Was it possible to be an atheist in the days before the Enlightenment?
Was it possible to be an atheist in the days before the Enlightenment?
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Scots in Colonial New England
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So often we equate New England almost exclusively with the English. Of course, there were Dutch in Manhattan, Swedes in Delaware, Germans and Welsh in Pennsylvania, but New England was the English. Right? Mostly, but there were also a few Scots here and there. Maybe most notably some Scots taken prisoner by English and deported to America as punishment and for “national security”. The...
Second Sight
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I think everyone knows what it means when someone has the second sight. Collins Dictionary says, “If you say that someone has second sight, you mean that they seem to have the ability to know or see things that are going to happen in the future, or are happening in a different place.“ A cool thing to have. It’s also very Scots Irish. Not that there aren’t analogs in...
Including the Confederacy
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Some people are proud of their Confederate heritage. Personally I don’t see it. Yes, it’s part of our heritage. Yes, those are our ancestors too. But they were traitors. And racists. Racist traitors. It’s a complicated heritage. Mark Sumner (link below) provocatively argues it’s not our heritage; it’s our shame. Ideally, we would want to be impartial observers as we...
Casting a Medieval Horoscope
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In modern astrology, there are so many disconnects with our medieval ancestors. Those differences fascinate me. If the subject interests you, read John Frawley, The Real Astrology (2001). One of my all-time favorites, for the humor as well as the content. So, I’m pleased to see some detail on the subject from Seb Falk. Timely for me because I recently snagged a reprint of Geoffrey Chaucer...