People sometimes ask me whether we really have a destiny and whether it’s possible to escape it, how free we are in choosing our own path, and whether all of this can be seen in a horoscope. The answer, of course, is not straightforward — but it’s not all that complicated either.
When talking about free will, two extremes tend to emerge:
No Choice at All
The first view says that our entire life is predetermined, that we have no right to choose, and must simply accept everything that happens. What we perceive as free will is actually just programming within us. Such total fatalism encourages passivity, removes personal responsibility, and hardly allows for any growth. Though, to be fair, this mindset can help develop qualities like humility, acceptance, and forgiveness.
Choice Is Everything
The opposite view claims that everything in a person’s life depends solely on their conscious or subconscious choices. Thus, all responsibility for how life unfolds lies with the individual.
Of course, there are some disagreements here regarding childhood — a time when adults make choices for the child. Some say responsibility for that stage lies with the environment, while others argue that by being born, a person has already chosen who to entrust with their life. Either way, this theory places the individual above all else. Such strong belief in one’s own power can take a person far, in fact so far, that they risk overlooking life’s simple joys.
Are There Other Options?
As always, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. And this is something astrology illustrates very clearly. A horoscope is a map of the possible paths a person can take. The individual is free to choose any of the routes available to them. At certain moments, they can even switch from one path to another — but they can’t go beyond the limits of their map. What limits the map? In essence, it’s limited by the abilities and personality traits a person is born with. These qualities appear in the natal chart and stay with us for life. In other words, our free will operates within the framework of our character and innate capacities.
One popular method for moving closer to the dream of wealth, for example, involves living as if you’re already wealthy — socializing with wealthy people, adopting their habits, stepping into their “skin.”
Why do this? To change your worldview, to develop new traits and abilities that will actually enable you to become wealthy.
This kind of character transformation doesn’t contradict the horoscope, because the ability to grow and change is also part of what we’re born with. But whether we choose to activate it or not — that’s up to us. You can discover more about these built-in possibilities during a personal astrological reading. We cannot go beyond our chart, but far too often, we do much less than we’re capable of. That’s our choice: whether to fulfill our potential or not. And those potentials include not just the classic “talents” (artistic, mathematical, musical, etc.), but also the talent to dream, the ability to act on desires, friendliness, and so much more.
For example, a woman could become a singer if she wants it and knows how to pursue her goals. She could become a singer if she has vocal talent. But she can’t become a singer if she has neither a voice nor any inclination toward singing. That would be beyond the boundaries of her chart. At the same time, if her chart does allow for a singing path — if she has both the talent and the desire — she still might not become a singer. Why? Maybe she chose to study marketing instead (because she doubted her talent, because her parents told her to, because her partner was in that field, or for some other reason). And that’s it — she became a marketer. Maybe even a good one. And she sings at office parties and lullabies to her children. She used her chance to become a marketer, but she missed her chance to become a singer.
The different roads on a person’s life map may cross many times. These intersections are the chances we have to shift direction. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to return to a previous point. So, the effectiveness of our choices depends not only on the map’s boundaries, but also on our ability to recognize opportunities.
Those who believe in rigid fate may miss their chances out of short-sightedness, because they stick to one familiar road. Those who believe only in personal choice may also miss their real opportunities— but due to long-sightedness, always chasing something bigger that lies outside their chart.
It might seem that people suffer because they are not free — because they can’t go beyond their chart. But in truth, most suffering comes from not using the freedom we do have, from not seizing all the chances and not exploring all the paths available to us. Yes, we have a destiny. But we also have the freedom to choose how to live it.
I really want to write more about what holds us back from using our chances—but perhaps I’ll save that for next time. For now, I wish you a path that is free and joyful!
