Free Will vs. Determinism and Astrology

spider web“One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to blame your problems on. And when you do find somebody, it’s remarkable how often his picture turns up on your driver’s license.”
–P.J. O’Roarke

I’ve been reading over my recent writing and have seen a strong theme. I look at a chart, the placements and the transits, and don’t see a fixed outcome or entirely predictable personality. I can see how that might not seem like a comforting viewpoint. However, my perspective is this: irrespective of how you’re currently handling things I can see the best in you. I can see the energies present in your chart and in aspect and come up with fresh ideas for expressing your highest potential.

My grandmother said to my mother and my mother said to me, “no matter what happens, God and your mother will always love you.” When I look at a chart it’s from that perspective. How can you capitalize on the energy available? How do we make you the best you? Or as the army says, “be all that you can be.”

I don’t believe anything is set in stone. I think the energies are there and the goal is figuring a way a person can act upon them to achieve their best possible outcome.

There is no nightmare planetary or house placement that precludes success. There are placements that require more work and more consciousness to express highly, but those success stories are the ones that shine the brightest!

I can’t tell you when or how you will die. I can’t tell you when or if he will propose. What I can do is help you define a path complimentary to your goals, desires and skills and when is a good time to bust a move, or not, as the case may be. The spark that is you lives on your chart like a spider on a web. You are not its captive; you are its master.

What’s your philosophy?

 

23 thoughts on “Free Will vs. Determinism and Astrology”

  1. Agreed….absolutely. I have seen charts that were bursting with potential but the person was coasting through life. And I have seen the most horrendous charts and the person had managed to squeeze every last drop of potential out of it. A trend I have noticed is that the more challenging the chart (lots of squares, heavy duty Saturn and Pluto influences) the more compelled the subject is to make the best of themselves. It’s as if their chart is so “uncomfortable” that they’d do almost anything to improve their lot in life. Of course there are exceptions to this as well…

  2. @Nadia–what you say about the challenging chart–lots of squares, heavy Saturn and Pluto really applies to me. I’ve done, and am doing, my best to use this all to grow. My attitude is that no matter what, no matter how difficult, I will prevail! Just yesterday, though, I decided to check out my brother’s chart. He and I are estranged, he’s always been extremely manipulative, narcissistic and entitled. He also is extremely lucky–I’ve often described him as someone who can fall into a pile of shit and come up smelling like a rose. Meanwhile, the shit has all landed on me, and I am the one who has to clean it up….
    The man doesn’t have a single challenging aspect in his chart that I can find. Now given, we are both adopted, so neither one of us knows time of birth, but not a square, opposition or conjunction to be found!

  3. ruth I so relate to that! My sister and I are also both adopted are also estranged… and from where I’m sitting she had it all fall in her lap. She was Ma’s golden girl and was fully supported – I was blocked at so many points, and had to go out into the world and do it all on my own. She married a man who inherited a chain of estate agents and they are very well off indeed. Her (solar) chart too is well aspected with few of the oppositions and squares with which mine is full hahaha!

    But I wouldn’t want her life, in spite of its ease. She has a mildly handicapped son, for one thing – not seriously so but enough so he will never marry or leave home. And in the end I think she was more screwed up than I am by our adoptive mother, because she never truly broke free – and she never came to terms with being adopted.

  4. 🙂 That was beautiful Satori. The world needs people like you to have that perspective. If it weren’t for that, everybody would just sit around resenting the hell out of each other.

    Me, my philosophy is that we’re all going to be dead someday and there are a lot of things that truly do not matter. I’m trying to remember this story, I’m not sure where I read it.

    There was one of these well-heeled New York spiritual poseur ladies who decided she was going to go see a special Tibetan medicine man in the Andes. She had migraines or something, she was depressed, she had not found true love.

    He had this grand repution for practicing Tibetan medicine, and to get an appointment to go see him there was a sort of feather in her cap — almost the same thing as finding a special hairdresser or a *divine* kitchen designer or something, something she could come back from and tell her friends all about the peace and healing she got.

    She took airplanes and employed sherpas and arrived in this village, and found a tiny wizened old guy who looked her over, took the three pulses necessary for diagnosis, looked at her tongue, measured her chi or whatever.

    Then he looked her right in the eye, opened his mouth and shrieked in perfect English: PREPARE FOR YOUR DEATH!

    She was *very upset*. I don’t know if she asked for her money back but she was the type who would. But the medicine man didn’t mean to upset her, and he didn’t know when she was going to die. He told all his patients that. To him that was the smartest way to spend whatever time you had left.

  5. Blessed Place–I’ve seen it over and over, no matter what they say, adoption does leave its mark on all of us. Growing in a womb that rejects you–I think there is just no other way that it can be. Yes, you can be in denial about that– like my brother, your sister– but it seems like both of us have chosen to work with what is, rather than just wish it were different. (()) to you.

  6. Thank you ruth – hugs to you too. Nobody knows who hasn’t been there… if you are in the UK btw, can you message me? I’ve known another adoptee who was interested in astrology lol

    Great story eva – reminds me of the actress of my acquaintance who went to gain spiritual enlightenment from the Hopi (she’d previously nearly killed the then love of my life my persuading him onto a v strict vegan diet, when he was very ill indeed – so I admit to bias!). She camped at their gate for a week, then a colorful deputation went out to powpow with her. She explained she’d come from over the ocean to live with them for a year, to learn their lore. The medicine man looked her up and down for a while then replied “Fuck off white woman”

    Sorry to be bitchy, but if you knew her, you’d laugh too ;^)

  7. BP–you had me on the floor! I needed that good laugh for the day. Trust me, if I ever get out of this monetary hole I’m in, and make it to the UK, we will meet!

  8. @ruth:
    Someone once told me that the best (meaning easiest) charts often belong to the worst people. This is a gross generalization and…as always…there are exceptions. But it does seem that the lack of difficult aspects =lack of impetus to try. If things come too easily to you does this mean you never get a chance to fully develop/evolve? Food for thought…

  9. Nadia I think that’s very likely. Those of us with difficult charts can either go to the bad, give up, or try try try to understand what is happening and find a way through it – and to use it.

    I’m sure we all know people who have grown up in privilege and who take their good luck for granted, don’t spread it around, and have few morals… same syndrome

  10. Regardless of potential, the love really shined through when I had my consult with you (Satori). I can’t put it into words, really, but it was totally there and real.

    Still having a hard time coming up with a testmonial because of it. *laughs* It was just that deep.

  11. Avatar
    Strawberry Fields

    irrespective of how you’re currently handling things I can see the best in you. I can … come up with fresh ideas for expressing your highest potential.

    That ability is a rare and precious one. I’ll give you the opportunity to use it on me as soon as I can formulate my situation/question! 🙂

  12. Satori, you have explained something I’ve always wondered about. I have alot of sextiles and trines. This gives me a new appreciation of the squares that I do have. Thanks for the insight.

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