- Latin name
- Malus domestica
- Element
- water
- Planet
- Venus
- Safe to eat?
- Yes, in normal kitchen amounts
How to use it
- Slice across to reveal the five-pointed star and offer it on the altar
- Leave an apple as an offering at Samhain for the dead
- Wassail the orchard with cider and toast in winter
- Dry slices for a wreath or garland
Lore
In Norse myth Idunn keeps the apples that keep the gods young. The crab apple is one of the Nine Herbs Charm plants, Avalon was the Isle of Apples, and Manannan gave a silver branch bearing apples to the Irish king Cormac.
Safety
The fruit is safe to eat. Apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide-releasing compounds, so do not eat or grind them in quantity. Seeds, stems and leaves are harmful to pets, and fallen fermenting fruit can make dogs ill.
Gods linked with it
- Iðunn Keeper of the apples of youth
- Aphrodite Foam-born goddess of love and beauty
- Venus Mother of the Roman people and goddess of love
- Manannán mac Lir Lord of the sea and the Otherworld