Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. Today’s blog post is a review of Meeting the Melissae: The Ancient Greek Bee Priestesses of Demeter by Elizabeth Ashley. As someone who has long been fascinated with the Melissae, this book was a great find, and it skyrocketed to the top of my to-read list.
I have to say, the book does not disappoint, as it is both a thoroughly researched academic account and a personal account of the author’s exploration of becoming a Melissa in the modern age! I really adore when academic scholarship and personal experience are combined in spiritual books, as that is much how I approach spirituality. I also love that the author makes it clear when she is speaking about her personal experiences versus what is research-based. This is always a delight to see, as too many authors simply write without stating what is coming from academic research and what is experiential, and that is a pet peeve of mine. It is so important to acknowledge when something is found in research, ‘I read about this in such and such a source’ (giving credit to other authors and researchers, or primary sources). Beyond that, it is important to be forthright with things that come from your own personal relationship with the Divine. It is the combination of academic work and personal experiences that truly creates a powerful blend and shows the passion and devotion of the author! Elizabeth Ashley does this wonderfully, and has a long list of other authors that she not only cites but recommends for further research (similar to how I always have further reading sections in my more academically based blog posts).
Beyond the way the book is written, the actual content is absolutely fascinating. I adored the fact that the book blended information about Beekeeping, the Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm) herb (as the author is an aromatherapist), and the historical accounts of Melissae throughout the ancient world. The fact that the book does not focus on the Melissae of Demeter alone was awesome, as we get to see how these powerful Bee Priestesses were found across the ancient world and devoted to several different Goddesses (and even some Gods)! The depth of work that went into describing what ancient rituals may have looked like was stunning. I have to say that the descriptions of Womb Meditation techniques associated with the Melissae were some of my favorite parts. But my absolute favorite part was that the Glastonbury Goddess Temple Priestesses of the modern day, being Melissas, was discussed, as I was not sure that would be in the book, with the focus being primarily on Greece. In the chapter that mentions the Glastonbury Melissas, I was so beyond thrilled to have the Fae mentioned, and Morgan le Fay herself be brought up! To be honest, when I read that, I actually gave a happy little screech of delight. My beloved Morgan le Fay is mentioned in a book about the Melissae, how ideal, as this confirmed a lot of my own feelings about the Melissae and the connection I have always felt with them, even though my path is rooted in Avalon! Of course, this connection was already asserted by the Glastonbury Goddess Temple Melissas, but this is further confirmation that Avalonian Bee Priestesses are indeed a thing.
I am so very happy that I have read this book, as a long-time lover of the Bees in general, and as a Priestess in particular. There is so much love for Nature in this book, and I truly did learn so much. It was one of those reading experiences where I got chills from having connections made that I either had not known, or even more so, connections I had seen but never fully understood the gravity of! The Melissae truly were all over the ancient world, and they are also an example of just how universal certain beliefs of the ancient world were.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this long and glowing review of this book. Clearly, I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Melissae! Have you read this book? Do you want to read it now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the book cover. I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Melissae-Ancient-Priestesses-Demeter/dp/1803412496.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading
- Meeting the Melissae: The Ancient Greek Bee Priestesses of Demeter by Elizabeth Ashley