Small Burgundy Ceramic Pomegranate

Pomegranates have diverse cultural-religious significance, as a symbol of life and fertility owing to their many seeds but also as a symbol of power (imperial orb), blood and death. Pomegranates already symbolised fertility, beauty and eternal life, in Greek and Persian mythology. The seeds inspired the secret rites of the Eleusinian mystery schools in Greece, circa 1500 BCE. These initiatory rites were based on the Greek mythology of Demeter and her daughter Persephone (Kore/kernel).

 

Arount 1000 BCE King Solomon,  oversaw the construction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. He placed two pillars Boaz and Jachim at the entrance to the temple, each was engraved with two-hundred pomegranates, to symbolize our duality and oneness.

In Judaism Pomegranates were named  “the fruit of the promised land” and “the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge”. Both symbolized the sacred and powerful wisdom of agriculture as well as the sacrifice and hard work it demands.

 

The deep red color of a pomegranate and its juice were associated with blood and the mysterious nature of the womb. The white flesh and inner kernel were associated with seeds and the mysterious nature of semen. A single pomegranate can hold between 200-1400 seeds.

In the Middle Ages, the resemblance between a pomegranate and an imperial orb made it a symbol of power, likely a relic of Ancient Germanic representations. 

To some Pomegranates are seen as an aphrodisiac and are an ingredient of many love potions.

 

Cooking the fruit yields a pitch-black ink. Pomegranate peel and juice have been used to dye carpets for centuries.

 

The pomegranate is a gift often given at weddings, and during the holidays for fertility and prosperity, health, protection and luck. 

 

There are far more references and lands that utilize this ancient symbol  to higher meanings.