Who’s that knocking on the door?

Daily Prompt challenge: Do you believe in fate or do you believe you can control your own destiny?

I hold a very strong opinion on this one. I believe in fate, destiny and free choice. The latter allows us no excuse, full responsibility for who we are, what we do, and what we choose to make of ourselves, our circumstances, our lives. The former presents opportunities to us. We can choose to go with the flow, swim upstream against the current, butt our heads against walls and ceilings, obstacles. Our choice. Our time to invest.

I was an astrologer for a time. A good one. Any good computer program can cast a chart for you, but the forecast will be filled with contradictions because a computer cannot synthesize the type of data laid out in a chart. One planet is doing this, another that, and they can be in complete conflict with one another. A good astrologer is able to synthesize the data and present it in ways the client can gain clarity on a particular problem or challenge he or she is facing. My own astrology teacher put it this way, “Astrology can be likened to walking down a road. You come to a fork in the road. Your natural inclination is to go to the left, but if you knew what was on the right, you might prefer to go right.”

Do I believe astrology holds all the answers? No. It is only a guide, a device for bringing clarity to a situation.

Mind, I know astrology brings out the craziness in people, those for and against it. For me, it was always a tool of analysis, not the end all, be all. What I found though as a professional astrologer was that people took it very seriously. I was good enough that some people wouldn’t leave their houses unless I said it was okay to do so. Not good. I don’t mind being the right hand to God, but being God? Oh no. Bad for you and very, very bad for me. So, I quit. It helped a great deal that at the time my own chart was telling me stuff I didn’t want to hear and so, when I refused to pay attention, my life blew up in my face and I got busy taking care of my own life, rather than others. It also taught me to never have yourself as a client…

I believe in our ability to change. Is it easy? No. It can entail some very hard work and unflinching examination of ourselves. It takes time to effect change in circumstance, belief systems, but it can be and is done every day. You have to want it bad enough to face the fear of change head on and keep moving forward.