Bee and symbolism

Wild bee hive, South of France.

  "Few creatures are as important in symbology as this insect and the life of its colonies. Virtually as soon as they were humans, they began gathering wild honey. Soon too, they discovered the possibility of beekeeping, a great step forward toward ensuring the continuation of life. 
Honey was used not only as a sweetener and in fermentation but also in making medicines ; the wax, to make candles, and later in casting metal ( the lost-wax or cire-perdue process ), and in Egypt in mummification.
In India, wild honey is plentiful, thus beekeeping did not develop there like it did in China, where it is an ancient art."

 

Bee on a coin of ancient Ephesus, 

symbol of the mother goddess

"Bee reminds us to take the honey of life and make our own lives meaningful and fertile.  In other words, bee tells us to enjoy what we do, whatever it may be.  Bee is also very much associated with the feminine, fertility, growth, and motherhood.  The queen bee is often the sole survivor when winter arrives, and she is the one to build the new hive in the spring.  The queen is the reason for most of these associations, if not all, since she is responsible for taking care of the hive."


Source : Dictionary of symbolism by Hans Biedermann.
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