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BEE
By CinnamonMoon

Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Fertility and the Honey of Life

Bees have been mythical symbols throughout the world. In Hinduism, depending upon how
depicted, the bee could relate to Vishnu, Krishna or even Kamma, the god of love. In Egypt it
denoted royalty. In Greece, it was used in the symbology of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the
Celts associated it with hidden wisdom. Probably the most significant and consistent symbolism
is that of sexuality and fertility, due primarily to its stinger and its part in pollination.

Bees are also long-time symbols for accomplishing the impossible. For many years, scientists
were unable to determine how bees were able to fly. Aerodynamically, the body was too large
for the wings. It has only been in more recent times that science determined that bees move their
wings at such a high rate of speed that it makes flight possible. Still, it remains to many as a
symbol of accomplishing quests that appeared to be impossible.

All bees are essentially "honey" bees. They gather and pollinate. Bees are often considered the
busiest and most useful of insects. Without them no flowers and many fruits would never
blossom. It occurs through the pollination. As the bees land upon one flower, collecting its
nectar, pollen also attaches itself to the leg fibers. it is then transferred to other flowers, creating
a fertilization process.

Pollination is just one productive process the bee participates in. it also furnishes food, i.e.
honey, and it also preys on other insects, helping to keep the insect population in balance. Bees
that build their homes in the ground help turn the soil, often much better than the earthworm
itself.

If a bee has shown up in your life, examine your own productivity. Are you doing all you can to
make your life more fertile? Are you busy enough? Are you taking time to savor the honey of
your endeavors or are you being a workaholic? Are you attempting to do too much? Are you
keeping your desires in check so they can be more productive?

The legs of bees are one of their most sensitive organs. A bee actually tastes through its legs. It is
able to determine if there is nectar in the flower it lands upon. Are you taking time to enjoy the
labors and activities you involve yourself in? the bee helps remind us that activities are more
productive and sweeter if we take time to enjoy them.

The stinger is often seen as a phallic symbol. Most bees only sting once. There is a barb attached
to the stinger, which pulls the stinger off when used. The queen can sting more than once, but it
only fights when another queen is born.

Most bees have organized communities. This is most evident in the bumble-bee family. There
are the queen, drones, and the workers. The first brood the queen lays becomes the workers, and
they take over the building and maintenance of the nest. Bees, like ants, are excellent builders.
The honeycombs are constructed in a six-sided shape, called a hexagon. This geometric shape
has had long mystical significance associated with it. It is a symbol of the heart and the
sweetness of life found within our own hearts. It is a symbol of the sun and all the energies
associated with it.

The bee is a reminder to extract the honey of life and to make our lives fertile while the sun
shines. The bee reminds us that no matter how great the dream there is the promise of fulfillment
if we pursue it. The elixir of life is as sweet as honey, and the bee is a symbol that promises us
that the opportunity to drink of it is ours if we but pursue our dreams.

*Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Characterizes industrious and cooperative teamwork. Beehive means the center or focus of
activity; main interest or point of attention. Beekeeper characterizes hidden agendas; an
individual who wants something in return; one who takes and takes. Beeline means a straight
course; shortest and most direct route.

*D.J. Conway/Animal Magick:
The word bee is applied to about 20 families of the Hymenoptera. The term is usually associated
with the making of honey. The honeybee builds wax cones in which it stores honey and raises its
young. It is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa and has been introduced into the Western
Hemisphere. However, there are other bees in Asia and Australia. The bumblebee, a large be
which will bore into wood to build a nest, is a familiar insect in many parts of the world.
The Italian honeybee is gentle in temperament and is now the most widely used in the United
States. It ranges from dark to golden in color. There are three castes in each bee colony: the
queen, the workers, and the drones.

In the early part of the Egyptian civilization, the symbol for royalty in Lower Egypt meant "he
who belongs to the bee." Bees were called the tears of the Sun god Ra, and represented birth,
death, and resurrection.

Honey was one of the few preservatives know to the ancient cultures. In religious rites honey
was used as a symbol of preservation after death. The Finnish Kalevala tells how Lemminkainen
was restored to life by magic honey from Mehilainen, the Bee.

The Hindu gods Vishnu, Krishna, and Indra are called madhava, the "nectar-born ones," in the
Rig Veda. Vishnu is often symbolized by a blue bee siting on a lotus, while Krishna has a blue
bee on his forehead.

In Minoan Crete the bee and the bull had similar mystical meanings. Seals and gemstones often
showed a bee on one side and a bull on the other. An onyx gem was found in Knossos which
shows the Goddess with the head and eyes of a bee and on her head double bull horns with a
labyrs between them.

The sacredness of the bee has a long history in Greece. Aristotle, Pliny, and others wrote that
good souls could come back as bees. To the Greeks, the bee symbolized industry, prosperity,
purity, and immortality. The writer Prophyry said that bees were the souls of Aphrodite's
priestesses (nymphs); this was considered to be especially true of those who served her temple at
Eryx where a golden honeycomb was her symbol.

Bees were lunar creatures when connected with the goddesses Demeter, Cybele, Artemis/Diana,
and Rhea. With the goddess Demeter as the Queen Bee, her priestesses were called Melissae, or
the Bees. The name Melissa was once the title of a priestess of the Great Mother. some records
list the priestess at Delphi as the Delphic Bee. Even in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were in
honor of Demeter, the officials were known as Bees. The title, Melissae, on occasion carried
over to the priestesses of Apollo, probably because bees were said to have erected some of the
temples at Delphi.

These insects are shown on statues of Artemis. In the Ephesian temple of Artemis, this title was
also used for the priestesses, while the eunuch priests were called essences (drones, King Bees),
according to the ancient writer, Pausanias.

The Greek myths tell how both Zeus and Dionysus were fed by bees when they were babies.
Legend says that Dionysus made the first hives and introduced the use of honey to the people; he
was offered honey-cakes at his shrines. Both Pan and Priapus were gods who protected and kept
bees.

To see a swarm of bees in China was considered lucky. to the Romans, however, a swarm meant
misfortune, defeat in battle, or death. The Koran says that bees symbolize wisdom, harmlessness,
and the faithful. In the Celtic cultures, bees were said to have a secret wisdom that came directly
from the Otherworlds. Even the Aztecs made reference to a Bee God.

Superstitions: Bee venom, now used in the form of a cream, is a very ancient remedy for joint
diseases, such as arthritis. Celtic country folk still say that you must tell the bees if someone in
the family dies, or they will fly away. The same applies to marriage. If a bee flies into the house,
a stranger is coming. Stolen bees will not thrive, but die. In Wales, to give a hive to someone will
bring good luck, but they will not sell bees. However, it is permissible to barter for a hive.
Supposedly bees hum loudly on Christmas Eve. It is considered to be unlucky to kill a bee
because they are called the Little Servants of God; this designation of the bee as a "servant"
originated with the Goddess religions. A bee flying into your house means a visitor is coming.
Supposedly, any girl who is a virgin can pass through a swarm of bees without getting stung. The
saying "busy as a bee" refers to this insect's constant movement and owrk when the weather is
good. Medieval scholars believed that bees were born from the dead bodies of cows and calves.
These blood maggots were said to be the early stages of the bee. They also believed that bees
were ruled by kings.

Magickal attributes: Concentration necessary to carry out a task. Planning and saving for the
future. Prosperity. Astral traveling to the realm of the Goddess to better understand the cycle of
reincarnation. Talking to a deceased person. Helping an Earth-bound spirit move on to its proper
place.

*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
A Bee is a messenger with news about sex. If you see a Bee fly close by or in your house, then
you know what is on the person's mind who came to visit. Bees can be used for fertility,
protection, and love power. Yellow Jackets, Hornets, Wasps, and simiilar types of bugs are bad
signs and signal that a challenge or nuisance is up ahead. For example, I was at a female friend's
house visiting and trying to provide her with spiritual counseling. A Yellow Jacket flew into the
house and tried to sting or bite me. I told her it was a sign that somebody was coming who didn't
like me, and they would act mean toward me. As it turned out, a male friend of hers came over
and kept trying to provoke an argument. It was obvious he was jealous and overprotective.

*Patricia Telesco/The Language of Dreams:
Stinging you: An unpleasant experience that literally left a "stinger" behind, often of an
emotional nature.
At the hive: Community and socialization; knowing your place and function within a specific
group; harmonious teamwork.
Flying from flower to flower: Gathering life's nectar, enjoying sweetness wherever it may be
found. Alternatively, a fickle nature.
Buzzing: A message; the ancients felt that bees carried missives direct from the gods themselves.
The priestesses of Delphi were called "Melissae," which means bees, and they were often given
honey cakes as an offering in payment for their visionary talents.
Hornet's nest: Trouble was just waiting to happen. Don't aggravate this situation or you will get stung.
In China, dreaming of a bee swarm is a lucky omen.
A ghostly visitor. Both Pliny and Aristotle believed that good souls could reincarnate as a bee.
The spirit of the Muse. In Greece, eloquent people were believed to have been touched on the
lips by the Birds of the Muses (bees), including Sophocles, Plato, and Virgil.
Flying down a chimney--omen of death of figurative or literal nature.
In medieval Bestiaries, an emblem of honor.
In the Koran, the symbol of faithfulness, intelligence, and wisdom.
Folkloric: A portent of forthcoming profits, especially in your trade.
Queen bees represent the ancient Mother Goddess, and as such can symbolize your own mother,
your maternal instincts, or your feminine nature.

*Zolar/Encyclopedia of Signs, Omens, and Superstitions:
Due to the common habit among country folk of keeping bees for their honey, a number of
superstitions are found about bees. One must tell the bees if a member of the family dies or
marries, or the bees will leave their hives and not return. Should the head of the house die, the
hives should be turned around at the moment the corpse is taken for the funeral. Bees that are
stolen will never thrive, but will themselves pine away and die. It is unlucky for a stray swarm of
bees to alight in your premises. Likewise, should the bees swarm on a dead hedge or tree, a death
will most surely happen in the family. Before moving the hive, bees should be told by the owner,
or they will sting him, and bees should never be moved on Good Friday or they will die.

When many bees enter the hive and none leave, rain will soon come. Legend holds that bees first
appeared in the Garden of Eden, and thus are called by some the "little servants of God".
Bees should never be sold, but rather bartered or traded. Giving a hive to someone provides them
with honey and also good luck. Should a bee fly into your house, expect a visitor to arrive soon.
Bees seen flying around a sleeping child indicate a happy life for the shield, but should a bee die
in your house, expect bad luck, and killing a bee will always bring several years of it. A bee
landing on your hand indicates money to come, and if it settles on your head, expect future fame.
Any girl who is a virgin can pass safely through a swarm of bees without being stung. For
Christianity, the bee became a symbol of virtue and chastity. Indeed bees are alleged to make a
loud humming noise in their hives at midnight on Christmas Eve in celebration of the Christ
Child, and legend has it that bees sprang from the tears shed by Christ on the cross.

Bees remaining strangely idle for a long period of time are said to indicate that war is coming.
Mississippi blacks believe that, should one dream of a swarm of bees alighting a building,
misfortune is certain to come. Dead bees burned to ashes and sprinkled in the shoes are said to
cure flat feet. One believe (not to be counted on, however) is that holding your breath or
clenching your fist (or producing some other tension) will keep the bees from stinging. The
belief that the sting of a bee is a cure for rheumatism exists in many cultures.

In ancient days in Britain, bees were known as "birds of God." In Germany they were known as
"Mars birds." The Greeks consecrated bees to the moon. Plato's "Doctrine of Transmigration of
Souls" held that the souls of sober, quiet people, who are unexposed to philosophy, come to life
as bees. Paramount is the belief that the bee is the soul of one departed. During the Inquisition, it
was believed that a sorceress could eat a queen bee before becoming captured, and would then be
able to sustain torture without confessing.

*Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs:
In ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the bee was associated with the royal social order, probably
because it represented industry, production, and cooperation. In Greece, bees symbolized work
and productivity. To the Oracle at Delphi, bees symbolized souls because they swarmed together
and it was though that souls traveled together in a swarm-like manner. In the Romanesque period
in Europe, bees were symbols of diligence. This might be a sign to be more industrious in your
life. Perhaps you are feeling stung by some circumstance or remark? Just be!

*Lady Stearn Robinson & Tom Gorbett/The Dreamer's Dictionary:
Beehive: Dignity, honor and wealth are signified by a dream of a beehive, unless it was empty, in
which case financial difficulties are forecast.
Bees: These busy creatures are a forerunner of great good fortune in business matters, even if
they stung you. However, if they were dead, listless, or you killed them, you could suffer a loss
by putting too much trust in "friends". If you heard the bees buzzing, expect good news.
Beeswax: Beeswax in a dream represents love affairs, so the interpretation must be made from
the other elements involved; i.e., how the material was used.

*Wordsworth/Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
Bee: Legend has it that Jupiter was nourished by bees, similarly Pindar was nourished by bees
with honey (instead of milk). The Greeks consecrated bees to the Moon. With the romans a flight
of bees was considered a bad omen. Appain (Civil War, Bk. II) says a swarm of bees lighted on
the altar and prognosticated the fatal issue of the battle of Pharsalia.
The name bee is given, particularly in America, to a social gathering for some useful ccwork.
Sewing-bee, spelling-bee etc.
Bee-line: The shortest distance between two given points such as a bee is suppposed to take in
making for its hive.
To have your head full of bees, or to have a bee in your bonnet: To be cranky; to have an
idiosyncrasy; to be full of devices, crotchets, fancies, inventions and dreamy theories. The
connexion between bees and the soul was once generally maintained: hence Mohammed admits
bees to Paradise. Porphyry says of fountains "they are adapted to the Nymphs or those souls
which the ancients called bees."

*The name Deborah/Debra means Bee, and one who enjoys the finer things in life.

WhyteFox:
Bee Medicine came to me shortly after I moved to my apartment last year. A Wasp found her
way into my kitchen and wandered about my tiled window ledge above my sink and countertop.
In the mornings she would be there atop the coffeemaker or toaster or sitting on the sink faucet.
We talked as I would take a paper towel and shift her to another location. I tried many times to
free her to the outside, opening the screens and encouraging her to fly away to where I thought
she should be. She wouldn't leave. I came to understand that she was there for me, but it made
me so sad to see her parted from her people. She was there for at least a month. I enjoyed her
company, but was confused as to what her message for me was. One day she just wasn't there
anymore. I searched my ledge and counter for her, but couldn't find her.

This was when I was new to my job and my relationships with my co-worker and the women that
came in and out of the church where I work. I hadn't had a group of female friends for a very
long time. I new that Wasp's message had to do with that female energy and how I needed to
incorporate it into my life once again. I had discussed it with her...lamenting about how
uncomfortable I felt amidst a group of women again. I've written posts regarding this. *S*
About a week ago I was cleaning the ledge once again and decided the decorative pewter
creamer and sugar that I had sitting there needed a good washing, not just a lick and a promise. I
lifted the lid of the sugar bowl and there she was...her brittle crumpled form in the bottom of the
bowl. Don't know how I'd missed it before. I stood there gazing at her, tears running down my
face. How she managed to get in there was beyond me.

The message came in a shot. I need that female energy, no matter how uncomfortable it makes
me, and the women with whom I associate need mine as well. If I keep myself from it, hide and
don't fly out into it, I'll wind up just as crumpled and brittle as the sad little form in the sugar
bowl.

I'm so thankful for my Wasp friend. I pray I keep conscious of her message for me.

CinnamonMoon:
What a special lesson, WhyteFox. Bee's don't live long to begin with (unless it's a queen) so she
may have come to teach you knowing it would be her way of departure. That's why she stayed
with you. Sometimes lessons we receive leave us puzzled for awhile and then it hits home at a
very crucial point. It's timed to perfection.

FriendToAnimals:
What a special lesson, WhyteFox. Bee's don't live long to begin with (unless it's a queen) so she
may have come to teach you knowing it would be her way of departure. That's why she stayed
with you. Sometimes lessons we receive leave us puzzled for awhile and then it hits home at a
very crucial point. It's timed to perfection.

CinnamonMoon:
What does it *feel* like to you? Ultimately it's what you get out of it. What direction does the
Bee fly from and to? If it's just looking at you do you feel it is watching or wanting to say
something? Are you concentrating on something that Bee can help lend it's support to? Is there
warrior energy rising in you to fight for a cause? Are you working within the arena of death of
earthbound spirits? What is your focus at the time? These and other questions like them will help
you see into this more.

2CrowWoman:
What lovely stories.
In my family the belief was a bee in the house before midday was good news coming and after
midday - bad news coming. In the end we started noticing that for us it seemed that a bee in the
hiuse ANY time was good news only so we just stuck with that.

My dad's dad used to work with bees and hives. He'd help to take away swarming bees too. He
rarely wore protection as bees rarely stung him. He always used to tell my dad that there are
some people bees just like and some they don't.

I seem to be someone they like as I've never been stung even though I've picked up bees and
often had them land on me and walk about on my arms and head. This was in Africa so I can
vouch African bees aren't always mean mad "killer bees".

Now here in Scotland I haven't had any bee encounters, but I've got to know the gorgeous
bumble bees. I love them, they're so fluffy and cute. We had carpenter bees in our yard when I
was a kid. They were a lot like bumble bees, but all black. They totally destroyed our wooden
gate drilling their little homes into it, but my parents felt it was nicer to have a "bee hotel" than a
gate. We'd sit outside and watch them bustling about. There were always these new little piles of
sawdust under the gate every week to be swept away. Because we didn't like disturbing them we
had to use the side gate most of the time we lived in that house.

CinnamonMoon:
Awwwwwwww what a nice childhood memory! My mother hated bees, and when I was about 4
there was a dump across the street from where we were living. Lots of wildflowers grew there
and I took a jar with me filling it up with those adorable bumble bees. I must have had dozens of
them. Very proud of myself and wanting to do something nice for my mother I brought the jar
(lidded of course) home and presented it as a gift. My mother screamed like a mad woman and
promptly sent me to my room to be punished for that intrusion. Talk about a backfire! LOL.
The bees didn't sting me, and we'd been playing together all afternoon, but I got stung in a
different way. I've always loved them. The only occasions I've been stung were when I stepped
on one, or had one land on me and didn't notice so I moved (like it sitting in the crook of my
elbow and moving my arm in a way to pinch it). So those incidents were the only ones that
brought the stings and always my own fault. I think if you treat bees with respect they return it.

2CrowWoman:
My mom's scared of spiders and I can just imagine what she would have done if I'd come home
with a jar of them for her. I think you've hit it on the head. You respect bees and they sense it as
in that they also seem to react worse to people who fear/dislike them and some (including my
granddad) say this is related to smell. They can smell the fear or negative emotions, I think. So a
person who likes them is going to smell "good". Of course being stood on or accidentally
squished could make even the kindest bee person resort to stinging.

FriendToAnimals:
Cinnamon -
Today up at Ohiopyle State Park, where we took the mom's for their day out, after lunch. While I
was standing on one of the lower decks near the falls and just enjoying the mountain breezes, the
scenery & the sound of the falls. A large bee, it appeared as twice the size in length as the one
who appeared at the kitchen window.

The other people on the deck were all being scared away by this large bee, except for me. This
bee was hanging around me, zoomed around my head a couple of times & since I wasn't afraid of
it & just began talking to it. The bee finally flew away after about 10 minutes.

But this tells me that the Bee Spirit is definitely trying to get my attention. As to which direction
the bee flew from & to, at the falls; I would actually have to look at a map of that area. As to
what I was feeling at the falls, was serene calmness. I love the mountains & I love water!!
As for the bee which appeared twice at the back porch; which faces south. But as to which
direction he flew, once leaving the window, that I do not know. As I can never find him once I
go out onto the porch. So this coming friday, I am going to stay out on the porch for a couple
hours, after getting home from work. Then I will be able to see from which direction this large
bee comes from & flies to. Now, I know that just because this bee appeared these past 2 fridays,
does not mean that he will come by this friday. But I will not know until this friday evening the
15th, which will be Armed Forces Day.

Both the bee at the falls & the bee which appeared at the porch window. I felt both bees are
wanting to tell me something. I will have to ask Spirit tonight before sleep as to what he wants
me to know.

Also I will have to re-read a few times the article's you have above regarding bees and bee
medicine. Thank you.

CinnamonMoon:
You're open to receiving their message now so that will help you and I'm sure Spirit will too. I
wish you well with this lesson and I have a feeling you will do just fine.

FriendToAnimals:
Cinnamon -
While I was waiting for the bus to go to work on monday the 10th of May. I had company again,
for about 5 minutes, until the bus came. Yes, it was another large bee ; just flying
around me. When the bus was approaching, I told the bee "I have to go to work now, I'll see ya
later". It seemed the bee understood, as it just flew away. The bus stop is a 20 minute walk from
my house.

So Spirit definitely has my attention! I keep telling Spirit each night before going to sleep, that I
am ready for the guidance & the lessons to begin. So far, nothing in my dreams; but I am
observing everything during my waking hours. I definitely have my lessons lined up & can
hardly wait!

CinnamonMoon:
Have you tried to do any journey work (guided imagery) to bring Bee in that way? It is very
effective.

The Druid Animal Oracle by Phillip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm
Bee: Community, Celebration, Organization
Bee invites us to celebrate. You may have a special reason for celebration, or you may simply
need to celebrate the wonder and mystery of being alive. You may like to enjoy a glass or two of
mead, which --if it has been made in Scotland--will carry the scent of heather, and will bring you
closer to the spirit of the Highlands. In the Druid tradition there are occasions to celebrate every
six weeks or so. as human beings we need to have times when we can come together to enjoy
each other's company. The bee tells us that we can live together in harmony, however impossible
this may sometimes seem. By being at one with the natural world, by paying homage to the sun,
by centering our lives around Spirit or the Goddess, we can work together in community.

Contrary may indicate that you are feeling out of place--unsure of your role in the world. A
beehive functions harmoniously because each bee knows its role and the work it must do--
consequently it is highly productive and plays an important role in the local ecology. We talk of
a productive work environment as a hive of activity. If you find you are lacking in motivation, or
are feeling isolated from teh community that surrounds you, you may need some bee medicine.

A modern English folk healer uses bee stings therapeutically to cure asthma and other ailments,
and you may need to prod yourself into action before others do the prodding for you. If you find
this applies to you, spend some time thinking about your role in life, and then make decisions in
accordance with your sense of purpose and the resulting goals that this engenders. Remember
that the bee knows the value of organization, of paying homage to the Goddess and the sun, and
of working hard. Remember too that she calls us to a celebration of life and an inner recognition
of our membership of the community of all Nature.

A link on the history of Bee contributed by MonSnoLeeDra: Bee