History of Honey
Humans have been using honey for thousands of years, a Metholthic cave painting in Valencia shows 2 honey foragers collecting honeycombs from wild bees.
The oldest known Honey remains were found in Georgia during Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline where archaeologists found honey remains on the inner surface of a clay vessel dating back between 4,700 and 5,500 years. In ancient Georgia several types of honey were buried with people for their journeys into the afterlife including Linden, Berry and meadow-flower varieties.
In ancient Egypt honey was used to sweeten cakes, biscuits and other food and as a base for unguents ( a soothing preparation spread on wounds, burns, rashes, abrasions or other topical injuries similar to an ointments but oilier and less viscous) Bees were kept at Egpytian temples to produce honey for temple offerings and mummifications.
Beekeeping in ancient Athens was so widespread that a law was passed by Solon saying ‘He who sets up hives of bees must put them 300 feet (90 metres) away from those already installed by another’. Greek beekeepers during the Hellenistic period did not hesitate to move their hives long distances to maximise production of honey and take advantage of the different vegetative cycles in different regions.
In India honey was considered to be natures gift to mankind. It was seen as an important part of the diet for anyone over 12 months of age. One use of honey was a way to get medicines absorbed into the body easily and quickly, honey was also said to maintain the potency of a medicine and prolong its effectiveness. Siddha texts prescribe honey as part of the treatment for Ushna (heart) related issues, excessive mucous, vomiting, gas problems and impurities in the blood. These texts identify 7 different kinds of honey with mountain honey was considered to have the highest medicinal value because its said to carry the properties of many medicinal plants from which the bees collect nectar.
Medical use of Honey
Honey has been used in folk treatments for burns and other skin injuries. Evidence suggests that it aids in the healing of partial thickness burns 4-5 days faster then other dressings and post-operative infections treated with honey heal faster with fewer adverse events then with antiseptic and gauze.
Honey has a long use as a topical antibiotic. Honeys antibacterial effects were first demonstrated by the Dutch scientist Bernardus Adrianus van Ketel in 1892.
Honey helps with digestion helping reduce constipation, bloating and gas as it’s a mild laxative, it is also rich in probiotic bacteria such as bifido bacteria and lactobacilli, which aid in digestion and promotes health of the immune system and reduces allergies.
Honey sourced from with a 10 mile radius of your home residence can help reduce hay fever allergies as it introduces the regions pollen in small doses to your immune system.
In a small scale study honey was proven to show improvement and relief for sufferers of Seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff. Participants of the study applied diluted crude honey every alternate day to the affective areas. The honey was left in place for 3 hours before being washed off with warm water. All patients showed improvement with itching relief and scaling disappearing within a week and lesions in two weeks. The patients hair loss also improved.
Honey contains many different kinds of sugar molecules including glucose and fructose so is a perfect as an instant energy booster
Honeys use in witchcraft
Honey is considered by many witches to be the nectar of the gods and been messengers from the spirit world.
Honey cakes are a traditional Litha/Summer solsitice treat try making a batch of these delicious treats and leave some out as an offering to the woodland sprites
Adding honey to spell jars will sweeten romance or help remove bitterness
Adding honey to a drinkable potions can help tie the binds of sisterhood making coven magic more potent.
Adding honey to your ritual soap can help nourish the skin and soothe spiritual tiredness
Honey is a great offering to the spirts try leaving a jar of honey rosemary lavender and mint out for the spirits for general protection. Again this can be used in fairy magic in a similar way.
Try using honey to help bring you manifestations to reality by placing a jar on your alter to help focus your wants.
Basically if you want to bring the help of spirits, woodland sprites or fairy magic into your practice honey is the way to do it.
Downside of Honey
Although honey is generally safe when taken in typical food amounts excessive consumption can have potential adverse effects on existing conditions. Honey consumption can interact with existing allergies, high blood pressure (diabetes) or anticoagulants used to control bleeding.
Toxic Honey
Honey produced from flowers of the rhododendrons, mountain laurels, sheep laurels and azaleas can cause honey intoxication. Symptoms of this include dizziness, weakness, excessive perspiration, nausea and vomiting – more serious symptoms include heart irregularities, convulsions both are less common and in extremely rare cases death.
Its important to be aware of the type of honey you are using in your practices.
I try to keep a jar of honey in my cupboard at all times currently I have honey infused with lemon slices and ginger root, ready for use in hot water when I am feeling under the weather or need a little pick me up.
So next time you see a honey bee say hello and thank them for this wonderfully versatile nectar of the Gods.
