On Fate, Free Will and Astrology
Astrologers tend to think that the majority of people reject astrology as fundamentally absurd because they simply don’t understand it. If only the skeptic would suspend their judgement long enough for a knowledgable practitioner to explain its basic premises, the thinking goes, astrology would reveal itself to be, at the very least, worthy of thoughtful inquiry.
But I don’t think that astrology is a difficult concept to grasp, nor do I find it particularly implausible as a phenomenon. After all, why wouldn’t the sun, moon and planets — these massive bodies whose regular and precise movements make life on earth possible — be able to provide any insight into how those lives are lived?
we reject astrology because it makes us uncomfortable. because to accept it’s basic premise is to accept that the shape of our lives has been determined. that free will is an illusion. that our lives are governed by a ruthless, impersonal fate.
What Is Fate?
When it comes to big philosophical ideas like fate it is helpful to bring them down to earth a bit. when you realize how much the way a grocery store is organized determines what you buy, your sense that all of your choices originate from your conscious decision making starts to loosen up a bit.
Fate means that there are no independent causes.
choices occur in a context that is always already greater than the individual. And that context largely determines the range of choices available to the individual. The clothes you wears are determined by social mores. also by the weather. The route you take home from work is determined by traffic patterns that are themselves determined by the planning of roadways. Fate also means that individuals do not determine the outcomes of their actions. You can do everything you can to be a great job candidate but doing so does not mean you will get a job.
As Above, So Below.
fate means Everything that happens happens in relation to everything else. It is heirarchies of context that weave the fabric of our lives. astrology “works” because it creates a large enough context to contain and encode the complexity of our lives in symbol and meaning and in so doing reveals our lives to be MADE of symbol and meaning. That’s what “As above, so below” means.
the proto-indo-european roots of “symbol” and “meaning” both have the sense of exchange between common things. if what happens is fundamentally out of our control, then what choice do we have? To recognize that like mounds of clay on a potter’s wheel, we are thrown together. we are revealed in relationship to one another. we are revealed in relationship to the unfolding of time. our choices are laid out before us and still we must make each one. fate means that the world requires you to be exactly who you are.
