The Kindred Bees lecture series is for those who call the bees as kindred family. From ancient Delphi to Body Sovereignty, we will steep ourselves in the language and lore of the bees.

This series is for bee people and beekeepers alike.  You do not need to be a beekeeper to benefit from the information provided.  However, in some lectures I will be giving some pragmatic and philosophical beekeeping tips, advice, and approaches.

All lectures were held live in series of 7 both in 2023 and 2022. Purchase the recordings here.

MESSENGERS OF LOVE

The Love Affair between the Flower and the Bee

Poets have long adored the expression of love between the bee and the flower. In this lecture we will explore what that relationship is, and how flowers and bees relate to one another. Honey bees are specifically designed to discover sources of pollen and nectar. Flowers, in turn, have evolved to attract specific pollinators, from ants, to bats, to moths. Have you ever heard of a flower having a runway for bees to land on? Or sending out an electromagnetic pulse as bees draw near? In our 90 minute session we will discuss how bees find flowers, what the flowers do to help bees discover them, and how bees’ sensory organs are designed with flowers in mind.

ANIMISIM IN BEEKEEPING

How an animistic world view can support our relationship to bees

In this talk we will first learn what animism is and how an animistic world view can benefit modern life as we address societal division, climate change, and ecological collapse. Animism is the belief that everything is animate or filled with spirit and a form of consciousness. This means we can directly communicate with the spirit of a tree, a river, and landscape, or a hive. We will cover how an animistic approach can shift your life into deeper relationships with the world around you. Finally, we will learn how we can apply such views to the way we think about, and work with bees.

BODY SOVEREIGNTY

What Feminism, Women’s+ Bodies, and Earth Sovereignty Have To Do With Beekeeping

What does feminism have to do with beekeeping? What is the connection between our own sense of body sovereignty and the body sovereignty of a hive? How are the earth, beehives, and women+’s bodies related to one another in the age of Patriarchy?

In this lecture we will dare to discuss the idea of feminism in beekeeping and what a feminist approach to beekeeping might look like for all genders.

HONEY BEES AND THE GREAT GODDESS

Locating Bee Magic in European Goddess Lore

The Great Goddess is the overarching sacred feminine mother goddess found in many pre-Christian and pre-Patriarchal cultures of Europe, as well as other lands. For the purpose of this lecture, we will focus on the regions where apis mellifera (the western honey bee) is from. We find stories of bees connected to the divine feminine in many cultures. From Anatolian Artemis to Brigid of the Celtic Isles, the bee remains strongly tied to the goddess in her many forms. In this lecture we will trace some of the areas where we find bee symbolism, art, and story threaded through expressions of the feminine as creatrix, mother, and regenerative goddess.

TREES, SKEPS, GOURDS, AND CLAY

Pre-industrial/Alternative beekeeping in various regions and ages

In the 1800s Lorenzo Langstroth invented a beehive that would revolutionize beekeeping, and become the standard hive used in many parts of the world. In the United States, if you say beekeeping, the white boxes with their filling cabinet style frames are what immediately come to mind.

However, all over the world, there are a myriad of traditional hive styles that have been used to support the bees. In some regions they are clay, in others they are logs or stumps, in others they are woven baskets. In this lecture we will learn about hive styles from various regions, as well as hive styles from the ancient world. In doing so, we will discover how many of these alternative hive styles can support a more natural or bio-region sensitive approach to beekeeping.

THE DELPHIC BEE

Prophecy and Pilgrimage at the Oracle of Delphi

The Oracle of Delphi was one of the strongest and most lasting institutions of the ancient world. The Ancient Greek temple stood as an active oracular center and pilgrimage site for over a thousand years. While much of the Delphic rites continue to remain elusive to scholars, we do know that the Delphi Oracle was called both Pythia and Bee, connecting her to two ancient symbols of feminine power: the snake (python) and the bee. In this lecture we will discuss the Delphic bee, the bee maidens who taught prophecy to the god Apollo, the Cave of the Nymphs, and other aspects of this Temple once said to be constructed of beeswax and feathers.

HOW BEES HEAL US

An overview of apitherapy and the healing benefits of the hive

Bees are tiny alchemists, transforming the raw material of the land (pollen, nectar, sap), into substances imbued with healing power. While this healing gold is made by the bees for the bees, humans have also been the receptors of the bees’ healing gifts since the beginning of our relationship with them.

Propolis, Pollen, Beeswax, Honey, Royal Jelly, Venom, and even bee hive scent and sound have all been used to heal various conditions from wounds, burns, and ulcers, to lyme, MS, and asthma.

In this lecture we will discuss the various forms of apitherapy and how you can work with the bees and the products of the hive to heal and maintain health.