Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. I have been pondering what they stand for, and how much they remind me of the gifts of the bees. Of the wonders of honey, propolis and wax.
The three substances offered by the Three Kings were held as symbols of awareness for the spiritual events taking place behind the outer physical phenomena in ancient mystery wisdom.
In today’s biodynamic practice they are considered sacred substances to be offered to the earth and to the world of nature beings on this day of Epiphany which marks the end of Christmas. All over the world biodynamic farmers and gardeners will have applied gold, frankincense and myrhh to the land, in a mood of giving, and with love and hope for the future.
The Three Kings Preparation was created by Hugo Erbe (1885-1965), inspired by his his life’s work as a biodynamic farmer. To Hugo Erbe, the nature spirits, the hosts of unseen beings, were a reality he experienced in his daily work; he was aware of their benign influence, and sought to find ways to encourage them..
Following the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 he observed a massive disruption and flight of beneficial elemental beings from his farmland. He experienced this deep wound to the living sheath of the earth as a process whereby the elementals were being demonised. To help heal the damage done to the earth’s organism and bring the elementals back into equilibrium he developed a preparation made from the substances whom we remember as the gifts of the Magi from the East, the three Wise Men.
As the last branches of the Christmas tree smoulder in the hearth, I feel moved to think about our beautiful bees, the bees of the world, of whom we know so little. What might they wish for us, on this day and all days, what could they be dreaming in the dark fragrance of their hives? Are they dreaming of a time in the future when they will be better known by us impoverished humans, and cherished by us all? We think, in our benighted arrogance, that we know so much about the bees, but do we know them truly? Do we love them for the mystery and vitality of their life sustaining work? Will they fly into many more hearts, inexorably, to help us, to show us how to live, and, should we be so fortunate to be living with bees, how to aspire to ever more mindful ways of interacting with the bees in our hives?
In a little more than a week’s time one of our trustees will propose in a public debate that natural beekeeping – a mindful approach to “keeping” bees may well be the only way forward. Join us in spirit if you cannot be there.
May the bees continue to bring their warmth and light into our lives and kindle our love of the unseen.