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So You found Out You’re a Witch By Bloodline, Now What?
In my beginners classes I always tell my students to work with the chakras, to take a chakra test and find out which ones are in balance and which ones need work. It is a valuable tool in learning about yourself and finding out what makes you tick. I have also talked with them about the first chakra – the root chakra – and how it is so directly related to our relationships within our family. One of my favorite expressions with this particular chakra is to say to them, “If you really want to know yourself, trace your roots.”
Which is something I have been doing over the last few months. I found a wonderful online tool for this called ancestry.com. I took the two-week free trial and traced back about three generations, just in time for our annual family reunion. Now, mind you, I am the youngest of 11 children. My mother died when I was 24 and at the time family bloodlines were not important. As I had children and grandchildren, these bloodlines became more important but there was really no one to ask by then. I have an aunt who has filled in some blanks but again only a few generations back.
As my work progressed, I traced my direct family tree back to 1580 and discovered that we came here from England. I found that we settled in Massachusetts. But then I found that in 1635 we were asked to leave with a man named Roger Williams. We were banished to Rhode Island, where we were one of the first settlers of Providence, Rhode Island. Okay, everybody at the family reunion had a good laugh and said things like “I knew there was something about you”! Then, on further investigation, I realized that Roger Williams was the minister at the Church of Salem, and he was banished with 12 of his “loving friends”, my great-grandfather to the 12th power being one of them. They were accused of heresy.
I couldn’t believe my eyes – we were actually banished from Salem in 1635! For heresy no less! When I first discovered this, I laughed and thought how funny it was. But then, after thinking about it more, another chakra rocked – my heart chakra.
For those of you who know me personally, you know that a few years ago my family was terrorized by a neighbor. To the point where we finally just had to move out of the home that we had built. It ended up being the best thing for us, but the anguish that went along with being forced out of my home was almost unbearable at times. You also know that when I first opened my yoga studio, many people accused me of witchcraft and worshiping a false idol. It hurt me terribly to know that the people I grew up with could be so misguided.
So when I found out that my ancestors had been falsely accused and forced out of their home, I couldn’t help but feel their pain and anguish. They had moved to this new land for a new way of living just to be forced away. Interestingly enough, the judge that oversaw the famous trials in 1692 moved into Roger Williams’ house. The house still stands today and is a museum called The Witch House. We have learned since then that most of the people accused were land owners, several of them single women land owners, and when they were accused and convicted, the accuser would get half of their land and the court would get the other half. For several people it was, in fact, murder.
My family got away, by God’s Providence, which is why they named the settlement Providence. If they had not gotten away, I might not be here today.
I decided that maybe I should get some verification of this, so I contacted an organization called Bloodlines of Salem and their historians checked it out. I sent them everything I had found during my search and they contacted me a few days later saying without question I was in fact a direct descendent. I cannot express the emotions that went with that knowledge. Mainly just pride in how they had gotten away and started over. Just like I had. That they were falsely accused just like I had been. And that they still put one foot in front of the other and moved forward in life, just as I had.
When they asked me if I would like to be placed on the registry with other notable descendants, I proudly said YES! Now I am on it, my oldest daughter is on it, and my grand-daughter is as well. My son, grandson and youngest daughter have not gotten around to it yet, but as soon as their lives allow a few minutes, I know they will get on the registry too.
We have been verified that we belong to an elite club, along with presidents, scholars, royalty, celebrities of all kinds, and just plain old everyday people like ourselves. It is indeed an honor.
So, as I go forth teaching my students about the root chakra, my mantra will remain, “If you want to know yourself, trace your roots.”
To trace your roots visit www.ancestry.com. For more information on the Bloodlines of Salem, visit www.bloodlinesofsalem.org.
[tags]Chakra, balance, roots, Salem, 1635, judgement, bloodlines, descendent, history, Providence [/tags]