THE BEE PRIESTESSES
IN MYTH, ANCIENT HISTORY & DIRECT REVELATION
APPLICATIONS OPEN
FOR SEPTEMBER 2024
This course helped open a portal to a deep longing living in my soul.
- Shannon Nelson
Therapist, New Jersey US
Drawing on research and fieldwork for Gabriela's dissertation The Bee Cult in Greek Myth and Ancient History, this course will explore the existence of pre-Hellenic priestesses known as the Melissae in Bronze Age Greece. Each class will uncover their socio-religious roles, tasks and activities, while seeking to gain more insight into women's religious experience in the ancient Mediterranean as a whole.
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This program is open to women and to anyone who identifies with the inner womb .
The next cohort begins in September 2024.
See below for module details, course dates and fees.
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MODULE I
A PRE-HELLENIC PRIESTESSHOOD
The Bee Priestesses, their Cosmology and their Socio-Religious Roles and Tasks
This introductory class will look at the archaeological records, literary sources and myths that document the existence of priestesses associated with bees.
INITIATORY RITES
The Eleusinian Mysteries, Demeter & Persephone and Female Initiation
Because the priestesses of Demeter were called Melissae, we will study the myth of Demeter and Persephone along with the rites at Eleusis in order to gain further insight into the initiatory rites of these ancient women.
MODULE II
MODULE III
SEERSHIP
With Guest Teacher Chelsy Arber
Seer
A discussion about the sometimes controversial methods of oracles throughout time and the role of the imagination in healing and divination, as well as some practices to help recognise and hone your seeing and clairvoyance.
PROPHECY
The Thriai, the “Delphic Bee” and the Cave of the Nymphs
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Beginning by contextualising the importance of prophecy in the ancient world, we will then go on to explore its association with bees and honey, and its particular function in maintaining balance and harmony both within the individual and collective spheres.
MODULE IV
MODULE V
BULL-BEGOTTEN BEES
Myth and astrology will provide the grounds to further understand these ancient women. We will explore the significance of the Bull totem through the Myth of the Minotaur, the Constellation of Taurus and “the Heart of the Bull” in order to gain more insight into the tasks of the Bee Priestesses within ritual and ceremony.
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Altered States, Dismemberment and the Mystery Cult of Dionysus
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The Myth of Dionysus will hold the fort of this module - or rather, give it a good shake! - as we continue to work with the totem of the Bull. Here we will examine the role that ecstasy played in the praxis of the Melissae through Dionysus, the myth of his dismemberment and the wilderness pilgrimages and vision quests of his female devotees, the Mineads.
MODULE VI
MODULE VII
BEING BORN TWICE WHEN YOU’RE HALF-WAY HOME
With Guest Teacher Ben Cox
Storyteller & Bard
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Why do we fall apart after the ordeal? When do we begin to re-member? Together we will discover what can happen when we return from the underworld and dismemberment by exploring the many turns of the Odyssey.
INCUBATION
Regeneration, Integration, Sharing & Questions
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For this class, you will set up your very own incubation chamber akin to those of the ancient world, with the intention of integrating the work and, as such, being reintegrated into the Great Dreaming once again.
MODULE VIII
LIVE CLASSES
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Classes take place once a fortnight on Sundays for 2.5 hours on Zoom, from 8-10:30pm UK, beginning on September 8th and culminating on December 15th.
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FEE: 850 GBP
This includes live classes, audio recording for meditation and shamanic practices, lectures by guest teachers, an extensive reading list, practices to undertake between sessions, email communications with Gabriela and access to recordings for up to 3 months after the program end.
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Partial scholarships available for
those in the Global South. Please be
in touch to inquire.
ATTENDANCE VIA RECORDING
If you cannot make the scheduled times, there is the option to attend via recording. A background in altered states is required. Please be in touch if unsure.
“The flower doesn't dream of the bee. It blossoms and the bee comes.”
- Mark Nepo
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
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It seems as though Gabriela has been able to remember her past lifetimes and commune with them, as her knowledge far surpasses what I believe one can know in one lifetime.
The Bee Women information and practices are potent. It feels like the start of a life long learning. So many tellings rang true in my own knowing. It was like re-membering a life before, before, before… The group of women who I journeyed with and the sacred container we would meet in every fortnight will be deeply missed, but I know we will all be forever re-connected because of it.
Gabriela’s knowledge is so vast yet she delivers it in a way that’s easy to digest while leaving you tantalised to learn more. It was everything I desired it to be and more. Thank you Gabriela.
Renata Gilbert | Corporate Bee Tender | Sydney, Australia
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Gabriela is a rare find and an exquisite teacher. She is a unique combination of scholarly astuteness and mystical wisdom and is careful in guiding the way the teachings land in your body. I had the privilege of attending a number of her classes and gatherings and my God I always leave with a part of my mind blown. Thank you Gabriela for rehabilitating my spirit through your classes and mentoring sessions, I live now with more gentleness and honeyed ways of being. I cannot thank you enough! If you are like me you like the combination of geeky research and embodied knowledge, she is the teacher for you!
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Ian Jin Yap | Traditional Healer | Malaysia
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The amount of work and study and dedication that went into this (Gabriela is doing a master's degree and diving deep into history and magic in ways I've never seen)... I appreciate the academic side of things interwoven with the work. I like data as well as dreaming. Gabriela is a scholar, so if THAT is your kind of learning or like, she's great for it. I know only a handful of people with this particular way and it's so so interesting.
Chelsy Arber | Seer | New Hampshire, US
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I have taken many courses with Gabriela, and learned so much, but this is nothing else than an extraordinary journey of the heart, opening up so much beautiful knowledge and wisdom of the matriarchal ancestors who came before us. Gabriela is a generous and inspirational teacher in the truest sense, because she expands and enriches the inner lives of those she teaches. I would recommend anyone to work with her with my entire being.
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Lucy Coats | Writer & Mythographer | UK
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This course offered so much insight. I loved the various ways of learning / knowing that you shared with us, Gabriela! I highly recommend to anyone considering it!
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Hannah Fultron | Beekeeper | Portland, US
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Your work is such a gift and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be in this sacred space with you and the others. Thank you!
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Adrienne Sloan | Therapist| Santa Fe, US
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I have been meaning to write and thank you for what was a truly wonderful, life-changing experience. It was so full of magic and beauty, and I loved the way you combined the scholarly with the mystical and so much humour and care. It was really special and I feel very lucky to have been part of it.
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Safiya Juma | UK
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This course is a transformative, magical, powerful container for those looking to deepen their relationship and practice in the ways of the ancient world. Gabriela is unbelievably amazing, always finding the perfect blend of intellectual teaching, mythic imagination, and experiential process. I have had the privilege of engaging in this course multiple times now, and it blows my mind each time of the depth and transformation Gabriela's container takes me through. Each thread of the course is beautifully woven into a tapestry of an initiatory container that will transform, heal, and empower you. This work has changed my life, through re-shaping me in many ways. I am eternally grateful for Gabriela's work, packed full of levity, impeccable integrity, and the greatest compassion.
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Megan Straley | Therapist | Colorado, US
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This course connected me with an ancient time period of women who seemingly have been a part of me all along, waiting to be remembered. Gabriela's teachings and transmissions of the bee priestesses encouraged my own mystical openings, expanded my relationship and intimacy with my own inner wild, and revealed a new way of experiencing the sacred in the mundanity of everyday life. This class helped open a portal to a deep longing living in my soul.
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Shannon Nelson| Psychotherapist | New Jersey, US
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