As we leave the dark inwardness of the winter months, we find ourselves in the midst of one of the most ancient and venerable of our seasonal rituals: swarming season for the honeybees. This 100 million-year-old rite of love for the greater whole has many lessons to teach in our current age of collapse.
When honeybees swarm, the queen flies out of the darkness of the hive where she dwells and works tirelessly for the whole of her life. The queen quits the protection of the communal womb of the hive for the outside world. She is accompanied by about 2/3 of the colony in the swarming action of the honeybee colony.
The queen, the mother of all the honeybees in the colony, goes out on a limb (literally) to make room for the emergence of a new queen or queens in a few weeks’ time. The colony prepares to swarm when there is enough brood (baby bees) to repopulate the hive and ample honey stores for the new colony to have a shot at survival during the transition to a new laying queen.
Swarming is an expression of abundance, an acknowledgement of “enoughness,” and of love for future generations. Swarming is a sacred and vulnerable moment for the whole colony—only about 50% of swarms make it to a new home.
The honeybees fashion a living hive out of their very bodies to protect their mother, their queen, their Source, from the dangers of the larger environment. As a collective, clinging to one another, out on a limb, and exposed to the elements, the swarm is only one rainstorm away from devastation.
Why would the honeybees willingly undertake such a risky endeavor? Simply put: to evolve.
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May this day, and this season, bestow the blessings of new life upon you.
If you need help or encouragement in swarming from the habits and story lines of your old a narrative into something as-yet unformed and new, let me know. Honeybees don’t swarm on their own, but do so together. So do we.
For those who might be interested in my weekly Zoom online journey circle on Wednesdays at 4-5:30 pm PST, let me know. The prerequisite is a one-on-one session with me. Test driving you first circle is free. The monthly subscription is $40.
If you live in Eugene and would like to regularly attend a weekly circle, or would like to attend a weekend retreat on the theme of swarming season, also let me know of your interest at aalkin07@gmail.com.