In Charge of Our Own Destiny

Most people believe in fate. In fact humans have believed in fate for probably as long as they have occupied this planet (maybe even before!). You may not count yourself among that majority, until something happens that cannot be explained any other way. We like to believe that we are in charge of our destiny but something always niggles at the back of our mind when we find ourselves at just the right place at the right time or visa versa. What does it mean when we say this was fated to be or that this was our destiny? The notion inspires us when the results are joyful and it makes us feel angry when the outcome is devastating. Loved or cursed. Why do all these terrible things keep happening to me? I’m a good person and always try to do the right thing. Something is not right in the world when we choose to be a good person and never seem to get a break. Fate can make us feel victimized by the gods and this has always been so.

Aside from good luck or bad, what makes us think something was fated to happen? Is it because there was such a small window of timing for it to take place? Is it because we dreamed of the event beforehand? Or perhaps because it feels like no matter what we do, the outcome is habitually positive or negative? If everything in our lives is fated to be why make any effort at all? There is nothing more astonishing than learning that someone won a lottery six times. What did he do to warrant such a fate?

Can We Arrange Right Timing?

The question that shimmers in the background of discussions about fate is, “Who or what has set up our fate?” A deity, ourselves or some other machination that is comprised of many factors and influences? For example, if it is my fate to meet you, then we shared a thread of matching fates which led us to this point of joining. Fate therefore is comprised of many threads and if any of those single threads were to shift then our joined fate would be affected. We’ve all met someone special and felt that the timing was off. One of us was on our way out of town, or just gotten married, or on our death bed. Of course, that was our fate but that won’t stop us from screaming, “Why did this have to happen now?” Being at the right place at the right time is everything. Can that be arranged? We would like to think so. Fate drives us to reach more deeply into our emotional core where fear and desire wrestle each other to the death.

There is a dearth of books on the market that promise that if you do the right thing; visioning a beautiful and abundant future for example, then it will come to us. The problem has always been, what to say when that just isn’t the case? Because the truth is that terrible things do happen to giving people. And really wonderful things do happen to selfish jerks. And sometimes the universe just says, “No”.

Consulting an Oracle to See Your Destiny

Are there ways we can glimpse into our fated future? I’m a specialist in this regard since many do consult me as an oracle to see their destiny. The Tarot cards that I use even have a card which specifically addresses this concept of fate: The Wheel of Fortune. I love reading what authors of the Tarot have written about the meaning of the Fortune card as they wrestle to balance personal agency with luck. They speak of dharma and karma (we reap what we sow) and as an after-thought refer to luck and fate. In classic meaning the Wheel of Fortune heralds a change coming in our fortunes for the better. But that became problematic. It might work best for us (from a fated perspective) if we suffer because that is the mechanism that will initiate changes in our lives for ultimately the better but certainly in a reading today that won’t be a welcome bit of news. It might for example take decades for the good of the bad to become evident. Who wants to embrace poverty or loneliness for the next several decades of our lives?

The Wheel of Fortune, not surprisingly, is the card that corresponds with astrology. Astrologers for several millennia assert that the sign we are born under profoundly determines our fate. That’s why some love it and others hate it. There is something so absolute and irrevocable about that notion. If you’ve ever had your astrological chart done, you will likely be astonished at its insights. It’s not of course just about where the sun was located at your birth but the moon and the rest of the solar system will have an influence on your fate. When the Wheel of Fortune comes up in a Tarot reading, it points most significantly to changes coming to you which had been determined by your astrological chart. Every astrologer will point to a “Saturn return” which happens to everyone approximately every twenty-eight years (not at the same time for everyone). This astrological event in your life will signal a rather challenging and indeed painful year. When it seems like nothing is going as planned it’s likely you are experiencing a Saturn return.

A Lesson in Control

Perhaps the true essence of fate is its lesson in control. We don’t have control over everything and there are times in our lives when it becomes opportune to really hear that message. When fate steps in to throw us a curve ball, it’s an opportunity to examine our lives from a whole new perspective. Maybe fate’s true purpose is to trigger us to ask ourselves some pertinent questions right now, such as,

“Is what I think I want, really what I want?”

“Am I getting what I asked for and wasn’t aware that I really was asking for it?”

“What have I been missing that is more about what I need as opposed to what I want?”

“Does it really matter what I do or not?”

When Lady Fortuna takes charge of our lives, it likely more a lesson about adapting to change. Those who survive are those who are good at adapting. Is there a way to know your fate? I like to think there is and that knowing your fate beforehand is all a part of your fated future.