fate vs. free will

Occultists and astrology

occult astrologerA new client came to me because of something involving Saturn in her chart that had come up in another reading.  The information she was given was not only wrong, the Saturn placement was incorrect.  The “astrologer” who gave her this information is online, and on his website he calls himself a “master astrologist” which is interesting in itself.  We astrologers don’t call ourselves “astrologists” – that is an appellation typically found only in critical newspaper articles.  His website also states that he is an occultist. The definition of “occult” […]

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By |2019-06-09T14:24:28-04:00January 8th, 2013|Astrology, Fate|12 Comments

Pondering the question of Fate

The latest issue of The Mountain Astrologer has an article by Brad Kochunas which kind of bothered me.  The article is called “In Praise of Melancholy,” so I expected to love it in light of my recent article “The Joy of Sadness.”  Kochunas writes:

Our psychological orientation via the humanistic transpersonal perspective is that we should spend our lives enthusiastically committed to seeking personal growth, self-actualization, peak experiences, liberation (i.e., expanded perspective)

so far so good…but here’s where he loses me:

and – with the recent emphasis on positive psychology – happiness.  This […]

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By |2019-11-10T19:20:01-05:00January 27th, 2009|Fate|Comments Off on Pondering the question of Fate

Musings on Fate and the Progressed Chart

A reader writes that her birthchart is giving her a lot of trouble and she would rather chuck it away in favor of her progressed chart. I wish it was that easy! The birthchart is where we find our inescapable fate. The planets and their configuration around the space of the universe that enfolds us form our destiny on Planet Earth, and it is our mission, whether we choose to accept it or not, to engage in a process of experience that maximizes the potential of this fate.

How we pursue this process is where our […]

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By |2022-10-15T13:31:26-04:00August 9th, 2007|Fate, Favorite posts|Comments Off on Musings on Fate and the Progressed Chart

Karma, Responsibility and Magic

Sometime people write me asking for a reading, saying they want to know what their karmic lessons are in this lifetime. One gentleman wrote me saying he wanted a “straight” reading, with no attempt to frame the difficult in positive language. He referred to this article in the New York Times in which scientists have proven that humans have no free will:

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said, as Einstein paraphrased it, that “a human can very well do what he wants, but cannot will what he wants.”

Einstein, among others, found that […]

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By |2019-06-09T14:20:16-04:00July 13th, 2007|Favorite posts|Comments Off on Karma, Responsibility and Magic

Spirit and Fate in the Astrological Chart

Art by Willow Arlenea Art by Willow Arlenea

The ancient Greek term “daemon” has come a long way from its original meaning as guardian, guide or higher self,.  The term “demon” gained a malevolent bent in the early books of the Old Testament as nasty creatures who caused disease and plagues, and in the New Testament, they were considered to be angels who had fallen from grace and turned to the dark side.

For Plato, the daemon or guiding spirit was chosen by the soul before each incarnation. For most […]

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By |2017-04-02T09:41:13-04:00May 16th, 2006|Fate, Favorite posts|Comments Off on Spirit and Fate in the Astrological Chart
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