SIBLY'S REVOLUTION OF AMERICA
- from Ebenezer Sibly's " New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences ", Part III, pp 1051-1055 (first published 1784 London).

I shall now call the attention of my reader to that remarkable area in the British history which gave independence to America, and reared up a new Empire, that shall soon or late give laws to the whole world. The revolution carries with it something so remarkable, and the event is so important to this country, that I shall make no apology for introducing the scheme of the heavens for the spring and summer quarters of the year 1776, when this revolution happened, and for examining and explaining the same, according to the rules I have so amply laid down for that purpose. The Sun's revolutional ingress into the sign Aries in the year 1776, under which the independence of America was established, and the face of the heavens at the summer solstice, may be seen in the annexed figures, which were calculated with great accuracy and precision for this purpose.

In the vernal equinox, [1] we find Jupiter is lord of the ascendant, and in his detriment. Mars we find in Aries, which is the ascendant of England, strong and powerful in his own house, but under the earth. The Moon, who represents the common people, we find under affliction being combust the Sun; and Mars, being combust also, foreshews that poor England, though her internal strength be great and permanent, yet was this year accidentally afflicted and depressed: more especially as we find Mars going to an opposition of Saturn, and Saturn uncommonly strong in the midheaven, in his exaltation, and beheld by the two fortunes Jupiter and Venus; and consequently superior to Mars in power and dignity, who is under the earth, and combust of the Sun, though located in his own house; which in this case serves however to shew the permanency and stability of Great Britain during the whole of this trying conflict.

In this figure the planet Saturn is the significator of America, and Mars represents the people of Britain; as may very easily be seen by taking down the dignities of Saturn and Mars, according to the table in page 130 of this work. That Saturn hath the superiority of power, and that Mars and Saturn are inimical in their nature to each other, are facts too evident to be denied; and as the aspect which is about to be formed between them is a malevolent one, namely, a partile opposition, it declares the event shall be such as to cause a total and eternal separation of the two countries from each other; and that the congress, which is represented by Saturn, will establish an independent and complete revolution, which shall be built upon a firm and durable foundation; and the increasing strength and durability of the new state is represented by Saturn in his exaltation, supported by the benefic rays of the two fortunes. And since there is a remarkable reception between the two planets Saturn and Venus, i.e. Venus in the house of Saturn, and Saturn in the house of Venus, supported by a propitious trine aspect of Venus and Jupiter, while Jupiter and Saturn, and Saturn and Venus, with the three preceding planets, occupy and posses the whole expanse of the heavens; it is hence declared, that whatever is effected under this revolution of the Sun's ingress into Aries by the Americans, shall not only be permanent and durable, but shall be supported by those three grand pillars of state, wisdom, strength and unanimity; which are pointed out by those three planets, agreeable to their tendency and nature, viz. Saturn, strength and durability; Jupiter, wisdom and justice; and Venus, unanimity and perseverance; and their mutual trine aspect to each other is expressive of future perfection and harmony; so that, if we attentively contemplate the above position of the heavenly bodies, we shall find no point strained, to shew their natural tendency towards the good fortune and success of the Americans; and consequently the disappointment and prejudice of the British arms and administration.

We shall now take notice of the time in which this extraordinary revolution should come to its crisis, or completely take place, as pointed out by the several significators in the figure. To do this, we must equate the distance of Mars from Saturn, they being the two principal actors in this revolution. Their distance is take by right ascension according to their latitude; because Mars, which is the significator of Great Britain, is within three degrees of the cusp of the fourth house.

The right ascension of Saturn is ..... 18 degrees 52 minutes
The right ascension of Mars is ..... 2 degrees 30 minutes
Subtract, and the remainder is the distance of Mars from Saturn ...16 degrees 22 minutes.

Which arch of direction must be converted into time, by adding to it the right ascension of the Sun, as taught in the doctrine of nativities; by which rule we are to examine how many days the Sun takes in going that space in the ecliptic; and this being an annual revolution, with the two significators in common signs [2], which denote weeks, we must therefore allow for each day's motion of the Sun one week; by which it will appear that the crisis or effect of the opposition of Mars and Saturn came up in fifteen weeks and two days [3] from the time the Sun came into the first scruple of the equinoctial sign Aries; at which time, to a day, the Americans declared themselves independent of the British government, and became a free state.

At this time the heavenly intelligencers were posited as in the scroll presented by the hand of Fame in the annexed plate; and from whence the following conclusions naturally follow. So many significators being posited in the fifth house, in the watery and fruitful sign of Cancer, the sign or house of the Moon, with the Moon in the ascendant; and Venus, Jupiter, Sol, and Mercury, all beholding the ascendant with a trine aspect, clearly evinces that the state of America shall in time have an extensive and flourishing commerce; an advantageous and universal traffic to every quarter of the globe, with great fecundity and prosperity amongst the people. At this period we are in some measure enabled to speak experimentally of the truth of this prescience; though the stars point out these particulars, with all other important incidents relative to the rise and progress of the United States, with as much certainty and precision as by the Moon we calculate the ebbing and flowing of the sea, the times and periods of eclipses, the courses and effects of comets, or any other extraordinary phenomena, wherein nature, and the ordinations of God, the great and primary cause of all things, are at the bottom.

The better to satisfy the curious in these mundane revolutions, and to enable them to draw conclusions with great exactness, I have subjoined the figure of the Sun's ingress into the tropical sign Cancer, which took place near fourteen days before the Americans declared their independence; and, what is very remarkable, Mars, who is the significator of Great Britain, is disposed of in the imum coeli by Mercury, the significator of the French King, who, when the Sun entered into Aries, was lord of the seventh house, the house of public enemies, of falsehood, and deceit. He likewise disposes of Jupiter, lord of the ascendant at that time, which had co-signification with Mars, in representing the people of England. From these remarkable positions and effects, we may fairly conclude, that the Americans had not only the French nation to assist them, but had many strong and powerful friends in Great Britain, who should support the cause and second the exertions of the French in establishing their independence.

It is to be noted, that, in the preceding figure of the Sun's entrance in to Cancer, Mars is found in conjunction of Venus, and, although Venus is a fortune, and declares England should not be ruined by the strong influence of Mercury, their dispositor, yet she softens and takes off the war-like courage and intrepid impetuosity of Mars, and inclines him more to amity and peace than to bloodshed and slaughter. Besides, we find the Sun, who is king amongst the planets, instead of being in conjunction of Mars, the implicative aspect of war and conquest, is in conjunction with Jupiter, who is the natural significator of peace and concord; so that the Sun's ingress into Cancer declares that the counsels of his Britannic majesty should not prove effective, not his arms victorious; but inclined only to push on a defensive war with the Americans, as the nature of their situation and the necessity of the times might require, though an unlimited thirst for conquest was predominant; which exactly corresponds with the situation of the heavenly ordinances at the time the Americans chose to declare their defection from the mother-country.

At this time Jupiter and Venus were in conjunction, and appeared as counsel with the Sun and Mercury in the celestial Crab, in that part of the heavens appropriated to the mansions of the Moon. The Moon was then also arrived at the opposite point of that particular place in the heavens, where she was posited at the time of the ingress, and disposed of by Saturn the significator of America. Hence it will appear, that if we read the history of the American war, and examine with attention the various transactions of those who were the principal actors in the business,and compare the result with what is prenoted by the foregoing figures, according to the rules heretofore laid down to determine planetary influx, we shall find no difficulty in tracing every important event, with astonishing exactness and precision, that can in any shape relate to this department of the astral science.

I could add here a variety of other examples, in support of astral influence upon synods and states, and in promoting, as second causes under heaven, the rise and fall of empires, and the revolutions of the world. But enough has surely been said to illustrate this enquiry to the fullest extent, and to render it obvious to the meanest capacity, particularly as the nature of the planets and signs, and the houses and mansions of the heavens, continue unalterably the same in all cases, with respect to their influence and tendency; and require only to be applied to the nature of the question, nativity, or revolution, which ever it may chance to be, agreeable to the rules so amply given for that purpose; and I will be bold to say, that the utmost satisfaction will result to every sober enquirer, the more he pursues and the deeper he contemplates this incomparable study.

Notes from Ed:
[1] Due to limitations of space, the data for the Aries and Cancer Ingresses in 1776 are appended in the data section, to be drawn out if required.
[2] We hope to discuss the technicalities of Sibly's directional method in a future Bulletin.
[3] The mention of 'common' (mutable) signs is puzzling and looks like an error. The significators are in 'moveable' (cardinal) signs. Perhaps another case of Siblyitis.