Would you believe honey is one of the most powerful forms of medicine and magic on the planet? Something about that sticky sweet substance has captivated humans for thousands of years. For this special article, we spoke to an amazingly talented beekeeper to find out about honey health benefits. AND we teach you about the ancient and modern magic of honey and how to make a honey jar.

What is Honey, Exactly?

When most of us buy and use honey it comes in a cute, simple little jar from the grocery store. But honey isn’t made easily and the process is intricate. We have the honeybees’ hard work to thank. Honeybees have been making honey for millions of years – long before humans existed. And they have perfected it. Honey is a byproduct of honeybees: a liquid substance made from an intricate process of nectar collection, digestion, and regurgitation. It’s stored in special cells called honeycombs within a bee hive.

Honey Magic in the Ancient World

We have evidence suggesting people have foraged for honey since at least nine thousand years ago. Honeybees were sacred to numerous ancient civilizations including ancient Greece and Egypt. Our ancient ancestors knew that honey isn’t JUST good to eat, it also has multiple medicinal benefits. The oldest honey ever found comes from an Egyptian pyramid – it’s three thousand years old and still perfectly edible! Microbes don’t grow on honey, moreover preservation lasts for thousands of years!

The Egyptians held the honeybee in high regard and used honey in their mummification process. Therefore honey was a sacred substance and sacred to any gods and goddesses of the underworld and the dead: i.e. Anubis and Osiris. In Ancient Greece, the high priestess of Aphrodite was “Melissa” which translates to “bee”. She tended to the sacred beehives at Aphrodite’s temple on Mount Eryx.

Honey Health Benefits and Medicine

We had the privilege of speaking to the knowledgeable, talented Elisha at How’s Your Day Honey. A beekeeper who also specializes in honeybee removal, mentoring, and garden coaching. The first thing we asked is her opinion on honey health benefits. Elisha responded with, “what doesn’t honey do? Honey is loaded with micronutrients, and it’s antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial. Colds, flus and viruses are treated with honey. BUT Elisha explains not all honeys are created equal when it comes to healing qualities.

The healing power of honey is directly linked to the healing power of the plants or trees the nectar is collected from. If the plant or tree has healing properties, the honey will have healing properties too! The manuka and malaleuca trees produce some of the most potent medicinal honey, according to Elisha.

Honey’s Magical Properties and Associations

Honey has so many uses in magic and spiritual practice, we’re not sure where to start! Let’s begin with honey being used in love rituals to “sweeten” a couple towards one another. Use honey to sweeten” a situation: angry co-workers or boss, court cases, family quarrels, divorces, etc. In addition, binding things or people together and keeping things flowing steadily. Healing and cleansing rituals include honey. Honey is associated with the gods: Melissa, Aphrodite, the prophet Mohammad, the god Anubis, and the god Osiris (among others). It’s linked to the honeybee (obviously) and to the shape of the honeycomb which is a hexagon. Cast honey magic with the number 6 corresponding to the hexagonal honeycomb. Feminine in nature, honey is linked to the Mother Goddess.

Honey Magic’s Many Forms

So we know the honey health benefits and its ancient history, but how do we use it in our daily lives and spiritual practice? Try the following forms of honey magic and medicine:

• Take a teaspoon of local raw honey daily to alleviate seasonal allergies
• Soothes a soar throat and helpful as a natural cough suppressant
• Taken regularly to balance the sacral chakra and fertility
• Stir it into your hot tea or use it as a sweetener in drinks and baked goods as a healthier alternative to sugar and sugar products
• Drizzle it on top of fruits, yogurts, and more! Also tastes great on bread and on a charcuterie board
• Add a spoon of honey to a sweetening or cleansing bath ritual to cleanse and sweeten your aura
• Drip small drops of honey onto or around candles for love and prosperity spells
• Make traditional honey jars to “sweeten” a situation (helps bring in a steady flow of money, love, and calms angry vibrations – learn how to make a honey jar below)
• Use honey as an offering to specific deities
• Poured into the ocean and river as an offering to sea and river goddesses like Oshun and Yemaya
• Kept on the altar as a link to ancient bee priestesses and honeybee spirit guides
• Honey left on outside altars to attract faeries
• Used to summon angels and light beings
• Anoint your third eye with magical honey to dream of your future love

Bewitching Herbal Infused Honey and Their Unique Magic

Honey comes in many forms and from many places all over the world. It varies in color, sweetness, and flavor depending on the region and plants. Some people enjoy infusing herbs and flowers directly into the honey itself. Depending on the herb or flower infused, it will alter the honey magic properties and can be further used for those purposes. For example:

• Lemon balm infused honey: soothes nerves and anxiety and aids in falling asleep; also invokes joy
• Lavender honey: has honey magic properties of relaxation, love, beauty and purification
• Rosemary honey: purification, money, love, healing, mental clarity
• Mint honey: money, prosperity, cleansing, and love properties; plus mint aids digestion
• Thyme honey: the PERFECT offering for attracting the faery folk to your garden! Thyme is a favorite of fairies as well as honey
• Rose honey: love, healing, protection, long life

How to Make a Honey Jar

Honey jars are an American folk magic tradition, specifically in Southern Conjure or Hoodoo. Make a honey jar to sweeten a situation or to keep something steadily flowing. Here’s how to make a honey jar:

What You’ll Need for Your Honey Jar:

• A jar with air-tight lid (mason jars, baby food jars, pickle jars are all great for this!)
• Honey of your choice (raw, local, infused, etc. – if infused make sure the herb or flower matches your intention too!)
• Odd number of ingredients that support your intention (remember like attracts like!) Examples include: herbs, coins, seashells, personal effects, photos, stones, etc.
• Parchment paper and pen (to write your petition)
• White tealight candle and lighter

How to Make Your Honey Jar:

1. Gather all your supplies.
2. Cleanse your space and supplies with smudge smoke (or your preferred cleansing method).
3. Write your petition on your piece of parchment. If you’re trying to draw something to you, fold the paper towards you (i.e. money, love, etc.)
4. Speak your intention upon each ingredient and place each in the jar.
5. Lastly pour the honey over all of the ingredients. As you do this, pray to your gods/ancestors/guides for your petition to be sweetened and kept flowing, etc. Visualize your intention coming true.
6. Gently shake your honey jar while praying and visualizing further.
7. Last, speak your intentions/prayers over the tealight candle, light it and place it on top of the honey jar. Let it burn down while praying more.
8. Set the honey jar on your altar or somewhere you’ll see it daily. This is an ongoing working for as long as you need the intention to manifest/continue.
9. Shake the jar gently while praying daily.
10. Burn a tealight daily for 3, 7, or 9 days total to feed the jar’s intentions.

A Note on the Magic of Honeybees and How to Save the Bees!

Humans have relied on the honeybees’ magical work for thousands of years. Not just for honey and its unique magic, but also because honeybees are one of our biggest pollinators! They help us make food by pollinating many of our fruits and vegetables. But sadly, the honeybee populations are dwindling worldwide. Particularly in the U.S. where there’s a link between pesticides and honeybee disease/death. If all of the honeybees die out, we lose a large portion of our food source. So how do we support the honeybee population and health? Here’s some ways you can help:

• DON’T use pesticides in your lawn or garden and encourage your friends, family and neighbors to do the same
• Plant NATIVE flowers, trees, and shrubs. Native flowers and plants aid your local honeybee and other pollinator populations by providing a natural nectar source
• Put a bee bath in your garden for the bees to bathe and drink
• Support your local organic beekeepers, farmers and gardeners in their efforts to save the honeybees
• Instead of having a honeybee hive destroyed – have someone come out and remove it and re-locate it (if you live in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, you can call on Elisha at How’s Your Day Honey!)
• Stop cutting down trees that don’t need to be cut down! Bees and other pollinators and wild life need trees too!
• Learn more about how to save the bees here!