Vine New Moon... Or is it Apple?
Maybe I’ll alternate between apple and blackberry each year, for now I'm sticking to apple.
The 10th moon cycle of the year according to varying reports is either the Vine (which may include blackberry) or Apple lunar cycle and begins at 2.40am on Friday 15th September.
For the purposes of this month’s post I’m going to go with Apple, as it seems the most plausible to me for a number of reasons.
Namely because It’s a native tree that is heaving with fruit begging to be picked during the next month.
There are no native vines in Ireland, so I’m struck by the glaring fact that it would have been fairly inconceivable for our ancestors to name a moon cycle after a tree that they couldn’t see or use? (I’m open to being wrong about this, so if you know please enlighten me).
New moons are always a sign and time of re-birth and re-activation.
They’re the beginning of a new lunar cycle.
Celtic tree astrology and the Celtic tree Calendar are modern constructs, dreamed up by Robert Graves, a poet and mythologist - Thirteen trees, one for each lunar cycle in the year.
Where astrology believes the effect of each new moon takes on the characteristics of astrological transits also occurring at the same time and of the archetypal sign it’s placed in. The tree calendar was developed so that each moon cycle took on the characteristics and archetypes of the tree it was placed in.
Archetypes of planets, the cosmos and nature offer us reflections of consciousness, they reinforce our inter-connective totality to all known and unknown things.
Apple - Quert
RULER OF THE 10TH LUNAR MONTH
Element: Water
Ruling Planet: Venus
Energy: Feminine
This moon encourages us to consolidate and find wholeness, to be of service to the whole, starting from exactly where we’re at. This may mean sacrificing things to find the sacred. Once we’re able to act with a will towards wholeness, old patterns crumble, freeing us from rigid structures that may hold us back.
Apple Tree Moon Energy:
Trust
Love
Health
Sensuality
Faith
Generosity
Gratitude
Apples and mythology
In various mythologies and folklore, apples hold a significant place as symbols of wisdom, temptation, and immortality. In Greek mythology, golden apples given to Hera as a wedding gift by Gaia, were considered to grant immortality.
Similarly, in Christian mythology, the apple plays a pivotal role in the story of Adam and Eve. It is believed that Eve was tempted by a snake to eat the forbidden fruit, most commonly depicted as an apple.
In other mythologies, apples are associated with various themes and meanings. In Norse mythology, the gods were said to eat golden apples to maintain their eternal youth and immortality.
In Celtic mythology apples hold a sacred place as they are believed to be symbols of rebirth and renewal.
Apples in society
The connection between humans and apple trees has existed for centuries. The Common Apple or Wild Apple is native to Europe and Western Asia. Evidence of preserved apple slices on saucers have been discovered in ancient tombs dating back over 5,000 years. Both the Greeks and Romans cultivated apple trees within their empires, recognizing their medicinal properties.
Pliny documented that there were approximately 22 different types of apple trees worldwide during his time, but today it is estimated that there are over 2,000 varieties.
The wild crab apple is the only apple that would have originally been indigenous to Ireland - Which is in the same family as Rose.
Lessons of the Apple -
The dark aspects of the feminine are coming to light, this energy can become angry and vengeful at the sight of injustice and foolishness, it’s important to keep it in check.
Stay balanced (especially around the equinox) and use this sacred energy to put to good use. It’s impossible to ignore the truth with this lunar phase. Be mindful to think about what you’re going to say before you actually open your mouth, and when you do, speak only the truth.
Pleasure as well as anger both need to be balanced, try not to let one or the other spiral out of control. If you can do this, it can be a time for luscious re-birth and a sense of wholeness…
Sometimes we know what we choose in life is NOT what we truly NEED. Try to be wise enough to know the difference.
The Autumn Equinox occurs during this lunar cycle on the 22nd September, the day the moon is Waxing Half. The equinox often signifies a change in the air, decay begins to set in and nature turns inwards, lowly and quiet. We too flow through these changes, between action and stillness at this liminal time of possibility and hope.
New Moon Cocktail Club (NMCC)
For those who subscribe to the NMCC see below for your recipe… and for those who don’t, you can subscribe here if you’d like to receive a new moon mixer to your door each month.
This Month’s New Moon Mixer - Wild Rose
Rose; (Rosa spp., Rosaceae).
Energetics of Rose - Roses are the gateway to the heart and are especially good for softening and opening the heart space. They’re like a whimsical, yet solid ally, so soft to the touch, gentle and intoxicating, yet firm and steady, thorny and evocative - A perfect paradox.
Rose is an exquisite teacher of love, of how to love oneself as well as all beings, with the added sense of honouring boundaries.
Apples are in the Rose family.
Apple & Sage Infused Gin, Wild Yarrow and Rose Cocktail
An ode to the end of summer in a glass.
50ml of apple and sage infused gin (infuse gin for three days with dried apple rings-the folkloric method is to use just enough Gin to cover the amount of apple, put in the sage one day before using - six leaves per 350ml. Then strain)
25ml of Wild Rose New Moon Mixer
Drop of Apple Cider Vinegar (if you can infuse some with Rose petals beforehand for about 30mins all the better)
Yarrow Flower
Directions:
Pour Gin and Wild Rose mixer into a mixing glass. Add a few yarrow flowers and vinegar and muddle, add ice and shake very well. Fine strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a yarrow flower or apple ring.
For an alcohol free version use the same recipe but switch the Gin for Yarrow tea and add an additional 15ml of fresh apple juice.
