American Revolution & #57

Number synchronicities are something that captivate many people. But we’ve found that this particular type of synchronicity seems to especially appeal to people who don’t pay much attention to other aspects of meaningful coincidences in their lives. In other words, the frequency of an appearance of a particular number seems to be an entry point for some people into the world of synchronicity.

As a recent example, we  were involved in talks with a man who had been the programming director for a large cable channel company for more than twenty years. He had retired and was working as a consultant bringing ideas for TV series to a production company called Jupiter Entertainment. He knew that the H2 channel was looking for a new series to follow Ancient Aliens and he’d come across Aliens in the Backyard, and was fascinated.

As it turned out, JE was busy with other projects and passed on Aliens.  We’d been hopeful, but having been there before, we were aware that it was a long shot.

We’d talked on the phone and exchanged e-mails with this man who seemed fairly traditional – in other words, not into the paranormal or synchronicity. But he did confess to being baffled by one set of numbers that repeatedly appeared in his life.

After things culminated with his pursuit of bringing Aliens to the small screen, he wrote us and said that his daughter had also been plagued by a number synchronicity. When he asked her what number, he was amazed to find out that it was the same number he was seeing.

So we asked him what the number was and when Trish heard that it was 4-4-4, she was startled because she had seen that same string of numbers herself before the man had contacted us. Once we were talking with him, she no longer saw the numbers.

That story is an extended intro to a fascinating tale about number synchronicities from History Computed, by Arthur Finnessey, who found that the number 57 is an intimate characteristic of the American Revolution.

Among examples he cites is the last time the Liberty Bell rang, in tribute to George Washington, before it cracked on February 22, 1846 – 57 years after Washington’s 57th birthday.

> The closing paragraph of the US Constitution, following its original seven articles, makes up 57 words. It was ratified by 57 yes-votes from New Hampshire, and all Constitutional law begins with the Constitution’s 57th word –  “All.”

> On February 6, 1777, 57 weeks to the day after the pivotal Battle of Princeton, another turning-point took place when the French joined the American cause. They fought off 19 British warships, making it possible for Washington to defeat Cornwallis on October 19, 1781, in a war which began on the 19th of April, 1775. So those three significant 19’s add up to 57.

>Washington’s only two victories over British Commander Cornwallis were 57 days apart.

> So too, 57 days separated the other decisive battles of the war, at Cowpens and the Guilford Courthouse.

> The final anniversary of Lexington and Concord celebrated during the Revolutionary War was precisely 57 months, 57 weeks and 57 days after they were fought.

> In South Carolina’s most famous assault at Fort Ninety-Six, 57 Americans were killed. Interestingly, 96 is the sum total of the number of men who signed the Declaration of Independence (57) and the Constitution (39). The American Revolution’s 57th month concluded on 19 January, 1780; the Redcoats took Charleston exactly twice times 57 (114) days later. Twelve times 57 (684) days before, the decisive Battle of Monmouth was fought.

Symbolically, five is associated with male energy (i.e., war), while seven signifies the completion of cycles. Together, five and seven reflect the completion of major military cycles running like inter-linking themes throughout the history of the Revolutionary War. Isodore Kozminsky, in Numbers, Their Meaning & Magic, refers to any number from 55 to 64 as “the Sword.”

Author Frank Joseph wondered  if the presence of the number 57 determined historical events. Or was it somehow an outgrowth or expression of America’s violent struggle for freedom? (Yes, we’ve read the terrible stuff about him, and don’t know whether it’s true, but if it is, does that automatically make his take on synchros invalid?)

Joseph says: “The outstanding feature of 57, around which acausal incidents revolved, was a major rift in the fabric of history – the American Revolution. All other, similarly powerful historical events likewise produce extraordinary high levels of meaningful coincidence.”

Yes. In fact, that last comment relates to the 7th secret of The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity: When synchronicities manifest themselves through global events, the universe seems to be addressing us as a collective.