The Bee Sisterhood Oracle: Our Mission and Origin
Written by Ona Christie Martin
In a world where so many seek intuitive wisdom, The Bee Sisterhood Oracle deck offers a unique doorway to spiritual understanding.
Created by a passionate collective of artists and spiritual seekers, this beautiful deck embodies the Sacred Essence of the Bee and its divine connection to the Universe. It weaves together the realms of nature and spirituality, inviting seekers to embark on a transformative journey of body, mind, and spirit.
But just as enchanting as the deck itself is the story behind it. It’s a story of inspiration, collaboration, and above all, sisterly Love.
A Deck With a Mission
For project founder Jackie Rushton, The Bee Sisterhood Oracle began as the intersection between two passions: beekeeping (and the spirituality around it) and supporting women.
A former schoolteacher, Jackie leads a women’s spirituality group in southeast Michigan. But the mission of the deck has universal appeal.
“There’s not been one woman I’ve spoken with about the project that hasn’t said “Yes!” when I talked about its mission,” says project founder Jackie Rushton, “That’s the beauty and the strength of the deck, there’s so much passion and energy in it you can feel it whether you’re into oracle readings or not.”
Jackie’s original concept for the deck was simple: to create an oracle deck to fund instantly available financial assistance for women facing acute financial need or insecurity, both within her own community of women and beyond.
“I’ve worked with women in circle for thirty years. Throughout those thirty years there’s been so many situations where I’ve seen women need immediate help, not due to their fault but due to life circumstances. Many didn’t have the safety net of family to fall back on when they hit a crisis moment and didn't have enough to cover the bills.”
Jackie is quick to add that the intention of the grants is not to create dependency but to empower women to avoid it. “I worked in an inner city and saw the results of generational dependency on governmental assistance,” she explains. “It dampens the soul…(Our intention is to) help women avoid falling into that trap and keep them moving along towards their own personal independence.”
Birth of an Oracle Deck
The origin story of The Bee Sisterhood Oracle is one of rhythm, cycles, and community.
Jackie started playing with the idea of creating a bee oracle deck way back in 2016. Quickly, she drafted out the forty-eight cards and what they meant. She knew she would need an artist to collaborate with. However, none came immediately to mind.
The idea for the deck went dormant for a while, until Jackie traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to lead a honeybee spirituality retreat in 2018. One of the participants, Ona Christie Martin, was a visionary artist who had recently created her own animal oracle deck.
“My first thought when I stepped foot on the retreat grounds was, ‘wow, wouldn’t it be cool to do a bee deck,’” Ona recalls. “My second thought was ‘yes but I’d have to know the bees way better to do that!’”
But where there’s a will there’s a way, especially when two wills converge. When Jackie floated the idea of collaboration, it didn’t take long for Ona to jump on board. She created the first card, Swarm, in 2019, and immediately started making sketches for the next one, Drone.
Evolution Into Community
But then, Ona experienced a string of major life transitions and the deck went into another lull in production. “I finally sat myself down and said, ‘are you going to do this or not?’ And the intuitive answer came back: ‘You’re not supposed to be the only artist on this deck!’”
The intuitive guidance to involve others turned out to be the turning point needed to bring the project to life. Because of Jackie’s years-long involvement in women’s and spirituality circles, she had access to a whole network of women who could grasp what she was trying to create. Once word started to spread about the opportunity to participate in this unique project, it didn’t take long for enough women to raise their hands, eager to contribute.
Ultimately, two dozen artists contributed artwork to The Bee Sisterhood Oracle. They represented a whole continuum from unschooled folk artists to professional artists, working in a wide variety of styles.
“I was worried at first (about having different art styles) but it all came together beautifully,” says Jackie. “Anyone who sees the deck is enamored by the art. The rustic pieces get the ‘wow’ moments as much as the more refined ones.”
Humming Along Together
But the community effort didn’t stop with artists. Almost by magic, a core group of volunteers with diverse talents began to come together to manage every aspect of the project’s creation.
“We've structured our group, for lack of a better term right now, around the workings of the hive,” explains Jackie.
Central to the success of the project is the concept of “No blame, no shame, no complaining.” Everyone working on the deck is free to weave in and out of the project as their time and circumstances allow. Everyone recognizes that the deck is a common effort, and regards the success of the communal project as more important than their own individual preferences or glory. Where overlapping competencies exist, this is seen as a communal asset rather than something to feel rivalry over. In this way the project itself is able to move forward even if a key individual finds herself unable to contribute for a time.
“There's always the one lead person in (any given) area, but we have some other women that fill in beautifully with the same skills,” says Jackie. It really feeds well into sharing the workload along with sharing the joy that comes with the production.”
The Hidden Message of the Bee Sisterhood Oracle
The Bee Sisterhood Oracle already has a compelling story and purpose in helping women in need. But as the project develops, another deeper message emerges—one that speaks to all people regardless of gender, race, or spiritual or political affiliation.
In a world where people are increasingly divided and isolated from one another, The Bee Sisterhood Oracle demonstrates not only in its mission but in the very process of its creation how powerful it can be when ordinary people come together to support one another in community.
The energetic field created by so many individuals opening their hearts to helping one another is a powerful force indeed. It’s one that can be replicated—and needs to be if humanity is to evolve into its true potential.
What’s Next?
You know a project has innate meaning and power when it begins to take on a life of its own. As The Bee Sisterhood Oracle evolves, it is hard to describe the tangible momentum the project has begun to develop.
Art has always been an ambassador of ideas whose time has come. While we look forward to launching the deck with a Kickstarter campaign in the summer of 2023, already more doors are opening to bring this unique project in front of new and wider audiences.
An exhibit of the artwork from the deck is planned for later this summer at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort, MI. And we have been invited to display the art at the Arts and Culture Center in Marquette, MI during the city’s Art Week celebration in June/July of 2024.
Does the mission of The Bee Sisterhood Oracle resonate with you? Do you have ideas for more ways to spread the word? Please comment below - we’d love to hear about them!
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