Bee Symbolism and Lore
Throughout history the bee has had a vital connection with the traits that many humans attempt to attain. For centuries, the bee has been the universal symbol of diligence, obedience, and the work ethic. Many ancient cultures consider bees to be the messengers of the gods, communicators of the dead, aid to earth-bound spirits, a sign of prosperity, community, celebration, fertility and the sweetness of truth.
As a symbol, the bees’ lifestyle mimics that of the human social order – a cooperative, productive social hierarchy. In fact, beekeeping is one of the earliest markers of civilized society. Bees provided many of the necessities of advancement, providing not only food, but wax for metalworking, cosmetics and medicine, as well as, the ever important pollinization of fruit trees and other food crops.
Over time, the “busy” little bee has been represented in a number of traditions that have been combined into the current symbol of the human soul.
Egyptians
The sign of the bee in Egyptian hieroglyphs, known by the inscription nesw-bit ('he of the sedge and the bee'), was often connected to royalty. Its image has been found in the burial chambers from the 1st Dynasty onwards and translated as 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt'. It was used as a prefix to the throne name (prenomen) of the pharaoh kings.
Bee-headed Goddess medallion, from Knossos, Crete, approx. 1500 BCE
Greek
In ancient Greece, bees were considered to be the surviving souls of the priestesses, who in their physical lives, had served the goddess Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. The mortal priestesses were called melissae (bees). According to tradition, the second of the great temples constructed at Delphi was constructed by bees.
Masonic Beehive emblem
Christianity
Observances of the annual hibernation of the hives also resulted in the belief that they died and were reborn annually, and this, along with their coloring, made them a natural solar symbol – and later, an emblem of Christ into Christian believers. British farmers believed the bees hummed in honor of the Christ child on the first Christmas.
Sources:
http://onespiritx.tripod.com/magick18.htm
http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols
http://about.com/glossarybeegoddess/
Name: ______Date: ______HW/CW (20 points) English I
Honey, The Nectar of Life
Bees are the great spirit of love and caring whose purpose is to provide food for all of the Children of the Creator God on Earth. They swarm the entire Earth making them a great spirit. A Great Spirit is a billion beings operating with one heart, one mind and one soul. Bees teach everyone how to love without discrimination. What Bees teach in North America, they teach in Africa, China, Russia, and everywhere this great spirit dwells around the world.
Human beings credit themselves for the many works of the Great Spirits of God, wishing to appear superior to all beings. It is not man who grows food. It is the earth, wind, sun, rain and bees that grow the food we eat. It is the wind that moves a plant to consciousness and bees are the primary pollinators that enable the plants to bring forth fruits as food, for every living being on Earth. When mankind ‘makes’ food, only their intent enters the food they prepare. The fruits of the Earth are gifts from the Creator God and should not be taken for granted, for they are not produced by man. Let us remember to give thanks for the Bees and all of God’s Great Spirits, that we are blessed to share with.
Bees do not discriminate against any other beings. They look upon all beings as the Children of God. Bees know their purpose is to provide food for all the Children of God, whatever their appearance. Whether they are spirits that swim, fly, walk, or crawl, they are all God's Children. Bees do not look at a snake and say "You are not a bee, therefore you cannot eat the food I produce." The bees feed every living being without discrimination, showing human beings how they are to look upon one and other. We are one family under God, and our purpose is to love and care for one and other and live in racial harmony without discrimination.
The Spirits of all Bees in every colony flow through a Queen Bee. She is a sole female spirit which provides life for the entire colony making her responsible for them all. The queen bee is an Alpha being, through whom all the spirits of her children flow. Without her Great Spirit there would be no order or continuation of life in the hive. She is the Heart of her family and her Love, the foundation of her family, keeping all in order, thereby fulfilling her purpose, to the Creator God.
An individual Bee is not equal to her. It is through her, that all their spirits flow. Only when all the bees in one colony act as one; with one heart, one mind and one soul, do they become equal to her. Only then do they have the ability to carry out their purpose and live in complete harmony, becoming a Life Force working for the Creator God.
The Creator gave them the colors yellow and black, to wear in pride, for all to see. These colors tell you they follow the commands of their Father the Sun, carrying the convictions of Wisdom and Respect. Yellow is the color of the sun, the color of light, and light is knowledge that becomes wisdom, through time. The knowledge they carry for all to see, is that by following their Father’s example, they understand that all other spirits are their Father’s Children, part of the Family of God, therefore part of the greater family of the Bee. The Bee knows that even though the other members of their greater family look different from one and other, they are no less important and it is the Bees purpose, to love and care for the greater family of God, as their own.
The color Black they wear for all to see, tells everyone that they respect all life and that all life should respect their family. For in carrying out their purpose of love and caring, by feeding all of their Father’s Children, they have a great purpose, that will not be thwarted by anyone. Their color black says "Respect my kind and respect my purpose."
Notice, bees will attack you in the thousands should you disturb their hive. In seconds, a signal is sent and an army of bees swarm over you. It is not that you can destroy the hive, that they fear, for the hive means little to them. They can repair or rebuild their hive in a day. When you attempt to destroy their hive, you will be attacked, in defense of their Queen. It is the Queen Mother, all bees will defend with their lives, not the destruction of their hive.
Bees will attack you in the thousands and surrender their lives to protect their Queen. Each and every member of her family will show their respect for her and willingly give their lives for her in order to carry out their conviction of love to her.
When you interfere with the work of bees you will be attacked, for Bees protect one and another. Should you a Child of God, disrespect one member of their colony, they will purposely sting you, knowing that they will die. So intent in defense, they use 22 muscles in their small bodies to successfully sting you. A sting from one bee is a warning, a notice for respect is being issued forth, that they will not be swayed. Bees consciously die for one and other, knowingly and with valor, surrendering their lives, to cause you to have respect for their kind and their purpose.
When a beehive is attacked by others, the guards produce an alarm scent. An enemy is stung, the barbs of the sting catch in the victim’s skin and break off, causing a sac of alarm scent to burst. Although the bee will not live to defend his family further, his last willful and selfless act, becomes a marker, enabling others of his kind to zero in to where a banana-flavored scent cloud is thickest.
In this way they show that they will not be swayed in their conviction of love, nor thwarted in providing food for all of the Children of Earth. Selfless, they will die with valor for the sake of Love. Through these great teachers, bees demonstrate the enormous love the Creator has for you, for He has provided All His Children with everything one needs for protection and defense.
Showing further love and respect, knowing how special the queen bees are, the colony produces a royal jelly, a sacred food, eaten by the Queen bee continuously throughout her life and fed to all of her children for the first three days of their lives. Then most of the larvae are fed bee bread, a mixture of honey and pollen. This imprints her seal of love and caring through the feeding of royal jelly, so her children will carry her signature of spirit, setting the foundation of their lives, thus establishing family pride, through unbreakable bonds of love. This first royal treatment bonds them throughout their lives.
Royal jelly then becomes the only food fed to the infant bees, that are to become future queens. The royal jelly is a sacred food for Alpha beings. Whatever your children eat, is what they become. Feed them goodness and light and they will become angels. Feed them darkness and they will soon die. What enters your mind, body and soul, becomes you. Bees pass food to one and other, sharing and strengthening the bonds of love in their colony. As in our families, it is the sharing of food and water that shows love and caring.
Never forgetting their conviction of Love, the bee provides other beings with a gift of honey. In sharing this honey(sugarbag) the Bee reminds and teaches you that living in perfect harmony, fulfilling the purpose and conviction the Creator gave you, produces something wonderful, through the sweet nectar of life. Honey, illustrates the abundant blessings of living harmoniously with all life and the sharing of the sweetness of a life of love. Sweetness is the product of their labor of love. Honey is the physical manifestation of their actions and conviction. Carrying out your convictions unerringly produces the abundance and sweetness in life. All human hearts have the memory of this knowledge; that is why they say "Honey, I love you".
At this time, bees are far greater spirits than mankind, for they carry out the purpose that God gave them without question, and provide food for all living things without any form of discrimination. Mankind has the same purpose and conviction. Like the bee, Mankind’s conviction is to care for and live in harmony with every living being, sharing all things provided by the Creator God to all his Children in love. The instruction is quite simple, "Love one and other". Respect all life!
The bee teaches us that we are not to act as individuals. Nothing we do affects only us. Every action produces a reaction that affects the whole universe. The conviction of love overrides material possession and personal pride. Acting in love with thoughts for all living beings, unifies us and allows our spirits to grow greater. Learning how to operate with one heart, one mind, and one soul will produce harmony and will bring the sweetness of Heaven on Earth.
Simply, love one and other.
WRITTEN BY Del Ashkewe and Paula Johnstone
also known as Immortal Thunder and Lightening Woman
"Wings of Light"1996. Copyright Painting by Del Ashkewe.
© Copyright September 18,1996.
This is a spiritual writing and is meant to be read a minimum of four times. This is only a partial teaching of the wisdom of the Honey Bee. This is a universal spiritual teaching that begins to teach everyone how to glean spiritual truth, through the natural teachers and messengers of the Creator God.
After reading the passage, answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper.
1. What do the authors credit bees for creating?
a. mankind
b. the earth
c. food
d. the great spirit
2. What human flaws do bees NOT possess according to the authors?
a. Discrimination, greed, jealousy
b. greed, gluttony, impatience
c. Discrimination, gluttony, jealousy
d. Glutton, impatience, jealousy
3. What explanation do the authors offer for why bees attack humans?
a. Humans want to eat the honey.
b. Humans smell bad
c. They are protecting the hive.
d. They are protecting the queen bee.
4. What do the authors say the production of honey represents?
a. The bees’ sacred gift to the queen bee as a sacrifice
b. The purpose of their communal society
c. A way of justifying stinging people
d. A physical manifestation of their work and conviction.
5. What is the authors’ overriding message from the story?
a. Humans should learn from bees that to be successful we must live in harmony with each other.
b. For a society to run smoothly only one person can be in charge.
c. Bees are more important than human beings and should be revered.
d. Without honey we would not have the glue to hold our world together.
6. The authors spend considerable time describing the nuances of the hierarchy within a bee hive. Using the text, first explain how the community coexists, linked by not just a hive but purpose and then interpret how they feel humans should incorporated into their lives.