Thanks to Liz for a lovely Bee fable!
        I would not be surprised--just a rippling baby shock--if there
        were not some "treed" relationship to Bee lore of the fertile
        crescent regions.
 
        eg. Near delphi there is an "omphalos" center--a navel of
        the Earth. Where the priestesses used to be sought as oracle
        to tell of the future and past. They sat on tri-legged stools
        near a spot where supposedly vapours rose from the Earth's
        warm heart.  The omphalos is marked by beautifully carved
        domed artifacts. These are dome-hive shaped and decorated with
        carvings of Bees.
 
        The Bee was sacred to the early Great Mother Goddess and the
        Triple Goddess. And when she deigned in later years, she would
        allow the immortals to feed on nectar and ambrosia.
 
        The creation myth[s] that ground these life paradigms always
        narrate the life and its continuation--ala seasonal and
        metempsychosis--as chtonic: i.e. underworld as creative center
        with bees, snakes, piglets!, and figs as major players.
 
Thanks again Liz for making it a nice morning.
 
Lois
 
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