Bees are magical creatures that have been viewed as sacred and spiritual beings for millennia. They are symbols of transformation, community, and nourishment. Honeybees, in particular, are associated with healing and I consider them to be medicine for the soul.
The practice of beekeeping can be a spiritual experience that allows us to connect with nature and appreciate the beauty and importance of bees in our world.
In fact, it is one bee that put me into my spiritual path 15 years ago as I was hiking the Himalayas in search of meaning. I stopped at a flower and there was a wild bee on it. She told me “Why is there botanical gardens to preserve plants, and no sanctuary for us, the bees, the pollinators?”. By the time I was back from my week in the high mountains I had birthed the vision for the New York Bee Sanctuary. And as of today, we have now over 500+ lands certified “Bee Safe” across the US, Canada, and Europe.
I am not the only one who experienced their magic… Bees are often seen as magical creatures in many cultures around the world. They are frequently associated with fertility, hard work, and community. The role that bees play in pollination and honey production is essential to many ecosystems and is considered a sacred part of nature. Bees are also used as spiritual guides and are seen as symbols of spiritual development and growth.
In many spiritual traditions, bees are viewed as symbols of transformation and renewal. Bees are associated with the sun and are seen as divine messengers that bring light and warmth to the world. They are believed to be messengers from the gods, bringing knowledge and wisdom to those who seek it.
Bees have come to me in ceremonies and rituals, often with sacred geometry beings (I believe they work in tandem with them) and with sound archangels. Their humming is deeply meditative (and seems to explain the trance we experience when taking care of hives), and is now used in bee therapy where a bed is setup above hives and people with PTSD, trauma, addiction, and other ailments sleep for one night in their smell and vibration with incredible results…
Bees are also viewed as symbols of community and cooperation. As they work together for the common good of their hive, bees are seen as an example of how humans can also work together for the greater good. They mastered true democracy millions of years ago in ways that humans still cannot achieve… Decisions are taken with true debates and when a majority emerges, the minority rallies them and works in communion.
There is also an old tradition of Bee Shaman and Bee Shamanism. A bee shaman is a spiritual leader who possesses knowledge and abilities relating to the behavior of bees, their relationship to nature, the Spirit of the Bees, and the traditions associated with them. In Bee shamanism spiritual practice, rituals, and ceremonies we use the bee's intimate relationship to heal and help patients and communities. There are immense knowledge bees and bee hives carry that is linked to the Earth, the Cosmos, and sacred geometry beings. One of the great gifts I received in a ceremony with the hive was to see the spirit of the Queen Bee and "bee" explained her connection as a messenger between our world and the sacred geometry beings and how it can be used to realign patient's energy fields.
For those reasons and many more, I consider Honeybees medicine for the soul. The sweet, golden nectar that they produce is associated with healing and nourishment. Honey has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties and can heal both the body and the soul. It is also the only known “made food” that never spoils and keeps for thousands of years.
In many spiritual traditions, honey is used as an offering to the gods and to promote healing. The famous mead used in Norse Shamanic culture has deep power of connection to the divine and the Earth. I have personally done dieta (drinking a few sips daily in meditation for a month) with the mead I make at The Sanctuary and with my students and experience some extraordinary, channeled wisdom and healing.
For me beekeeping is not really about honey anymore (even if that is a sweet gift from them) but much more a spiritual experience. It requires a deep connection to nature, immense patience, accepting losses and the unknown, fine-tuning a deep sense of observation and listening, surrendering to the invisible, slowing down and calming our mind and nervous system, and more. Then the process of caring for bees can become a piercing arrow into the mystery of our soul.
When I visit my teacher in the Andes of Peru, we often talk about our bees. As we talk about our seeds. And it is through those discussions that we are often led into the most mystical aspects of Andean Cosmology, and our soul deep shaking and remembering.
I pray you will receive too their deep ancient knowledge.
Let me gift you this video I recorded today (see above) with my friend Tyler installing a new bee colony inside an old tree trunk on our sacred land. The Wild BeeHive...
With immense gratitude to the bees,
Angell Deer
