BEES
Bees have often been regarded as wise and even holy insects, having
foreknowledge as well as knowledge of many secret matters. In antiquity they
were sometimes divine messengers, and their constant humming was believed to be
a hymn of praise. Because of their status it is still considered unlucky in some
places to kill a bee. If a bee flies into the house it is a sign of great
good luck, or of the arrival of a stranger; however, the luck will only hold if
the bee is allowed to either stay or to fly out of the house of its won accord.
A bee landing on someone's hand is believed to foretell money to come, while if
the bee settles on someone's head it means that person will rise to greatness.
They were once considered to deliberately sting those who swore in front of
them, and also to attack an adulterer or unchaste person; it was once held to be
a sure sign that a girl was a virgin if she could walk through a swarm of bees
without being stung.
There is believed to be a very strong link between bees and their keepers; bees
cannot prosper in an atmosphere of anger or hatred, and will either pine away
and die or fly away. There is still a common belief that bees should be told
about deaths that occur in the beekeeper's family; in past times this was
extended to include every birth, marriage or other notable event in the life of
the family. It was especially important to inform the bees of the death of their
owner; traditionally this was done by the eldest son or widow of the owner, who
would strike each hive three times with the door day and say "The master is
dead". If the procedure was not followed, the bees would die or fly away. In
many districts the hives were put into mourning by having black crepe draped
around them, and the funeral feast sugar or small amounts of the food eaten by
the mourners were brought out for the bees.
An old country tradition states that bees should not be purchased for money, as
bought bees will never prosper. It is acceptable to barter for goods of the same
value in exchange for bees, and in some districts gold was an acceptable form of
payment. A borrowed swarm or one given freely is more likely to do well; a stock
of bees was often started from a borrowed swarm on the understanding that it
would be returned if the giver was ever in need of it.
Bee-stings were once thought to prevent rheumatism, and in some places a bee-
sting was also through to cure it.
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