A Guide To Fate And Free Will
Enlarge
A Guide To Fate And Free Will
The debate has raged for thousands of years. Today's astrologers are no longer fatalistic. They see astrology as just one of today's life influences and caution not to be a "slave to the stars."
Hi, I'm Nick Hughes and I'm an astrologer and teacher. I've been working in this field for the last ten years. Today I'm going to be talking about various aspects of astrology.
The debate between Fate and Free Will is a very old one. Philosophers in ancient Greece and even before that were debating on whether mankind is governed by the Fates and the Gods, or whether they have free will to choose their own destiny in life. Thousands of years later the debate is still raging, and in many ways is unlikely to ever get fully resolved.
In terms of astrology, most astrologers have kind of taken on the current thinking of fate and free will depending on the culture and the time that they were practicing. So in the old days, in medieval times, life was seen in more fatalistic terms and the astrology of the time was more fatalistic. In the modern era, we're always being told that we can make anything of our lives.
No matter what background we come from, we can do whatever we want. This is the kind of message that many people are being told. But with astrology and astrology forecasts, the subject of fate and destiny, of course, is very present.
Now if you speak to a number of astrologers you'll get a very different answer about what destiny, what fate is, and what are they predicting. Perhaps the most popular conception of fate among astrologers is the idea that the stars, the planets, the cosmos incline rather than compel. Therefore the stars are seen as an influence on human behavior and human decisions.
So, astrology is one of a number of influences, alongside the class background, economic background and other cultural conditioning that a person has. Some astrologers you may find are still fatalistic in their predictions, but most seek to incorporate this free will, and during consultations, they often tell their clients, "These are your inherent patterns and tendencies, but there's no need to be a slave and governed by them for the rest of your life." And that's a guide to Fate and Free Will. .