The Bee Fairy

Private collection, 70 x 100 cm, gouache, acrylics & metallic foils on watercolour paper

The Bee fairy is the Queen of all bees and, as Romanian legends describe her, she has “a bee’s body, a woman’s face and her ability to talk”. She reigns the wild bees in the depths of forests, lurking in tree hollows. Their sacred honey is food for the Forest Fairies and all the supernatural creatures living in harmony with nature.

According to Romanian mythology, The Bee Fairy helped create the world. Legends about it have pre-Christian origins, like many other stories of mythologic beings. It is said that she was the Creator’s counselor, helping him to “better match” the edges of the sky and earth.

A more recent, Christian legend implies that the bee was born from Mother Mary’s teardrop when Jesus Christ suffered and died crucified (this legend has its origins from the similar, much older ancient Egyptian legend of Ra, the Sun God, also having been born from a teardrop; Jesus is very often associated with the Sun in certain branches of religious faith).