Beekeeping and the Feminine

A few years ago, when the Flow Hive first took the crowdfunding world by storm, I wrote an article about natural beekeeping for Permaculture Magazine. As part of my research, I weighed up one type of hive against another, taking testimony from natural beekeepers. The Top Bar Hive design, along with the Warre, came out as leaving the bees most in the natural state. Flow Hive have gone on to create a fine collection of bee education resources and their business is flourishing. Meanwhile, it has taken this long for the seed planted then to flourish and for bees to come into my life. Here’s the story of how that happened…

During the Yule holidays, Husband got busy making new bird boxes. We had a couple of boxes already, one occupied by a family of owls and one home for a family of great tits. Gradually, a whole bird-house estate appears in the forest next to our home. By Imbolc, his woodworking skills have turned to making bee hives. First comes a large top-bar hive, followed by three small bait hives. A flurry of books appear at our bedside. When he asks me to attend a local course with him, I agree. If we are to become beekeepers, I will need to understand a thing or two. The course is comprehensive, the trainers knowledgeable, but as my way, I am already pulling at another thread…

You see, beekeeping was once the domain of women. The Oracle at the famous temple of Delphi in Greece was sometmes referred to as a bee, and the Melissae – literally ‘bees’ – held a special position as priestesses, using the sound of the buzzing of the bees to heal and travel between the worlds to receive prophecy.

“Daughter of the Hive” by Lea Bradovich

As I learn more about the horrific practices of many modern commercial beekeepers, which exploit the bees mercilessly in their role as pollinators and honey-producers, I become convinced I am being guided towards a path where we will be more in service of the bees.

I started to follow teachers who follow a Feminine, shamanic path, such as Ariella Daly @beekeepinginskirts and to read up on homeopathic treatments for common bee illnesses. We intend to practice a slow, gentle path of bee stewardship – one which honours and values the wild nature of bees and their place in the natural order of things.

At our May 1st Beltane fire circle, Husband asks for the bees to come. “We’re ready!” he calls and we echo his words. “Welcome bees! Bienvenida avejas!”. Before our circle closes that evening, we receive a message that there is a swarm nearby. Do we want to go and harvest it? We do, and we do, executing the collection carefully and successfully. The bees come to make home in the forest, along with the great tits and owls. Thus begins our journey as stewards of the bees. I hope they will be very happy with us.

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