ING - Apple The Apple tree (Malus pumila) has figured in myths and legends of many peoples and has been associated with sexual symbolism and with knowledge and beauty. Spiritual sexuality is concerned with the separation of vital energies and the tremendous force of attraction caused by their urge to merge and to bring into being the beauty of individual expression. At the core of the fruit is a five-pointed star, which anciently symbolized the five primary Elements behind all physical manifestation - Air, Fire, Earth, Water and Aether (or Spirit), and from which the other four are derived. It was the ignorant who were forbidden to eat of the fruit, because it contained the knowledge behind physical existence. Association of the apple with evil and sin is utter nonsense. In the biblical Adam and Eve myth, neither an apple nor an Apple tree is mentioned or indicated. The concept of sin had no place in the shamanic thought. Sinfulness in the sense of defying Cosmic and natural laws is not possible without immediate consequences, and sin in the sense of 'missing the mark' or failing to do what needs to be done can be rectified by the individual. So can the 'sin' of doing something in excess and becoming addictive or disturbing the peace. To the shaman, 'evil' is doing intentional harm to another - and that includes animals, plants and the Earth itself - for such intention is violence against the Life-force itself. According to shamanic understanding, we are each responsible for our own actions and the subsequent consequences, sooner or later, of those actions. The Cosmic law of Karma was understood by shamans not in a moralistic sense of 'what you sow you reap', but as the very nature of life itself. In other words, violence begets violence. What you do to others will be done also to yourself in due course, because experience follows intent. Shamans associated the Apple tree with making decisions from a number of options, so it became concerned with making right choices. And because the trees were usually cultivated in orchards, they were regarded as being particularly protective and helpful in those areas of human activity where talents and skills need to be carefully nurtured and developed through constant care and persistent practice. So the Apple tree is an aid to concentration, satisfaction and well-being, and is associated with the Rune ING.

Back to RUNES