A swarm and another turn on the honeybee wheel.

Spring has hit Vancouver in full force! The cherry trees are in full pink bloom, allergies are high and the bees have been out gathering pollen for weeks now.

Having said all that as a beekeeper there are certain things that I need to be aware of this time of year, but mostly it is watching and waiting for May 1st when the winter cover can come off the hive and we begin watching for swarms. However.

My bees were decidedly busy this season talking every opportunity of the early warm days to gather pollen and this triggered the queen into some early laying which made them outgrow their home very early in the season.

What does this all mean you may ask?

Well I have a story to tell you, about the bees, so grab yourself a mug of tea or coffee and read ahead…..

It was a sunny morning and the garden was beckoning me, so I grabbed my boots and shovel and started weeded the spot around the bee hive that had been waiting for me all week to get to. Within a few moments of pulling up weeds close tot he hive, a few bees came out to see what I was doing which was not unusual, I had a great little chat with them explaining what was going on and figured that would be the end of it, but within a few minutes more were gathering and so I decided that perhaps I was disturbing them that much so I stopped and moved away from the hive. Once I was standing up and could see the larger picture of what was going on I said to Zahra who has since joined me in the garden “The bees seem swarmy today don’t you think?”

No sooner then the words had left my mouth I knew that they were not just swarmy, they were actually swarming!

Now if you have never experienced a swarm before, let  me tell you that it is truly a beautiful and powerful thing to experience. Imagine 20,000 bees buzzing and peaceful swarming up into the sky and all around you. The sound is intense and powerful and deafening!

I had been fortunate enough to help my beekeeping sister a few seasons ago with her first swarm, but since I was taking photos and holding space I was having a completely different experience then she was, as she was running around making sure that she did her job as their beekeeper in getting them back into a hive. I blogged about it “Here”

This year it was my turn, my “beekeeping initiation” as Nao called it and it was truly magical and stressful and wonderful all in one!

As soon as I realized what was happening I knew I was going to need help, so I made a few calls, the first one being to Nao, for emotional reassurance and a few tips before going in to gather the swarm, and my neighbors two doors down that are interested in learning to keep bees so they can help us when we go away in the summer. The were about to unknowingly get a crash course!

I should also mention that we are a very close neighborhood, so once the word got out what was happening everyone brought their kids over to see the swarm and experience it, so the house was full of little ones running around, asking questions and generally being excited!

Then of course the bees decided to land on the highest branch of my neighbors tree!

Yes it really was to be a neighborhood experience, so it was off to borrow a ladder across the road from Peter and then back with Jason and Jayne, my sweet hubby Sohrab  and Zahra with the camera to capture everything-literally!

Here are some photos of us cutting down the swarm:

Slowly, Slowly…..

Then it was down and safe in our hands-Whew!

Finally I shook the branch out into a big plastic tub and closed the lid, it took awhile as you can see!

Carrying it back to our yard down the back alleyway.

Then it was a matter of getting them in and the lid on the hive safe and sound!

And there it is in full circle fashion, the bees sorted themselves out, got a bigger home and now I have 2 hives of bees again, the first with a new top house and loads of room to grow, who are happily awaiting a new queen to be born, and the swarm hive safe and sound with their queen, ready to grow into a full sized hive.

Life, Death, Re-birth, the circle turns again……

Diggng in the Dirt

I had no idea how much I missed dirt until I started truly digging in it again. Placing my hands in the rich topsoil, turning it under, pulling out weeds and saying hello to worms and grubs as I unearth them from their dark beds.

This week the garden was extra lucky because it got my large vat of beet and pomegranate juice and pulp that I was using to dye my drums with, it is such a rich mixture I can’t imagine dumping it anywhere else but in the garden.

I am fascinated by how dirt has so many magical properties and is just as renowned through out history for it sacredness, as the more well known things such as honey, oak leaves, incense, or crystals, just to name a few.

People have been blessing their gardens and asking for fertility from the goddess for their land for time immemorial,  especially at this time of year being so close to Beltane, we are all thinking about dirt and fertility.

People also have been bringing back vials and pots of sand and dirt from places they visit as sacred for centuries, considered as good luck and holy dirt caries with it the distilled essence of the place it came from.

There are stories of holy dirt curing ailments,  from places such as El Santuario de Chimayó where one must make a paste from the dirt and rub it on the place that is bothering them, or they make it into a mud like drink and consume it.

It has also been said that sprinkling holy dirt on a fire during a thunder storm will calm it, but I have yet to try this theory out.

Ages ago I wrote a blog post about bones of the earth, a post about how stones are the bones of the earth, but dirt is the flesh of the mother, the living force that allows things to grow and be nourished.

There are some beliefs that say to make a proper spell you must bury it{the spell objects} in the earth for a month and then dig it up under the full or dark moon depending on the intended purpose. The ground sanctifies and consecrated the object, and I have been known to bury some of my most treasured objects and beads if I felt that they needed cleansing in a different way then that of the moon or using running water. Sometimes it is only for a few hours, or day and sometimes the object needs to be buried for the full cycle of the moon.

Practitioners of Hoodoo use graveyard dirt for spells of protection and not so nice love spells, and in the Santeria tradition dirt is gathered from various locations and depending on where it came from, the forest, the ocean etc..  used to create amulet bags for spellwork.

I find dirt extremely fascinating, as a do the many traditions that use it in their spiritual work. Personally my work with dirt is more organic {pun intended} and leans towards the more traditional uses as a greenwitch and herbalist. The most I use dirt for is to consecrate personal items and for growing things in, of course in my pathfinder/shamanic work, the underworld is a place I frequently go, and find the darkness  of being under the earth soothing.

I like to bring dirt back from places I have been, but I also like to bring back little stones, shells and bones because to me they are all sacred.

The earth is sacred to me and I have pledged to never knowingly do it harm, which is a pretty daunting and yet simple task as I do my small part in recycling and composting, but I have to admit that the bigger picture alludes me and often leaves me feeling overwhelmed, and wondering how I can do more.

When this happens I find that the best place for me to go is directly to the garden, dig my hands in deep and ask the kind spirits that reside there what to do, the answer I seem to always get is simple, start where you are.

And so it is with this “start where you are” theme in mind, that today I will venture out with my family and our amazing neighbors two doors down to bring chickens back to our little plot of land where a beautiful new coop awaits them!

Yes as of today we shall have our own manure to fertilize the garden with and eggs to show for all of our hard work.

Blog post to come…..

Happy Sunday-ing everyone!

 

 

 

 

Sacred Honey Mead.

A drink I took of the magic mead,

Taken out of Othrorir.

Then I began to know and to be wise,

To grow and to weave poems.

Mead is known to have been made the world around, from the British Isles, to Ireland and Germany and as far away as India. Mead, or Soma, was brewed and used as a sacred drink, causing those who partook of it to dance and be filled with ecstatic joy.

The folklore around the honey bee, and mead making is rich and full of magic, and it was from reading these inspirations I was compelled to brew my own, from my own bees honey and to use it for sacred purposes.

Now what is a witch to do when she has need of learning you ask?

Well she calls another witch of course! So I put in a “sacred phone call” to my friend Sarah, Witch of Forest Grove the “meadstress” and planned a day of sacred mead making and mischief!

But before I get to that, I just have to share a little lore about mead, one story I promise, then I will get on with the fun details of our day…..

There is one bit of lore that says that the name Melissa was applied to nymphs as well as priestesses. That nymphs were closely associated with bees because of their affinity of living in hollowed out trees and caves where wild bees are also said to live.  The myth says that when the nymphs lured men away from their earthly life they would feed them honey comb and sweet milk and honey. One nymph in particular whose name was Melissa, is said to have made mead and taught the other nymphs how to mix honey with water , to allow it to ferment and to feed the men that came their way trapping them for infinity. It was from this nymph “Melissa”that it is said, that the bees got their name Melisse.

As you can imagine with such a wonderful and rich amount of magic and lore surrounding it, I just had to make my own and could not, would not wait any longer!

Oh yes, I had dreams of making a rich red pomegranate, so I was utterly grateful for Sarah for her suggestions and advice on this, as she has been making all sorts of mead’s for a good many years now and said that pomegranate on it’s own is usually sour and very terrible tasting. And so it was decided that it would become a Blackberry Pomegranate mead, which was simply alright by me!

Before we actually got down to getting all the equipment though we had to have tea, and then it was time for lunch, so a spontaneous trip to Chinatown happened for dim sum and loads of laughter as we made our way up the sunny street to the restaurant getting excitedly sidetracked along the way.

Finally, finally, hours after we first began, we made it to Dan’s Homebrew for supplies. There was an initial investment that needed to be made, which can be reused for years to come so I was happy to commit. Dan{whoever he is} made it easy by selling everything together as a kit.

Dan’s is a wonderfully cozy place filled to the rafters with everything one could possibly need for brewing everything from wine and mead to a thousand different kinds of beer.

Once we trucked everything into the car and picked up about 5 gallons of organic honey juice and berries we were all set to begin. First the honey was gently heated with water to kill all of the wild yeast that is naturally occurring and then mixed in a sanitized pail with all of the juice and berries, we used pomegranate juice and blackberries.

For the first part of mead making, the honey that is used is specifically to be killed, so it is not usually important what kind you use as you will not actually be able to taste it. Thanks to Sarah’s advice on this before we began I opted for a local clover honey, knowing that later when we get to the next step I will add mine from my hives and this honey will be tasted and not killed off! Lastly we added wine yeast to the pot and gave it a big stir.

As one can imagine, it was important to us both that this mead have some magic to it,  so we did a beautiful and very simple ritual, calling in all my bee helpers and ancestors asking them to make it sweet and tasty and filled with magic. We used the last of of Sarah’s  sweet handmade melissae incense and she consecrated the whole brew while I drummed and sweet Zahra watched.

I am now the happy owner of a big cauldron{Ok pail -LOL} of mead happily bubbling away, the yeast eating the honey and working away at the berries and juice making a sweet concoction that according to my daughter Zahra already smells like magic…….