constant state of flux

Not really a review as such, but just an appreciation.

I am not sure whether the things that Buxton writes about in the book are true. The details of his gruelling apprenticeship along the path of pollen such as killing a stag with nothing but bee pollen, flying on broomsticks and being buried alive seem very far-fetched but truth or fantasy – it does not matter, the fact is that the tradition of wild and imaginative shaman’s stories were (and still are) told to draw the listener deeper and to take us further into the ‘other’ realms. And this book certainly succeeded in doing that to me.

I was drawn along by the story and it worked its way into me quite slowly; it seemed that I could not put the book down and read it easily in one sitting. I think that this continuity helped with the overall feeling of immersion in his world I experienced; the world of the bee shaman master. I have never been gripped by any narrative like I was gripped by the last chapter in this book – I felt suffocation, despair and claustrophobia in the space of a few short minutes, so much so that I had to literally lift myself off the page to disconnect from the drama. I think Buxton draws the reader into that last traumatic test slowly and carefully so that you can literally ‘be there’ with him underground. It was very effective. The relief I felt at the end was quite something.

There’s an interview with him here and was so interested to read that other men have gone through similar initiation rites into the bee cultus. Do I find this shocking? Yes in a way, but only because it’s an underground movement and it is hard core and it is happening in the UK, not South America or Siberia. It involves intoxicating substances and journeys and meetings with strange beings, half-human, half-bee, yes, but it is not so different from every other ayahuasca experience I have read about.

Shamanism nowadays can be so wishy-washy, like anybody who can follow a drumbeat can ‘do it’. The real practices of ‘shamanism’ – if we are even allowed to call it that – are dark, secret, gruelling and close-to-death, of that I have no doubt. The popular journeying of modern day practitioners have nothing to do with these ancient rituals, which have carried on undisturbed for millennia, nothing can be written about it that does not negate it in some way immediately. That is why I found it strange that Buxton has written a book about the bee cultus in the first place. At least the women’s side of the story still remains undisclosed.

And then there is the sex. It is fantastic that someone can write so openly about it. We are all so Victorian in our attitude towards sex these days, it is obvious that it has magical powers. Why are some people so quick to call others who are open about sex perverts? That I do not understand. In this book sex is everyday yet mythical, alchemical yet suburban and always in the context of sacred ritual, yet it is never made more of than it actually is. This down-to-earthness turns Buxton into quite the the opposite of a pervert – actually an amazing character with huge integrity. I tell you something, I would like more ritual sex in my life, I would like to tap into its transformational and inspirational qualities – I am guessing we could all do with some of that.

I have been deeply affected by this book and that is why I wanted to write something about it here today. I have been touched by its intimacy, by its breadth and by its very subtle power – I have been touched by the power of the bees.