Hello Beloved.

 

I truly hope you are taking good care of yourself now and always.

 

I’m writing this newsletter during the Scorpio full moon as I listen to the sound of bullfrogs, peepers, and a sweet rain fall upon me. I understand this full moon is about intergenerational healing for my sun sign, Leo, and wow, does the universe make sense of itself all the time. Of course, this full moon, on the heels of Mother’s Day, is about healing my lineage. I often think about what it means to heal our lineage because I understand this kind of healing is part of why I am here now. 

 

I went out to the beehives this evening. I stood near them. Since the rain was falling, they weren’t flying as far or as fast as they would on a sunny day. I stood next to Persephone, daughter of Demeter, another hive in my bee yard, and listened to them buzz loudly as they often do. In fact, they are the loudest of my hives. I listened and wondered what they could be buzzing about; I trust only they know. But then I got to thinking and thought about the generations of hives that have lived in their hive and the stories they might have to tell—no wonder they were buzzing so loudly. Persephone travels to the underworld for half the year, and reemerges in spring and summer. Her mother, Demeter, mourns for her in fall and winter during the time of contraction. The story of mothers and daughters mourning one another is as old as time. The story of them celebrating is as well. It’s wild how myth finds its way into the present over and over again.

 

Standing beside the Persephone, I thought about how bees only live for about six weeks. I thought about how they pass on information from generation to generation. I felt curious about how they deal with such short lives and the knowledge that life is short. I asked them how they shared their vibration and their hum with one another. I asked them how they transmit knowledge to future generations. Then it hit me why Persephone buzzes so loudly, she only has half the time to transmit the information before she goes into the underworld and the darkness of it all. Her clock is sped up, and it shows in her ways. 

 

The honeybee hive has always been a portal for healing, a place of intergenerational wisdom sharing. What if we modeled our ways in this same vein? What if we shared our songs, hums, and dances with one another because we understood life is short and time is of the essence? 

 

I saw my mother today. When we walked in, she was making eggs from my chickens and washing dishes. She looked good. She smiled sweetly, a welcome surprise after everything we’ve been through. When I saw her, I remembered that she and I mourn each other all the time because one of us will go to the underworld at some point, and the other will be sad, even though we know it is going to happen. Life is a trickster because it is impossible to cheat change or death. I will savor the sweetness of our time with each other now and continue to learn from the bees as I stand next to their hives and listen to their heavenly hum.

 

There is so much to learn from them. They teach me about traveling between realms in ways that help my tender heart be here now. This time on our planet feels so confusing, and the buzz, the hum, the resonance make me feel like I’m home. The bees bring me back home to myself. 

Let them do this for you. Learn about them and share their song with the world by celebrating The Wisdom of the Hive, which comes out in less than a week. It’s a song, a love letter, a testimonial, a dance, a spell—everything. 

 

Sending you many blessings, honey, and a waning moon. The intensity of this time will wane. We just have to wait it out, and what better way to do so than to learn from the way of the bee.

 

Join us for an evening with the authors of The Wisdom of the Hive: What Honeybees Can Teach Us about Collective Wellbeing! In this book, Michelle Cassandra Johnson and Amy Burtaine take lessons from honeybees on how we can be better people to each other and the planet.

 

At this free event, the authors will lead attendees in an exercise from the book, read excerpts, hold a discussion, and take audience questions. The authors will also sign and personalize books after the event.

 

Please join us as we celebrate Wisdom of the Hive by Michelle Cassandra Johnson & Amy Burtaine. We will also have a local honey tasting with Honey Next Door!

By looking at bees as teachers, the authors draw readers into an examination of our relationship with each other and the world at large. Honeybees illustrate communal interdependence, attunement to nature, coexistence with darkness, and so much more—lessons worthy of emulating within our own human world.

 

Join Michelle C. Johnson and Amy Burtaine, bee tenders and students of the honeybee, for Scent Club in collaboration with Bright Black. They will share practices, readings, and lessons from their latest book, The Wisdom of the Hive: What Honeybees Can Teach Us about Collective Wellbeing. As they share, you will be transported into a hive by the scent of Bright Black. candles and wild honey.

 

Potent and timely lessons on healing and connection—both individually and collectively—through the wisdom and magic of honeybees.

 

We’ve all heard the refrain to save the bees, but what if the bees can save us?

 

Beloved equity educators, authors, and beekeepers Michelle Cassandra Johnson and Amy Burtaine invite us to contemplate this question deeply. By looking at bees as teachers, the authors draw us into an examination of our relationship with each other and the world at large. Honeybees illustrate communal interdependence, attunement to nature, coexistence with darkness, and so much more—lessons worthy of emulating within our own human world.

 

HAPPY WOMEN Dinners Invites you to The Wisdom of The Hive Sunday Supper with author Michelle Johnson.

 

Sign up for this event to learn more about what honeybees can teach us about Collective Wellbeing and hear from Michelle about her latest book, The Wisdom of the Hive.

 

DATE: Sunday, June 8th, 2025

TIME: 5:30 to 7:30 pm

PLACE: Private Home in Downtown Raleigh, North Carolina

Registration: $100, includes dinner, author discussion, and a signed book copy of The Wisdom of the Hive: What Honeybees Can Teach Us About Collective Wellbeing.

Deadline to register: May 27th

 

The Wisdom of the Hive: What Honeybees Can Teach Us about Collective Wellbeing is a profound, potent, and insightful exploration of how we can look to honeybees and the more-than-human world as teachers. When we do this, we begin to examine our relationships with ourselves, with each other, and with the world at large. Honeybees illustrate communal interdependence, attunement to nature, coexistence with darkness, and so much more—lessons worthy of emulating within our own human world.

 

Learn more about these themes and engage in a community of practice in The Wisdom of the Hive six-week book club.