The Element of Air

'Air is essential to life; it is our very breath, it gives us space in which to move, it is the wind that kisses our cheek, it is Nike; the winged Goddess of Victory, it is the abode of the bird, the bee, the moth and the bat. It carries words of love, songs of joy and the sounds of nature. It brings us light from the sun and the first smell of sumer, whilst in the depths of our subconscious it symbolises the realm of thought, inspiration and imaginings. It is purified by the sylph elementals and carries the seeds of our dearest hopes and wildest dreams.'

From 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Elements' by Carole Carlton. See http://www.arcanus.co.uk/ for more details.

Bees: Health and History

Bees have been revered for at least 8,000 years, as evidenced in cave paintings and a carved gold plaque from Rhodes which now resides in the British museum.

The Myceaneans were so appreciative of the bee that they fashioned their tombs in the shape of a hive and the Priestesses who attended the Goddess Potnia who they referred to as 'The Pure Mother Bee' were all called Melissa, the Greek word for bee.

In Homer Hymn to Apollo we told that the 'Thriae', a trinity of Agean Bee Goddesses, gave Apollo the gift of prophesy, whilst both Achillies and Pythagorus were said to have acquired their gifts of eloquence from being fed on honey as children.

For humankind the benefits of bee products are manyfold:

• Honey

A vitamin packed boost of energy and because it is much sweeter than sugar you won't need as much to sweeten your food. An excellent expectorant.

• Bee Propolis

This is mainly gathered from tree resin and mixed with bee secretions that gives a gluey mixture which is excellent for wounds, rashes, cold sores, blisters and all round healer.

• Bee Pollen

Provides all the essential nutrients for a healthy immune system

• Royal Jelly

This is a concentrated superfood that is fed to the potential queens of the hives and helps with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME), skin, hair, nails, hormonal balance, sexual disorders, cardiovascular health, diabetes, blood pressure problems, asthma, hayfever and depressive disorders.

Mrs Darley, the title character in the Mrs Darley series of books always championed the bee and each year at the summer solstice, we would all eat honeyed toast after drumming up the sun at dawn. She would tell us that we should spare a moment's thought for this amazing creature of air, who provides us with such natural treasures.

Read more about the bee in 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers' and 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Elements' (out 6th July- pre order at Amazon)

Honey Bees

The plight of the honey bee in Britain is dire. The lack of clover fields and hawthorn hedges, the virulence of the varroa mite in hives and the mysterious 'Colony Collapse Disorder' (CCD) where some bees mysteriously leave the hive never to return and those that remain are overcome by fungal and viral infections are all serious contributors to the reduction of honey bee numbers. But why is this so important?

Einstein allegedly said: 'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have 4 years of life left. No bees, no pollination, no plants, no animals, no man.'

Scientists have since said that this is rather an extreme view, nevertheless it highlights just how important honey bees are. An average hive houses around 50,000 bees that pollinate some 500,000 plants per day. For this to be done manually would be far from cost effective and almost impossible to achieve. In 2007 the government worked out the value of bees to the UK economy to be £200 million, whilst their retail value was estimated to be closer to £1 billion.

We can each do our bit however to encourage the bee population:

• Grow bee friendly plants such as alliums (onion family) flowering herbs, beans, sunflowers, foxgloves, hollyocks


• Look into bee keeping yourself or contact your local bee keepers assocaition and allow a bee keeper to keep a hive on your land.


• Buy local honey

In the next blog discover the history myth and legend of bees, the health properties of bee products and what Mrs Darley has to say about them in the latest 'Mrs Darley' book out soon.