“What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?” the Proust Questionnaire asked David Bowie. “Living in fear.” Partway in time between Proust and Bowie, the young Hannah Arendt examined the eternal paradox of how to love and live with fear in her earliest published work, observing: “Fearlessness is what love seeks. Such fearlessness exists only in the complete calm that can no longer be shaken by events expected of the future… Hence the only valid tense is the present, the Now.”
And yet a hallmark of our complex animal consciousness is our prospective imagination — the ability to tense into the future and everything that could possibly go wrong in it, aware that at any given moment we could be making the wrong choice, aware that even if there were a right one, and even if we had the wisdom to discern it and the will to make it, chance will always play a greater role than choice. This is the price we pay for the chance-miracle of being alive at all, each of us the improbable product of chance events that long prefigure our consciousness and its capacity for choice. (Just ask James Baldwin.) So we find ourselves here, cosmic castaways living with the perennial burden of figuring forward in an uncertain universe, discovering again and again in this burden the greatest blessings of beauty and meaning — the object of every theorem and the subject of every work of art, followed to its deepest source.
How to live not without fear but with it, how to let it be the foothold to our capacity for kindness and beauty, is what artist Charlie Mackesy explores in The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (public library) — a serenade to life, in all its terrifying and transcendent uncertainty, sung in ink, watercolor, and wonder.
The book is less a story than a sensorium for meaning, rendered in spare words and soulful pictures. In a series of encounters and conversations with three other animals, each the keeper of a different kind of wisdom, a small boy confronts life’s big questions: how to live with fear, what it means to love and be loved, where to find the deepest and purest wellspring of fulfillment.
There is an Odyssean quality to the path they travel together, but it is not that of the archetypal hero’s journey. At its heart is a celebration of friendship as life’s supreme collaborative heroism, which saves us from ourselves (the way anything that unselves us saves us).
To a jaded grownup eye, this painted meditation might at times appear as the moral of a Zen parable or an Aesop fable, delivered without the storytelling and poetic rewards of the parable or fable — a little too obvious, a little too simplistic, a little too fortune cookie. But wherever it risks being trite, the story is saved by tenderness.
It helps, too, to remember to take Mackesy’s hand and step into the perspective from which the story unfolds — that of a child wide-eyed with wonder, asking the simplest questions, which are also the deepest questions, with unselfconscious sincerity; it helps to remember Aldous Huxley’s admonition against our fear of sincerity as he contemplated the two types of truth all artists must reconcile, reminding us that while “not all obvious truths are great truths,” “all great truths are obvious truths.”
In this regard, the book feels like a spiritual heir of Winnie the Pooh. And who, this side of 1943, can encounter a fox in a picture-book without thinking of The Little Prince?
Leafing through it, I find myself thinking of the Stoic strategy for overcoming fear: “If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes,” Seneca wrote two millennia ago, “train him before it comes.” Better yet, this uncommon book intimates, train him before he becomes a man — train the child that becomes the man, the child that goes on living inside him, the eternal inner child for whom Maurice Sendak made all of his books, knowing that the highest achievement of adulthood is “having your child self intact and alive and something to be proud of.”
In divination the Knight of Disks often represents a person having influence over your financial situation, like your boss or your bank manager. At his deepest level this Knight is about material and physical resources, and how we handle them. He has a lot to teach us about good management and attention to detail.So on a day which he rules, spend a little time going over your finances, and your overall material position. Look at all the stuff you’ve had in that box at the back of the cupboard for all this time. Go through your insurance policies, and other important financial documents.At the very least, you’ll know where they all are next time you need them. You could also discover a shortfall or something you’ve overlooked. And, at best, you could stumble across something important and rewarding.If all your paperwork is already in order, then spend some time assessing the ways in which you spend your money, and decide whether it’s going the way you want it to. Often you’ll get a fresh perspective on something that you had taken for granted before.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Greek philosopher Socrates declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That extreme statement is a foundational idea of Western philosophy. It’s hard to do! To be ceaselessly devoted to questioning yourself is a demanding assignment. But here’s the good news: I think you will find it extra liberating in the coming weeks. Blessings and luck will flow your way as you challenge your dogmas and expand your worldview. Your humble curiosity will attract just the influences you need.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Recently, I brought an amazing Taurus to your attention: the German polymath Athanasius Kircher, who lived from 1601 to 1680. Once again, I will draw on his life to provide guidance for you. Though he’s relatively unknown today, he was the Leonardo da Vinci of his age—a person with a vast range of interests. His many admirers called him “Master of a Hundred Arts.” He traveled extensively and wrote forty books that covered a wide array of subjects. For years, he curated a “cabinet of curiosities” or “wonder-room” filled with interesting and mysterious objects. In the coming weeks, I invite you to be inspired by his way of being, Taurus. Be richly miscellaneous and wildly versatile.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): How does a person become a creative genius in their field? What must they do to become the best? In his book “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell said that one way to accomplish these goals is to devote 10,000 hours to practicing and mastering your skill set. There’s some value in that theory, though the full truth is more nuanced. Determined, focused effort that’s guided by mentors and bolstered by good feedback is more crucial than simply logging hours. Having access to essential resources is another necessity. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Gemini, because I believe the coming months will be a favorable time to summon a high level of disciplined devotion as you expedite your journey toward mastery.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): There’s a story from West African tradition in which a potter listens to the raw material she has gathered from the earth. She waits for it to tell her what it wants to become. In this view, the potter is not a dictator but a midwife. I believe this is an excellent metaphor for you, Cancerian. Let’s imagine that you are both the potter and the clay. A new form is ready to emerge, but it won’t respond to force. You must attune to what wants to be born through you. Are you trying to shape your destiny too insistently, when it’s already confiding in you about its preferred shape? Surrender to the conversation.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here’s my odd but ultimately rewarding invitation: Tune in to the nagging aches and itches that chafe at the bottom of your heart and in the back of your mind. For now, don’t try to scratch them or rub them. Simply observe them and feel them, with curiosity and reverence. Allow them to air their grievances and tell you their truths. Immerse yourself in the feelings they arouse. It may take ten minutes, or it might take longer, but if you maintain this vigil, your aches and itches will ultimately provide you with smart guidance. They will teach you what questions you need to ask and how to go in quest for the healing answers.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Wise gardeners may plan their planting by the moon’s phases. Through study of the natural world, they understand that seeds sown at the ripe moment will flourish, while those planted at random times may be less hardy. In this spirit, I offer you the following counsel for the coming weeks: Your attention to timing will be a great asset. Before tinkering with projects or making commitments, assess the cycles at play in everything: the level of your life energy, the moods of others, and the tenor of the wider world. By aligning your moves with subtle rhythms, you will optimize your ability to get exactly what you want.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In parts of Italy, grapevines were once trained not on wires or trellises, but on living trees, usually maples or poplars. The vines spiraled upward, drawing strength and structure from their tall allies. The practice kept grapes off the ground, improved air circulation, and allowed for mixed land use, such as growing cereals between the rows of trees and vines. In the coming weeks, Libra, I advise you to be inspired by this phenomenon. Climb while in relationship. Who or what is your living trellis? Rather than pushing forward on your own, align with influences that offer height, grounding and steady companionship. When you spiral upward together, your fruits will be sweeter and more robust.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Migratory monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles, guided by instincts and cues invisible to humans. They trust they will find what they need along the way. Like them, you may soon feel called to venture beyond your comfort zone—intellectually, socially or geographically. I advise you to rely on your curiosity and adaptability. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the journey will lead you to resources and help you hadn’t anticipated. The path may be crooked. The detours could be enigmatic. But if you are committed to enjoying the expansive exploration, you’ll get what you didn’t even know you needed.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your assignment is to uncover hidden treasures. Use the metaphorical version of your peripheral vision to become aware of valuable stuff you are missing and resources you are neglecting. Here’s another way to imagine your task: There may be situations, relationships or opportunities that have not yet revealed their full power and glory. Now is a perfect moment to discern their pregnant potential. So dig deeper, Sagittarius—through reflection, research or conversation. Trust that your open-hearted, open-minded probing will guide you to unexpected gems.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong said, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” What did he mean by that? That we shouldn’t try to use words to describe and understand this complex music? Countless jazz critics, scholars and musicians might disagree with that statement. They have written millions of words analyzing the nature of jazz. In that spirit, I am urging you to devote extra energy in the coming weeks to articulating clear ideas about your best mysteries. Relish the prospect of defining what is hard to define. You can still enjoy the raw experience even as you try to get closer to explaining it.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the Andean highlands, there’s a concept called ayni, a venerated principle of reciprocity. “Today for you, tomorrow for me,” it says. This isn’t a transactional deal. It’s a relational expansiveness. People help and support others not because they expect an immediate return. Rather, they trust that life will ultimately find ways to repay them. I suggest you explore this approach in the coming weeks, Aquarius. Experiment with giving freely, without expectation. Conversely, have blithe faith that you will receive what you need. Now is prime time to enhance and fine-tune your web of mutual nourishment.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): How often do I, your calm, sensible counselor, provide you with a carte blanche to indulge in exuberant gratification, a free pass for exciting adventures, and a divine authorization to indulge in luxurious abundance and lavish pleasure? Not often, dear Pisces. So I advise you not to spend another minute wondering what to do next. As soon as possible, start claiming full possession of your extra blessings from the gods of joy and celebration and revelry. Here’s your meditation question: What are the best ways to express your lust for life?
33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
July 2025 is marked by one of the most important transits of the year – dare to say, the decade: Uranus’ ingress into Gemini.
July 2025 is also when several planets go retrograde, marking a turning point for all of us – personally and collectively. This is a time to reflect on what we’ve seen emerging – the glimpse of what’s possible – and where we truly are at this point in our lives.
Retrogrades invite us to ‘go back’ and revisit our past experiences. When planets are in direct motion, we tend to respond or react without fully processing what’s happening.
That’s because when planets move at high speed, there’s simply not enough time to completely ‘digest’ our experiences as they unfold. It’s only when we take a step back and reflect that we gain true understanding.
July initiates this review process. This is our chance to go deeper, refine our understanding, make adjustments, correct course, and gain a broader perspective on WHY things unfolded the way they did when the planets were direct.
In July, we are also supported by 2 favorably aspected lunations: a productive Full Moon in Capricorn and a confident, self-expressive New Moon in Leo. The sense of alignment and forward momentum is real!
Now let’s take a look at the most important transits of the month:
July 3rd, 2025 – Venus Conjunct Uranus
On July 3rd-4th, 2025, just before moving into Gemini, Venus and Uranus meet in the last degree of Taurus.
With Venus and Uranus – the proverbial daughter and father – meeting for one last time at 29° Taurus, we will gain important insight into our identity and our place in the world.
During this transit, take some time to reflect and make a list of: a) what you genuinely enjoy doing, what feels effortless and pleasurable to you (Venus), and b) your higher calling – your larger mission in life – what, if pursued, could bring you authentic freedom and personal sovereignty (Uranus).
How are these two things linked?
July 4th, 2025 – Venus Enters Gemini
On July 4th, 2025, Venus leaves Taurus and enters Gemini.
Venus represents what is important to us – what we like, and what brings us pleasure and happiness. Tracking Venus’ journey through different signs (Venus spends, on average, about one month in each sign) is a very practical way to understand how to enjoy our life more.
While Venus was in Taurus, our happiness came from simple pleasures – like good food, rest, and honoring our own rhythm. With this Venus-in-Gemini month, our focus shifts.
Venus in Gemini is much more active and curious, so our pleasure and happiness in the weeks ahead will come from taking a more exploratory approach – getting out of the house, making connections, having stimulating conversations, and trying out new things.
And the fact that Venus and Uranus both enter Gemini within days of each other (and immediately after their conjunction in the last degree of Taurus) is very telling – because it will make it very clear to us what needs to shift in order for us to feel more free, engaged, and aligned with who we’re becoming.
July 5th, 2025 – Neptune Goes Retrograde
On July 5th, 2025, Neptune goes retrograde at 2° Aries. One week later, on July 13th, 2025, Saturn also turns retrograde at 1° Aries, so we have a lot of activity concentrated in the very first degrees of the zodiac.
Neptune and Saturn going retrograde will start to clarify which themes will dominate our collective focus for many years to come – read: the next 14 years.
Neptune and Saturn are not literally conjunct – although they will be less than 1 degree apart, close enough to feel their combined influence. So while the sense of anticipation can be strikingly obvious, the RESET is not happening just yet.
There are still things to reflect on, still things to adjust. And with Neptune and Saturn both slipping back into Pisces (from later this year until early next year), we’re offered a grace period to fine-tune what needs refining – so we can step into the next big chapter of our lives with our homework done.
July 7th, 2025 – Uranus Enters Gemini
Today is the big day. Uranus begins a new 7-year chapter in the sign of Gemini.
The 7-year period is a well-known turning point – astrologers often associate it with the Saturn cycle (7 years being the time between two Saturn squares) – but we could also argue that these shifts align just as much with Uranus’ change of focus.
When Uranus changes signs, what used to feel urgent and defining for the past 7 years begins to lose its grip – as new themes suddenly take all our focus and energy.
Uranus ingresses start with a bang. Unlike other outer planets like Neptune, which operate in mysterious ways, Uranus doesn’t have time for gentle transitions – it delivers shocks, breakthroughs, and wake-up calls.
When Uranus entered Aries in 2011, we had Fukushima and the Arab Spring. Uranus in Taurus in 2018 brought us the crypto boom and disruptions to financial and environmental systems.
Uranus in Gemini will most likely reshape the landscape of artificial intelligence and digital communication – but as the saying goes with Uranus: expect the unexpected.
There may be paradigm shifts related to the Gemini archetype – language, mobility, networks, and the way we process and share information – that catch us off guard and demand changes to help us find greater freedom and autonomy.
A detailed report about this important transit will follow in the next few days.
July 10th, 2025 – Full Moon In Capricorn
On July 10th, 2025, we have a Full Moon at 18° Capricorn. This is a positive, results-oriented Full Moon, trine Mars in Virgo.
Full Moons (and especially Capricorn Full Moons) want to get things done – they are achievement-oriented. And when the productive Mars in Virgo lends its precision and work ethic, this energy becomes even more effective.
There’s something that earth signs understand about the world we live in that other signs don’t – they operate from a matter-of-fact, grounded, and realistic perspective that actually works. They don’t need to overcomplicate things. They take action that’s rooted in reality.
This Full Moon in Capricorn is the one to work with if you want to achieve something meaningful to you.
July 18th, 2025 – Mercury Goes Retrograde
On July 18th, 2025, Mercury goes retrograde at 15° Leo. Mercury retrogrades are those times of the year when we check in with our internal mental processes and make sense of what just happened.
Mercury will be retrograde until August 11th, 2025, covering the 4°–15° Leo area of the zodiac. If you have planets or angles there, this retrograde period will be more personally relevant. If not – pay attention to the house where Leo falls in your natal chart. This is where the review, rethinking, and recalibration will unfold.
July 22nd, 2025 – Sun Enters Leo
On July 22nd, 2025, the Sun enters Leo. Happy birthday to all Leos out there! Leo season is that time of the year when we’re all a little more Leo, regardless of our personal chart signatures.
This is when we’re encouraged to reconnect with our inner child – what brings us joy, what lights us up – and live a life that is aligned with our most authentic self.
It’s no coincidence that July-August (Leo season) is when many of us take a break or go on holidays – that’s probably because our real Self truly needs more joy, play, and creative expression.
July 24th, 2025 – New Moon In Leo
On July 24th, 2025, we have a New Moon at 2° Leo.
The geometry of this New Moon is amazing – it literally aspects all the slow-moving planets: it’s trine Neptune and Saturn in Aries, sextile Uranus in Gemini, and opposite Pluto in Leo.
At the New Moon in Leo, we’re tuning into larger forces at play – and we are called to step in and claim the role we want to play in this emerging reality.
Leo wants us to be brave – to lean in, and make our voice, values, or dreams known to the world. We don’t have to know exactly how to make it happen – yet – but the first step is claiming our territory, in the same way the lion shows up and lets everyone know it’s there.
July 31st, 2025 – Chiron Goes Retrograde
On July 31st, 2025, Chiron goes retrograde at 27° Aries.
Chiron retrograde invites us to take a closer look at our wounds. How do your – conscious and unconscious – wounds shape your life?
Our Chiron wounds are not always obvious, but they sabotage our lives in subtle ways. We don’t even know who we could be without them.
Maybe we don’t start a new relationship out of a fear of abandonment. We don’t go for what we want out of an unconscious fear of embarrassment. We don’t fully step into our potential because of an unconscious loyalty to our parents or the roles we’ve been shaped to play.
Chiron retrograde is our opportunity to take a look inside and understand the wound–trigger mechanism. The goal? Transcend the pain – not by ignoring it, but by integrating it. Because our wounds are the keys to our greatest gifts.
In this urget and hard-hitting talk, Nobel Laureate Al Gore thoroughly dismantles the fossil fuel industry’s narrative of “climate realism,” contrasting their misleading claims with the remarkable advancements in renewable energy. Drawing on data showing clear signs of progress across the world, Gore makes a powerful case that we already have everything needed to solve the climate crisis — and reminds us of what the most valuable renewable resource actually is.
LONDON—Receiving the warning shortly after first-round matches got underway at Wimbledon, tennis player Daniil Medvedev was issued a code violation Monday for an un-British display of emotion. “Code violation, Medvedev, for verbally expressing frustration,” said chair umpire Oliver Gladwin-Taylor, reminding both players that they must “keep things stoic” after Medvedev audibly sighed and slightly shook his head following a double fault. “If you maintain a stiff upper lip as the rules dictate, I won’t have to make that call. Even now, I can tell by looking at you that you are not happy with the code violation, and if you don’t return to a neutral facial expression, I will have no choice but to penalize you a point. I suggest you carry on with your chin held high, keeping your emotional state buried deep, deep inside. I expect a dry, laconic match from here on out. This isn’t the French Open.” At press time, witnesses confirmed a member of the crowd had to be removed from the stadium for clapping too enthusiastically.
For those who prefer knowing that they don’t know, agnoiology has got your back. The opposite is epistemology, the study of knowledge. Both were introduced to the English language by the philosopher James Frederick Ferrier, truly the first agnoiologist + epistemologist if there ever was one. Then there’s agnotology, in a class of its own.
The Hanged Man is one of those Major Arcana cards which tend to have a rather poor reputation – undeservedly, in my opinion. He represents the necessary process of surrender and sacrifice, which is probably why he is not greeted with open arms. Yet both actions are a part of everyday life. We just fail to understand that, every time we make a choice between two equally desirable options, we sacrifice one in order to have the other. We surrender one state to achieve another.In fact, the Hanged Man can often indicate a period of apparent inertia, where new concepts and tenets are being absorbed. Once we have digested this new material, we can emerge from our period of inactivity with a fresh approach to things. So sometimes the Hanged Man presents us with an important method of self-development.In most Tarot decks, there’s an important visual link between the Emperor and the Hanged Man – both these figures are depicted with their legs forming the figure 4. 4 is a number connected to ideas about material stability. The Emperor often represents a man who has achieved much in the material sphere. He is usually a dynamic and energetic person who forcefully directs his will toward the attainment of his desires.In a sense, we can see the Hanged Man as an outgrowth of the Emperor – though now it is not the material world which is the object of his aspiration – it is the spiritual realm in which he is interested.So, on a day ruled by the Hanged Man, take a little time out to consider what your current spiritual aspirations are. Write them down and think them over. Think back to the last time you attempted to assess your current journey and see whether you feel you have achieved some of the things you aimed for.And above all, recognise something. This journey of the spirit is like any other – we achieve it step by step, moment by moment. We will always be surrendering things along the way – and we need always to be open to new input, new concepts, new pages to be written in the book of life.
Affirmation: “I pause. And in pausing, I see differently.”
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. “But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us,that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The Declaration of Independence
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
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The 56 signatures on the Declaration:
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
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