Mindful Living with Nature Symbols: Fruit
Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash
We’ve noticed that our community tends to be really drawn to symbolism, and we often get questions about feng shui and symbols. One reason that working with symbols tends to be so popular is that they give us tangible images for concepts that are often hard to put into words. We especially love working with nature symbols that allow us to develop a deeper connection with the natural world around us. In this post, we’re exploring the symbolism behind fruit and how you can work with fruit symbols in your home and feng shui.
How to work with symbols
First, notice if there are certain images that tend to show up for you over and over again, or certain visuals that you’re often drawn to. When you experience a pattern like this, get curious about what it could mean for you. Is there a meaning behind this symbol that feels significant to you? Does it tend to show up for you at certain times, or when you’re feeling a certain way? It can also be fun to pay attention to which images you notice on significant days, like equinoxes, full moons, or birthdays. Additionally, you can intentionally bring certain symbols into your home and life when you want to connect with the type of energy they represent.
What does fruit symbolize in feng shui?
In general, fruit is connected with the abundance of the natural world. Trees represent the wood element in feng shui, which has to do with growth, and fruit trees in particular represent abundant growth. Just think of a healthy apple tree, full of fruits to pick and share.
Specific fruits have additional layers of meaning, and we’ve gone through a few of our favorites and what they symbolize below. We also encourage you to explore symbols and meanings from your own heritage and upbringing!
Calabash
Also known as bottle gourd, calabash is related to protection, long life, and healing. This type of gourd has two bulbs on either end connected by a narrower section, almost like a balloon squeezed in the middle or a bottle. In ancient Asia, calabash was often dried and hollowed out to store medicines. You can bring real dried bottle gourds into your home, and it’s also easy to find this shape in vases, jewelry, and art. In feng shui, this is a popular shape to place near the front door to provide protection for the home. It’s said that any challenging energy coming into the home, especially through the front door, is transmuted inside the calabash.
Apple
In Chinese, the word for apple is a homonym for peace. In Asian culture, apples are synonymous with peace, harmony, wellness, and wishing others well. In Western culture, they’re associated with health and wellbeing. You might remember the old adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and maybe you’ve given an apple to a teacher as a gift. If you want to use apples in your feng shui, you can place a bowl of apples in your living room to welcome harmony and friendship. Red is an auspicious and protective apple color, while green has a deeper connection to wood qi, and gold apples are related to wellness and abundance.
Grape
Grapes are a symbol of ripe, bountiful harvest. Red and purple grapes are especially connected to the feeling of prosperity and celebration because purple is the color of the abundance area of the feng shui bagua. In the Tarot, grapes symbolize material wealth and abundance as well. You can invite this abundance that grapes represent into your home strategically by displaying fresh grapes or adding images of grapes or vineyards in your kitchen or dining room. You can also work with green grapes, which have more of a connection to growth, activity, and family.
Peach
Peaches represent youth, charm, and romance. This comes from the idea of “peach blossom luck”; when someone has peach blossom luck, they are attractive, charming, and magnetic. In China, peaches are also a symbol of long life because in the legend of the Queen Mother of the West, there are magical peach trees that are believed to bestow immortality upon anyone who eats them. We often recommend the color peach for the bedroom when someone is searching for a partner, and you can use images of peaches for this purpose as well. Be sure to set a clear intention as you’re incorporating peach into your home; if you’re happy with your relationship status and are instead using peach as a symbol for longevity and wellbeing, you’ll want to focus on that rather than attracting a new partner!
Olive
Olives are an ancient symbol of peace and friendship, and they also represent prosperity and wellbeing. Olives are the foundation of many agrarian cultures in the Mediterranean and Middle East, and olive trees are very resilient in hot, dry climates. This is also where we get olive oil, a very precious oil that can be used for many purposes. Incorporating table linens with images of olives are a great way to welcome peace and friendship into your home using this symbol.
Lemon
Lemons are sour and astringent, both qualities that revitalize our qi. Lemons, as well as other citrus fruits, are refreshing, uplifting, and cleansing. The yellow color of lemons is also connected to the sun. To work with lemon as a symbol in your home, you can add a bowl of lemons in the center of your home or in the center of a room. The center of the feng shui bagua, which is connected to the color yellow, represents health, wellbeing, and harmony. You can also add a feng shui twist to this by placing an auspicious number of lemons in the bowl, like five or nine. Five represents the five elements that we work with in feng shui, while nine is the number of completion. Additionally, you can add lemon peels to your homemade cleaning products to bring in the physical cleansing properties and scent of lemon, as well as the energetic qualities that lemon represents.
If you want to learn about more feng shui fruit symbols, be sure to check out our book Mindful Living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui!