A Women’s Sacred Beekeeping Apprenticeship

May-October 2026

 

The hive and the honeybee have long been connected to women’s spirituality & mysteries…

The hive is a living breathing mystery school and the truest one I have ever known.

A lot of my work the last 14 years has been in rebirthing the reverent traditions of beekeeping that existed before the onset of industrialization and I believe that in order to do so:

The bee women must return, the feminine, and really the feminine principle must be brought back into this work.

Beekeeping has long been an intersection of folk medicine and magick, women’s spirituality, art, myth, philosophy and more. It is only in the last few hundred years where we have seen this tradition become an industry in which the needs of consumerism and capitalism are placed above the needs and health of the honeybee. For in the ancient world beekeeping and spirituality were not separate but intricately interwoven.

It was understood that to tend to the bees, was to tend to the holiest of holies…

The honeybees are asking us to listen to their needs. They are calling for a different approach to beekeeping: one that honors them, the great mystery, and employs a holistic approach that seeks to return them to their vitality, their wildness…

Just as the honeybees need stewards and guardians, we also need them…

The honeybees have a way of reweaving us into the magic of life, into the web of creation that called us all into being, and our role in tending that web.

“If the world is to be healed through human efforts I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear, people who can open to the web of life that called us into being and who can rest in the vitality of that larger body.”- Joanna Macy

The honeybees mirror the feminine journey in such a beautiful way.

In working with the bees we come into deeper relationship to our wombs, our bodies, our intuition, & the alchemical journey of being a woman.

Who were the Melissae?

Melissa in Greek means Bee therefore “Melissae,” translates to Bee Women. In the Ancient Mediterranean world this term was used to describe nymphs or priestesses who served a great Mother Goddess.

In the study of pre-patriarchal Goddess worshipping cultures & women’s spirituality we see a strong connection to the bees.

You see the hive and the womb have always been connected. Both are the perfect environment for nurturing life into being. They are both warm, dark, protected, and represent the darkness from which life & beauty emerge.

I am looking to take an intimate group of women with me on a journey with the bees this season

What we’ll explore in these Immersions:

  • Foundations of Natural and Sacred Beekeeping

  • Honeybee Biology and Behavior

  • History of Beekeeping

  • Hive Designs + Choosing and Modifying Hive Designs to be more Bee-Centric

  • Holistic and Bee-Centric Management of Hives through the Seasons

  • Building Tree Nests & Log Hives

  • Land Stewardship and Cultivating Habitat for the Bees

  • Apitherapy and the Therapeutic & Shamanic Application of Hive Medicines.

  • Intuitive Beekeeping & Dreamwork

  • Womb Shamanism & Women’s Mysteries

  • Beekeeping as Ritual and Spiritual Practice

  • Sisterhood + Community as Embodied in the Hive

Structure:

  • For those doing the Full Apprenticeship/Series:

    • 1 in person immersion a month, these will start in the morning and end in the afternoon

    • 1 online lecture a month, these will be on a Tuesday evening for about 2-3 hours. They will be recorded.

    • Guided Practices and Rituals

    • Handouts and Resources

    • Reading List

    • Group Telegram Chat to stay connected throughout the season

    • Options to join and help Courtney with other experiences with the bees throughout the season.

    • 1:1 monthly check ins from Courtney via voice notes/texts

  • Drop In Option for In Person Immersions

    • I have created a drop in option for those women that can not commit to the full series. Please apply below and let me know which dates you would like to attend. Space is limited and priority is given to those signing up for the full series.

Schedule:

  • May- In Person Immersion- 5/1, Friday

  • June- In Person Immersion- 6/12, Friday

  • July In Person Immersion- 7/10, Friday

  • August In Person Immersion- 8/14, Friday

  • September In Person Immersion- 9/11, Friday

  • October In Person Immersion- 10/2 , Friday

Cost:

  • Full Apprenticeship- $1650. Payment Plans Available.

  • Drop In- $150 per immersion.

2026 FINAL DATES COMING SOON

APPLY BELOW

for the women who hold both

honey & venom