Bee Symbolism

The bee is a sign of industry, creativity, wealth, diligence and eloquence. The Egyptians used it as a symbol of regal power. In armoury, it is used to represent well-governed industry.

The Emperor Napoleon gave the bee considerable importance in the French armoury by adopting it as his personal badge. They also appeared on the mantle and pavilion around the armorial bearings of the empire, as well as on his coronation mantle. The bee is undoubtedly the most popular insect found in heraldry, and even the beehive occurs often as a crest.

"The Bee Hive is an emblem of industry, and recommends the practice of that virtue to all created beings, from the highest seraph in heaven to the lowest reptile in the dust. It teaches us that we come into the world rational and intelligent beings, so we should ever be industrious ones; never sitting down content while our fellow creatures around us are in want, especially when it is in our power to relieve them without inconvenience to ourselves.

When we take a survey of nature, we view man in his infancy, more helpless and indigent that the brute creation. He lies languishing for day, months, and years, totally incapable of providing sustenance for himself, or guarding against the attack of wild beats of the fields, or sheltering himself from the inclemency's of the weather. It might have pleased the great Creator of heaven and earth to have made man independent of all other beings, but as dependence is one of the strongest bonds of society, mankind were made dependent on each other for protection and security, as they thereby enjoy better opportunities of fulfilling the duties of reciprocal love and friendship. Thus was man formed for social and active life, the noblest part of the work of God, and he that will so demean himself as not to be endeavouring to add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding, may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of our protection as Masons."

Honey is a sweet, thick, supersaturated sugar solution manufactured by bees to feed their larvae and for subsistence in winter. The nectar of flowers is ingested by worker bees and converted to honey in sacs in their esophagei. It is stored and aged in combs in their hives. Bee honey is an important constituent of the diet of many animals, and is put to many uses by humans.

Bee honey is composed of fructose, glucose, and water, in varying proportions; it also contains several enzymes and oils. The colour and flavour depend on the age of the honey and on the source of the nectar. Light-coloured honeys are usually of higher quality than darker honeys. Honey to be marketed is usually heated and poured into sealed containers to prevent crystallization.

Honey is the only natural food made without destroying any form of life. Honey is also the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible. After his death, Alexander the Great's remains were preserved in a huge crock of honey. Among the ancient Egyptians, its was common practice to bury the dead in this manner.

Bee carvings have been found on the temple walls of ancient Egyptians. Indeed, references to honey and its healing powers are found in ancient papyri dating back to 5000 BC. Bee pollen then and now is described by some as "a life-giving dust". Welsh and Celtic folklore has abundant references to the sweet substance. At one point in their history, the Welsh paid their taxes in measures of honey.

Hippocrates, considered the father of medicine, wrote, "Honey and pollen cause warmth, clean sores and ulcers, soften hard ulcers of lips, heal carbuncles and running sores."