it your love will be returned. If you peel an apple all in one piece and throw the peel over your shoulder, it will fall in the shape of your future mate’s initials. Apples are also used in love divinations, which were so popular among unmarried women in Europe for many centuries.  Simply cut an apple in two and count the number of seeds.  If they are even, marriage will soon occur.  If one of the seeds is cut it may be a stormy relationship.  If two are cut, widowhood is foretold.  However, if an uneven number of seeds are found, the woman will remain unmarried in the near future. Take an apple before it falls from the tree and with a sharp knife, carve into it, “Aleo Deleo Delato”.  As you do this, say the words, “I conjure thee, apple, by these names which are written on thee, that what woman (or man) toucheth and tasteth thee, may love me and burn in my love as fire melteth wax.”  Then give the apple to whom you will.  But be warned, for this (like much love magic) borders on manipulation. Apples are believed to be the preferred food of the dead in many faiths and make great offerings. Apples are a symbol of immortality and are given as an offering to the dead on Samhain. Wiccan altars are often piled high with apples on Samhain, for the apple is considered to be one of the foods of the dead.  For this very reason, Samhain is sometimes known as the “Feast of Apples.” In some Wiccan traditions, the apple is a symbol of the soul, and so they are buried on Samhain so that those who will be reborn in the spring will have food during the cold winter months. In Celtic mythology, an apple branch that bears buds, flowers, and fully ripened fruit (sometimes known as a Silver Bough) is a magical charm that enables the possessor to enter the land of the Gods and the Underworld. In the old English ballad, Thomays the Rymour (Thomas the Rhymer), the Fairy Queen warns Thomas against eating any of the apples and pears which hung in her garden, for to eat the food of the dead ensures there will be no return to the world of the living. For healing, cut an apple into three pieces, rub each on the affected part of the body, and then bury them.  Do this during the waning of the Moon to banish illnesses. Eat an apple to ensure that you do not contract a fever. Apples can be fashioned into poppets or magical figures for use in spells, or images can be carved from the wood itself. Apple wood is used to make magical wands especially suited to emotional magic and love rites. The wood of the apple tree is made into charms for longevity. Use apple cider in place of blood where it is called for in old recipes. Before eating any apple, rub it to remove any demons or evil spirits which might be hiding inside. Mystical Intentions:  youth, longevity, eternal life, immortality, knowledge, wisdom, love, health, healing, protection from illness, harmony, peace, fidelity, loyalty, faithfulness, finding a lover, attraction, finding a soul mate, love spells, love magic, love rituals, enchantment, marriage, dating, fertility, beauty, vanity, gardening, harvest, the afterlife, the soul, communicating with the dead, contacting the spirits of ancestors, travel to the underworld, magic wand making, blood substitute for spells, abundance, protection from hunger Taste & Smell:  Apple fruit has a distinctive crisp, sweet, and slightly tart taste. Apple blossoms are highly fragrant with a delicate sweet floral aroma, and taste clean, sweet, slightly tart and floral. Botany, Cultivation & Harvesting:  Apple trees are considered hardy, growing best in USDA zones 3 to 5.  “Long-season” trees grow best in zones 5 to 8. Each apple variety requires a number of chill hours to set fruit. The farther north you live, the more chill hours are needed to avoid late spring freeze problems. Different varieties of apple trees take anywhere from 3 to 10 years to begin bearing fruit. Apple seeds need to be exposed to cool, moist conditions before they can germinate and grow. Sow them indoors ½” deep in the fall. Alternatively, place the seeds in moistened sand in a plastic container and keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 months. Sow seeds outdoors ½” deep in well-drained soil (but able to retain some moisture) after the last frost. Medium-textured soils with a pH range of 5.5 to 7.0 is acceptable, but a pH range of 6.0 to 6.5 is best. Plant in a full sun area with 8 or more hours per day of direct sunlight. Also, plant in a location with good air circulation to avoid fungal leaf diseases. Do not plant in low-lying areas with cold air. And do not plant near wooded areas or other types of trees. Once the seedling emerges, keep it well watered and protected from pests. Most apples need to cross-pollinate from another apple tree to produce fruit. The second tree must be a different cultivar but also one that will flower at the same time. Bees help with the pollination. If planting a purchased tree, first remove all weeds and grass in a 4-foot diameter circle. If the roots have dried, soak them in water for about 24 hours before planting. Plant seedlings or trees about 15 to 18 feet apart in a row. Dwarf trees can be planted 4 to 8 feet apart. In order for the trees to fruit, a different cultivar that blooms at the same time must be planted ideally within 100 feet (at most 2,000 feet). Dig holes twice the diameter of the root system and 2 feet deep. Place some loose soil back into the hole and loosen the soil on the walls of the planting hole so the roots can easily penetrate it. Spread the roots on the loose soil, making sure they are not twisted or crowded. Continue to replace soil around the roots. As you cover the roots, firm the soil to be sure it surrounds the roots and to remove air pockets. Do not add fertilizer at this time as it can burn the roots. Fill the remainder of the hole with the loose soil, then press down well. The graft union (where the scion is attached to the root stock) should be at least 4 inches above the soil line so the roots do not emerge. Dwarf apple trees are best planted against a fence or other type of support as they are prone to uprooting. Water trees regularly and periodically refresh mulch while keeping it away from the trunk so it doesn’t rot. Research the variety of apple trees that you plant for the best types and timing of pest control. Do not hurry to prune as it slows growth and delays fruiting. Instead, rub off misplaced buds before they grow into misplaced branches. Bend stems down almost horizontally for a few weeks to slow growth and promote branches and fruiting. Tie down with strings to stakes in the ground or to lower branches. Once the apple tree has filled in and is bearing fruit, then prune yearly to maintain size and form. Prune mature trees when they are dormant. Apples can usually be harvested from August to October. Only store mid or late season apples. Store in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area with low humidity.   Sources: https://spiritartsandherbs.com/sources **IMPORTANT INFORMATON: Products are sold as curio items for entertainment purposes only and based upon historical and magical uses.  We do not imply or guarantee that any items provide specific abilities, powers, outcomes, remedies, or treatments. 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