Can we change our fate or alter our destiny?
I was considering this question a couple of days ago, in fact it is a question which continually rears its ugly head, especially for an Astrologer, which I am, in case you did not know.
This particular expression of interest happened when I was reviewing a technique know as Aimed Solar Return, you can look it up if you are interested but in essence it is as follows. In an attempt to judge the prospects for the coming year, an Astrologer will cast a chart for the moment that the Sun comes to the same degree, minute and second that it had at the time of your birth. This chart is called a Solar Return and it marks your true annual birthday, hence the greeting 'Happy returns'. This chart is always cast for the place you will be on your birthday and this is the key to the Aimed Solar Return, for if the angles of this chart spell out a challenging period then you simply have to be somewhere else on your birthday and you will have a different chart with the angles purporting to a better period. The Planets and aspects will still be the same but in different houses, so on the face of it, it sounds like a good idea, just book a short holiday for your birthday, of course it takes a little study and you could end up holidaying in a war zone but it only has to be for a day.
Now this got me thinking about the old tale of the man who tried to cheat death.
As I remember it, a man living in the middle east meets Death in the marketplace and it beckons to him. Terrified, the man flees to the home of his master and begs to flee the city and go to Damascus thinking he will be safe. The master agrees and lets the man go and the man's master goes to the market place to plead for the life of his servant. When he meets death, death tells him "I was surprised to see him in the marketplace, you see, I have an appointment with him on the road to Damascus."
I think you can see where my head was when thinking about the Aimed Solar Return. Now I must add that there is a remarkable amount of anecdotes to support this theory. However, the issue for me is not, does this technique work but should we use this technique at all. Are we trying to dodge fate and therefore, duck out of life's lessons. It has always been for me that if you go with the flow, that is, let life take you where it will and be grateful for the experience then life is better and more meaningful. Of course, many may well disagree with that but it is a useful exercise to consider the questions raised by this philosophy.