What are we thinking, nowadays, about fate?

I have often heard people say that “everything happens for a reason.

Sometimes people wonder whether a relationship is “meant to happen” or what they are “meant to become”.

What does “meant to happen” mean?

Was it written, from all eternity, in the book of fate? Was it the inescapable consequence of our actions, good or bad, tracing back to past lives?

Do we “always have a choice”? Do we believe that “The best way to predict the future is to create it?”

The way we practise astrology is inseparable from the answers we give to these questions.

In Hellenistic times, the philosophy of the Stoics was very influential. The Stoics had a deterministic view of life. For them, we are like a dog tied to a cart. The cart will go where it must. The dog can kick and scream, or walk along with acceptance.

If your philosophy is stoicism, you ask an astrologer what is going to happen because it will help you accept what you can’t change.

A traditional tale about fate, from Persia, tells the story of a man who persuaded King Solomon to teach him how to understand the language of the animals.

It was a bad idea. The man heard his rooster say that his donkey would soon die. The man quickly sold the donkey, who actually died a few days later in the home of his new owner. Good money saved!

The man then heard the rooster say that his slave was about to die. He quickly sold it and the slave died in his new home. Then the man heard the rooster say that he himself would soon die. He couldn’t sell himself!

In a panic, he ran and asked King Solomon what could be done about it. King Solomon told him that the loss of his donkey and his slave was the price to pay to preserve his own life, but as he didn’t paid it, there was nothing that could be done…

So what is fate, with the worldview that is implied in this ancient story?

This more complex view can be connected with the etymology of the word “redeemer” which means “to buy back” and with the Christian belief that Jesus paid the price for our sins.

Why would the son of God, assimilated to God himself by Christians, have to pay a price to wipe the slate clean? This implies a law...

The notion of karma also comes with the idea of a state of equilibrium which needs to be restored by necessity.

This worldview is symbolised by the scales and the sign Libra.

With the philosophical questions in mind, my point is: a psychological approach is relevant.

I do believe that a state of equilibrium has to be restored, or maintained, however, I am convinced that this can be done as an inner process.

What happens within has an impact on what happens without, and vice versa.

As a Westerner living today, I don’t sacrifice bulls, sheep or goats to the gods to avoid bad fortune.

I would rather watch my inner self-talk and make a sacrifice conscious attention to my painful emotions.

Astrology is an efficient way to direct our attention to what's important.

The way is within.

Jean-Marc
I read charts, teach astrology, and I write.
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