Well, research is minimal on the mythological implications of acorns. I'll share what I've learned, but I think I'm going to need to draw from my personal creativity to flesh out this symbol. I'll explore that after I report the research results.
1. Biological facts - Acorns are the seeds of Oak Trees.
[Check! My inner science teacher is coming out. I couldn't resist the opportunity to make a diagram. If anyone is interested in it, you are welcome to copy and use it.]
2. Ecological facts – Acorns feed
many animals, including :
Squirrels, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers,
Bears, Deer, Pigs. [Check!]
3. Economic facts – Acorns are used
as a food source by people all over the world, but the amount of work
to remove the tannin to increase the digestibility makes it a less
than optimal food source. Though, according to one website, the use
of acorns as a food source increases during economically hard times.
Acorns have been and still remain a traditional staple food for some
Native American tribes, the California Miwok tribe especially.
[I didn't know acorns were still
regularly used as a staple. I hope that the use of acorns as a food
source by some Native Americans is a free choice to embrace tradition
and not an indication of the economic conditions of those Native
Americans. But I fear, it's probably a little bit of both, at least
for some.] For more information on using acorns as
food check out the website
www.eattheweeds.com/acorns-the-inside-story
[I should decorate more with acorns.]
b. Acorns have been a wonderful symbol
of the power of plants, trees, seeds and forests for many people.
Here's some quotes:
tree without
planting an acorn.
5. Mythological facts – a. Acorns are
believed by some to protect from lightening if put on a window sill
(or hung from curtain ties).
[This is probably a throw back to Norse
and Greek mythology. Oak Trees are sacred to the gods of thunder,
Thor and Zeus. I would guess that is related to Oak Trees being tall
and probably being often struck by lightening and surviving.]
b. Acorns are also believed by some to
keep a person young if carried in a pocket.
[That must be why Peter Pan carries an
acorn to give to Wendy as a kiss! I wonder how hard it would be to
attach an acorn onto my key chain. Then it could go in my pocket and
still be very practical. I need to work more acorns into my life.]
c. Oak Trees are believed to protect
from illness.
[Fascinating, youth and protection.]
6. Personal Creativity -Okay, now onto some of my creative thoughts about acorns:
a. Let's start with a digital drawing I made of an acorn for a story.
b. Here's the beginning of a poem I wrote that includes acorns.
Norns
By K.C. Beck ‘06
By the black twig of hawthorn,
By the empty husk of acorn,
By the ground up goat’s horn,
The people will mourn,
A veil will be worn,A widow forlorn...
c. Here's excerpts from a play I adapted from J.M. Barrie's book, Peter Pan. This is part of Act 2, Scene 2, where Wendy has asked Peter to give her a kiss and has extended her cheek toward him to receive it:
(Peter moves away from Wendy as if she were crowding him, pulls off an acorn
button and drops it into her hand, she looks surprised and slowly returns her face to
where it had been before.)
Wendy - (Nicely.) I will wear your kiss on a chain around my neck. (Wendy strings
the acorn and puts it on. Formally.) Peter, how old are you?
Peter - (Uneasily.) I don't know. (Pause.) But I am quite young.
See the connection between acorns and youth? Here is an excerpt is from Act 4, Scene 3, where Wendy has been struck by an arrow while flying to Neverland and lies on the ground with the arrow sticking up:
Slightly - (Instantly.) The Wendy lady lives!
(Peter kneels beside her and finds his acorn on a chain round her neck. Shows it.)
Peter - The arrow struck this. See. It is the kiss I gave her. It has saved her life.
Slightly - (Quickly.) I remember kisses, let me see it. Ay, that's a kiss.
Peter - (Begging.) Wendy do get better quickly, so we can go see the mermaids.
And there's the connection between acorns and protection!
d. I'm not completely
sure, but I think acorns are going to play a role in one of the
chapters of my fantasy series I'm working on, The Sylfaen Tree Saga. That chapter hasn't
been written yet and is still percolating in my subconscious. We'll
see.
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What does the choice of
acorns for the first topic symbolize to me?
[Maybe my subconscious is trying to keep me young, or is afraid lightning will strike, or is saying my writing needs to be protected from illness.]
[Maybe my subconscious is trying to keep me young, or is afraid lightning will strike, or is saying my writing needs to be protected from illness.]
After spending all this time exploring
acorn's uses and meaning, I think the fact that my muses guided me to
acorns as my first topic symbolizes my desire for a good solid
beginning, a unity of purpose, a simple beauty that holds secrets and
great potential and a need for patience.
Next time, I'll share a book review of
a children's book that has a lot of acorns. Just a little more
whimsy, then I'll do a serious topic.
What does an acorn symbolize to you? Or
do you have any symbols that you have worked into your life? Please
share. I'd love to hear about them.
2 comments:
To me it symbolizes the power of information. Inside that little thing is the complete blueprint for a giant (as stated in your Emerson quote). I'm an engineer and I see beauty in efficiency and patterns. Inside an acorn is a program for making something (a tree) that can make more programs (acorns). Humans can't even take credit for the concept of computer programming. Nature already thought of it by using genetics a billion years ahead of us!
There's nothing new under the sun. We can't take credit for any of our ideas. They are all borrowed from what we see or sense. Sometimes we can put ideas together in a new way. That's about as original as we get.
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