Autumn Equinox: To Know the Apple Road

“The Apple Road” by D. Malcom Wells.

Our wheel of time turns through the season of Lughnasa until Samhain All Hallows at the end of October. Autumn Equinox in the northern hemispheres marks the end of harvest time in the apple orchards. The apples signal “Pick me now. Winter is coming.”

This blog explores the idea that an apple is a complex symbol – a warning signal. I’m making a montage of Knowing the Apple Road by sharing three stories, two poems, and practical knowledge that generations of scientists, family storytellers, and apple farmers have accumulated. ClaudeAI serves as a research assistant. Note that a “montage” is not orderly or linear – it’s more this beside that and then something else. Imagine you are picking some apples from a Knowledge Tree.

There are over 7,500 known cultivars (varieties) of apples worldwide. They range from sweet to tart and come in various colors. It’s likely your apple is a fat, perfect hybrid in your grocery basket.

Or, if you are lucky during Lughnasa, you might be in an orchard choosing an apple. Or maybe you are walking along, kicking the fall leaves, and an old apple tree drops apples in your road. The tree’s bird and squirrel populations take one bite of each one if we don’t get there first. Worms burrow through the juicy flesh.

Bend over to choose an apple. If it’s a wild apple there won’t be pesticides and so most likely there will be some deformation. If it feels firm, wipe it on your sleeve, and bite where the deformation isn’t. If it’s a brown spot, and you have a pocketknife, cut the apple in half and see how deep the brown spot goes. If only a surface spot cut the brown area out. While you are at it, cut away the seed core and plant it nearby with the heel of your shoe. Eat the remainder!

Maybe you are walking the dog and have an extra doggie bag. If the apples are good but hinting at being soft and a bit mushy, take a few others home and make applesauce.

Applesauce

My grandmother’s Applesauce cake was famous in our family. When asked for the recipe she would say “Just add applesauce to your white cake recipe and cut back the liquid.” We would try but it was never the same. One day she was asked: How do you make applesauce?

Peel and seed your old apples, cutting out any imperfections. Put the pieces in a pan with a very small amount of water and heat slowly until the apple pieces are falling apart. Serve hot or cold.
Note: no sugar, no mashing.

The secret was the small chunks of apples making pockets of apple sweetness in the cake.

Apples show up in holy books, mythology and stories. In China they are a symbol of peace and are often given as gifts. Apples dipped in honey symbolize a sweet new year on Rosh Hashanah. At Samhain/All Hallows and other fall festivals, apple bobbing is a traditional game in many Western countries. And at Christmas apples are a traditional decoration.

Story #1: The Apple and the Knowledge of Good and Evil

In the Christian Bible in Genesis 2:15-17 (King James’ version) we learn:

And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

These are clear instructions, and the Lord God provides a serious reason for not choosing to eat from this specific tree.

Then God says “it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet…. God and Adam go on to form and name “every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air” but don’t find a helpmeet. So God makes Eve from Adam’s rib, and Adam names her Woman. Verse 25 tells us there was no shame. Eden: no shame, no death. Beautiful surroundings, good work to do. companionship.

But Chapter 3 follows. In verses 1-7 the serpent tempts Eve to take a bite of the fruit of the forbidden tree, she does, tempts Adam, he does, and they are told they must leave the Garden and live in a world now divided by the knowledge of good and evil. A world of separation, of “Other”, of “I am Good” and “You are Bad”. One of their sons kills his brother.

A Different Choice in Perelandra

Lola to ClaudeAI: Please provide a short summary of C.S. Lewis’ book Perelandra which is about the temptation of the original pair on the planet Venus and how that “Eve” makes a different choice.

ClaudeAI: “Perelandra” (1943) is the second book in C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, following the philologist Ransom as he travels to Venus (Perelandra) on a divine mission. He discovers a pristine Oceanic world inhabited by a Green Lady and her husband, the King – an innocent pair living in their own version of Eden (floating islands).

The story centers on a cosmic battle for the soul of this new world. Ransom’s nemesis, the physicist Weston, arrives possessed by demonic forces. He begins tempting the Green Lady much as the serpent tempted Eve in Genesis, and tries to convince her to disobey Maleldil’s (God’s) one commandment: that she and the King must not sleep overnight on the Fixed Land (solid ground) but may only visit it during the day.

The novel explores themes of innocence, temptation, free will, and the nature of good and evil. Lewis presents an alternative history where the “fall” is prevented, allowing readers to glimpse what an unfallen world might look like. The Green Lady’s different choice – to remain obedient and trust in divine goodness – preserves Venus as a paradise and allows its inhabitants to mature spiritually without the burden of sin.

Woman picking apples and putting them in her apron, freepik.

ClaudeAI Note: The fruit in the Garden of Eden isn’t specifically identified as an apple in Genesis. The association with an apple developed later, likely during the Roman period and solidified in Western art and literature during the Middle Ages. This may be due to the Latin word “malum” meaning both “evil” and “apple,” or the apple’s significance in Greek mythology. End Claude AI Narration

“An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away”

This saying originated in Wales in the 1860s. Apples are rich in fiber, vitamin C, and various antioxidants, particularly quercetin, which may have anti-inflammatory effects. Apples may reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. They contain pectin, a soluble fiber that may help lower cholesterol and improve gut health. They may help regulate blood sugar due to their low glycemic index

Potential Risks:
Apple seeds contain small amounts of amygdalin, which can release cyanide when digested. Some people may have apple allergies, which can cause oral allergy syndrome. Apples are often treated with pesticides, so thorough washing or organic options are important.

Story #2: The Judgment of Paris

This ancient Greek story involves the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite competing for a golden apple trophy. Paris of Troy will judge who is the most beautiful of the three goddesses. Each goddess offers Paris a bribe: Hera offers power, Athena offers wisdom and skill in battle, and Aphrodite offers the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris desires the most beautiful woman and chooses Aphrodite. The woman is Helen of Troy and she is already married. Paris’ desire leads to the Trojan War.

ClaudeAI’s comment: This story can be seen as a commentary on the challenges of judgment and the consequences of desire over wisdom or power.

Until the last two generations three books about this war and what happened afterwards were studied in detail, mostly by men and mostly in Latin. I did some Latin translation in high school, and it was easier for me because my mother from time to time read/told me parts of the Iliad and the entire Odyssey (“lots of interesting women”). Information about these three foundational texts for Western Civilization are here.

• Homer’s Iliad—The story of the Trojan War.
• Homer’s Odyssey—about one hero’s twenty-year voyage home after the war.
• Virgil’s Aeneid—The Roman poet Virgil writes an epic poem in 12 books about the foundation of Rome from the ashes of Troy.

The result of desire is not always war. William Butler Yeats in the Song of the Wandering Aengus describes a more tender desiring.

The poem opens:

I went out to the hazel wood,

Because a fire was in my head…

He goes fishing (metaphor) and catches a “little silver trout.” He takes it home.

It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Now he’s old and has wandered both faery and middle earth, and believes still…

I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and tides are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

Winesap Apple on the branch. Photo by D. Malcom Wells.

Apples as Business

Apples are grown commercially in over 90 countries and approximately 86 million tons are harvested globally. China, the United States, Turkey, Poland, and Italy are top producers. Apples don’t grow well in tropical climates. The U.S. apple industry alone is valued at over $4 billion annually. Apples support numerous related industries: processing, packaging, transportation, and retail. And for much of the worldwide city-dwelling human population, agritourism alone provides opportunities to go apple picking and observe cider production.

Small trees grown from dwarf rootstocks allow for high density planning and easy harvesting. Drones and sensors are used by some growers, as well as pest management that reduces reliance on pesticides. Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage extends the shelf life of apples for year-round availability.

The farmer has some apples to sell. She sells 40% of them and still has 420 apples. Find the number of apples she had originally. (The correct answer is at the end of the blog.)

Story #3: Johnny Appleseed

John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed, was a real person who planted apple nurseries across the American frontier in the early 19th century. I asked ClaudeAI if Johnny’s is a story fueling Westward Expansion by spreading western knowledge and values.

ClaudeAI: John Chapman (1774-1845), known as Johnny Appleseed, was a nurseryman who introduced apple trees to parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He’s often portrayed as a conservationist and folk hero of American frontier life. The 1948 Disney animated short “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed” popularized his story.

While he did spread apple trees, it’s important to note that these were often for cider production rather than eating apples. His efforts aligned with westward expansion, introducing familiar crops to new territories. However, he was also known for his respect for nature and Native American cultures, complicating the narrative of typical frontier expansion.

I found fascinating the extensive information about his life, knowledge and wisdom, and business acumen in this Wiki article. He did wear a tin hat that also served as his cooking pot. He also was an astute businessperson, collecting seeds from the cider mills and planting orchards where he traveled. He made money and bought land. I also found the western Pennsylvania Heinz History Center article interesting.

Apple as an Archetype of Knowledge and Choice:

As an archetype an Apple signals both choice and that this choice will bring serious consequences on down the generations.

In story #1 Eve’s apple choice is based in her desire for the knowledge of good and evil, and it yields us Division and Death as two outcomes. In Story #2 Paris’ choice awards a golden apple to Aphrodite, goddess of Desire, and begins a prolonged war that costs the lives of many heroes and heroines. Desire ignores consequences. We can thank our Greek ancestors for naming Desire as part of the Apple Choice, and making clear the extensive, world-changing consequences.

ClaudeAI commented: “the apple often symbolizes knowledge in various contexts” and listed the examples below. I edited the examples and added William Tell.

• In the Biblical story, it represents the knowledge of good and evil.
• In Greek mythology, the golden apple awarded by Paris symbolizes the judgment of beauty bribed by his desire to have the most beautiful woman in the world.
• In Snow White the apple represents choosing to eat an evil queen’s temptation. Snow White’s death is redeemed by Love. As we don’t repeat the experience a fourth time apparently she gains wisdom.
• Isaac Newton’s apple is associated with scientific knowledge and discovery, in this case the naming of the primary principle of Gravity. A graft of his apple tree thrives at the University of York in England
• William Tell shoots an apple from his son’s head and wins their freedom from a tyrannical regime.

Knowledge Isn’t Wisdom

Universities collect knowledge and hope to educate wisdom. For some of us those who know facts are belittled as “nerds.” Some of us use “Scientists” and their centuries of exploration as political fodder. Knowledge is built on facts, and facts are in the moment. The earth is flat then proved to be round then we see the planet from space. Facts are subject to change. Facts are deniable – can be refused or countered with other facts. Knowledge is what we choose to do with facts and experience, history and the present time.

Wisdom is a possible fruit from discoveries and experiences along the Apple Road.

Wisdom is often associated with maturity and being “older and wiser.” It is not about ‘innocence’; it is about the application of understanding. Wisdom involves the integration of knowledge with moral judgment.

This blog was composed by Lola Wilcox with the benefit of AI for Apple Air spellcheck and grammar, internet research for multiple components of the blog, and author verification of quotes/poems. Unless indicated otherwise, I am the author of the text.