Some For Me And Some For My Fey......A HedgeWitchy Harvest

[Harobed Fidnuc]

Today I picked the last of the years Pomegranates .These tough skinned fruit are always the last crop for me.They never ripened until cold hits them and I have to nab them quickly or the critters will get them.When fully ripe the tough skin will split open to reveal the blood red seeds inside.

After I gathered the last of my harvest I stopped and picked up some that had been blown from the bush and broken.These are bounty for my Birds and of course for the Fey.I broke them open further and out by the Fey Lodge they went in an old colander .Come spring any seeds that are left I'll plant for more shrubs ;)

The word pomegranate comes from the Latin "Pomum Granatum" and means "apple of many seeds." The wild pomegranate predates modern human civilization. The cultivated pomegranate appeared over 4000 years ago.
It is believed that the fruit spread from the mountains of Persia and South Central Asia.
The Phoenecians spread it within the Mediterranean region.
It arrirved in China from Central Asia in about the second century B.C..
Homer mentions it in the Odyssey and Theophrastus described the pomegranate in his "Natural History" written
many years before the Christian era.
Ancient Persians painted pomegranates on their shields for protection in battle.The third symbol for Hera is
the pomegranate which she shares with Persephone. She is often depicted holding the pomegranate but there is
no reference in her myths to its significant.
It was pomegranate that seduced Persephone, the goddess of fertility, into marrying her kidnapper, Hades, god of the
underworld.
Given as a gift Pomegranate may bestow abundance and wishes for the fertility of the creative spark.
It is customary to eat three seeds on Samhain (Halloween) in remembrance of Persephones journey; eating more
than that brings hardship into the coming year.

Another tradition stems from the Middle East where the fruit symbolizes wealth and fertility. Here the custom
is to eat as much as possible in order to bring prosperity into the life.

In the Egyptian legend of Ra and Hathor, Sekhmet was released by Ra to slay humans who were plotting against him.
Made intoxicated by blood lust, she would have destroyed all of mankind if Ra had not taken pity on us.
He tricked her by dyeing beer blood-red with pomegranate juice which she drank believing it to be human blood,
and became drunk. She soon forgot her anger and we were saved from destruction

Pomegranate juice symbolizes the menstrual or wise blood of the goddess; to drink it is to gain her wisdom.
Carry a dried piece of the outer skin or add it to spells for conception.

All the parts of the pomegranate tree – from roots to the reddish brown bark to leaves, flowers, peel and seeds
all are hailed for their medicinal properties for thousands of years.
There have been many findings that suggest that the fruit can be very beneficial for the traditional folk remedies
to cure sore throats, rheumatism, and inflammation. It can also prevent a great variety of complex situations, such as
cancer and heart disease.
The sweet kinds of pomegranate are believed to be a good laxative. The others, who are between both the sweet and sour
varieties, are considered more medicinally valuable.

Apart from the fruit, the juice made from the fresh fruit is an outstanding beverage. It will alleviate thirst in the
case of fever or sickness .It also tones up the functions of the liver, heart, and kidneys and gives the body all its
necessary minerals.

Associations: Hera, Kishimo-jin, Persephone,Astarte, Sekhmet Aphrodite,Adonis, or Saturn.
Symbolism: Blood, Journey into the underworld
Brings: Prosperity, protection, fertility, conception, wisdom