Can Astrology Change Fate?

Question
This question stems from a friend who had a baby by cesarean section. The Mom got to pick the date and time of the birth. So did the Mom dictate her child's fate? Or did her karma or the baby's karma dictate it?

Answer
Dodging the unanswerable question of which comes first - the chicken or the egg? A child is born when a child is supposed to be born. And astrology shows itself effectual regardless of whether the birth of a child is brought about by a planned (or unplanned) cesarean section, natural child birthing techniques, or (to quote a friend) the mother was out bunji jumping off of high bridges.

Question:
What then is the relevance of a birth chart to your current karma status? If you have to learn a lesson, then the lesson will be presented to you no matter what - and that makes your birth chart unnecessary. And actually it could even be harmful... giving you knowledge you that you maybe shouldn't have had! Pushing it, you could theoretically screw up the world's karma... "for want of a nail a war was lost..."

Answer:
Before I address the actual question... I suppose a lot of people naturally assume all astrologers embrace and thus (further) feel the need to evangelize the metaphysical theory of karma and reincarnation. However, astrologers (as well as everyone else) come in all shapes and sizes (metaphysically speaking). And astrology shows itself effectual regardless of what one's personal metaphysical beliefs might happen to be.

I feel little or no compulsion to push my personal, theoretical, "map" of metaphysical beliefs on clients seeking an astrological reading (or the readers of this article). When preparing a birth chart reading, it ultimately doesn't concern me whether there's such a thing as:

• karma and/or general reincarnation (i.e. where everyone keeps coming back for purposes of learning lessons)
• or there's only one life for each of us on earth, followed by some sort of great beyond
• or any of the other various theories on the afterlife
  

So with your kind permission... for purposes of my answer, I'll change the word "Karma" into "meaning and purpose." Meaning and purpose are concepts that almost anyone and everyone can relate to, regardless of one's specific metaphysical beliefs.

I will, however, push one belief I have... Karma or no Karma - your "journey through life on planet Earth" is to be the best "you" that you can be. We're each living out our own personal mythological "hero(ine)'s journey" - and we're all on the road home....

To briefly quote philosopher, lecturer, author Sam Keen: "Homecoming involves the realization that gracefulness requires nothing more but the individual's becoming fully incarnate in his/her own body and historical situation. Grace is the natural mark of a fully human life." Sam Keen

The ancient Christian Church Father Irenaeus taught much the same thing... saying that the glory of God was a human life fully lived.

A journey which involves our becoming "fully incarnate" is no easy, simple task. Astrology is one (of many) "road maps" the Universe has made available to assist you on that journey.

Good versus evil? Does "the good" ultimately win out over "the evil? " Free Will versus Fate? Can one use astrology to change one's fate and/or destiny? These are some of the penultimate zillion dollar questions which have consistently, continually, persistently, doggedly concerned humanity! The answer to these penultimate zillion dollar questions appears to be both a yes and a no... and may, in the final result, depend upon one's attitude... Manipulation vs. Participation

"The Sun will not overstep his measures; if he does, the Erinyes, the handmaids of Justice, will find him out."
Heraclitus

Manipulation
Attempting to manipulate "the process" of astrology and the planets (whether it be on a more personal level or on a much larger worldwide scale) doesn't work in the "long run."

Attempts to manipulate "the process" are an inflated attitude whereby astrology is used as nothing but (or nothing more than) a set of  "magical formulae." Attempts at manipulation treat astrology in a way whereby one can follow a "one, two, three step process" in order to obtain a planned out, predictable, and dependable result.

This sort of attitude bolls down to being nothing more than legalistic fundamentalism. Legalistic fundamentalism's of all varieties, shapes, and sizes (whether they be Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, New Age, or astrology) - by laying claim to infallible knowledge of universal, irrevocable, metaphysical laws and principles - are all in danger of hubris (pride) and placing themselves above God.

I freely admit there are "fundamentalist" astrologers who come quite close to treating astrology as a set of "magical formulae" that the Universe must strictly adhere to and abide by. And that's their prerogative...

If you stop to think about it... the very idea that our Creator, God, the Universe (or whatever term one wishes to use) allows him/herself to be "roped in," used, and manipulated as a "Magical Giant Cosmic Pawn" is actually quite pompous, ludicrous, and downright laughable. This type of rigid philosophical belief system ultimately leaves no place for free will - and it leaves no room for the unmerited grace of God. 

(In)famous Manipulators From History
At the birth of the Christian Messiah, over 2,000 years ago, biblical accounts reveal King Herod's attempts at using astrologers and astrology in preventing the birth of the Christ child. According to biblical accounts, Herod secretly tried soliciting the help of several "wise men" who had journeyed from the East to be witnesses of the event. Herod tried conning these "wise men" into believing that he, too, merely wished to worship the child. These "wise men" (who were "following a star") were most likely Zoroastrian astrologers from Persia.

Fortunately, these "wise men" were subsequently warned (through means of a dream) that Herod's purposes were evil. They were further warned that they should hit the road and not assist him.

In This Century
Adolph Hitler - Adolph Hitler (Yes the evil doer-asshole), in his dark desires for world domination,  tried (unsuccessfully) to magically bend and manipulate the will of the universe via the advice of astrologers and the supernatural. (I wonder if those astrologers had any bad dreams...) These astrologers eventually angered Hitler; and so he ended up sending them all to concentration camps.

Ronald Reagan - During the last seven years Ronald Reagan served as President in the United States of America, his wife Nancy Reagan allegedly consulted with astrologer Joan Quigley on a regular basis. In her book, What Does Joan Say,? Ms. Quigley comes rather close to crediting astrology (and her astrological skills) with the downfall of Communism.

There have been times when I saw a certain upcoming transit or something contained in a Solar Return Chart - and I thought I was "conscious" and/or "evolved" enough (or maybe just downright clever enough) to bend, maneuver, and/or manipulate things around just a wee tiny bit. I tried cleverly slipping it past the universe (hoping the universe might be busy with more important, pressing matters)... I tried "dodging the bullet" and the hard, but necessary, lessons (and all the inevitably resulting emotional pain) involved in my soul growth ...

But whether manipulation occurs on a monumental world scale or on the more modest individual scale - (to borrow an old Southern United States colloquial phrase...) "That dog don't hunt..." i.e. - It simply doesn't work.

It appears that there are a few certain things and/or events which are "supposed to happen" by means of fate and/or destiny. And when it comes to those certain things, nothing we (as humans) do seems to have any real efficacy in keeping those certain fated things and/or events from coming to pass.

But (if you sit and ponder on it) perhaps the truly frightening realization is that we do have choices to make... lots of choices...Each, and every, day we make hundreds of "small" choices... choices which quite literally have the potential of changing the entire course and direction of our lives - choices which change our destiny forever...

Some folks choose to limit this frightening sense of individual freedom and responsibility by immersing themselves in one of those legalistic, fundamentalist viewpoints that I mentioned earlier in this series. Truth is... following a prescribed set of divinely dictated rules feels a lot safer. It feels safer, because while it limits one's individual freedom, it likewise results in being able to abdicate one's feelings of personal responsibility and having to make difficult choices.

Participation
Having access to the knowledge contained in our birth charts will not change any of the larger lessons that we may or not have to learn (whether these lessons are based on past life karma or not). But having access to the knowledge contained in our birth chart may change the way we react to those hard lessons.

And here's the scoop: In our day to day lives, we often "unconsciously" and compulsively get "caught up" in acting out various destructive archetypal patterns of behavior (myths, scenarios).

A Few Examples Of "Getting Caught Up" In The Area Of Relationships

• We keep being attracted to the "wrong type" of romantic partner.
• Or we keep getting caught up in "lover's triangles."
• Or we keep getting irrationally, uncontrollably jealous about our partner.
• Or we always end up feeling trapped (and need our "freedom") when we're in a committed relationship - and yet, when we're not in a committed relationship we feel totally miserable and completely alone.

When we continue to get "caught up" in acting out these sorts of archetypal behavior patterns - our lives, choices, and actions end up feeling "fated." We eventually begin to feel like we're "doomed" to continually act out the same old, worn-out mistakes.

We're Clueless
The solution to the problem is when we finally start to "wake up" and "get a clue" about what's going on in our everyday lives...

• "Getting a clue" is how we can start breaking free of our more compulsive (and potentially destructive) archetypal (universal) patterns of behavior.
• "Getting a clue" enables us to more consciously participate in our everyday decisions.
• "Getting a clue" makes our lives and our actions in this life feel less "fated" and less "doomed" - by the realization that we no longer have to get caught up in making all the same old compulsive, "fated" behaviors and mistakes.
• "Getting a clue" opens up real choice, freedom, opportunity, and (yes) responsibility in our lives.

Astrology & Getting A Clue

Astrology can assist us in gaining a better understanding of why we continually get "caught up" in what we do.

Astrology can assist us in "getting a clue" about what some of our lessons are. Then, we can start consciously choosing to be active participants in our growth process as we move into our future. Through "getting a clue" we can start the process of breaking free of our compulsive patterns of behavior!

The Best Thing About Astrology?

But, perhaps, best of all... with astrology, we can look back at our personal history and recognize the golden threads of purpose which have been so skillfully, expertly interwoven into the fabric of our individual life tapestries...

We can look back through the lens of astrology and see certain past events for what they truly were... At the time we were "hip deep" in experiencing them - many of these past events may have simply felt meaningless, chaotic and/or out of control. But looking back, through the lens of astrology, can help instill a new found faith and trust in the present. And it can provide confidence as we journey into our unknown future...

Summing Up

In this series of articles, I've drawn a fine line between "manipulation" vs "participation"... And yep, I admit to crossing back and forth over this fine line on an almost daily basis.

As I said in at the start of this article - ultimately, your journey is to be the best you that you can be. Astrology is merely one (of many) "road maps" which The Universe has made available to assist you on that journey. Leaving "the Garden" and accepting our freedom is a very scary thing... That's because there's always a price to pay when gaining our freedom... and we pay that price by taking responsibility for our lives (and for our choices)