Spiritual Beekeeping: An Ethnographic Exploration of Sacred Apiculture in Present-day United States

While many have acknowledged the existence of sacred apiculture traditions, very little research has been undertaken to understand the practices, experiences, and cosmologies of beekeepers who cultivate spiritual relationships with bees. Historians and researchers have observed sacred apiculture traditions throughout Euro-American culture, with origins of practice and belief reaching back to antiquity.1 Similarly, sacred apiculture is currently prevalent amongst beekeepers throughout the United States.2 However, to date, virtually no ethnographic research has been conducted to better understand the nature of the spiritual relationships between beekeepers and their bees.3 In order to contribute to this underserved area of academic inquiry, this qualitative study leverages one-on-one interviews with sacred apiculture practitioners throughout the United States to explore the myriad rites, beliefs, and experiences associated with these practices. This research finds that sacred apiculture enables practitioners to gain a capacity for interspecies communication, direct access to spiritual wisdom, experiences of miraculous healing, the dissolution of individual identity, and a heightened sense of ecological consciousness. As the first dedicated study of sacred apiculture among active practitioners throughout the present-day United States, this research contributes new and unprecedented insight into the nature of sacred apiculture as it is currently understood, enacted, and experienced by contemporary practitioners.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

ma

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Eshelman, Jake

• BD Athroniaeth Ddamcaniaethol
• SF Magu anifeiliaid

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:3829