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| History and Origins of Beeswax |
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Last Updated
23rd of March, 2009
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Bees and candles have a long history in spiritual beliefs and customs beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing through today. The use of beeswax in sacred candles date as far back as the earliest organized religions.
To begin with, 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. This led beeswax to be honored as sacred and candles made from beeswax were to be used solely by spiritual leaders.
Later on, ancient Greeks believed that bees were born spontaneously from animal corpses and therefore symbolized resurrection and rebirth. Bees were revered as holy messengers that carried prayers from earth to heaven. Any creation made by these holy creatures, such as honey or beeswax, was valued as a gift from the gods.
In the Chinese teaching of Feng Shui, beeswax candles bring fire chi energy into a room, which is thought to encourage passion and expressiveness.
The Romans demanded bees wax when they conquered the city of Trebizond
in the first century AD. In Medieval European times wax was a a unit of
trade for taxes or other. In 1330 farmers in one region of France paid
2 lbs of bees wax per year. On 1632 records show that the French
Monastery called for rent of 600 lbs. of bees wax per year. Also in
1371 a petition was presented to the London Court of Alderman in behalf
of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers, which established them as
the world’s oldest English Guild. In 1483 the company received a Royal
Charter with authority to oversee the craft of wax chandlery. And when
faults were found to punish the offender, which included seizing the
wax.
In Hebrew the word for bee, Dbure, has its origins in the word Dbr, speech and thus bees symbolized eloquence and intelligence among early Jewish believers. The Torah states, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord."
More recently, in Christian tradition, honeycomb symbolized the monastery cells where monks lived and worked. Bees often were a symbol of Christ, with the honey and sting of the bee representing his mercy and justice. A popular legend states that bees hummed on Christmas Eve to honor Jesus at his birth.
Today, common rituals include lighting candles for prayers, for remembering the deceased, for celebrating Advent or Hanukkah and illuminating icons.
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