Fate and Free Will

Intro - no coincidences!

It’s funny that Spirit has prompted me to edit and post this reflection today, as I first began going through this drama regarding fate and free will during the period surrounding the November 19th lunar eclipse in Taurus in 2021 (my 9th house – the area of the chart relating to, among many things, our spiritual perspective toward life). Now, we are well within the energy of and heading toward a total solar eclipse in Taurus on April 30th, 2022. There are no coincidences!

The following is a short reflection on my perspective regarding free will and fate.

Fixed Fate

As I began to study traditional astrology and the concept of fate more deeply, I noticed that so much fear was beginning to crop up in me. That should have been enough of a clue that something was not resonating as my truth, but I pushed through it anyway. On an intellectual level, I was fascinated to see and listen to contemporary arguments for the existence of a fixed fate. And on a spiritual level, enough fear was triggered in me that I was much more comfortable staying in my ego – trying to figure it all out from my mind – than I was in slowing down and seeing what my spirit had to say about it.

As an aside, I believe what Abraham has taught through Esther Hicks: that a negative feeling is an indication that our thoughts/mind’s perceptions are not in alignment with the knowing of our Inner Being. I felt a strong negative response to arguments that spoke against our free will and, specifically, for this idea that, even the choices that we think we are making can be shown as ‘fated’ through certain transits, etc. It felt really disempowering. I began to fear my future and everything felt out of my influence of control.

I appreciate that an important spiritual outgrowth of this perspective on life can be a profound acceptance of what is – and this is something I want to grow and hold toward my challenges in life. I believe that spiritual surrender is really powerful. Of course, there will be surprises in life: lessons, challenges, loss. There’s so much value in not fighting against these moments of pain when they come. This is, in large part, so that we can reduce our own suffering as we process it and more smoothly integrate that which we were meant to learn. But, in my own experience, believing in a more pervasive, fixed fate seemed to undercut our agency as humans to actively influence the unfolding of our lives.

I really do believe that we are co-creating with the Universe, as the astrologer (increasingly popular on YouTube) Pam Gregory would say!

My perspective

I feel that very few specific events are actually totally fated. Rather, there are certain themes that might repeat in our lives to teach us so that we may become masters or teachers in that area. You might say that these themes are ‘fated’, but their physical expression, largely, is not. For instance, in this life, we might have signed up to grow in and to become masters of trust. I feel that the way these lessons in trust, which will help us accomplish this goal, manifest can vary depending on our level of vibration or consciousness.

Astrologers, of course, believe that the motions of the planets affect us directly in our lives. But we are also creator beings. One of my current favorite teachers, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi wrote in Science of Being and Art of Living: ‘Every action of an individual influences every other thing in the universe. The universe influences the individual and the individual influences the universe’.

Thus, to me, it simply must go both ways.

So, generally, if you are operating from a place of high vibration, self-worth, and have loving intentions for yourself and the world, lessons in trust might manifest in gifts: being trusted with important things, trusting others and having it be a positive experience, working with other masters of trust that can teach you in inspiring, gentle, and exciting ways. It will continue to cycle beautifully upwards, as you are grateful for what you learn, take responsibility for your healing, and eventually trust more and more in yourself and the Universe.

This is not to say that this more ‘positive’ path always feels easy and effortless, either. Being entrusted with important things, for example, may bring up crippling self doubt and memories of past failures. You still must face these feelings, which can often feel difficult when you are in the midst of processing the pain. Facing our edges almost always feels uncomfortable, even if the circumstances which inspired you to see them were, in fact, ‘positive’ or at least largely safe, loving, and supportive.

On the other hand, I sense that generally, if you believe the world is a cruel place to which you are a constant victim, then you will still get lessons in trust which will require your honest engagement, but you might find these experiences tend more toward situations of betrayal, in overcoming difficulties trusting and not trusting your intuition, thereby choosing the ‘wrong’ people to trust. This may then cycle downwards as long as you remain feeling powerless and angry at the world’s circumstances and others’ failures, not taking responsibility for the way you feel as an agent in the co-creative process of what comes your way – which comes, ultimately, to assist you on your healing journey.

The theme is the same, but the level of consciousness at which it expresses is incredibly different. Both lead us to our own healing, but it’s clear to me the path that I prefer!

It’s like how Pam Gregory says a birth chart is like a sheet of music, but you must determine the level of skill with which you play it. I agree with her: while your expression of joy or contentment may not look like others’, all of us are granted the right to play our music in the way that fuels our unique dreams, desires and purpose. When we align with this at the highest level, the music will play at its greatest degree of harmony.

I feel that the most important thing you can do is to focus on your frequency. Be in your heart, do your healing work the best you can, and hold high intentions for yourself and all of creation. Then, I do believe that all music can be played extraordinarily.

Of course, the idea of fate and free will is a huge topic, and not a clear-and-cut binary anyway – especially if you believe (as I do) that there are pre-birth agreements: something you planned to experience before incarnating to fulfill karma or develop the growth of your soul in a particular direction.

Is this fate or free will? It may – on the 3D level – be experienced as fate, but your soul willingly and gladly decided to take that on. And again, the reason that this was chosen as an experience was ultimately for your growth, learning, and healing on a spiritual level.

For now, I’m settling on what feels the most freeing: some things are pre-decided (and were decided by us before coming here!); we are being guided and have an amazing emotional guidance system within us; and we do have a lot more power than we think to shape the particular ways in which our learning arrives to and blossoms within us. It’s important to note: we always have the choice about how we choose to respond to the learning opportunities with which we are presented.

Happy eclipse season, everybody!