Bee Medicine

Welcome to my teacher today, who is Bee!  She literally fell into my lap this morning just as I was deciding to make my next art project for a show I'm working on to be about bees! 

Oh how I love the bees!  But it wasn't always that way as the mere sight of one used to send me running.  However, unless threatened, a bee will not sting because to do so costs them their life.  The stinger becomes lodged in the target and tears out of the bee's abdomen when it flies away.

There has been a lot of concern about the bees over the past few years because they have been disappearing.  Whether this is caused by disease or man made environmental interferences such as microwaves (cell phone towers, etc.), or pesticides,  no one is quite sure.

Here's something I copied from beefacts.net:

This epic issue has been named CCD, or colony collapse disorder. Reports of mysterious vanishing episodes date back to 1896, but these were much more sparse and less frequent than the epidemic that beekeepers and farmers are facing today. The onslaught of disease caused by the parasitic varroa mite is not thought to be helping. Scientists are now using several healthy control colonies which have never been exposed to this parasite to compare against renewed colony populations that have been devastated by the disease. The goal is to pinpoint any bacterial or parasitic remnants being left behind at the hive site and their possible affects on the new inhabitants.

California is the base of scientific testing at present, as its 1.4 billion dollar per year almond crop depends solely on bee pollination for yearly production. Many states are reporting bees disappearing at alarming rates, up to ninety percent colony reduction almost overnight, but the ecological and financial repercussions of California’s failing almond crops are taking a hold on the agricultural industry. Florida, coming off of a devastating spread of greening disease, has been forced to use mass chemical pesticides on the majority of their crops, making it nearly impossible to use these sites for CCD research.



This eerie finding is reported multiple times on a daily basis, as beekeepers find tens of thousands of their prized bees gone. They leave no trace, and there are no warnings. Most often, the queen and a few smaller drones are left behind, while all pupae and larvae are abandoned completely. Beekeepers introduce new colonies to these abandoned structures, as they can not afford the costly lapse in pollination, and scientists are working hard to determine if there is a new pathogen present which is currently undetectable.

Scarey, isn't it? Many people are frightened by this because of our crops, but what about them?  How do the bees feel?  They must be frightened too.

Bee medicine has to do with fertility, productivity, working in groups, and matters of the heart.  Yes, matters of the heart which I'll explain about a bit later. 

Next week is vacation week for my DSH and I have a lot to do so I will be as busy as a bee today and tomorrow...and next week too as we'll be taking a short trip.  But I'll be back later with some more information and a ritual for asking the bees for help that I made many years ago.

Afternoon notes:

Here's the ritual which I posted on my other blog in 2010 and it explains about what bee medicine has to do with matters of the heart.

http://www.thefaeriecupboard.com/2010/03/bee-medicine-magick.html

About rituals - they and tools can help sharpen focus and also remind us of the steps we personally need to take to get to the place where there are no distractions.  To me, they're like having a script with cue cards.  But really, nothing but yourself is required. 

 For example, your heartbeat can serve as a drum - by pressing a finger on one of the neck arteries, you can feel your heartbeat and use your breathing to gradually slow it down or speed it up.  Your breath can also serve as a rattle.  If you have no sage, visualizing a white light covering your whole body inside and out can cleanse and protect you.  Sincere prayers said simply in your own words are always heard - the key word being sincere.  If you have no tobacco or other gift to offer, pick up some trash, do a good deed, or pray for someone or something other than yourself.   These are just examples and although not everyone would agree with me about set rituals and tools, sometimes you just don't have them or the time available to you.  So it's good to learn to depend on yourself.

  Most of our parents taught us to say "please" and "thank you" so that should be a habit by now when asking anyone for anything.  But if it isn't, make sure to not forget to say them!

  I'm off to practice being a bee, and also to listen for anything Bee cares to tell me today.  Tomorrow I'll post what I've learned which hopefully will be ...something ~