The Shamanic Way of the Bee by Simon Buxton

Review of Book on the Ancient Western Shamanic Path of Pollen

Jul 3, 2009

An ancient order of Shaman Bee Masters in Britain, and beyond, continues rites that were conceived at the dawn of time.

Simon Buxton’s book The Shamanic Way of the Bee (Inner Traditions Bear and Company, July 2004)is, quite simply, extraordinary. The book reveals the mysteries of the Path of Pollen, a path of spiritual initiation undergone by groups of mystical beekeepers who penetrate realities that lie beyond everyday awareness, truths made accessible through ancient wisdom and longstanding shamanic cooperation with the honeybee.

Simon Buxton’s writing is refreshingly honest and down to earth, even when dealing with the strangest aspects of his experiences described in The Shamanic Way of the Bee. Despite the sometimes challenging, though more often delightful, subject matter the author retains his readers, keeping the narrative accessible and plausible.

Throughout the book Simon Buxton gives an authentic impression of how it felt to experience the steps of initiation into the Shamanic Way of the Bee that he has himself undergone. He describes the full range of emotions, from awe to incredulity, from deep comfort to abject fear, and from wonderment to a self-conscious sense of the ridiculous. Simon Buxton’s unfailingly engaging honesty gives his book authenticity and credibility.

A Western Shamanic Tradition: The Path of Pollen

The cells of the Shamanic Way of the Bee comprise a Bee Master and his apprentice, alongside the Bee Mistress and her Mellisae, her female students and associates. There is no formal recruitment; rather members are mysteriously drawn to the tradition.

In the case of Simon Buxton, this first experience occurred at a young age, through a very serious illness that was averted by a neighbour who performed shamanic rites linked to his role as a beekeeper. Beekeeper and boy became firm friends following this incident, and through this friendship Simon Buxton learnt the rudiments of beekeeping, skills which were to stand him in good stead as an adult drawn to the Shamanic Way of the Bee.

He became the final apprentice of a respected elder of the path of pollen, the enigmatic and charismatically wise Bridges. This path leads him through sometimes terrifyingly challenging experiences through which he learnt of deep shamanic truths thanks to his close bond with the bees.

Bee Shaman Knowledge Published for the First Time

Many of the rites and practices described in The Shamanic Way of the Bee have been closely guarded by initiates for millennia. Simon Buxton felt that our era is the appropriate time to make this wisdom more widely known, and certainly those who read The Shamanic Way of the Bee are unlikely to be unchanged, or at least unmoved, by this truly unique account of an ancient Western Shamanic Tradition that has survived to modern times.

Readers may also enjoy reading about the historically accurate novel The Way of Wyrd about the Shamanic aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture, along with Discovering Shamanism.

The copyright of the article The Shamanic Way of the Bee by Simon Buxton in Shamanism is owned by Joanne E. Brannan. Permission to republish The Shamanic Way of the Bee by Simon Buxton in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.