Holistic healing

Soul: Could it bee magic?

Take a tip from the hardest workers in the animal kingdom to bring some energy into your life.

Take a tip from the hardest workers in the animal kingdom to bring some energy into your life.
Anyone who keeps bees, or studies them, will tell you they are mystical. They are the alchemists of the natural world and we can learn a lot from their behaviour. We can even adopt certain characteristics to improve our health, wellbeing and spiritual development. Sounds pretty amazing, but then bees are.

Bees have a reputation in the animal world, and not just because of their sting, which is a form of protection and fatal to them. You only have to think of the word ‘bee’ and it conjures up images of this industrious creature, hard at work in its colony, producing a wealth of succulent honey for us to enjoy. More recently there has been concern that they are disappearing at an increasing rate. Hives are failing to make it through the harsh winters, and that leaves the world with a much bigger problem. Insects, including bees, pollinate a third of everything we eat, so if they’re not around then our natural food reserves suffer. Experts believe that a combination of wet weather and the varroa mite, a parasite that attacks honey bees, is to blame. Whatever the cause, bees are inherent to our survival and an important part of the planet. We should celebrate them, and do what we can to promote their growth.

Fantastic facts

It’s easy to see where the phrase ‘busy bee’ comes from. A bee lives for six weeks and flies for 500 miles before dying. During that time a honey bee will make around 60,000 trips just to produce one kilo of honey. Each trip requires around 100 flower heads, so she will have to visit six million flowers to make 2.2lbs of honey! The bees you see on flowers are all female, and of course the Queen Bee rules the roost, living around three years, and producing 2,000 eggs a day. She’s the Alan Sugar of the insect world, and the colony is her empire. Male bees exist only to impregnate her, and they die in the process as their genetalia get stuck inside!

The way of the bee

To encourage bee blessings, keep an area of your garden just for them

It’s not surprising that many shamans choose to follow the path of the bee. They see this magical creature as a wonderful role model, with qualities that we can adopt and learn from. Bees are associated with hard work, diligence and creativity but they also have the ability to help us tap into our higher self, as well as acting like spirit messengers.

Simon Buxton, author of The Shamanic Way of the Bee (£11.99, Destiny Books), explains that this type of shamanism is popular all over the world. “In some cultures there are shamans who work with bees, in other cultures there are formally recognised and named bee shamans and in other cultures again, the bees themselves are viewed as being the shamans.”

Bee beautiful

Not only are bees the holistic healers of the natural world, they’re also top beauticians. Honey is used in a range of skin treatments and propolis, one of the resins that bees collect and use to plug up holes in their nest, is an ingredient in some of the best and most expensive beauty products.

Try some of the following tips and you’ll bee beautiful!

Add a dollop of honey to your bath water. It will soothe your skin, invigorate your senses and make you feel like a queen!
Make your morning tipple a glass of hot water with a spoonful of honey. The natural antibacterial properties of the honey will give your immune system a boost.
Make a honey face mask. This is really easy. All you need to do is smear some honey on your face. Massage it in to your skin and leave on for five to 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water. Your skin should feel soft, smooth and super-scented.
Use a honey hair rinse; this is particularly good for blondes. Take some nettle leaves and steep in boiling water. Drain the liquid and add to it a large tablespoon of honey. Mix and squeeze in some fresh lemon. Use after washing and conditioning. Massage into the scalp and then rinse with warm water.
Honeycomb is a wonderful sweet treat, and a great pick-me-up, but instead of eating it, use it as a skin brush on elbows and knees.
Have a drop of mead. In folklore mead was considered something of an elixir. It was thought that it could restore youthfulness and also increase sexual potency and appetite! It was also recommended as a cure for a variety of diseases including bronchitis, ulcers and heart disease.

Walking the eight

In Simon Buxton’s book he explains the concept of ‘walking the eight’. This is the number associated with bees. They use it in their waggle dance, to communicate where various food sources are and to connect with each other. Eight is also the number of infinity and linked with emotional balance and longevity.

Take a few moments to focus on your breathing, and begin to walk the path of the number eight. If it helps, do this exercise outside and mark the path with stones or crystals so that you can see where you are going. Don’t worry about thinking too much whilst doing this activity, just walk around the symbol, over and over, for about 10 minutes. By following this practice every day, you will find your mental clarity improves and you will feel energised and balanced. Simon believes that the number eight is a gift to us from the bees. It helps to introduce harmony and peace into life, and is a great tool for balancing the left and right sides of the brain.

Bee medicine

To unlock the secrets of bee medicine you need to adopt a serene outlook and a caring manner. Bees respond to this, according to Brian McCullum from Urban Bees. “A calm and gentle spirit is needed if you’re going to work with bees,” he says. “The calmer you are, the better it is for them.” He believes that bee-keeping reconnects you to nature and can help to overcome nature deficit disorder.

Bee lore

In folklore bees were considered to be spirit messengers. When you see one, smile and look upon it as a blessing and a sign of good fortune.
In ancient times it was common practice to ‘tell the bees’ your news; whether it was good or bad, the bees wanted to hear it. So the next time you want to get something off your chest, tell a bee – it might help you express how you feel!
It was also sacred practice to invite bees to a funeral and hives were often turned around as the offin passed through as a mark of respect.
To encourage bee blessings, keep an area of your garden just for them. Encourage wild flowers and plants to grow, especially sweet-scented flowers like foxgloves, honeysuckle, sunflowers and geraniums.

Try this

Get out in the garden or in your local park or woods. Choose a spot where you can sit in the sunshine and there are plenty of flowers in sight. Bees prefer wild flowers, so find somewhere with lots of rambling bushes. Sit cross-legged with your shoulders relaxed and your back straight. Take some deep breaths and let your eyes focus on the flower heads. Watch as the bees dance through the petals. Now close your eyes and imagine that you’re a flower. Feel the sun on your head and visualise your petals opening to let the light stream in. Now imagine a bee landing on your head. Feel the warmth of its body relaxing you. Feel yourself connecting with the bee as your energy joins together. Enjoy the soothing sensation of being wanted and adored by such a magical creature. When you are ready, see the bee fly away and visualise the petals closing once more. Bring your attention back to your breathing, and open your eyes. This relaxing visualisation can be done any time and anywhere, and will bring instant calm to stressful situations. It will also help you re-connect with nature and truly appreciate the environment.

Try it for yourself

Brian McCallum and Alison Benjamin offer courses on how to keep bees in an urban environment. Their sessions show that you don’t need a large country garden to keep a hive. A roof terrace, or a small back yard will do, as long as you have an area that is protected from the wind. The bees fly upwards when they leave the hive, so they don’t interfere with other gardens. They don’t need a lot of attention, as bees tend to look after themselves, but a good selection of wild flowers and bushes will help them to flourish. Keeping your own bees will set you back around £500 for a starter kit. A small price to pay, when you consider that you are nurturing one of nature’s magical heroes and if you’re lucky you’ll be able to nurture yourself, with lots of fresh honey on tap! For more information on their courses and books, check out their website at urbanbees.co.uk.

Best Buy We love this beautifully illustrated Collins Beekeeper’s Bible (£30, Collins) with everything you need to know about bees and honey.