The Importance Of The Moon In The Secret Life Of Bees

Around 100 different gods are related to the moon. Some live on it while others may only control it from somewhere else and few have no control over the moon at all. Another thing about these Moon gods is that most of them are actually women. In The Secret Life of Bees, author Sue Monk Kidd uses the symbolism of the moon to show a connection between femininity and divinity. Black Mary carries a crescent moon with her and has also been said to live on the moon. Another example of this connection between the Moon and divine femininity is in Greek mythology. They had a god, Luna, who was also stated to be the personification of the moon as a goddess. It’s not just with Mary and these other goddesses that we see the moon's femininity. In fact there is so much more throughout the book and in the

With the Madonna being on the moon this calls back to many other cultures like Buddhism, and their deity Tara who also lived on the moon. August explains to Lily about how the Black Madonna lives on the Moon and how the Moon has always been a mystery to people. Kidd is calling on some very old ideas and turning them into a new, modern idea of womanhood

When Lily was in the forest she had a very strange dream. She explains, “I was back on the peach farm, sitting out behind the tractor shed, and even though it was broad daylight, I could see a huge, round moon in the sky. Next I heard a sound like ice breaking, and, looking up, I saw the moon crack apart and start to fall.” Lily also wonders whether showing August the picture of her mother would cause the moon to "break loose and fall out of the sky." Lily's image of a shattered moon symbolizes the way the loss of her mother has shattered her emotionally. We see this when Lily asks the Black Mary to “Fix me”

By making contact with the strong, divine person inside her, Lily can work to heal the pain left over from not having a