If You Change Your Home Do You Change Your Fate?
My great grandmother Juliana had ten children, six daughters and four sons. Big families were common in the early 1900’s. Sadly, so too were childhood deaths. This was Juliana’s dilemma: Her daughter’s were thriving but her sons were dying. After burying her three older sons, she decided that Nicola, her only surviving five-year-old boy needed to be ‘saved’ from the same fate as his brothers. Her solution: send him to Alexandria in Egypt to be raised by an uncle. He survived into adulthood, married, had his own children and died of old age having outlived all of his sisters.
What is intriguing about this story is the decision to move him out of the family home in order to save his life. Changing home to change one’s fate is an ancient Greek philosophical idea that Juliana and her extended family, believed in absolutely.
There’s a lot that can be said about this story. Sceptics may ascribe Juliana’s loss to bad luck. Others may say that the house-changing decision was nonsensical and nothing other than narrow-minded superstition. A rationalist might attribute Nicola’s survival simply to better care upon relocation – having been separated from his family at such a young age there would undoubtedly have been more attention focused on him and his wellbeing. Then there’s the issue of unwavering belief. Was there any other option but for Nicola to be sent away? Strongly held beliefs manifest physically. If everyone around you believes you’re going to die, chances are you’re not going to do very well, especially if you’re a child lacking independent thinking.
But, here’s the thing: How do we account for the longevity of the idea that changing your home changes your fate? And, it’s not only the Greeks who believe in this concept. So do the Jews. Across cultures and spanning for over two thousand years, this notion has persisted. There has to be something more to this saying.
Earthbody is all about location and how we’re affected by where we live, hence the interest in the concept of changing home and changing fate. Being able to map our homes within the Earth’s anatomy allows us to understand what experiences we might have, why things work wonderfully in some instances and why difficult situations might arise in others. This sounds a lot like ‘fate’ doesn’t it? Different locations might offer alternative experiences and that parallel with the ancient Greek idea of changing fate is what interests us most.
Any discussion involving fate is difficult. Mention the word ‘fate’ in conversation and people mostly tend to shy away, mock or stare at you in dismay and even get aggressive. Why? Because fate is a scary concept. Its association with disaster and death from Hellenistic times has certainly had an effect on our collective consciousness. Moira, the ancient Greek goddess of fate, was the oldest power in the universe, older even than the Olympian gods, who were beholden to her too for their share of power. She was not a goddess to be messed with. Morose and humourless, she assigned (Moira means share/allotment) our ‘lot in life’ and mercilessly punished those who dare cross her assigned limits.
Moira may have faded into antiquity, but fear associated with fate is ever present. It’s the definition that rattles us most. Fate means: ‘it has been written’. This suggests the involvement of a higher impersonal authority, that our existence is preordained and that the events of our lives are beyond our control. Are we fated or are we free to choose for ourselves? The idea that we may not be free to direct our lives is something that’s difficult to contemplate. Who or what is this authority and who are we really? Are we pawns in an elaborate cosmic scheme, stupidly believing that we have the power to determine our own affairs when we don’t, or do we have a say? If our lives are preordained, what’s the point of having hopes and dreams or striving for anything in our lives?
It’s evident that we need a simple modern way of understanding ‘fate’ that removes suspicion, mysticism and weirdness? It has to make sense in our current thinking and provide practical information that makes our lives easier to understand and manage.
Here’s Earthbody’s perspective:
Any discussion on fate involves astrology.
“ In Jewish mysticism, fate is often referred to as mazzal, which is usually translated as luck, but which also means the stars of the zodiac. The idea that we live under mazzal suggests that souls are fated from the beginning, dependent upon the flux and flow of the universe.”Rabbi David Cooper
Your natal birth chart is a unique stellar blueprint. The placement of the planets and stars at the time of your birth and how these are positioned relative to each other, describes your fate. This is what is ‘written’. It is your ‘lot in life’, the proverbial ‘deck of cards’ you assume at first breath. It is your natal blueprint and it cannot be changed. Understanding your natal blueprint affords you the opportunity to recognize the nature and limits of the framework within which you function and thus your flexibility and ability to manoeuvre within that structure. In short, you are fated, but you also have free will within, predetermined, limits.
When you realize what you’re dealing with, your relationship with things you cannot change, changes. You realise that no amount of brute force, intention setting, praying to gods, fairies or crystals will make a difference, and this alters your outlook on life and hence your experiences. You have transformed your fate by understanding, accepting and embracing it.
The Earthbody model is interesting in that it gives you specific locational details linked to your natal framework and hence insight into an aspect of your fate that you’re dealing with and how it’s playing out in your life.
If you’d like some personal insights into this powerful process, use your current home location and run the following two reading modules. ‘Areas of Your Life Most Influenced by Your Location’ will locate you and show you which area of your life is being focused on. ‘Aspects Influencing Your Family and Home Life’ describes your family and home dynamics. This is where you get to understand why things run smoothly or not.
Let’s say that you’ve generated a reading comprising these two recommended modules and you discover that you live in an aspect of the Earth’s heart. The heart in astrology is ruled by the Sun and so we’re interested in where the Sun is located in your natal chart as this highlights a particular ‘Area of Your Life’. Astrologers refer to these areas, as Houses. If your Sun is located in the 9th House, matters of faith, higher learning and foreign/long distance travel are inherently emphasised. You can’t change this; it is who you are (a fated aspect).
The fact that your home is located within an area ruled by the Sun magnifies what’s there. If you’re interested in tertiary education, world religions or foreign travel you might be delighted by the emphasis but if you’re more interested in focusing on family and home life, this is not a location that fully supports your need. This is not to say that a happy family and home life is impossible, but rather that there’s missing support. Understanding this helps to fill the gap. You will instinctively direct more of your energy here to ensure things ‘work properly’. The ‘Aspect’ reading module goes one step further and describes how easy or difficult the dynamics are going to be at home. The dynamics may be wonderful but they might also be challenging and knowing what options you have, to better what’s good or rectify flaws is helpful.
So what happens if you decide to change your home? Do you change your fate?
You will alter your fate, but only if you move into an organ ruled by a different planet, which brings up other natal attributes to what you’re currently experiencing. In other words, rather than experiencing the Sun in the 9th House, you might experience Venus in the 2nd House. A completely different path – aspect of your fate – is emphasised and with it, a whole host of other experiences.
For example: Bowler-Hat-Bernard in the image above stands at a crossroads. He has an important decision to make regarding moving homes. He would like a different experience to what he’s had up until now. His current home is ruled by Saturn, which is located in his 8th House, a notoriously intense placement (albeit good for transformation and renewal) that he’s found rather depressing and lonely. The path on the left leads to a beautiful house, as does the path on the right. What should he do? Which house should he choose?
The house on the left is located within a part of the Earth’s anatomy that’s ruled by the Moon. The house on the right is located within a part of the Earth’s anatomy ruled by the planet Mars. Moon and Mars appear in different parts of his natal chart and so he needs to check which ‘Area of Life’ is emphasised in each location. The Moon is in his 11th House, which is where friendships are highlighted and this might actually appeal to him. Mars on the other hand, appears in his 7th House of partnerships, romantic or business, which could also be just what he needs. How does he decide which house is best? He could choose either knowing what experiences (aspects of his fate) will play out. If he’d like greater clarity, he could run the relevant Aspect reading modules: 'Aspects Influencing Your Friendships and Social Interactions' and 'Aspects Influencing Your Partnership or Marriage' which detail the dynamics he would face in each location. One may appeal to him more than the other - less drama and more loving interactions – which might sway his decision.
Bernard has the ability to make an informed choice. He thus changes his fate. He avoids repeating an 8th House Saturnian experience, which is an easy trap to fall into - people tend to pick what's familiar albeit difficult. Most importantly, he's able to select a new path that opens up other experiences, which fulfill his current needs.
The Ancient Greeks knew that changing location changed something in a person’s fate. What exactly, is unclear. Earthbody does not have all the answers but it certainly offers some clarity. We no longer need to be victims of circumstances we don’t understand. Unlike Juliana, Bernard is not a victim of his fate. He knows what he’s dealing with in each location. He simply needs to choose what suits him best.
Salome Pouroulis
September 2017
Liz Greene, The Astrology of Fate, Samuel Weiser, Inc. 1984, pp. 6-14.