posted December 23, 2008 10:39 PM         

Everyday we are constantly bombarded with decisions, the act of making a decision is exercising your free will.
Now the outcome of the decision, how it affects your life, well that depends on the wisdom that you use to make your decision.

That is where you have obviously been granted a precious gift, a tool of insight to guide you, as a reward for previous work well done. And that is Astrology, or the knowledge of the "Stars", as you have so poetically termed it. ( I like the "stars" better, lol)

The Stars give you insight, guidance as it were.
So that you can make better decisions. Wise decisions.
So that you can deal with your on personal kharma, Work through it, and discover the Divine within you.
So you ask, do the Stars impel, or compel. I say they do neither. I say they propel.
For one the wisdom that you gain from the Stars could never impell, they are of Divine origin, and as such there sacred knowledge can never impell a soul. To compel to me means to influence or push towards something almost feeling like you have no choice over the matter, when actually you do. Even when a situation is fated, and you have no choice but to go through the alchemy of it. You can still do it in a detached manner, operating only from a place of love, so that your kharmic lesson is learned swiftly. So you are never "bound" as it were, to a fated situation. You simply have something to learn, and learn it you must or the Universe will make sure fate slaps you with it again and again, until you recognize the pattern of behavior and fix it. There is always room to maneuver around it in a beneficial way, walking increasing in love and light as you push on, and to me this is much easier than sitting in the sitting the situation with emotions whirling and saying why me.. Really, I say... why not? lol
But thats another thread! lol

The Stars simply tell you what is going on around you, energy wise. This is knowledge, and knowledge is power.
So to me they empower you, to be the amazing creature you are. Wielding both the energy of Earth and the Heavens within your on heart. As above, so below.

Should you choose to apply that knowledge then your life in the physical plane becomes a little easier, because you know what is going on in the now. And you make better decisions in the now. You are aware of the energies that are influencing any given situation, therefore you can react in away that honors your inner God and propels your soul growth forward.

posted December 24, 2008 02:01 AM           

I think Planets transiting different house marks more of a impact on me, especially conjunctions to natal planets. Transiting Mars was Conjunct my Asc. a few weeks ago, and boy did I feel ruthless, and have bountiful amounts of energy!

posted December 24, 2008 08:01 PM           

No, we do not have free will.

All things are subtly interconnected, and their ultimate origins transcend our conscious awareness and intent. Our thoughts, feelings, and actions issue in direct accordance with the divine will, as part of an infinite web of antecedents. The illusion of free will arises because the nature of perception is subjective -- we can see what is in front of us, but not what is behind; we can never see that which is seeing! Our individual temperaments, personalities, predilections, etc., are formed by genetic and environmental factors, but most people never suspect this, or feel any inclination to reflect upon the reasons for things. They may reflect that there are reasons for their choices, but never reflect that there are reasons for the reasons. They will never imagine that it is the very nature of arising phenomena to be dependent on reasons; in other words, that there are reasons for everything that happens, and a lack of reasons for everything that does not happen. It is ridiculous to say that something could have happened differently, since that is to deny that there is a reason why it happened as it did! Attempting to isolate the reason in the will of an individual invites all sorts of philosophical contradictions. For instance, if the will is located in the man, and is independent of anything outside the man, then, the man himself, along with his will, must exist and arise out of a vacuum. This would mean that he neither has, nor lacks, reasons for his choices; since, if he has a reason, the reason must be responsible for the choice, and not the man, and, if he has no reason, then, the choice is purely random. In neither case may the choice properly be called "free". Hence, the very definition of free will or free choice is absurd, and dissolves the instant you take a serious philosophical look at it.

More info here:
http://determinism.com/

"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."
- Albert Einstein

"The initial configuration of the universe may have been chosen by God, or it may itself have been determined by the laws of science. In either case, it would seem that everything in the universe would then be determined by evolution according to the laws of science, so it is difficult to see how we can be masters of our fate."
- Stephen Hawking

"The first dogma which I came to disbelieve was that of free will. It seemed to me that all notions of matter were determined by the laws of dynamics and could not therefore be influenced by human wills."
- Bertrand Russell

"A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills."
- Schopenhauer

"To say that a man is sinful because he sins is to give an operational definition of sin. To say that he sins because he is sinful is to trace his behavior to a supposed inner trait. But whether or not a person engages in the kind of behavior called sinful depends upon circumstances which are not mentioned in either question. The sin assigned as an inner possession (the sin a person "knows") is to be found in a history of reinforcement."
- B. F. Skinner

"In the mind there is no absolute or free will; but the mind is determined to wish this or that by a cause, which has also been determined by another cause, and this last by another cause, and so on to infinity."
- Baruch Spinoza

posted December 24, 2008 08:20 PM           

I'm so predictable...

You can always count on me to be the voice of reason.

Yup. Its a dirty job. But thats what I'm here for!

posted December 24, 2008 08:29 PM           

The best part comes when Petron, after all his big talk, refers to the Kybalion as an authority,
then, when I quote the Kybalion explicitly asserting the truth of determinism, Petron never returns to the thread!

Oi vey!

posted December 24, 2008 08:39 PM         

quote:

---

when I quote the Kybalion explicitly asserting the truth of determinism, Petron never returns to the thread!
Oi vey!
Talk about a hollow victory.

---

posted December 24, 2008 10:11 PM           

It is a difficult thing to grasp for the first time,
but, after that, it is very simple, and impossible to miss.

For practical purposes, we must live as though we had free will.
Just as we say, "the sun rises", for convenience's sake,
though we know, from a scientific p.o.v., the sun does not rise.

When confronted with a particular decision in life, big or small,
a process begins inside you, and only part of that process is conscious.

The conscious part is what you call "you", but it is only a small part of you.
The rest of you is unconscious, as is the bulk of your decision-making process.

But this unknown element is what makes it interesting for you;
because you dont know how you are going to choose,
you imagine that there are multiple possibilities,
and this provides you with the feeling of freedom and control.

When you are half-way through a book, you can imagine numerous possibilities,
but, as you come to the end, all these are narrowed down, and only one course is taken.
Now, the book was not writing itself as you were reading it;
rather, there was always just one course, and no possible alternatives.
That the book has already been written does not prevent
you from being able to feel suspense and surprise.
Life is that way, except that you yourself are a character in the book,
imagining all these possibilities, but unable to foresee the single outcome.

Ultimately, you will choose just as your nature prescribes,
because nature is something you discover, not something you create.
It is there within you, and life brings it out of you.

You are like a flower seed...

But you dont know if you are a rose or a daisy, or what.

We say, "you may be a rose, you may be a daisy",
but, really, you may only be one kind of flower.

Likewise, we say, "you may choose this, you may choose that",
but, really, you may only choose one or the other.

And if you are a rose seed, you cannot grow up to be a daisy.

Likewise, if it is your nature to choose "A", you cannot choose "B".

Why do you choose the orange juice and not the apple juice?

Because you are free? No.

Because you crave the orange juice, not the apple juice.

Or because the orange juice is cheaper, and, even if you crave apple,
your money triggers more synapses than your craving does.

Why?

Because you're dad was a cheapskate and raised you to be one, etc.

See what I'm saying?

There is a reason for everything, and it is not, "Because I say so".

posted December 25, 2008 04:51 AM           

quote:

---

You can always count on me to be the voice of reason. HSC

---

if this is not ego inflation... HSC u read too much your own posts!

give your views, but let other people decide if they consider them reasonable.

free will

if they need your help to understand your Reason, then your Reason is not universal. cause everyone is equipped with a conscience to understand what is universal.

posted December 25, 2008 05:36 AM           

If there is no free will for a transit, then each and every person for a given Ascendant, Moon and Sun Sign MUST have the exact same fate. 1400 million and more people have been born in the last 15 years or approximately 100 million every 365 days or 240,000 every day or 3 babies every second. The Ascendant Degree changes every 4 minutes so that is 720 babies who can have the exact same chart.
Ascendant will vary across the 180 degrees [excluding Pacific Ocean] and since most people are born in Asia within a 90 degree region, we have approximately 180 babies who will have exactly the same chart.
Do all these set of 180 odd babies marry at the same time and date? I think not else the marriage registers would easily record similar birthdays for every marriage.
What about twins? Do they share the same fate? If so, every twin would be married on the same day, would have a baby on the same day etc etc etc.

Hence, it is our free will that determines how a transit plays out. However, the transit aspect will get fulfilled.

Lets say a transit is interpreted to mean "Getting wet this Sunday". Our genes, our previous karma and our current free will together will decide whether we get wet by dropping a glass of water on our shirt in a party, racing in a swimming pool, walking near a sprinkler or slipping from a luxury liner in the Caribbean Sea.

The philosophy is as simple as that.

posted December 25, 2008 07:42 AM           

but what I often wonder about:

What determines WHAT we choose?

posted December 25, 2008 10:30 AM         

IQHunk, , of course you would come up with a perfect illustration and logic to drive the point home, lol. Have you written a book yet? lol I could use a dose of your logic/magic everyday! lol

Did that help you good girl. Or have we confused you more? lol

Darkdreamer:
Good question, what determines what we choose?
I think that comes from whether or not our choices are made out of love, or fear.
When we come from a place of love, the only response that can come back to us no matter what form it is in, is one in which the mirror image of the love we sent out is embodied.
I would much rather have IQ's glass of water spill on my pants at the table then completely drench me from the sprinkler before I even get to sit down and eat.
Especially if I like the outfit! lol

posted December 25, 2008 10:41 AM           

"Who or what is God for you?"

Well, I'm a poet, so...

God is whatever I need "Him" to be for the purpose of whatever poem I am writing at the moment.

That's much more deeply philosophical than it sounds, lol, but its quite difficult to explain.

praecipua,

Merry Christmas to you, too!

I was being a little playful with 'Zala.

But I do believe my reasoning on this is sound.

Please dont take it personally.

Though it may not flatter our delicate sensibilities,
the ability and inclination to reason clearly,
particularly about abstract matters,
is not common to all.

Just as the ability to sing opera or paint realistically is not.

Denying this is, in my opinion, more likely a case of ego inflation.

Iqhunk,

That would make sense, except that no two charts are identical.

And since you must account for the entire chart...