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 VIEW CART (4 ITEMS) |
 
 
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Sweetness and Light: Beeswax Candles by Lorraine Aho  We have chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax, thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light.-Jonathan Swift During these long winter nights, I light beeswax candles in all the rooms of my home. Part of this stems from the serene enchantment of watching candlelit shadows dance on the walls and ceiling while a soft scent of honey envelopes the air. Deep down however, I feel that by lighting beeswax candles I am invoking an ancient tradition of prodding the sun out of its winter hibernation and hastening the arrival of spring and the birds and the bees. Unfortunately, no meteorologist or astronomer has credited me with ushering in an early planting season even though I am sure I push things up a day or two. Holy Honey, Batman! Beeswax candles have played a part in spiritual beliefs and customs beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing through today. Fires have been a mystery to humans since Greek myths made fire's warmth and light a possession of the gods. Bees have held a place in religious symbolism for centuries, ever since being identified with the "Queen" or Mother Goddess. The use of beeswax in sacred candles date as far back as the earliest organized religions. Ancient Egyptians believed that bees were born from the tears of Ra, the Sun God. When his tears fell onto the soil, they were transformed into bees that built honeycombs and produced honey. Following that, beeswax was regarded as sacred and spiritual leaders used candles made from beeswax. Later, ancient Greeks believed that bees were born spontaneously from animal corpses and therefore symbolized resurrection and rebirth. After observing bees traveling from flowers up to the sky, the Greeks revered bees as holy messengers that carried prayers from earth to heaven. Anything created by bees, such as honey or beeswax, was considered a gift from the gods. In the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui, beeswax candles create fire ch'i energy, which is believed to encourage passion and expressiveness. In Hebrew the word for bee, Dbure, is derived from the word Dbr, meaning speech, and thus bees symbolized eloquence and intelligence among early Jewish believers. The use of candles was very important in Jewish rituals and the Torah teaches, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord". Moses received the elaborate design for the Temple Menorah from God along with the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. 
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