The Sibly Chart and Masonic Astrology

by Edward Kohout

Editor’s Note: A longer version of this article first appeared on Patrice Guinard’s trilingual astrology research Web site, C.U.R.A. (Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Astrologie); see http://cura.free.fr/xxv/22sibly.html

T heenigmaticSiblychartfortheUnitedStates of America’s independence has

longremainedamystery. Itwaspublishedin1780byaself-proclaimed“astro-philosopher”named Ebenezer Sibly (1751–1800), in abook entitled A Complete Illustration of the Celestial Science of Astrology.1 This volumeshowedanengravingofthischartbeingcar-riedbyanetherealarchangelGabrieloverafigure of General George Washington. (SeeFigure 1,opposite.) Sibly’scharthasbeenaboneofconten-tionamongmundaneastrologers foras longas it has existed. The most popular versionof this chart used today is a modified chartcastforPhiladelphiaat5:10p.m.,with12°21'Sagittarius rising. The justification for thisseemstobethatSiblyspecified(asseenontheclose-up)aspecifictimeof“4thJuly,10H10MP.M.,1776.”BothDaneRudhyarandViv-ianRobsonusedthischartasafoundationfortheirownrectificationsofthechartoftheDec-laration of Independence (herein sometimesreferredtoas“theDeclaration”)and,thus,thechart for the United States. Astrologer JohnEarleystumbledacrossan indirectreferencetothischartand,in1914,publishedhisown“discovery”ofthe“real”chartfortheU.S. Unfortunately,littlehardevidencehasbeenbroughtforthtosupportanyoftheseconten-tions,apartfromrectificationtechniquesusedonlybyastrologers.Mundanechartsofhistori-calfactshouldbesubjecttorectificationonlyif

norealevidenceexiststosupportanyonetimeforanevent.AlthoughSiblydoesindeedstateatime,hedoesnotprovideanyrelevantfactualdatatosupportthistime,sowehavetoacceptitatfacevalue.

More Questions than Clarity What we can say with certainty aboutSibly’s chart and his astrological techniquesisthattheywereunlikeanythingthattoday’sastrologers might encounter. Upon closeexamination,onecanconcludethatthischartsimplyneverexisted in realityand is, there-fore,anexerciseinsymbolism:ariddle. The angles specified — 19°49' Aquari-us rising and 13°12' Sagittarius culminating—cannotoccuratthelatitudeofPhiladelphia.In fact,Siblyspecifiesnoplaceatall.Atfirstglance,weassumethatitmustbePhiladelphia,buttheangleshecitesarephysicallyimpossi-bleatPhiladelphia’slatitude.TheseanglesdooccurdailyoverLondon,buttheplanetaryfor-mation,andmainlyLuna’s(theMoon’s)geo-centric position within this chart, could nothavehappenedoverLondonasthosezodiacalvaluespassedthelocalazimuthalgrid.Instead,wefindthatthisplanetaryalignmentoccurredat high noon at the location of Philadelphia.HowwouldthelocaleofLondonbecentraltoeventsborn inPhiladelphia?What is thepur-poseofusingaplanetarypictureforoneloca-tionwithintheanglesofanotherlocation? ThefitoftheanglestoLondon’slatitudewasnot lostonRudhyar,whochose to relo-cate thechart toPhiladelphiaandarrivedatatimeof5:14p.m.Rudhyarthenjustifiedthischoice of Ascendant and Midheaven via theSabiansymbols.2

Robson’stime,whichisalsoSibly-basedbutafull5°24'ofzodiacalarcdifferentfrom

2

April/May 2003 3

Figure 1:Sibly’s engraving and detail

Rudhyar’s,wasaSiblychartrectificationcit-ed in a special 1949AFA (AmericanFeder-ationofAstrologers)bulletincalledAstrologi-cal Americana:“...Ihavebeenlookingintothe[Sibly] horoscope there suggested and havevery little doubt that it is the correct one. Arectificationbyeventsbringsoutalocaltimeof4:49:49astheexactmomentforwhichthemapshouldbeerected,sothatwearejustifiedinchoosing4:50p.m.”3 Thisrectification,however,fliesinthefaceofhistoryitself,accordingtoMarcPenfield;hecitesarecordedfactthatJohnHancockaffixedhis proud signature on the document sometimeafter2:00p.m.onthatday,afterthefinaldraftoftheDeclarationcame“outofcommit-tee.”Forthis,hequotesHancock’sowndiary.4Many other historical sources agree with an“afternoon”timing,althoughnoneareaspre-ciseasHancock’sownpen; thishour isstillsomewhatvaguebutgavePenfieldthenarrowwindowforarectifiedtimeof2:20p.m. SiblynevervisitedtheUnitedStates,anditisdoubtfulhewasprivytothemembersoftheContinentalCongresswhoknewthepre-cise time.What, then,washis reasoning forchoosingthetimeof10:10p.m.? The answers to these perplexing ques-tionsrequireustoconsiderwhoSiblywasandwhatkindofastrologywasbeingpracticedinhis 18th-centurymilieu. He was well versedinthecutting-edgetechniquesofhisdayandsurely familiar with William Lilly, Elias Ash-mole,andGeorgeWharton,whoallpracticedduringEngland’sgoldenageofastrology. In1783, a German bookseller named Christo-pherNicolaipromulgatedtheconnectionsoftheaboveastrologerstotheearlyformationofwhatevolvedintospeculativeFreemasonry.5Siblywasanardentmemberof thebrother-hoodofFreemasonswhowerebasedinLon-donbuthadsatellitelodgesinthemajorcit-iesof thecolonies.Freemasonry’sextensivesymbolic languagecontainsmanyastrologi-cal elements — including zodiacs, the SunandMoon,andthePleiades—andnumerousreferencestothecardinalpoints.EvenifthetiesbetweenthepopularastrologersofEng-landandtheelitistsocietyofFreemasonsarecasualatbest, there isnodoubt thatastrol-ogywasatthecoreofthebrotherhood’sbelief

system.Sibly,then,wassurelywithinthesta-tion of his peers — and perhaps one of themoreproficientastrologersofhisday. However, nothing in Lilly’s work couldexplain Sibly’s bizarre techniques. The rid-dlecanonlybesolvedbyinvestigatingacer-tainwatershedmomentinthehistoryofFree-masonry,alongwith theFreemasons’cleveruseof locationalastrologyandthesymbolicimportanceofcertainfixedstars.

A Chart for Speculative Freemasonry SpeculativeFreemasonrybeganinearnestonJune24,1717,attheGooseandGridironTaverninLondon,whenfourlocallodgesjoinedtoformtheGrandLodgeofEngland.June24isknownasSt.John’sDayintheChristiancal-endar; itcelebratesJohntheBaptistnearthesummersolstice(justasthebirthofChrist iscelebratednearthewintersolstice).ThisdateisthemostrevereddateinFreemasonry,andthishasledmanytotheorizethatFreemason-

Mercury Direct4

Masonic Astrology

ry considers John the Baptist to be the realMessiah. This notion has gained momentumbecause of the strict secrecy that surroundsthehighestlevelsofthecraft.However,Free-masonryislargelybaseduponobservanceof(forlackofabetterterm)asolardeity,andthesummersolsticewascelebratedonafixedcal-endardateofJune24inthecenturiesleadinguptotheEnlightenment—so, it followsthatSt.John’sDayhasmoretodowithastronomi-calmeasurementsandastrologicalbeliefsthananythingelse. AlthoughEnglandwasaChristiannation,it was outside of the realm of the RomanCatholic Church and did not officially adopttheGregoriancalendaruntil1752.UsingtheJuliancalendar,theJune24,1717dateisOldStyle(O.S.)andisconcurrentwithJuly5ofthe(NewStyle)Gregoriancalendar.ThenoonchartforLondononthisdateisremarkable—suggestingthatthisdatewaselectedastrologi-cally,perhapsmanyyearsearlier(seeChart 1,below). Not only is Jupiter cazimi (conjunct the

Sunwithin17minutesofarcor less) in thischart,itisalsodirectlybehindthediscoftheSuninwhatisararesolareclipseofaplanet.ThediscoftheSunaveragesabout34min-utesofarcindiameter;anyplanetwithin17latitudinalminutesoftheeclipticwhilecazimiis technically in eclipse — the Sun passesdirectlybetweenanotherplanetandtheEarth.Jupiter’strekstaysrelativelyclosetotheeclip-tic, more so than the other planets (exceptforUranus).Astrologicaltraditionstatesthatplanetsincazimiarestrengthened—oddly,incontrast toplanets incombustion(within16or17degreesof theSun’s longitude),whichareconsideredtobeconsumedbytheauraoftheSun.6Table 1(above)showsthiseclipse’spositions. Therarityofsuchapowerfulconjunctionsuggests that the chartwas elected. Preciseastronomical tables were available from theRoyalObservatory inGreenwich,whichhadbeeninoperationunderthedirectionofFlam-steedsincethelate1670s.Withthetechnol-ogy and tools of the day, such an “eclipse”waseasilypredictablebyanexpertinastron-omy,someofwhomweresurelyamong theranksoftheFreemasons.7

Table 1June 24, 1717 (O.S.), 12:04 p.m. LMT

London, England

MC (Midheaven) 13°10’CancerSol (the Sun) 13°10’Cancer; Latitude0°(The Sun’s latitude at the ecliptic plane is always 0°)

Jupiter 13°06’Cancer; Latitude+0°06’Saturn 13°08’LibraLuna (the Moon) 28°04’TaurusMercury 17°46’CancerVenus 17°18’CancerMars 14°12’SagittariusAscendant 10°05’LibraNorthNode 08°37’Libra

All charts use Placidus houses

and the True Node.

Chart 1:Speculative

Freemasonry (noon)

April/May 2003 5

BothSaturnandJupiterareintheirexal-tations by sign, as is Luna’s conjunction tothePleiadesinTaurus.Saturnisrisinginthischart,exactlysquaretheSun–Jupitereclipse.SaturnandMarsare insextileandthusren-deredmostlyharmless,according to theoldrulesofelection. Uranianastrologerswouldfindtheeighthharmonicinteresting:

SU=MO=JU=SA=MC=VE/ME/NN=MA/UR=NE/PL

This spectacular astrological setup isrelevant toMasonic symbolismaswell. Thesquare and compass that have become theemblemofthecraft(seeFigure 2,below)findtheir roots in theolder traditionsofEurope-anastrology.Notonlywerethesquare(repre-sentinganangleof90°)andcompass(spreadattheangleof60°)necessarytoolsforarchi-tectural craftsmen, but they were also allu-sionstothenatureoftheEarthandtheheav-ensandthebasicmeasurementsofthewholeofthecosmicworks.The“G”intheMasonicemblem stands for geometry, which literallymeans“Earthmeasure.”Thesquareissym-bolicofthecardinalpoints.Thecompass(atoolusedtodrawacircle)atsextile issym-bolicoftherulethatacircle’sradiusisalwaysequaltoalineconnectingtwopointswithanarcof60°.

Freemasonry’s Astrological Heritage and the American Revolutionaries OnJune24,1776,anotherSun–JupitereclipseoccurredinCancer,butatabout10°earlier thantheeclipsedegree in1717.This

Figure 2:Masonic emblem

eclipsetookplaceoverthemeridianofPhil-adelphia (seeChart 2,below),muchas the1717 eclipse was over London. Notice thatthe1776Lunaistransitingthe1717Ascen-dant.(SeeTable 2,above.) Because of the changeover from theJulian to theGregoriancalendar inEnglandin1752,wefindthattheSun–Jupitereclipse

June 24, 1717 (O.S.),London, noon

June 24, 1776 (N.S.),Philadelphia, noon

MC 13°10’Cancer MC 03°35’Cancer

Sol 13°10’Cancer Sol 03°35’Cancer

Jupiter 13°06’Cancer(Lat.+0°06’)

Jupiter 03°37’Cancer(Lat.–0°05’)

Saturn 13°08’Libra Saturn 14°35’Libra

Ascendant 10°05’Libra Luna 10°24’Libra

Table 2

Chart 2:Sun eclipsing Jupiter (June 24, 1776)

Mercury Direct6

Masonic Astrology

enigmaticallymanifestsonthesamedatebutindifferentdecansofCancer.Again,wefindJupiterandSaturnintheirexaltations;JupiterisonhisfifthreturntoCancer,andSaturnisonhissecondreturntoLibrasince1717,high-lightingthe~60-yearchronocratingcycle,8butin thatmagical square fromCancer toLibra.Thesummerof1776wasindeedviewedasthedestinedtimefor theMasonicbrotherhoodtotakeagiganticstep in their lengthyquest toenactanewgovernment,basedonthevaluesof those Europeans who dared to challengetheoppressivemonarchiesofEuropewiththeliberatingandhigheridealsofdemocracyandfreedom. IfBenjaminFranklinandcompanyweretruly interested in the astrological benefitsof a goodSun–Jupiter cazimi—whywouldtheynotplanthesigningoftheDeclarationofIndependencearoundthe24thofJune?Theactual vote toadopt theDeclarationdidnotoccur until July2.ThomasJeffersonbegantopentheDeclarationonlyafterJune7,whenRichardHenryLee,aFreemasonintheCon-tinental Congress, submitted his Resolution Proposing a Declaration of Independence.9It is conceivable that the new nation wasintended, perhaps by the Freemasons whowieldedpower in theContinentalCongress,to be a subsidiary concern of the MasonicbodyinLondon,ratherthananisolatedpoliti-calentitywithoutanyconnectionstothenon-

monarchialpowersoftheOldWorld.Thiswouldhaveensuredcontinuedeconomicand legal tieswithmostofEngland’sempire.AnoonchartforJuly4,1776(Chart 3)boastsanear-exactsolarreturnoftheorig-inalGrandLodgeofLondonchart—onlythistimeatPhiladelphia,asseeninTable 3. Understandingthesesimilari-tiesbetween1717and1776,wecanreturntoSiblyforthecentralMason-ic connection: Philadelphia planetsinsideofLondonhouses(seeTable 4, opposite). Table 4 shows that Sibly’splanets are indeed for Philadel-phia.ThepositionsofSolandLunaare accurate within the tolerance

Table 3

June 24, 1717 (O.S.), July 4, 1776 (N.S.), Phila- London, 12:04 p.m. LMT delphia, 12:04 p.m. LMT

MC 13°10’Cancer 13°07’CancerSol 13°10’Cancer 13°07’CancerJupiter 13°06’Cancer 05°53’CancerSaturn 13°08’Libra 14°48’LibraLuna 28°04’Taurus 24°06’AquariusMercury 17°46’Cancer 24°18’CancerVenus 17°18’Cancer 02°51’CancerMars 14°12’Sagittarius 21°14’GeminiAscendant 10°05’Libra 11°23’LibraNorth Node 08°37’Libra 06°36’Leo

Chart 3:Declaration of Independence

(noon)

Astrology was at the core of the Freemasons’

belief system.

April/May 2003 7

of what was available to Sibly at that time.Noteworthy is the accurate computation ofgeocentric Luna, which shows how well theEnglish could adjust for parallax.As for theLondonangles, Sibly claimed that he chosetheparticularanglesof19°49'Aquariusand13°12' Sagittarius because they were closetotheAscendantsofthetwoprecedingsolarcardinal ingress charts:10 the 1776 CancerIngress,London(withanAscendantof16°44'Aquarius);and the1776Aries Ingress,Lon-don(withanAscendantof8°30'Sagittarius).NotethattheCancerIngressinPhiladelphiain1776hadanAscendantof7°34'Sagittarius. Butthisoffersjustaglimpseofthewholepicture. On July 4, 1776, in London, whentheAscendanthit19°49'Aquarius(9:54p.m.LMT),thePartofFortune(derivedbytakingthearcoftheSuntotheMoonandthenadd-ingthistotheAscendant)conjoinedJupiter—theeclipsedplanetinthe1717chart—again,highlightingthismostfavorableofplanetsandpossibly explaining why Sibly chose theseparticular angles (seeChart 4 below).And,ifweinsertthesame“9:54p.m.”timeintoaPhiladelphiachart(notshown),wefindLunaexactlyontheAscendantandonthecuspofAquarius/Pisces! What canwemakeof the “10:10p.m.”time given by Sibly when, above, 19°49'Aquarius is shown rising some 16 minutesearlier?KnowingthathehadplacedPhiladel-phia planets in a London grid, did he meanPhiladelphiatimeorLondontime? JohnB.EarleybelievedstronglythatthistimewaslocalPhiladelphiatime,asevidencedin his pamphlet entitled Horoscopes of the USA: Our Nation’s True Nativity.11 We haveno ideawhether heknewof theSibly chart;hemakesnomentionofit.Earleyclaimedtoarriveatthetimeof10:10p.m.viaacopyofanephemerisfrom1776;inthemarginofthiswaswritten(allegedlybytheowner),“July4,10:10p.m.,AmericanIndependencesigned,”withtheplanetarypositionsofthatdateunder-scoredinpurpleink.Itispossiblethattheorigi-nalowneroftheephemerishadaccesstotheSiblydatabutthatthiswasnotobvioustoEar-ley,whothenrectifiedhistimeto10:04p.m.,placing 4°09' Pisces on the Ascendant (seeFigure 3,nextpage).

A current calculation would show thatLuna rose in mundo (attained 0° altitude)12overPhiladelphiaonthatdayatthisminuteofLocalMeanTime.

Table 4

July 4, 1776 Philadelphia, noon Planet Sibly (Swiss Ephem. data)

Sol 13°08’ 13°07’Luna 24°00’ 24°06’Mercury 23°21’ 24°18’Venus 02°48’ 02°51’Mars 21°17’ 21°14’Jupiter 05°58’ 05°53’Saturn 14°50’ 14°48’

North Node 07°37’ 06°36’

Chart 4:Sibly’s angles (9:54 p.m. LMT, London)

Mercury Direct8

Masonic Astrology

Earley’s chart boasts amutual receptionbetweenLunaandJupiterwhilethestelliuminCancer is trine the Ascendant.Earleysings thepraisesof thisconfiguration: “No other astro-nomical figure could be erect-ed for the twenty-fourhoursofJuly4,1776,thatwouldsotrulysymbolizethemarvelousgrowthandexpansionofthecountryasdoes this map.”13 As it happens, Earley hadstumbledontosomethingimportant.

Freemasonry’s Fixed Cross Looking at Sibly’s chart, we must takeintoaccountthemeaningof“p.m.”inan18th-century context. Local Mean Time, or LMT,was a new innovation at that period. Beforethat,timewasreckonedby“apparent”means(LocalApparentTime,orLAT)—usuallytheSunpassingoverthelocalmeridian,measur-ing “high noon.” By this method, “noon” atPhiladelphiaonJuly4,1776occurredat12:04p.m.byourmodernstandardsof“meantime.”Therefore, ifweadd the4minutes toSibly’s10:10p.m.,wewouldget10:14p.m.;atthat

momentoverLondon,thefixedstar Regulus is exactly settingin mundowithanaltitudeof0°,while the star, iota Aquarii, issimultaneouslyrising(seeFig-ure 4,opposite). In the astrological tradi-tionsoftheWest,Regulussig-nifiesroyaltyand,morespecifi-cally,theking.ToFreemasons,Regulussettingcouldtherefore

symbolizethedemiseoftheKingofEngland,George III, at least in the colonial theater. Itmayalsosignifyadesiretochangethecen-trallocationofMasonicpowerfromahostileEnglandtothesaferharborsoftheColonies. It’s important thatRegulus isoneof thefour stars that mark the zodiacal “square”of constellational Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius,and Taurus, listed in the Bible as the Lion,Eagle, Man, and Ox. In the rituals of RoyalArchMasonry,thesefoursymbolsareembla-zonedonbannersfortheinitiate.Intermsofthe zodiac and ecliptic, Regulus, the Pleia-des,Graffias,andanunnamedstarinAquar-ius called “iota Aquarii” are almost evenlyspacedat90°andformaconstellationalfixedcross.Duetoprecession,thesestarsarenowall near the cuspsof tropicalVirgo,Gemini,Sagittarius,andPisces,respectively,butatthetimeofCharlemagne,theyoccupiedthemid-pointsbetweenthezodiac’scardinalpoints(0°Aries,Cancer,Libra,Capricorn).SeeTable 5,opposite. WilliamOlcott, in his book, Star Lore of All Ages,hintsattheMasonicimportanceofRegulus:

Leo is for many reasons significant toMasons.InthefourRoyalStars,thefourgreat Elohim, or Decans, gods rulingthe signs, were believed to dwell. Thefour decans who ruled the four anglesof the heavens were the most impor-tant and most powerful…. To thesefourstarsdivinehonorswerepaid,andsacredimageswereerectedinwhichtheLion,Eagle,Ox,andManwerevariouslycombined. These figures on the RoyalArchBanner,andtheRoyalArchitself,

Figure 3:Earley’s U.S. chart

To Freemasons, Regulus setting could symbolize

the demise of the King of England.

April/May 2003 9

arebestexemplifiedbytheappearanceof the constellations themselves, andLeo, typical of strength, is at the verysummitoftheArchatlowtwelve[mid-night]onFeb5th....14

These four stars (which should not beconfused with the Royal Stars of Persia —Aldebaran,Regulus,Antares,andFomalhaut)werecardinalmarkersof the tropical zodiacinthe25thcenturyB.C.E.,whichwasaroundthetimethatthepyramidswerecompletedinEgypt.Amongthese,thegreatestmonumenttoFreemasonrystandstothisday,theGreatPyramidofGiza.Anothercluetothisconnec-tionmaybeMars’sconjunctiontothe“GreatPyramid” star in Orion’s belt, “Alnitak,” byecliptical longitude, intheJuly4chart.Thisis digressing from theSibly focus,however.ThefinalkeytoSibly’sriddle is intheposi-tionofLuna. Concurrently with Regulus setting, thefixed star iota Aquarii (also known as “33Aquarius” in Flamsteed’s catalog) is rising,aswasstatedearlier.ThisparticularstarwasoccultedbyLunaontheverydayoftheDec-laration of Independence, as seen from thelatitudes of 40°North—another nod to theastro-mathematical prowess of the English.Thisoccultationwasinprocessasittransited

the local nadir of Philadelphia.15 Iota Aqua-rii, beingoppositeRegulus and inAquarius,would signify “the people” and the forcesagainst the monarchy, much as astrologersdelineatethepolarityofLeo(ego,self-reliance)andAquarius(humanitarian,societal). ThisoccultationwasalunarreturnoftheJune7,1776occultationofthatsame fixed star on the very day thatFreemasonRichardHenryLeesubmit-tedhisResolution Proposing a Declara-tion of Independence! This occultationtookplacewhiletheMoonwasabovethehorizon,but itwasnotvisiblebecauseit occurred during the daytime, from9:08 until 10:08 a.m., with the occul-tation setting below the western hori-zonatabout10:01a.m.(seeFigure 5,next page). From the perspective of

Figure 4: Skymap of London for 10:14 p.m. LMT, showing iota Aquarii rising while Regulus sets

Table 5

Star 2000 C.E. 800 C.E.

Pleiades(etaTaurii) 00°00’Gemini 13°17’TaurusRegulus(alphaLeonis) 29°50’Leo 13°12’LeoGraffias(betaScorpii) 03°11’Sagittarius 15°17’ScorpioIotaAquarii 28°43’Aquarius 11°49’Aquarius

Sibly wrapped a series of

charts, elements, histories, and

symbols into one cryptic map.

ecliptic

horizon

Mercury Direct10

Masonic Astrology

Astro*Carto*Graphy, as iota Aquarii sets atPhiladelphia, Spica (alpha Virgo) rises overLondon.Again, theseapparentcoincidencespointtoapremeditatedsetofeventsplannedaroundMasonicastrology. ItmakessensethattheMasonsbelievedin an empowering, occulting Luna, becauseLuna also signifies “the people” in a mun-dane context — doubly so when it occultsiotaAquariionbothJune7andJuly4,1776.Luna, symbolic of the masses, is in directproportiontotheSunassymboloftheLord,or the King, whose light the masses shouldreflect; theFullMoon is the epitomeof thatsymbolism, although in later times it wassaidtogiverisetopopularunhappinesswiththemonarchyor leadership.16 IfweconsiderSibly’s10:10p.m. timetobedrawnatLon-don,weinsteadfindLunarising—oratleastLuna’seclipticalequivalent.Also,ifthePen-

fieldtimeisindeedprecise,wewouldfindthatLuna,relocatedtotheGreatPyramid,isagainontheAscendant.Consideringtheadvancesmadeindetermininglongitudeduringthelat-terhalfofthe18thcentury,thissynchronisticrelocationaldesignisfeasible. AnotherfascinatingrelocationalaspectofSibly’s 10:10 p.m. time is evident when weuseitasthelocaltimeforPhiladelphia.IfwerelocatethatcharttoLondon,wefindJupiterandVenusrising.

Conclusion Tosummarize, thesteps fordecipheringSibly’schartareasfollows:

Comparisonof theunique similaritiesofthreecharts:

•ThechartfortheGrandLodgeofEngland,June24,1717(O.S.),12:04:30p.m.

•ThechartforPhiladelphia,June24,1776(N.S.),12:04p.m.

•ThechartforPhiladelphia,July4,1776(N.S.),12:04p.m.

Alignmentsofprominentfixedstars:•LunaoccultingiotaAquariiasit

passesthenadirofPhiladelphiaonJuly4;

•LunaoccultingiotaAquariionJune7whenLeeintroducedhisResolution;

•RegulussettingasiotaAquariirisesat10:10p.m.LAToverLondon;

•LunaconjunctiotaAquarii,squaringherconjunctionwiththePleiadesinthe1717chart.

Relocationofvariouscharts:•July4,1776noonchartforPhiladel-

phiaasarelocatedsolarreturnofthe1717chart;

•RelocationofJuly4,177610:10p.m.PhiladelphiacharttoLondon,showingVenusandJupiterrising;

•RelocationofJuly4,1776noonPhil-adelphiacharttoLondon,showingthePleiadessetting.

Figure 5: Skymap of Luna occulting iota Aquarii over Philadelphia on June 7, 1776

ecliptic

April/May 2003 11

Otherelements:•Lunarisingin mundoat10:10p.m.

LATatPhiladelphia;•19°49'AquariusrisingatLondon

putsthePartofFortuneonJupiter;•Luna(geocentric)onthecuspof

Aquarius/PiscesassherisesoverPhiladelphia.

CentraltoFreemasonry’spseudo-sacredceremonial events (such as the Declarationof Independence)wasanastronomical intel-ligence deemed necessary to cement politi-calallegiancetothecauseforindependence.This intelligence was preserved in the tradi-tionsofthecross-culturalandanti-monarchialFreemasons. Sibly, in his eloquently craftedsymbolicchart,definestheverysoulofFree-masonry’saimsandshowshowandwhytheyweremanifestedintheAmericanRevolution,which created a nation that he asserts “willsoonor lategive lawstothewholeworld.”17This isquiteaclaimtomakeabout thirteencolonies that were, at best, a meager out-postofthelargerEnglishrealm.Theelectiveastrology thatdetermined theUnitedStates’conceptual moment in history was almostcertainlyinspiredbytheFreemasonsofNewEngland who were beholden to the GrandLodgeofLondon.AndSiblyinvokestheastro-logical backdrop of Masonic neo-secularismto show that the new nation was born fromwithin the traditions of the Freemasons andwas perhaps created to serve the ultimatedesignsofthecraftitself. However, we don’t know whether Siblywasgivingout the “time”of theDeclarationof Independence — and thus presenting a“birthchart” for thenation—orwhetherhewassimplyshowingustheuniqueastrologi-calsituationofJuly4,1776.Ifhewasindeedprivytotheactualtimeofthesigning,itwassurelythroughMasoniccircles;ifthiswerethecase,itwouldbehardtodisputethistime,andwewoulddowelltouseit.ItislikelythattheFreemasonswhoweresearchingforapropi-tioustimetoempowertheirnewpoliticalen-titycalledthe“UnitedStates”mighthaveseenthis time as perfect for a thundering astro-

symbolic barrage aimed at the Monarchy. IfSiblywasunawareoftheprecise“moment”ofthesigning,hiseffortsstillrevealmuchaboutwhatwasastrologicallyimportanttotheFree-masons.Withhisastrologicalgenius,Siblywrappeda series of charts, elements, histories, andsymbols into one cryptic map; once deci-phered, this illuminates the rich history ofMasonic cultivation of the social structuresthat helped to shape the U.S., for better orfor worse. It is quite remarkable that Siblywas able to predict America’s rise to worlddominancesome150yearsbeforetheendofWorldWarII:“...thestateofAmericashallintimehaveanextensiveandflourishingcom-merce; an advantageous and universal traf-fic to every quarter of the globe, with greatfecundityandprosperityamongstthepeople...anewempire thatshall soonor lategivelawstothewholeworld.”18IwonderifanyoneelsewasashopefulasSiblyin1780!

References and Notes1.EbenezerSibly,A Complete Illustration of the Celes-tial Science of Astrology.ManyeditionsofSibly’sbookwerepublished;theearliestwasin1780.TheLibraryofCongresscardcatalogliststhepublisherasGreenandCo.,London,1784–88.

2.DaneRudhyar,The Astrology of America’s Destiny,NewYork:VintageBooks,1974,pp.74–75.

3. Astrological Americana, American Federation ofAstrologersResearchBulletinNo.3,Tempe,AZ:AFAPublications,1949,p.4.

4. Marc Heeren Penfield, Horoscopes of the Western Hemisphere,SanDiego,CA:ACSPublications,1984,p.17.

5. Christopher Nicolai, Essay on the Accusations Made Against the Order of Knights Templars and their Mystery; With an Appendix on the Origin of the Frater-nity of Freemasons,BerlinandStettin,1783.

6.Zadkiel’scommentaryonWilliamLillyandcazimi—“TheheartofSol,orbeingwithin17'oftheexactlongitudeofSol;which isconsideredastrongprog-nostication, butwe think, erroneously” (in An Intro-duction to Astrology,Hollywood,CA:Newcastle,1972reprint,p.338)—isnotbackedupbyotherauthors,includingFredGettings andNicholasDeVore, but itmaybethattheplanetarynatureisexcitedbytheSuntohigherlevels;inthecaseofJupiter,itfollowsthattheinfluencewouldbeconsideredveryfortunate.

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Mercury Direct12

Masonic Astrology

7.Solar eclipsesof Jupiter occurwith regularity, asJupiter’s latitude does not stray far from the eclip-tic,andmaxesoutatabout1°36'.Asimilareclipseoccurred on St. John’s Day in 1634, but not overLondon.Jupiter’snodesmovemoreslowlythanpre-cessionby23' inonecentury; thismeans that theymove retrogradesidereally (against thebackdropoftheconstellations)by23'percentury,butforwardinthetropicalzodiacbyabout1°01'percentury.

8.BeforethediscoveryofUranusin1781,thelongestplanetarycycleswerethoseofSaturn(30years)andJupiter(12years).Both12and30arefactorsof60,andthecarefulobservermightnotethatbothplanetsreturn to nearly the same places after two Saturncycles; in this case, those places are the uniquesquarefromCancertoLibra.

9. Richard Henry Lee, Resolution Introduced in the Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee (VA) Proposing a Declaration of Independence, June 7, 1776, canbe found in the Papers of the Continental Congress,No.23,folio11.Onpage211ofHayden’sbook, Washington and His Masonic Compeers (NewYork: Masonic Publishing and Manufacturing Co.,1866), he claims that Lee was a member of HiramLodgeNo.59atWestmorelandCounty,Virginia.

10.Sibly,Celestial Science,pp.1051–55.

11. John B. Earley, Horoscopes of the USA: Our Nation’s True Nativity, Kila, MT: Kessinger Publica-tions,1914(reprint),pp.2–7.

12. The term in mundo is used here to specify theapparentrisingofaplanet,ratherthantherisingoftheplanet’s ecliptical equivalent, as used in a standardastrologywheel.Thedifferenceintimeinthiscaseisasubstantial15minutes.

13.Earley,Horoscopes of the USA,p.4.

14.WilliamTylerOlcott,Star Lore of All Ages,Kila,MT:KessingerPublications,1911(reprint),pp.234–235.

15.AlunaroccultationoccurswhentheMoonpassesinfrontofanotherplanetorstarasitmovesbetweenthat star and the viewer. Whether one can see thiseventdependsupontheviewer’slocation,justasaneclipseisvisiblefromasmallpartoftheglobe.IfLunaiscrossingalocation’snadir,asinthiscase,itcannotbevisible from that location.However,astronomicalcalculationsconcludethattheMoonmovedbetweeniotaAquariiandPhiladelphiaonthatdate.

16.WilliamLillysaidofLuna,“Shesignifiethqueens,countesses,ladies,allmannerofwomen;asalsothecommonpeople....”(Christian Astrology,1647).

17.Sibly,Celestial Science,p.1051.

18.Ibid.

© 2003, 2013 Edward Kohout – all rights reserved

Edward Kohout has been studying astrology since 1996, and currently pens a regular column on astrology and star lore for the HighCountryJournal in Anza, CA. A practitioner of the Cosmobiological School of astrology, he can be reached for personal readings at ed@edkohout.com

Author’s Update (Dec. 2013): In the years since this article was first published, new insights have come to light regarding the Sibly graphic, which suggest that the chart is not historically based. The Ascendant of 19°49' Aquar-ius seems to be based on Sibly’s errant calculation for the Cancer ingress of the Sun, from which he “progresses” those angles at a “day for a week” rate.* Since July 4 falls exactly 14 days after his calculation of 10:40 p.m. on June 20, the ingress’s 16°19' Aquarius Ascendant progresses to 19°49' Aquarius quite exactly in 48 hours. This also happens to be the location of two important fixed stars — Deneb Algedi (Delta Capricorn) and Sadalsuud (Beta Aquarius) — which siderealists will recognize as the “exaltation” of Mars at 28° Capricorn. These stars also mark the beginning and end of the Mul.Apin star list from ancient Babylon, having been aligned with the winter solstice in the 19th century B.C.E. The “10:10 p.m.” time listed in the graphic was most likely added to reflect a lunar perigee on that day. Sibly goes into great detail in his book on lunar measures, discussing tidal cycles and weather in relation to lunar phenomena. Finally, the illustration beneath the chart graphic depicts not Independence Day, but the foundation of Wash-ington, D.C. itself (then called simply the Federal City). The section on American Independence actually begins as a discussion of the weather (both physical and political) for 1789, the year our Constitutional Republic came to fruition. * Sibly, A Complete Illustration of the Celestial Science of Astrology, pp. 1046, 1053.