Simon Buxton - The Shamanic Way of the Bee: Ancient Wisdom and Healing Practices of the Bee Masters

To the sweet honeybee, Apis mellifera. To Herr Professor, Opener of the Ways. To Alice, Rose, Sam, and all the children of today, wise ancestors of tomorrow. And of course, for Bid Ben Bid Bont.

The Shamanic Way of the Bee

Simon Buxtons unusually wondrous tale, combined with his exquisite use of words, brings radiant life to an ancient shamanic path: the Way of the Bee. Delve into the mystery with Buxtonthe story and teachings are brilliant!

Sandra Ingerman, author of
Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

As Simon remarks in his fascinating and inspirational book, sometimes we have no choice but to lie still so that we may become a speck in the universe and drink in the nature of the world. I call my soul to be present to witness the power of European shamanism and my friends journey with the honeybee. Ometeotl.

Elena Avila, MSN, RN, Curandera/Aztec shaman healer
and author of Woman Who Glows in the Dark

Every now and then there is a book that is not only well thought out but well thought of, one that dares to offer ancient wisdom for the modern spirit. Simon Buxtons The Shamanic Way of the Bee is such a book. It offers a brilliant and timeless perspective while tantalizing the reader with a splendid, eloquent, and comprehensible presentation. A leading voice in shamanism, Simon Buxton has given us a truly remarkable book, one that is destined to withstand the test of time and lead us farther down an ancient path in contemporary times.

Ken Eagle Feather, author of A Toltec Path

Within twelve hours of receiving The Shamanic Way of the Bee I had read it from cover to covertwice! It is an absolutely fascinating insight into the shamanic world and beautifully written.

Gareth Knight, author of
The Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism

Simon Buxtons much awaited debut is set to revolutionize the way we see European native traditions. This is a compulsive read, with elegantly chosen words that convey complex spiritual truths in a beautifully simple way. The Shamanic Way of the Bee promises to become a shamanic classic.

Prediction magazine

Simon Buxton is a man with genuine miracles to impart, taking us inside a remarkable hidden world of wonders and magic. If you buy only one book this year to help you on your path toward Truth, make sure its this one!

Ross Heaven, author of Vodou Shaman

Written from the heart and the soul, this book deserves study by all serious students of spirituality. While it is shamanic in aspects of presentation, ritual and belief, the wisdoms contained therein are ancient beyond time and applicable to all traditions.

LIGHT, the journal of the
College of Psychic Studies

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Sandra Ingerman for her friendship and support, Dr. Michael Harner for his wise mentoring and encouragement, Professor Stuart Harrop for walking between the worlds with such grace, Naomi Lewis for kindling and sharing the hearth-fire, Kate Shela for shared high adventures, Ithell Colquoun for the Wisdom Sword, the Sisters Six for parting the trembling veil, the Dreaming Arrows for their forever circle. To the Bee Masters and Mistresses who blazed the trail in very different times, illuminating the way for those who followed in their wake: le gach beannachtai agus gra.

Contents

Chapter 1.

Chapter 2.

Chapter 3.

Chapter 4.

Chapter 5.

Chapter 6.

Chapter 7.

Chapter 8.

Chapter 9.

Chapter 10.

Foreword

B y chance, I began writing this foreword at the entrance to a mountain cave in central Mexico. My plan had been to compare Simon Buxtons apprenticeship as recounted in The Shamanic Way of the Bee to the mesmerizing and elusive journey of Carlos Castaneda, and to summon up those shimmering glimpses of the magical that permeated his work. I thought there were important comparisons to be made between Simons teacher, Bid Ben Bid Bont (Bridge), and Castanedas neo-mythical don Juan and aspects of the teachings enunciated by these two mysterious, living archetypes. I had then decided to emphasize that our search for transformative paths should begin at home and that even the humblest of gardens oozed power and dripped magical secrets. My final purpose had been to contrast the nature of Castanedas beautiful but inconsistent tales with the absolute honesty that is a mark of Simons life and being.

The entrance to this ancient Mexican cave was the perfect context for this theme. I settled down with my notebook, in view of a deep blue sky, distant mountains, and a vast chaparral punctuated by long-fingered cacti pointing heavenward. Synchronistically, a white falcon circled in the hidden vortex of the wind above me. Lost within deeper, personal reveries, I let my heavy, preconceived theme fall onto the dusty cave floor and turned to look into the darkness behind me.

Of course I was not alone. My companions were not inorganic beings, nor were they the ghosts of Carlos and don Juan sitting still as stone shadows. Instead, a natural hive of bees hanging from the rock above me pulled my spirit into a separate, ancient, and utterly alien reality extinguishing the trivial pronouncements I had brought with me. The bees had built a cathedral in reverse from the rock face and, according to an ethic far more ancient than what we would call primordial, were relentlessly and unconditionally pursuing their tasks, despite my presence. I knew my danger; they tolerated and gave permission for my presence. In this part of the world there had been mortalities even among the skilled wayfarers of the local indigenous communities from unfortunate encounters with the very same species at work above me. Their mandate was to preserve their world, and each member of the community would be immediately prepared to die, if necessary, to achieve this. I took the advice from Simonfrom the Bee Masters textand remained relaxed and still. An occasional bee scout hummed toward me and returned to the hive, satisfied, for the moment, with my level of threat. I was tolerated. The humming of the hive and the motion of the bees served to detach me from my strategy and allowed me to see deeper into the implications of the teachings revealed by the Path of Pollen.

There is simply no need to seek to bolster Simons book by reference to Carlos Castaneda. There is no need to find a successful and established yardstick in order to entice the hesitant reader. Simon and his teacher reach into an ancient power and paradigm, and through that foundation and their own impeccability, they are perfectly capable of standing alone. With those pre-primordial resources they go on to draw the reader into incandescent realms that weave together the totality of the myths and cosmologies that permeate the stones and bones, the trees and mosses, the grass and gardens of Britain. Simon has immense affection for this country of milk and honey and its ancient, sleeping wisdom and numinous heritage. He has carefully wakened the sleeping dragon and shown how its long tail and wide wings embrace the roots of history, gathering in the beauty of an arcane cosmology and the mystery of the spirits hidden in our hills. Yet he doesnt stop there. He bridges the gulf between Celtic and Greek myths and travels beyond prehistory to explore the links between the deepest myths of this earth and their implications as he works to unfold time and the cosmos to discover the essence.