Teachings of the Mythic Past: A Bit About Bees in Slavic Magic and Culture
Bees, wax and honey have a long history that has been cultivated into traditions, calendars and family customs for Slavic nations. Honey’s primary and ceremonial function is to act as a go-between for humans and our ancestors, bridging the gap between this world and the next as we go through the various life stages. Honey has served in ritual settings, including its role as a protective agent and a symbol of fertility. It has been used for greetings, erotic gestures, and magical symbolism.
The Symbol of Honey
Honey is a symbol of sweetness and gentleness, an offering to deceased ancestors and deities, and a powerful healing and cleansing tool. If you’ve ever seen the movie which was based on the original novel by Jozef Ignacy Kraszewsk, An Ancient Tale: When the Sun was God, you’ll recall the scene where a young maiden visits an old crone for a love spell which of course involves honey. Her bare body is covered in sticky honey and grains to promote love that lasts and the fruitfulness of that love.
From Tree-Climbers to Apiaries
Thousands of years ago, many pan-European tribes learned the technique of beekeeping from the honey bee, which is native to most of the vast woodlands of northern and central Europe. With the gradual clearing and cultivation of the land, each family had its allotted section of the forest. They marked the trees where wild bees had built their nests on their rightful properties, so they could claim the share of the honey collected from them.
In today’s world things are not as complicated because we have apiaries. In older methods of beekeeping, men hollowed out holes in trees for the bees, often quite high and in the tallest and straightest fir trees. They’d often have to climb up to get the honey. From this custom comes an old Russian word for a bee-man which means “tree-climber” or “wood weasel” (drevo-lasecu) (Ransome).
Laws Regarding Bees
The bees and their home among the trees were so valuable to the Slavs that very harsh laws were in place to protect them. If anyone harmed bees, they would be publicly disemboweled at the scene of the crime and their intestines would be wrapped around the bee tree that was harmed (Marquette University, Slavic Institute Papers NO. 17).
If anyone harmed bees, they would be publicly disemboweled at the scene of the crime and their intestines would be wrapped around the bee tree that was harmed (Marquette University, Slavic Institute Papers NO. 17).
Language and the Sacred Bee
Bees are considered so sacred in Lithuania that the word to describe a human death is also used for the death of a bee. When it comes to the demise of anything else, there is a different word used (Woodruff). “In Lithuanian, the words are “mirti” or “numirti” for bees and humans. But when it comes to other animals the word is nugaišti, though some may find the word too insensitive as it is also a slang word to mock an “awful” person who died” (Ingrid Kyguolyte).
In Polish the phrase used to describe a bee’s death is also used to describe human death; however, other species would use a different verb, just like in Lithuanian(Movna). In my personal research, I have also found this same statement related to languages Polish, Ukrainian, and Serbian making this to appear as a Pan-Slavic tradition.
According to scholar Uliana Movna, “The glorification of the bee is fixed by the expression: The bee does not die (as an animal), but passes away (as a human), in the Ukrainian folk verbal culture.”
The bee does not die (as an animal), but passes away (as a human), in the Ukrainian folk verbal culture.
I asked this question publicly to verify my research and also satisfy my curiosity. I was given more confirmation in The Roots of Slavic Magic, a Facebook group with Slavs from all over the world.
“In Polish language, “umierac” is specifically reserved for humans and bees. “Zdychac” is for other animals (although the latter is generally a bit harsh so it is sometimes refrained from being used”(Agata Zakrzewska). (Please disregard any typos – this version of WordPress is not accommodating to certain letters in other languages.
“When the bees in a beehive are all gone, they say that the bee died, and they use the same word as for people who have died. For example, in Serbian: “umrla je pcela”, where “umrla” is a word for dead (grammatically female). For animals, example, “dead horse” the expression is “crkao je konj” where “crkao” is the word for the animal that died (Vladimir Pavlovic).
What is also a key point here, in Serbian, the word referring to the death of the bee is grammatically female. Based on my research, this further instills the connection between honeybees and the Bee Goddess, Austeja and her male counterpart/husband Bubilas.
“Honey cakes” are a typical Slavic offering to deities, according to Woodruff (Roots of Slavic Magic Book 1, p.393).
In the beginning of August, the Slavs celebrate Medoviy Spas. Medoviy Spas means “bee divinity” or “honey savior,” thus it’s obvious that they’re celebrating the Bee God and Goddess. During this holiday the first honey harvest is gathered. It is not surprising that most Lamas (Pagan holiday celebrated around the same time) bread recipes call for honey. “Honey cakes” are a typical Slavic offering to deities, according to Woodruff (Roots of Slavic Magic Book 1, p.393).
Beekeeper Magicians
It is believed that Polish beekeepers have been working with bees since ancient Slavic tribes inhabited Europe (roughly around the 13th century and before.) Forest beekeepers were highly esteemed and granted unique privileges.
Wizards, magical wise men described in various Medieval literature are also connected to bees. It was thought that beekeepers were associated with wizards or have wizard-like qualities. People thought that if you kept bees, you were a “hoodoo doctor,” a witch, or someone who knew a lot about strange things (Movna).
In traditional Ukrainian culture, the most accomplished beekeepers were known as pasichny kcharivnyk, or “beekeeper magicians” or “apiary wizards”. Didy, grandfathers or older males in the society, were traditionally responsible for beekeeping (Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, Pamita).
In traditional Ukrainian culture, the most accomplished beekeepers were known as pasichny kcharivnyk, or “beekeeper magicians” or “apiary wizards”. Didy, grandfathers or older males in the society, were traditionally responsible for beekeeping (Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, Pamita).
From Mead to Museums
Honey fairs were held near Wurttemberg, and there were also large mead breweries in the 12th century along the Danube near Ulm. In other districts there were large quantities of mead brewed, especially on the Baltic coasts of Livland, Prussia, and at Dantzig and Riga.
Mead was so popular and part of daily life that during medieval times in Eger in Bohemia, what is now Czechoslovakia, thirteen mead breweries produced hundreds of barrels per year. After the Reformation and the Thirty Years War, these numbers drastically decreased (Ransome).
The first ever beekeeping manual was published in 1614 in Poland marking the beginning of “progressive” beekeeping (Kacki and Ostrorog 1614). Europe’s first school dedicated to the knowledge of beekeeping was founded in Vienna in 1768 by Maria Theresa (Slovenia.si).
Kazimierz Lewicki founded the Warsaw Beekeeping Museum in 1882, which later served as an instructional, academic, and commercial institution (Movna). It is unfortunately no longer standing today.
Despite some museums no longer existing, there is the wonderful Beekeeping & Heritage Park in Poznan that you can visit today and experience Polish apiculture. The Beekeeping Heritage Park and Museum, Europe’s biggest outdoor ethnographic museum, houses an unparalleled collection of beehives.
The oldest hive at this wonderful museum is approximately 600 years old. The unique demonstrative hive, which lets visitors see the bees’ private life up close, is a major draw. The Beekeeping Museum in Slovenia also has a remarkable collection of “bee-houses”. The typical Slovenian bee house is built from a chest with multiple drawers. The ends of the drawers are often decorated and painted with beautiful pictures, “so that the bees may know which is their door. ”
If you’ve learned anything new from this article I hope you run and “tell it to the bees!”
For further information check out this video and the references below:
References:
The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore (Dover Books on Anthropology and Folklore)
Marquette University, Slavic Institute Papers NO. 17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lithuanian_gods_and_mythological_figures
Slavic Deities and Their Worship, The Roots of Slavic Magic Book 1, Patricia Robin Woodruff
Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft: Slavic Magic from the Witch of the Woods by Madame Pamita
The Ritual Aspects of Ukrainian Beekeeping by Uliana Movna
Stara ba??: Kiedy s?o?ce by?o bogiem (An Ancient Tale: When the Sun was God)
Pioneers of Slovenian Beekeeping
Nieco o Muzeum pszczelniczym w Warszawie
**
About the Author:
Kimberly Anne is a USA freelance writer and Administrative Secretary of Art and Music at a college near her hometown. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Creative Writing and English Literature and is also a member of Sigma Tau Delta. She is currently working on her Masters in Library and Information Science degree.
After devoting a decade to the personal study of global mythology and folklore, she began writing about them. She focuses primarily on Nordic, Germanic, and Slavic pre-Christian beliefs. Kimberly has worked with various clients on freelance work including Patricia Robin Woodruff, PhD. MDiv and the YouTube channel Mythology Unleashed. She is a polytheist with animist beliefs who loves to talk about it all! You can find her in the book stacks of the library, in a forest with Landvættir or at www.kimberlyanneinc.com
