The Old Woman and the Golden Hive with Joan Stanford, MA, ATR-BC & Marilyn Hagar, MA REAT
“Last Night As I Was Sleeping
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.
Antonio Machado translated by Robert Bly
“We are the bees of the invisible. We madly gather the honey of the visible to store in the great golden hive of the invisible…” Rainer Maria Rilke
The Old Woman and the Golden Hive
As expressive artists we are the “bees of the invisible” making visible what is felt and sensed through art forms. As older women we want to turn our attention away from the busyness and productivity of the hive and look upon it as the alchemical vessel where transformation occurs. While the nectar, the raw material, is to be sought after, found and collected, the work of transforming that into golden honey occurs within the sacred container of the hive.
With the darkened eye of the Crone, who has witnessed many upheavals over all of time, we will explore how we use the colorful threads of our experience to weave our lives into shape and form only to witness again and again, the unraveling of all that we have created. When something causes our carefully crafted lives to unravel, it is wise to stop and grieve the loss. If we can face into that darkness and accept the unraveling, we will find ourselves in the place where duality dissolves and beginnings and endings easily change places. This is the place of transformation, the sacred hive where we make golden honey from the tangled heap of our losses. Revitalized now by that primal energy at the source of everything, we hear the call to begin creating life anew. The Old Woman of the World accepts impermanence and tends the hive of dissolution and re-creation. She teaches a deep appreciation for the preciousness of our time on earth and the importance of carrying on. If we listen to her wisdom, old or young, we can commit ourselves to living life with this kind of radical creativity.”
Queen Track
Friday, March 27, 2020
11AM – 12:30PM
1.5 CEs
Room 104
Presentation #44
UP: Unlimited Possibilities to Bee grEAT! 