The Healing Magic of the Honey Bees

Humans have had a special relationship with honeybees for likely over 10,000 years, as seen from ancient cave art in areas of Algeria and Spain. Yes, of course,  the honey that bees produce is filled with healing nutrients, and the beeswax has a multitude of uses, but there is something far more mystical and powerful about honeybees, which is why they have been regarded as sacred and associated with divinity since ancient times.

After thousands of years of male dominated patriarchal society, the divine feminine again is rising on the planet and this is apparent in many aspects. We are also in rapidly changing times on the planet, technologically; which on one hand is driving humans into further disconnection from nature but on the other hand is allowing humans access to all knowledge at our fingertips.  Yet, all the knowledge in the world won't necessarily give the answers that one seeks. I know for myself,  the most important insights have come to me when I have humbled myself and engaged in deep LISTENING.  Some call this "intuition" or "inner guidance." I also call it magic. Life is magical and therefore, so are we. So what happens when we listen to the bees?

For the past couple years I have been taking part in co-facilitating a women's Intuitive Beekeeping Retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii along with three other bee keepers that live on the island. My friend Jennifer Bach received the message from the bees to create this retreat so that women could have the unique opportunity to connect more deeply with the bees, learn about them and also open the intuitive faculties to receive the teachings that the bees have for us. The clear message she received was that creating these retreats would be helping the divine feminine to come back into balance on the planet. I was ecstatic when she asked if I would contribute my music and vocal opening practices to the retreat, a big piece for women in reclaiming their power is in opening their voices, due to many lifetimes of silencing and oppression. It was obviously a clear YES for me.
Our first retreat was January 2023,  along with two other amazing bee keepers that live on the island- Jen Rasmussen and Alison Yahna.  During this retreat we connect deeply with the sacred land, listen to and work with the bees, connect with the river and waterfalls, eat healthy local organic meals, engage in rituals, do dreamwork, and of course tone and sing and open the voice!

Honeybees teach us of Unity- of working together in harmony, for the good of the whole, in service to LIFE. Perhaps this is why I have felt a connection with honeybees for a very long time in my life, and always enjoyed watching them buzz from flower to flower.
Honeybees are one of the few organisms on the planet that exist as a COLONY. They live together in a hive that they magically build themselves, from the glands on their abdomens that secrete the wax.  
 
The way the colony operates is absolutely magical. In the wild, honeybees would build their hives in hollows or crevices such as in a tree or cave, with the comb having more rounder formations.  The Queen is the central figure of the hive and lays all the eggs of a hive. There are worker bees (all female) that do all of the work building a hive, feeding the larva, guarding the hive and gathering nectar and pollen for food for themselves and the rest of the hive. The honey they produce through the digestion of what they gather is also used as storage for food through the winter. The drones are the male bees whose sole role is to mate with the queen. For every drone there are 10 female worker bees.

With the rise of agriculture, also came the rise of Patriarchy- male dominated society- and this has had a severe impact on the wild colonies of bees, which are greatly diminished. Humans moved bees into confined boxes- a very unnatural shape for bees to exist. This imbalance, goes hand in hand with the adoption of religious and other belief structures that would abandon earth based animist ways of living and justify the desecration of the earth and ecological systems. There is a direct relationship with the rise of patriarchy and the degradation of the earth's ecosystems: When women, who are the life givers are not honored, respected and protected-neither is the earth.  No matter how dominant and "developed" we humans think we are on this planet, our disconnection from nature is causing our existence to be quite fragile. The unsustainable level that humans have gotten to with monoculture, and essentially enslaving honeybees to pollinate crops, such as almonds, only perpetuates this sickness. Queen bees are being farmed and artificially inseminated to lay eggs for hives, whose sole purpose is to pollinate crops. And as a side boon for the humans, they take the honey and sell it. One of the teachers in our retreat shared with us her sorrow and horror in witnessing the state of hives in these farm situations, often heavily infested with beetles and other issues and also heavily treated with chemicals. Our mass commercial agricultural system is now dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides which only wreak more havoc on life and degrade the soils. The mass die offs of bees is a wake-up call for humanity.

Humans are dependent on the pollination of honeybees for one third of our diet. The mass colony collapse of the honeybees indicates a deep sickness/imbalance upon this planet- and I will suggest that the sickness/imbalance originates in the human mind. Through shamanic journeying, one of our retreat teachers, Alison, (also know as the Bee Oracle) informed us that the Bees shared with her that one of the most harmful threats to this planet and life on earth is the dark, collective "thought cloud" around the earth, which is obscuring and obstructing our connection to the Divine Light and connecting with higher consciousness.

When we lovingly tend the bees, it calls us to presence- to be totally present and observe and listen- and that in itself is a gift for us, in such a fast paced and chaotic world. Intuitive Beekeeping, as taught in this retreat, is about tending to the bees in ways that are beneficial for the hive, free from use of harmful chemicals and NOT for human profit. The way that we can care for the bees best is by asking and LISTENING to what they want and by not intruding into their inner sanctum as much as possible, unless it is for the greater good of the hive. We also can help the bees by planting more flowers, and living our life in a way that honors and respects life.  From my beekeeping friends, I have heard many wondrous stories of what the bees have told them to do, and certain ideas they feel they received from the bees. Also, bees emit healing frequencies through their humming that promote tissue and cell repair, so being close to and listening to the bees literally is beneficial for one's health!

I invite you to contemplate the "magical."  There are occurrences that happen in life that cannot be explained by the logical or scientific observational ways. How do we explain how brilliant life changing ideas come to us? How do we explain the cause of Inspiration? How do we explain telepathy and the intuitive guidance we receive from the "otherworld" or other beings. How do we explain the purpose of consciousness? These are the kind of questions that light me up inside because they bring about a feeling of wonder and revelry as to what it means to be human- and also a sense of deep humility. And let's face it- It's time for humans to be more humble.

I believe that humanity is on the verge of  a great leap in our consciousness. The more we tap into our consciousness, developing in our intuitive and creative faculties, the more we can open up to the great intelligence of LIFE that is ready and here to work through us. It is working through all of nature. It's just that we humans have forgotten so long, due to our disconnection from nature. We have forgotten  that we are magical bee-ings holding the power to CREATE and serve LIFE and the healing that is so needed in these times. This is what the awakening and rising of the sacred divine feminine is all about.  

The honeybees teach us about selfless service. They teach us about the relationship between healing and frequency. They teach us about boundaries and the need to protect in order to maintain balance. So let us now ponder these questions:
"What would this life look and feel like if we listened more to our bodies, each other and to life?"  "What in life is worth protecting?" "What if I am just a part of a living, dynamic organism (that we call Earth)?" "What Magic does Life want to express through me?"
​Blessed Be~
Our next retreat is in early July 2025! ​https://www.wisewomenbeekeepers.com/