Ancestors – Part I – My 7-time GreatGrandfather – The Move to Nova Scotia

I’ve been looking through my family tree a bit lately, especially being in a Maine history course and currently going over the colonial period. One of the things that I have found very interesting is trying to trace back the “why” for the move for my maternal grandfather’s family from Rhode Island to Nova Scotia. I think I might have it, but it would be so much better if I had more time to delve into this today. I’ll share what I have so far.

The family member I’m talking about is David Vaughan, II. He was born in 1704 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and died 1761, Beekman, New York. The only reason that we know he and his family went to Nova Scotia at all is because of the passing date of his wife, Dinah (1772 in Nova Scotia) and that a few of his children decided to remain in Nova Scotia and the surrounding area. Because all of his children were born in Rhode Island and the oldest, Anthony, was born in Rhode Island in 1751, it seems that they moved after that time.

For the bits of research I’ve found, the earliest date that applies is 1749, but that would be before the oldest boy was born. However, it is important to note this:

1749 Halifax is founded by British to counter French presence at Louisbourg

So, already the British were developing a colony in the area. Shortly after this the expulsion of the Acadians begin. From a journal dated 1751 in the original printing, there is this:

Nova Scotia.

Read a letter from his Grace the Duke of Bedford, dated the 30th January, 1750–1, signifying his Majesty’s approbation of the Board’s proposals for contracting with Mr. Dick for the transportation of 1,000 foreign protestants to Nova Scotia and of Monsieur Pasquier transporting 300 Swiss.

Ordered that the Secretary do write to Mr. Dick to acquaint him therewith, and that the Board is willing to agree with him for the transportation of 1,000 foreign protestants to Nova Scotia upon the following terms to be ascertained by a regular contract, viz.:—
That 1½ ton of shipping be allowed to each person.
That there be allowed to all and every the said foreign protestants from the time of their going on board during their voyage and for fourteen days after their arrival, unless debarked sooner, good and wholesome provisions according to the terms of the agreement made by their lordships last year with Mr. Heyliger, who transported the settlers from hence.
That the said foreign protestants be embarked on or before the 10th of April.
That one-third at least of the said foreign protestants do consist of labouring men from the age of 15 to 45.
That in order the better to preserve the health of the people during the voyage, a ventilator be fixed up in all and every the ship or ships employed by (fn. 1) him in this service for which purpose an experienced person shall in due time be sent hence to Rotterdam.

Read a letter from Mr. Scrope, Secretary to the Lords of the Treasury, dated this day, inclosing a memorial of Mr. Chauncy Townshend to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury for a contract for victualling the settlers, artificers and labourers at Nova Scotia for the year 1751 upon which memorial their Lordships desire the opinion of this Board.

David would have been 46, which would have been a little over the desired age, but because of the large family including 8 boys, there’s a chance that they were given passage as a few of these 1,000. Then, back to the first source, we have:

1759 Proclamation issued by Governor of Nova Scotia invites New Englanders to settle there

Thoughts on Rituals and Worship

Well, while I’ve been unsuccessful at reading one of these a week, I have been skimming them a bit here and there. When I read the two on rituals, I had to shake my head. This is one of those topics that became a huge debate between me and other Pagans in college, and I’m glad I stuck to my guns and kept at things my own way.

There seems to be this idea in general modern Paganism that the rituals done need to be elaborate, encompassing many steps, and need to have a set structure to follow. I’m sorry, but if I had wanted to have such strict rules and regulations control my religious practices, I would have stuck to a religion such as Catholicism or Judaism. Part of what drew me into investigating Paganism when I was in middle school was the concept that the religious practices therein where very flexible. If you were one that needed a rigid structure, you could have it, but if you craved freedom and flexibility, that was also there. To go into college in hopes of meeting fellow Pagans only for a generous amount of them to tell you your ideas about worship and practice are wrong is a very trying experience that I hope never to repeat.

My idea of what Ritual is focuses now more than ever on the here and now. How can I make Yule special? What have we not eaten for a while that’s one of our favorite dishes? What activity do we never do that we can have fun with today? Holidays become a chance for me to put more thought into my home and to be thankful for the opportunity that the Lord and Lady have blessed me with while doing each thing throughout the day (which isn’t much different than my normal days), and tend to include some solitude time in front of my altar with journal and pen in hand to think about and connect with the divine.

I try to strive for mini rituals each day. These stretch from cooking a meal with will and intent (being a Kitchen Witch, this comes naturally), to knitting meditatively. Somedays I may need an extra walk in the woods to get a closer feel to the divine. However, if I go the day without touching the divine, I know that there is something I’m missing and I focus on finding out what that is an how to repair it.

Why do we need to be roped into this belief that we need special outfits or to go skyclad to worship? Is there any real reason that we need to cast a circle, call the Gods and Goddesses, partake the in the Five Fold Kiss, and be led around by a Priest or Priestess like a donkey on a string?

Worship, regardless of the religion, should be a daily occurence that does not interfere with your life. If you feel as though you need to drop everything in order to spend time with your divine being, and doing so is stressful, than it may be time to take a look at what you need from ritual and worship. You might be surprised with how much you’re complicating things.

Guns vs. Me

“I believe everybody in the world should have guns.  Citizens should have bazookas and rocket launchers too.  I believe that all citizens should have their weapons of choice.  However, I also believe that only I should have the ammunition.  Because frankly, I wouldn’t trust the rest of the goobers with anything more dangerous than string.”  ~Scott Adams

In case you can’t tell by the above quote, I have an issue with guns. Trust me, posting about this is not how I wanted to start my solstice, but it is something that is currently stuck in my head at the moment. I don’t care whether you want to agree with me or disagree with me, nor do I mind if you open up an adult debate. However, this is a topic I will   my mind on. It may be a product of past life experiences (having been a soldier and such) or from the annoyance that everyone in our faithless society feels like they can not trust their fellow-man to the point that they need a gun.

I will say it plainly: If you have a gun, you are a coward. Obviously, there are those with legitimate reasons for owning a gun (abuse ex-spouses and work, primarily), but not many at all. If you have no reason to own a gun, no actual cause except for your own fear, than you are a coward. Now, I know this will strike a chord with some, especially the husband if he ever reads this, but that, in a nut shell, is how I feel.

The United States has always claimed to be a nation of peace, justice, and freedom. I know right now that there are many that are stating, “It’s my right to bear arms, it’s in the Constitution.” Keep in mind, that the Constitution was written in a time and place much difference to today. Neighbors, for the most part, were well distanced and the army did not have the ability to move as swiftly as they do today. You could also take the exact wording of the amendment and translate it in another way from the “norm.”

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I see this as not so much the individual right to bear arms, but the right for a militia to exist and bear arms. by removing an un-necessary piece of the sentence, which in no way changes the intended meaning, you are given this:

A well regulated Militia, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Which, from my view-point is like what I have said previously: we have a right to a militia. If all citizens are not part of that militia, why on Earth do they need to be armed?!

Part of my belief also stems from my feelings towards the social contract that we have built as a society. As I have mentioned before, we claim to be a nation of free, loving, and just-seeking peoples, yet we act in fear constantly of our brethren. It begins to bring up the chicken-or-the-egg concept: Did we begin to fear each other before we started arming ourselves, or only after a few morons decided that guns were a more effective way to settle matters? Regardless of the origin, I feel that the more one distrusts their kindred, the more likely that distrust will come into being. If you walk around with a concealed weapon thinking that one day you might need it, than that day will indeed come. Not because you were “right,” but because the cosmic vibrations of “I’m ready for this, so bring it to me!” that you’re subconsciously dealing out will drive that type of person right to you. They feed off from fear and violence at the spiritual level, not at the surface.

The only thing I truly have left to say on the subject, or at least for this post, is that if you do not have faith in fellow-man, than at least have faith in you Divine, whatever form you choose. Somethings happen in this life. I personally have faith that the Lord and Lady will protect me from the unnecessary. Does that mean that I go around driving like a moron and not using my seat belt? No. Those are precautions that do not poison my mind with thoughts of violence. Those are precautions that are not going to possibly hurt or kill someone. Those are precautions that are not going to put me at risk.  If I’m meant to get gunned down walking through a WalMart parking lot, than there’s probably a reason for that. I refuse to spend my life in fear because of the “what could happens.”

“I will not carry a gun…. I’ll carry your books, I’ll carry a torch, I’ll carry a tune, I’ll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, cash and carry, carry me back to Old Virginia, I’ll even hari-kari if you show me how, but I will not carry a gun!”  ~Hawkeye, M*A*S*H, “Officer of the Day”

Black Willow

I hate seeing trees cut down for no reason. Unfortunately, we need to take one down today that has grown as much as it will and is now becoming a risk.

This was a photo taken a couple of months after we moved in. As you can see, we were having a little bit of flooding from the stream. While that tree at the very end of the peninsula doesn’t look like much here, it’s actually a 60 – 80 foot black willow. We originally thought it was an ash tree, but a friend of the family’s, who going to help us drop it, is a logger and said that it’s actually a black willow that’s native to Maine.  The head of the tree can form from 60 tp 120 feet in width. The base of this one is close to five feet in circumference; I’m planning on taking measurements before we cut it down.

While the wood itself is a very soft wood and normally not good for burning, we’re going to save every bit of it that we can to use in the outdoor boiler that we will hopefully have next year.We will also be leaving the stump to continue the growth over there as a willow bush.

On the magical side of things, there are many giver attributes to willow. According to Sandra Kynes’ Whispers from the Woods: The Lore and Magic of Trees, these are some of the suggested:

• Powers/Attributes: birth, connections, enhancement, fertility, flexibility, healing, intuition, knowledge, protection, relationships, wishes
• Elements: fire, water
• Celtic Calendar: April 15 – May 12
• Other name for Tree: Tree of Enchantment
• Energy: feminine
• Sabbats: Beltane, Samhain

These are not all of what is listed, but the ones that I feel are the most important to my magic workings. I will say that I will be sad to see the poor gentle giant go, but after noticing hollows up at the top and seeing how easily some of the ones across the stream have lost pieces over our one year here, it is a necessity to drop him in order to keep my family safe.

Long Nights Moon of December

As many of us were aware, last night was December’s full moon. To many, each full moon has a different meaning. December’s is considered the Long Nights Moon. This is a time to work on evaluating the trials and ordeals in our lives. Coming to terms with these events and creating out plans and choices helps bring us out of the darkness. Some make it through this quicker than others. If you have made it through already, I plead with you to help another through their own darkness as well. Given that the full moon itself lends us energy to help solve our problems on a cyclical basis, it makes this time even more meaningful.

Go forth and meditate on what needs “fixing” and what life threw at you over the past year. The messages in your life’s events will help set you on the right path.

Origins of Yule

For most of us, we know the origins of a lot of our religious holidays. Or at least we think we do. Some religions are so steeped in mystery that even the most devoted followers may not be able to draw up a clear origin to some of the holidays. During the month of December there’s a very solid example of this: Christians know that Christmas was created to celebrate Christ’s birth, but Pagans are a little more in the dark about Yule.

Yule, currently known as a celebration on the longest night of the year to mark the returning light, is one of the more common Pagan holidays known by other religions. The most prevalent story of origin from Yule can be seen in the Wiccan sect of paganism. The tale goes that yule has been traditionally a celebration of longest night of the year partially to symbolize the waiting, and “labor,” of the birth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life. Upon this King’s birth, he grows until, in the spring, he warms the frozen Earth and makes her bear forth the seeds in her “womb” that had been protected throughout the fall and winter.

A more interesting concept, and possibly a bit more historical, is that Yule did not take place on a certain date. Currently, Pagans celebrate Yule on one of two dates, depending on their sect. These dates are either Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year, usually the 21st or 22nd of December) or     December 25th, coinciding with Christmas. It seems that originally yule was celebrated on the closest full moon to the Winter Solstice (as that would provide the markings of a new beginning as full moons do) and lasted for three nights. According to Norse tales, this changed when King Haakon ©. 920-961 CE) I took over.

According to historians, King Haakon I hid his Christianity from the natives of Norway in order to win their trust. He told the peoples that it would make more sense for the Yule celebration to coincide with Christmas so that they could all celebrate together, regardless of belief. Haakon actually created a law stating that the celebration would be on December 25th and would last until the “drink runs out.” Anyone that didn’t celebrate on the designated date would be fined. With this placed into effect, it didn’t take long for the sacrificing at the holiday and mass amounts of toasting (and thus mass amounts of drinking) to slowly fade. Through this, King Haakon ironically gained enough respect that when he began his Christian crusade, he ran into very little opposition and is credited with Christianizing Norway.

However, there is documentation even earlier then this that Yule existed. About 730 CE, the English historian Bede documented the Germanic people’s holiday celebrations. As far as he could discover, these celebrations for Yule went as far back as the fourth century. At this point in time, Bede reported that the pagans had already been celebrating yule on December 25th as an all-night honor to their Germanic “divine mothers.”

It seems that the more digging one does into the origin of Yule, the more mysterious it gets. There are so many conflicting tales as to the date and the why behind the placement of the celebration, but one thing does remain the same: the meaning. Whether a person celebrated Yule on the 21st, 22nd, or 25th of December, the celebration of the returning light and the slow awakening of the Earth and Nature help remind us that winter, in all Her glory, is still a temporary rest and not an end.

“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” ~Chinese Proverb

Some Pagans, such as myself, practice what I call the Craft. Yes, I Craft and I craft. Hardy, har, har. In all reality, the capitalization at the beginning of the word sets the two apart tremendously. Craft, with a little c, is simply the hobby and handy work of creating things with materials. Craft, with a big c, is the work of religious belief and a manner of praying to whatever pathenon you choose to worship.

Before I go further into things here, I would like to comment that the Craft, also known as Witchcraft, is not a “black art” nor a form of “Devilry.” The idea of it being the adverse of prayer was something that wasn’t started until Christianity became a large force in Europe. Christianity for years had been persecuted by the Romans andGreeks. In it’s hayday, Christians would acutally work side-by-side with Druids in a way to upsurp the Greeks and fidn hidden ways to practice their religion. when Chriatians came into power, they did as any segregated group would. They lashed out and tried to make sure that what happened to them once wouldn’t happen again. Sure enough, in doing so they did what had been done to them to others. In their force to make sure they were never kept form praciticing thei religion, Christians of the tiem began pegging any heathen practices as work of the “Devil” since it couldn’t have been God’s work since he would never let the Greek pagans treat them as they had. Hopefully you can see how this form of prayer known as Witchcraft was simply pegged as “Devilry” out of spite.

Now that I’ve deviated from my original course of discussion, let me back track a bit. There are Pagans that practice teh Craft and then there are those that do not. I practice the Craft. I will admit that I do not practice as much as I should, but I’m getting there.

One of the key forms that I, and many other Witches, practice is candle magic, which is simply the use of candles in magical workings. Some feel that there are specific guidelines that must be followed during candle magic. Once again, I state that these guidelines are just that: guidelines. They are not rules, they are not laws. Different colors can be used for different meanings and may vary in that meaning from person to person, culture to culture. (In the near future I hope to start correspondence pages that will help give ideas to those looking for such.)

With all that has been happening in my life recently (leaving a job to take up subbing, going back to school, dealing with the reprecussions of being more vocal of my beliefs), I have needed to fall back on the Craft more than ever. The other night I was moved to do a simple courage spell. I called the Lord and Lady to me and proceeded to inscribe the word “courage” on a red candle. Asking for their help, I left the candle burning as I worked in the bedroom cleaning and organizing. The next two days I lit the candle any time I was in the room for more than a few minutes.

The third day, I lit the candle and it went out after only a couple minutes. I tried to light it again, thinking it was a gust of wind that just happened to blow out only the “courage” candle and not the ones calling the Lord and Lady. The candle would not light. In my asking I had asked for the extra courage as long as it was needed. There are many ways to take the blowing out and un-relighting of the “courage” candle. In that moment, and even now, I read it to mean that the courage I asked for is here, I simply need to use it.

“It is doubtless true that religion has been the world’s psychiatrist throughout the centuries.” ~Karl Menninger

A quick word on whom this Karl Menninger fellow is. For those of you who are not into the realm of psychiatry and psychology at all, he was an American psychiatrist whom practiced from 1919, when he opened the Menninger Clinic with his father, up until his death in 1990. He was one of the few psychiatrists who held firm to his belief that some mental illnesses were caused by religious influences, or lack of religion for stability. Given what we see in society, the degradation of humanity and the lack of respect for fellow man, in tandem with the falling numbers for religions and people who hold any faith world-wide, but specifically here in America, topped off with more “mental illnesses” being noticed, I can’t help but wonder if he may have been on the right track.

While I would love to say that I have become more apt to study my religion int he past month, I can not. Life has gotten in the way. I know that’s not an excuse, but that’s the bone of the matter. On that same note, I have allowed myself to become more open with the ideas of what I believe in. Take, for example, birth control. I do believe that a couple should do everything in their power not to have children unless they are financially, emotionally, relationship-ly, and religiously ready. However, despite being on an oral contraceptive for the past six years, I do not agree with the use of man-made drugs in order to stop such an event. These hormones change you chemical, mental, and physical make-up to the point that you are not necessarily who you are intended to be.

I have been on nine different pills, all with severe side-effects. Sometimes these side effects were simply harsh cramps during my menstrual cycle, but other times they were severe, manic almost, mood swings that left me feeling hopeless, irritable, and sometimes suicidal. My aggression issues were almost impossible to control taking these pills. Not to mention one of the biggest gripes of all, I had almost no third eye.

Now that I’m off the pill, it seems all those negative side-effects have dissipated. Joe has even made comment to the fact that I’m much calmer despite all the financial and personal issues we currently have going on. I have even been able to “talk” with my guides again and have a stronger sense of when someone else is around on a different plane.

The real reason as to why I’m writing in this blog about this rather personal issue is that, as woman, I think we are under the assumption that we have no choice but to pump ourselves full of man-made chemicals in order to control what happens to us and when. My current outlook on this: hogwash. There are other ways to try and prevent your life from going down a path you don’t want it to (condoms, fertility charting, abstinence, spermicide) that don’t mess with your chemical make-up and who you are. If, given you are being careful and taking at least one precaution according to the way it’s supposed to be used, you end up with a child, then it may just be that the Divine has intervened. Am I saying not to use protection? Gods no! Am I saying I would have done things differently these past six years, maybe. What it comes down to for me, is that I’m surprised that we, as a nation of females with freedom, have decided to buy into a thought process and a pill process simply because it’s easy, allows us not to think, and allows us to avoid the possible consequences of our actions.

Tears of a clown…or so we think.

I’m sitting here at the end of the school day in my room. And I can hear a student sobbing in the hallway. He’s a special education kiddo. Who knows what his background is or what his homelife is like. He’s a new student that I have yet to know. I can’t help but think, after knowing what I do know of some students, that he is in trouble with the special education teacher; a teacher that is well known for waiting until the last possible minute before getting a student in trouble. Why is this boy crying? All I can think of is that it’s a nationalized test week. The teachers are burnt out, the students are burnt out. The student misbehaves, and eventually gets in trouble.

At home, who knows what “getting in trouble at school.” will look like. For some, it’s an afternoon inside without video games. For others it might even be a night without dessert. But for some many it means a whoping, a wipping, or maybe even a plain-out beat down. Theses are the kids that I constantly worry will never be able to learn much from the discipline a school tries to give. A detention is no longer a detention for these few; no longer an hour diverted from outdoor play, but a full evening the night before, the night of, and maybe the night after where they are beaten and berated by those that are supposed to care for them. Unfortunately, due to the current turmoil of the economy, it seems that this is becoming more and more common.

I ask everyone that reads this blog to join in a collective prayer for these students. They need our love more than we could possibly imagine.

Leap of Faith

For those of you that don’t know, I’m leaving the security of my current job behind. I have been working in an area of education that not only do I feel uncomfortable in, but that is prohibiting me from being able to focus on the area that I am certified in, English Language Arts. On top of that, the school I am at seems more than willing to keep me where I’m at instead of moving me to a position in which I would be highly qualified.

On October 30, the day before Samhain, ironically, I will officially be done at my job. I will be going into substituting and being a full time graduate student. I’m hoping to be able to find a full time teaching position for next fall. This seems to be the best decision I have made in a long time. I have lost the depression that I was deeply drowned in and have begun to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that I haven’t seen in a very long time.

On top of this potentially life changing event is the other, more important one: Joe and I have finally tied the knot. :-) We were married on October 3rd in a very small, beautiful ceremony. I’m hoping to have pitures up sometime in the near future both on here and the family blog.