the significance of the bee

[LithiumViolets]

***mods, tell me if it is a problem for me to have posted this in the Dreams and the Santeria Path section-- i didn't know which division was more appropriate to post this in...


I've been noticing a bee theme in my life lately...A couple of weeks ago I had a dream I was a bee. Then a couple of days ago I was out with a friend of mine, just standing outside randomly and a bee kept flying around my head and I remained still because I was always taught if you try to hit a bee or wave it away, it will sting you. So I stood still and the bee flew around my head, then crawled on m head, then landed on my cheek and crawled to the tip of my nose and sat there. After a few tense seconds, it flew off my nose, but still was circling around me the whole time until we left...

This morning I dreamed I was in my apartment, in my room, and I found a newspaper and in the classifieds section, there was an ad that simply said NKISI in big letters and a phone number for what was written as a "spiritual worker." Then I called the phone number and a man was saying something about "the Pot" being "consulted" or "set before." I assume he was talking about the Palo pot because the ad mentioned the Nkisi....

Then suddenly I wasn't on the phone anymore and I saw a small pot that turned into a glass jar and out of it flew this huge bee that flew around my head like the one in real life did the other day...it was flying around my head buzzing, it landed on my head, crawling up and down my neck. I didn't move again but I was shivering like I do when someone touches my neck or ears because they're very ticklish. Then I started getting hot and shaking hard, feeling vibrations all over and I started crying and moaning and speaking in tongues....

Then I woke up.

And today when I went out to walk my dog, and to dispose of food offerings in nature, the spot where I was going to leave my offerings had a few bees flying around when on other days I've been to that spot or near that spot, they weren't there.

I was wondering if anyone could make a connection between the bee and Palo specifically (since it came up as well in the dream) or just in general the symbolism of bees and what the bee may represent in Palo or Santeria/Lucumi....

I would also appreciate any commentary on the bee's symbolism in other cultures/pantheons/mythologies but the reason I'd asked specifically about Palo or Santeria is because that is my personal path. But I'd love to hear other interpretations that aren't limited to that path. Thanks.

[Rick]

Bees- industrious; working hard every day, and saving some back; knowing your place in the scheme of things, doing your part.

[Agaliha]

Ah trippy, a thread about bees. I've been thoroughly obsessed with them for a few months. I've been reading tons of books and sites about them...everything from myth, to biology. I even made a blog finally to post about it all (http://demoiselledesabeilles.wordpress.com/). I don't know what sparked the sudden interest in them for me...even though I'm basically non-theistic (or rather, deities are no longer a focus for me) I do wonder if it's linked to something. I don't know. Either way, bees have totally taken over my life, :lol:

I have to make dinner and stuff, but when I come back...I'll post more. And try to give you some ideas what it could be and share what I know about bees and stuff.

brb. ;)

Okay, back.


I would also appreciate any commentary on the bee's symbolism in other cultures/pantheons/mythologies but the reason I'd asked specifically about Palo or Santeria is because that is my personal path. But I'd love to hear other interpretations that aren't limited to that path. Thanks.I'm not going to get into all the mythology and folklore references to bees and honey as there are many...but I will post some stuff, if anything stands out let me know.

First biology (honeybee):
A hive consists of a queen, workers and drones. The most plentiful bee in the hive are the workers-- virgin females. Drones are the only males and their goal in life is to mate with another hive's queen, besides that they're lazy and require the workers to care for them in all aspects. The bees that you saw in real life and in dream where the workers, most likely. During their lives they're always working on some task or the other. For example, when a day old they start cleaning combs and feeding young. They do many more things too, after that. They only go outside to forage for pollen and nectar at the end of their life and after they've done a few orientation flights to know where their hive it located. I could go on about biology, but there are websites and books that explain that.

I do think it's important to look at the type of bee you encountered and use their biology to look for meaning. For example, if you saw a queen bee possible meanings might be: birthing of something, fertility, motherhood, needing to be taken care of (the queen taken care of by workers-- cleaned, feed, etc), and more negative could be being lazy (as she just lays eggs and others do all the work). Things like that. The short thing Rick posted would fit a worker bee, but I would also add other things like celibacy/virginity, goal orientated and other things. They also remind me of priestesses. Though most of these meanings were things I've thought of after reading about their biology...most symbolism books and site lump all bees together, not considering their roles in life....so these meanings might be different for you.

Which brings me to some mythology. In ancient Greece there were the Melissai, bee priestesses connected to Aphrodite, Artemis and Demeter.
There's a thread on them here: The Melissae-- can anyone clear this up? (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=105154)
You can also find more on them online. There were also phophetic nymphs of Apollo: http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphaiThriai.html

In Hinduism there is a goddess named Bhramari Devi, "Goddess of the Black Bees" http://www.exoticindiaart.com/product/WG32/

This is not a full list of references to goddesses...

Bees are often linked to the goddess, though not always so. In ancient Egypt they were linked to royalty and honey and bees were said to be the tears of Ra. Bees are also linked to Neith, which I discovered recently (she is a goddess, though sometimes called a god). There's a thread about her in the Deity of the Week Archive.

There is also a Greek god of bees and beekeeping, Aristaios.
http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Aristaios.html

Bees are also linked to Jesus, I read something that said the sweetness of honey was linked to the reward of the afterlife and the stinger, that of judgment. Bees are also linked to the Virgin Mary duty to their selfless work and chastity. Oh and there is St Ambrose (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose), patron Saint of beekeepers.

There's also a whole other set of lore and meaning with honey, which is also plentiful in mythology and lore. Everything from the drink of the gods (ambrosia) to meaning knowledge, sweetness, eloquence, poetry, etc. And there is the other symbol of candles (beeswax) linked to bees as well, but I won't get into that now.

...I hope some of this info helped you out! I learned so much in research--it's so cool! I can't stop learning about them :lol: I can recommend some books to you if you like, I've been reading them and taking taking crazy notes. To find more about bees in myth just search Google/Yahoo for "bee mythology" or "bee goddess" and you should find many of the same sites I did. If anything stood out in my post, that you want to know more about, let me know and I'll try to help you out!

I did find a site about bees in dreams:
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/meaning-of-bees-in-dreams.html

I hope you can figure out what they might mean to you, for me...it'll probably take some time. I do know that they seem to be here to stay, so there must be a reason. :)

Oh, and it's possible that the bee could be here to teach you a lesson, sort of like a totem. I considered that possiblity for myself as well.

[Shanti]

The honey of life!

The catch, you have to make that honey. :smile:

On a less spiritual note:
Around here they are the bringers of death. We all are allergic and have to carry around our injection kits. :weirdsmil

[Agaliha]

On a less spiritual note:
Around here they are the bringers of death. We all are allergic and have to carry around our injection kits. :weirdsmil

Yup, that's the more negative, destructive meaning linked to bees as well. Or I suppose in the totem lingo, the shadow aspect. I was stung once when I was around 6-7 years old and I don't want to be stung ever again! I actually read that at any time you can develop an allergy to bee stings, that even if you were stung once and many times before, it can still happen. Me being me, I am also paranoid about that. :2G:

[Windsmith]

On a less spiritual note:
Around here they are the bringers of death. We all are allergic and have to carry around our injection kits. :weirdsmilThere is a long-standing association between bees and death, because honey, having strong preservative properties, was so widely used in embalming (http://www.honey-health.com/honey-57.shtml).

This really is amazing. Bees and honey have been an increasingly central part of my life and the life of my home spirit community. It's the theme our entire Winter Witchcamp for next year is built around. Maybe because the honey bee, in particular, is in so much trouble from hive collapse that they're sending out a distress signal that's too loud to miss.

I can't speak from a Santeria perspective, but if you want a great book about bees and honey in general, check out Holley Bishop's Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey, the Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World. (http://www.robbingthebees.com/index.htm) Her website even has a bees & honey FAQ (http://www.robbingthebees.com/honey_and_bee_faqs.htm)!

[Agaliha]

but if you want a great book about bees and honey in general, check out Holley Bishop's Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey, the Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World. (http://www.robbingthebees.com/index.htm) Her website even has a bees & honey FAQ (http://www.robbingthebees.com/honey_and_bee_faqs.htm)!I got that book from the library. It's interesting stuff!

Some other good books about bees, beekeeping and honey that I've been reading:
Beekeeper’s handbook (http://www.amazon.com/Beekeepers-Handbook-Third-Alphonse-Avitabile/dp/0801485037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222809536&sr=1-1)
The hive : the story of the honeybee and us (http://www.amazon.com/Hive-Story-Honeybee-Us/dp/0312371241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222809440&sr=8-1)
Beeing : life, motherhood, and 180,000 honeybees (http://www.amazon.com/Beeing-Life-Motherhood-180-Honeybees/dp/159228275X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222809544&sr=8-1)
Sweetness & light : the mysterious history of the honeybee (http://www.amazon.com/Sweetness-Light-Mysterious-History-Honeybee/dp/1400054060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222809451&sr=8-1)
The backyard beekeeper : an absolute beginner’s guide to keeping bees in your yard and garden (http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Beekeeper-Absolute-Beginners-Keeping/dp/1592531180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222809568&sr=8-1)

:)

LithiumViolets, not to be nosy, but as any of the info helped?