Passionfruit Symbolism Facts & Literature: Astrology, Omens, Dreams, and Legends

I
Passionfruit Symbolism & Meaning

The passionfruit, along with its flower, has accumulated many symbolic meanings throughout the centuries. One of the main symbolic meanings is abundance because a single vine can yield ample amounts of fruits, and prosperity due to its vibrant color, sweet taste, and nutritional benefits.

With its many seeds, the passionfruit is often linked to fertility and vitality. The fruit’s vibrant colors also link it to passion and enthusiasm for life.

The vibrant fruit is often associated with love, attraction, longing, and desire between two lovers.

Passionfruit has been associated with health benefits and high nutritional value since ancient times, making it a symbol of health and well-being. It is linked to calmness and sleep because of its natural anxiety-reducing properties and ability to boost GABA levels to help the mind relax.

The passionfruit flower was originally named Flor de las cinco lagas or “flower of the five wounds” by Spanish conquistadors because of its resemblance to the image of Jesus’s crucifixion.

To Christians, the round shape of the passionfruit represents the world and the beings in it that Jesus saved through self-sacrifice. It has also been seen as a symbol of Lent because of the purple color of the fruit.

The Passionfruit Review is an online journal dedicated to the history of literature dealing with passion and love. The journal’s icon is a lineart of a whole passionfruit on the background and a halved in front.

Passion Fruit Partners is a company that partners with nonprofits to set up and maintain their Salesforce. Their emblem is a red lineart graphic of a halved passionfruit.

Passionfroot is a company that helps creatives with their branding and admin management. Their icon is an amorphized passionfruit with a face, arms, and legs.

II
Passionfruit Positive & Negative Symbolism

Many positive symbols surround the passionfruit, namely abundance, prosperity, well-being, health, attraction, desire, and relaxation.

One of its negative symbolism is that the Spanish colonists used the fruit and its flower as symbols of Christ to justify their colonization of South America and their subjugation of the native population.

III
Passionfruit Origin

The passionfruit and its many varieties originated in South America, specifically in the encompassing Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina.

The fruit lost its original name pre-colonization but it has been used by the natives in cuisine, ceremonies, and medicine since ancient times. It became wildly cultivated in sub-tropical climates in the Americas and eventually grew to have many varieties.

In 1553, the passionfruit was brought to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese from South America.

Since the 19th century, passionfruit has been introduced to the rest of the world and is thriving in tropical areas, especially in Hawaii and India.

Currently, passionfruit serves as an important crop for its delicious tart and aromatic flavor used in desserts. Passionfruits are important agricultural goods for leading cultivators like Australia, Hawaii, South Africa, and Israel.

IV
Passionfruit Cultural Symbolism

For natives of South America, the passionfruit has been cultivated for centuries becoming a staple of their diets. Indigenous cultures used the fruit to make traditional medicines to treat ailments like insomnia, epilepsy, and hysteria. Passionfruit and its many parts were also used by the native population to soothe pain.

Because of its long history with the Indigenous cultures in South America, passionfruit is incorporated into their traditional rituals, sacred ceremonies, Indigenous designs, and traditional storytelling.

For the Europeans, passionfruit is a delicious exotic fruit with a delicious taste, used to be served in desserts by those who can afford it, symbolizing their wealth. Passionfruit is also used in tinctures by Europeans to calm the nerves.

Around the world, passionfruit is known as a tart delicious exotic fruit used in treats and desserts such as tarts, jams, and icecream.

For Catholics, the passionfruit, or more specifically its flower, is a poignant symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with the flower’s many distinct parts symbolizing the different parts of Christ’s image on the cross. This made the passionfruit and its flower a sacred religious symbol to Catholics, with the flower often featured in religious artworks.

V
Passionfruit in Art and Literature

In art, the first official botanical sketch of the passionfruit was done by Dominican monk Simone Parlasca in 1609. Another sketch of the fruit and its flower is accomplished by Eugenio Petrelli the next year. Both sketches emphasize the amorphization of the parts of the flower into symbols of Christ’s crucifixion.

The English Victorian biologist and botanical artist, Marianne North, created the botanical painting titled Flower and Fruit of the Maricojas Passion Flower in 1873.

The Spanish painter, Juan van der Hamen, created the still life work titled Fruit in a Faience Dish in 1621 featuring passionfruits.

In literature, the popular Brazilian poet Catulo da Paixão Cearense wrote his poem The Passion Flower as an ode to the flower’s beauty.

In 1986, a collection of 13 short stories, edited by Jeanette Winterson, titled Passion Fruit: Romantic Fiction with a Twist was published.

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Passionfruit Favorite Fruit: Traits and Personality

If passionfruit is your favorite fruit, this could mean that you have an introverted personality and prefer to enjoy life in cozy quiet places. You love to relax in the comfort of your own home and others turn to you for a listening ear.

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Passionfruit in Astrology or Zodiac

Passionfruits are perfect for the zodiac sign Aries. Aries, a naturally passionate fire sign that loves competition and is extra pumped when there is a first place or reward to be won. Passionfruits will balance Aries’s fiery competitive nature and help them relax to and chill when needed.

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Passionfruit in Dreams

If you dream of a passionfruit, this could indicate that something significant may change or impact your spirituality. Another interpretation of passionfruit dreams is that someone’s fertility may play a huge role in your waking life.

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Passionfruit Omens and Superstitions

There are two contradicting Jamaican superstitions surrounding passionfruit. One group of Jamaican men will avoid eating yellow passionfruit with the belief that it will quell their manhood and libido, while another group also avoids the fruit but because of the belief that it will uncontrollably increase their libido.

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Passionfruit Legends, Mythology, and Folklore

An old forgotten Brazilian legend of the passionfruit says that the fruit grew from the tears of an unnamed woman who lost her husband, perhaps attributing the fruit’s resemblance to tears as it hangs on its vine.

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