Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is going to be focused on Apple-tending Maidens of Lore and Legend! I want to begin with Greek mythology, being that is the most well-known mythology the world over, so the first Divine Feminine Maidens I will be discussing are the Hesperides.
The Hesperides are the nymphs, or sometimes considered to be full Goddesses, who were defined as either the daughters of Nyx or the Titan Atlas, or even sometimes as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto (which would make them sisters of the Gorgons). They tended the sacred Golden Apple Tree owned by Hera, a gift from Gaia on her wedding day. This gave them an essential duty, as Hera’s Golden Apples were highly coveted and the Hesperides were given the trust to protect them.
The Hesperides actually also kept other precious artifacts, with Perseus needing to visit them to receive artifacts to help him slay Medusa. But the most important tale featuring the Hesperides in mythology does surround the Golden Apples they tend, and that is the Twelve Labors of Heracles (Hercules is the Roman version of his name). One of the Labors was to acquire the Golden Apples and Heracles slayed the hundred-headed serpent, a dragon named either Ladon or Drakon (depending on the telling) who helped guard the Golden Apples. Of course, given this was a task for Heracles to atone for his slaying of his own family (after he was driven mad by Hera incidentally), the Golden Apples were eventually returned to the Hesperides by Athena. Also, a brief side note here is that Apples are sacred to Aphrodite, as well as Hera and the Hesperides, due to her winning the Golden Apple of Discord during the Judgement of Paris, leading to the Trojan War.
Now, clearly, we have the image of the Hesperides as Divine Female Guardians of Sacred Fruit and Sacred Items. This can easily relate to other figures associated with Sacred Fruit, Apples in particular. In Norse mythology, Idunn was the fertility Goddess who tended the Golden Apples of Immortality, which were the Sacred Fruit that allowed the Norse Gods to have eternal life! Interestingly, it is uncertain whether or not the fruit was originally Apples in the Norse myth. Scholars note that due to the Christianization of the Norse myths compiled by Christian clerics, it may have been changed to align with the belief that the Biblical fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was, in fact, an Apple, even though that is disputed now also as originally the Biblical fruit was not named and some think it was a quince. Others think that the Golden Apples being the Fruit of Immortality in Norse myth was in fact tied directly to the earlier written tales featuring the Hesperides, bringing this full circle.
Finally, I will be finishing the last part of this post by discussing the most important Apple Maidens, Priestesses, and Goddesses, in my spiritual path. Obviously, I could not have an Apple-centered post without discussing Avalon and Morgana and the Ninefold Sisterhood! While Avalon is known to have all the necessary crops grown without the need to be tended, so maybe they aren’t tending the Apples in the traditional way the other Goddesses discussed above are, yet the Orchards of Avalon are very important to the Blessed Isle. I believe the Ninefold Sisterhood to be Apple-tenders in the most spiritual ways, they protect the Isle of Avalon from those who could possibly harm Avalon by keeping the Isle shrouded by Mists, which they part for those who seek the wisdom and healing of this Sacred Isle with pure intent! The Ninefold Sisterhood of Avalon is often associated with Silver Apples, with the Sisterhood of Avalon tradition stating that the Silver Branch which is hung with nine silver apple-shaped bells, is what is rung to call forth the Barge of Avalon during meditative journeys. In any Avalonian tradition Apples are a central aspect of connection with Avalon and Avalonian Goddesses, as Avalon’s very name is often translated to mean ‘Isle of Apples’, derived from the Welsh name of Avalon, Ynys Afallon which means literally ‘Isle of Apples’ in English. The fact that the Ninefold Sisterhood are so known as healers and are incredibly skilled with herbalism, astronomy, music, shape-shifting, science, and mathematics is in line with the fact that Apples are often seen as the Fruit of Immortality and Knowledge (as stated above in the paragraph discussing Idunn). I also do tend to have a personal association with Golden Apples and Avalon, but that is mostly personal gnosis, as I often encounter Golden Apples during my meditation journeys to Avalon! I think that perfectly ties this discussion of Sacred Apple-associated Goddesses into a neat bow.
I hope that you have enjoyed this look as Divine Feminine Apple-tenders. What is your favorite aspect of Apple-tending Goddesses? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely Apple artwork. I found the image on https://www.etsy.com/listing/952432315/apple-tree-tree-of-life-tree-wisdom.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Hesperides.html
- https://www.worldhistory.org/Idunn/#
- Avalon Within by Jhenah Telyndru
- Grail Alchemy by Mara Freeman
- Priestess of Avalon Priestess of the Goddess by Kathy Jones
- Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
White Rose of Avalon 