Homa And Bees
The Homa-Hof Heiligenberg Team
At Homa-Hof Heiligenberg (Southern Germany), which is maintained by the nonprofit association Verein für Homa-Therapie, the effects of Homa fire on the atmosphere, soil, plants and living beings have been researched since 1988. Special attention was given to bees.
The fundamental Homa-fire is Agnihotra. It is performed daily at sunrise and sunset and has enormous positive effects.
How Agnihotra Helps Bees
Through Agnihotra all areas of beekeeping are given support:
• Bees: Agnihotra strengthens and harmonizes bees; they become resistant to disease and unfavourable environmental influences.
• Plants: Bees need healthy plants to produce good honey. Through Agnihotra, plant development is stimulated; air and soil are purified and the plants become vigorous. Moreover, the bees absorb the nourishing ingredients through the nectar.
• Beekeeper: Agnihotra reduces stress and guides the beekeeper towards a calm and peaceful frame of mind. This is fundamentally a prerequisite to recognize the needs of the bees and to act upon them.
How Does Beekeeping with Homa Work?
Bees are kept as a living organism in a natural way, as far as this is possible. We pay attention so that bees never suffer any need and always leave them enough honey to also cope well with a possible food gap.
After many years of observation, the following treatment has proven ideal at Homa-Hof:
The most regular possible performance of Agnihotra is the fundamental prerequisite. Every now and then we also perform Agnihotra in the bee house; as a rule, we trust the radial effect of the little fire of about 1.5 km.
With every Agnihotra, a highly effective ash is obtained that can be used medicinally and as fortification. It is alkaline, rich in minerals, highly energizing, has bacteriostatic, fungicidal properties and much more.
After working with the bees we sprinkle Agnihotra ash on top of the frames and on the landing edge.
Instead of using a smoker, we spray Agnihotra ash water when we work with bees. Both Agnihotra ash and Agnihotra ash water strengthen the bees and calm them.
When we feed the bees extra for wintertime, we add Agnihotra ash and several tea herbs to the winter food.
Bees and Honey
The honey harvest at Homa-Hof is very rich, often also extraordinarily large although we let the bees keep enough of their own honey. The excellent active ingredients produced by Agnihotra are again found in the honey which is confirmed by the taste. From our experience, Homa honey clearly differs from all other honeys; the taste is intense, although soft and gentle. It is hard to describe. Also, the propolis yield is raised in value.
Bees and Varroa
In general, Varroa mites cause a lot of damage to bees. Agnihotra is a universal remedy; it does not kill anything, but harmonizes the environment. The immune system of the bees is strengthened and thus outbreaks of Varroa and virus diseases are resisted. Apart from the Agnihotra ash, we also use essential oils or oxalic acid, but we have been able to reduce this over the years. In this way the Varroa problem is minimized to a tolerable level, and we have hardly any bee losses in winter.
We don’t see the Varroa mite as an enemy, but as a challenge to bring the beekeepers back to the right attitude towards the bees and to include nature as well as all her living creatures. It is pointed out in ancient Vedic scriptures that we should bear this in mind in all animal stock maintenance, to keep living creatures in a happy condition. This clearly has an effect on the quality and quantity of the produce. We can confirm this (also in experiences with goats).
Can Homa Prevent the Dying Out of Bees?
From our experience, yes. When more people continue to practice Agnihotra, the environment, including bees, is strengthened and purified so much that everything can return to a state of harmony. An increased occurrence of damage indicates an imbalance. Nearly 30 years of research at Homa-Hof Heiligenberg shows that damages and diseases in plants and animals are almost absent when Homa fires are being performed. Agnihotra is an all-embracing remedy that has the potential to give us and the environment a return to a healthy and harmonious state. In the space of the German-speaking population there are about ten thousand practitioners, supporting in this way our Earth and all that lives therein.
Sources and further information:
Homa-Hof – Verein für Homa-Therapie e.V., Oberhaslach 6, D-88633 Heiligenberg, www.agnihotra-online.com
Horst und Birgitt Heigl, “Agnihotra-Ursprung, Praxis und Anwendungen”, 4th edition, Heiligenberg 2016, www.heigl-verlag.de