I’ve been thinking about ancestor workings lately. I have this image of one of my stoneware chalices and my aboriginal art scarf sitting together on an altar constantly in my mind; it just popped up in there one day. Just the two items, nothing more, and I am not sure why but I do have some ideas.
My family tree is an interesting story, I have no Aboriginal in my direct line, however I do know that off various branches of my mother’s maternal line there is Aboriginal, in my own, going back 5 and 6 generations there is African American and West Indian (although there seems to be some confusion now on whether or not this ancestor was also African American or from Barbados – most records suggest to me he is from Barbados), so two of my ancestors were black. I think the symbolism of the chalice and the scarf in my mind and the need to put them together is my roots in Australia are a deep well, and because four of my ancestors were First Fleeters (the two above mentioned included) my roots are deeply ingrained within the soil of this land since it was first colonised by people other than the Aboriginals.
I have interesting roots all over the world like in Spain and India, some in now defunct countries like Prussia. I’ve always felt a strong calling toward the UK, most of my ancestors across all branches are from the UK – a huge amount is English, a few are Scottish and a rather big group is Irish. I went to Ireland a few years ago and the only place I felt any true connection was in Cork. I found later I had ancestors from Cork but the rest of the Irish contingent across the family was from the North. When you begin to root around in the family tree, it becomes a journey, somehow they cease being names and dates once you start learning about the people themselves. My mother’s line (her maternal line) is fascinating, there are some interesting stories in there – wholly unexpected when I first began to research them, but now I get a feel of where I come from and I really can’t complain.
I think that I have a better idea of what truly connecting with your ancestors means. It’s not something I’ve tried and quite honestly, a lot of the time I don’t know that I completely grasp the concept, but I am willing to give it a go. I don’t want to work with my immediate ancestors (personal reasons) but the in the broader sense I’m quite excited to explore the ancestors who walked years before when this country was young to the white man and to those who walked the ancient soils of the UK and Europe.
My family tree is an interesting story, I have no Aboriginal in my direct line, however I do know that off various branches of my mother’s maternal line there is Aboriginal, in my own, going back 5 and 6 generations there is African American and West Indian (although there seems to be some confusion now on whether or not this ancestor was also African American or from Barbados – most records suggest to me he is from Barbados), so two of my ancestors were black. I think the symbolism of the chalice and the scarf in my mind and the need to put them together is my roots in Australia are a deep well, and because four of my ancestors were First Fleeters (the two above mentioned included) my roots are deeply ingrained within the soil of this land since it was first colonised by people other than the Aboriginals.
I have interesting roots all over the world like in Spain and India, some in now defunct countries like Prussia. I’ve always felt a strong calling toward the UK, most of my ancestors across all branches are from the UK – a huge amount is English, a few are Scottish and a rather big group is Irish. I went to Ireland a few years ago and the only place I felt any true connection was in Cork. I found later I had ancestors from Cork but the rest of the Irish contingent across the family was from the North. When you begin to root around in the family tree, it becomes a journey, somehow they cease being names and dates once you start learning about the people themselves. My mother’s line (her maternal line) is fascinating, there are some interesting stories in there – wholly unexpected when I first began to research them, but now I get a feel of where I come from and I really can’t complain.
I think that I have a better idea of what truly connecting with your ancestors means. It’s not something I’ve tried and quite honestly, a lot of the time I don’t know that I completely grasp the concept, but I am willing to give it a go. I don’t want to work with my immediate ancestors (personal reasons) but the in the broader sense I’m quite excited to explore the ancestors who walked years before when this country was young to the white man and to those who walked the ancient soils of the UK and Europe.
Early this year I started looking back at my ancestry - I have found a couple of 2nd cousins, who I email to, and found out some interesting stuff about my grandparents.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the money to investigate further - but I don't, so my search came to a screeching halt...
Good luck with your findings..