Once In A Blue Moon

In America, there's a Blue Moon this coming Thursday, May 31st. Lots of different Pagan groups, from all around the country, will be doing magic around this powerful moon to help the disappearing honey bees. Aqulia ka Hecate, who lives in South Africa, will be doing her bee-saving rituals next month, during her hemisphere's Blue Moon. Sara Sutterfield Winn and her readers will be joining in the working on Thursday. I'll be working magic twice this week, first with an ad hoc group of D.C. area pagans pulled together by my madcap friend R. and then with my own circle of wonderful women. Two magical workings in one week is a lot for my old body. I think that saving the bees is worth it. Anne Johnson (and maybe her NJ Druids, too) will be participating. Even some non-Pagans are joining their energies with ours: Sravana says that she's in. I'm sure that I've missed some groups or individuals. Let me know in comments and I'll update the list.

Update: R e-mails that T. Thorn Coyle will also be doing magic for the bees.

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Cupid
Paul D. Haemig

As I walked through prosperous farmland I saw them everywhere
visiting crop flowers, buzzing through the air.
They came from nearby woodlands seeking nectar on which to feed
and when they pollinated crops, they set the flowers to seed.

The seeds were sold by farmers to pay their many bills
to send their kids to college, to enjoy life's many thrills.
Merchants that received their payments prospered well too,
they bought vacation homes in Honolulu.

Pollinated food crops feed many a human mouth
not just in the north, but also in the south.
Most are pollinated by various wild bees,
but some rely on other animals or a windy breeze.

Managed honeybees, we know, pollinate crops too,
but not nearly as many as wild bees do.
With countless honeybees now diseased or Africanized,
their colonies are fewer and their keepers terrorized.

The next day I passed other farms, those of ignorant men,
who had developed all their lands, even hill and glen.
To maximize profits, they'd plowed all they had acquired,
and so destroyed the habitats that wild bees required.

Still others had sprayed their crops with too many insecticides
and so killed not only insect pests but pollinators besides.
They'd even used strong herbicides to kill every little weed
and so destroyed wild flowers that in other months bees need.

The crop yields of these other farms were consequently diminished
for now they hadn't enough bees to get pollination finished.
This resulted in less production, less bottom line for all
less money for them to spend at the brand new shopping mall.

Its amazing to think how our farm economies
are so much dependent on hardworking bees.
These industrious little insects are more than flimsy props
they're absolutely essential to produce great bumper crops.

For each pollinator bee is in fact a little cupid
that creates hot romances between plants thought to be stupid.
Each bee can be considered a matchmaking agency
that arranges introductions for a nominal nectar fee.
Poem © Copyright 2005 Ecology Online Sweden. All rights reserved.