(Originally posted on my Substack. Also yall don't have to subscribe to my SS, you can simply Follow, too, if you'd like.)
Today is actually March 1st as I type this. I’ve got two things on my mind: my mom and bees. The only thing those two have in common is that bees are psychopomps in some cultures—entities that carry the dead to the Spirit World. And my mom is dead. She died on October 14, 2023. We had a complicated relationship. She was an emotionally abusive alcoholic and I wasn’t an enabler. All the family wanted was for her to get sober, and all she wanted was death. When I learned of her death, I felt immense relief and a weight lifted from me.
The grief and healing process have been longer—going on before her death, honestly. I just put her memorial photos in an album yesterday. It felt good to put all of that information into a physical book. I sat there, looked and read, and remembered. How I reacted. How the kids reacted. Dealing with family and strangers. Some of who felt sorry and others who hated me. My mom was a narcissist and when I didn’t give in to her hostility and tantrums, she painted a picture of the ungrateful selfish daughter to anyone who would listen—I was her villain.
Eh, happens when you’re a Cycle Breaker and a Generational Healer. I’m used to it.
I didn’t really care. As I said to those people, there’s a huge difference in her words to them and her actions towards me and my children.
Why bees, other than being psychopomps? Well, The Melissae are calling again, not that They ever really left. Inspired by Their presence this year, I recently bought three books about bees and bee entities:
- The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore by Hilda M. Ransome (1937) (by the time this posts, I’ll be finished with this one…)
- The Shamanic Way of the Bees: Ancient Wisdom and Healing Practices of the Bee Masters by Simon Buxton (2006) (…and probably onto this one.)
- Meeting the Melissae: The Ancient Greek Bee Priestesses of Demeter by Elizabeth Ashley (2022)
I know a little bit about The Melissae. Minoan and Hellenic Bee Priestesses, Nymphs, and Dancers connected to Ariadne, Demeter, Persephone, and Others. Nature Spirits. Messengers. Psychopomps. For me They take the form of gigantic honey bees, anthropomorphic bees, or as human women with bee wings, antennae, and Minoan priestess garb of bee colors. Bee Stinger Daggers dripping with nourishing honey and purifying venom.
For me They are more connected to the Minoan Ariadne and the Hellenic Persephone, but then Demeter isn’t one of my deities. I’ve sought a relationship with Her in the past, but She’s not interested and I don’t take it personally. Perhaps it’s due to my Mother Wound? Although I have other Spiritual Mothers, such as Vestia (Hestia-Vesta) and Hekate.
I do have a relationship with the Roman Ceres, although I don’t connect Her with the Bees, and nor do I have a relationship with Her daughter Proserpina.
I believe that The Melissae first made contact with me in 2018. I was already working with Nymphs. When Medusa led me to belly dancing, Nymphs and Bee Spirits often joined me.
In 2020, I fully accepted The Melissae. They guided me in many ways, starting with learning how to garden, turning my rot thumb into a green one.
Then as my relationship with my mom really started to fall apart—once the illusions faded of her being a savior—from 2020 to 2022 life was just series of crisis after crisis after crisis (as was for many folks). They began working with me as guides of Persephone and Ariadne. They started aiding me with Shadow Work regarding my mom and those Inner Child Fragments. Bees and a Fox would guide me through a cave, down into Gaia’s Womb, and to a door to the Underworld. I learned how to be a Torch Bearer on those journeys with Bees, Fox, Persephone, and Hekate.
I started honoring The Melissae on the World Bee Day (May 20), Summer Solstice (June 20-22), Honeysweet (August 1), and World Honey Bee Day (August 17th).
I learned about how Beekeepers of old would tell the bees when someone died, so they would escort the souls to the spirit world, and other traditions and folklore. Many old cultures also saw bees as the spirits of the dead. So I began to pray to The Melissae when someone died, to aid that spirit as they crossed over, to find where they’re supposed to be on their dying/death journey.
I learned how being a Queen Bee isn’t as marvelous and powerful as humans would like to think, because if a queen doesn’t do her job as a fertile egg layer, the other bees will kill and replace her with a queen who can. We humans can learn a lot from bee colonies.
When I joined ADF, The Melissae volunteered to be my Gatekeeper for the spring and summer months (Rabbit and Snake for March, Spider for October, Reindeer for fall and winter months). So I learned how to perform the Core Order of Ritual mostly with Them, mixing my magik with Theirs to open the Gates between our world and the Other in ritual.
When the cold months come, The Melissae sleep with their Bee relatives, or perhaps watch over the hives? Never asked. I just know that for me They usually don’t return until the bees are active again in the warmer months.
Technically The Melissae still aren’t active for me yet. I’ve just been feeling urges to learn about Bee folklore and cultures. Bee magik. Bee guides. Recently They’ve told me that They want to be honored at the Spring Equinox, a day that I usually save for Persephone and Dionysus’ Return from the Underworld.
This past summer and fall, Hekate told me that it was time for me to take my healing from the shadows to the surface. To learn how to trust Joy. Trust in Sunna. Follow the Sun. These last few years, I’ve been following all manner of entities in the Shadow Lands, even the Bees through those caves. Now The Melissae wish to guide me in the bright, golden sunlight, too, starting on the Equinox.
Trust in Sunna. Trust in Joy. Follow the Bees…
~ Priestess Foxlyn
I offer psychic readings if interested. I’m a Psychic Medium who can channel Deities, Spirits, and the Dead—human and animal. These entities may use pendulums, cards, runes, automatic writing/typing/drawing, possession, or energies to answer your questions. I accept Venmo and trade. Click the link above for more information.
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Until then, you can email me at foxtorchphoto18@gmail.com
On April 26th, If you’re in the area of Dayton, Ohio, I’ll be at Kettering Polen Farm for Dayton Pagan Coalition’s Psychic Faire. If you’re also a local vendor, psychic, or healer, there may still be spots available.