Summoning the Fates

by Z. Budapest

What Are the 'Fates'?

To paraphrase: in a nutshell, the three 'Fates' are viewed as the very soul of the Goddess.  They are beyond the three aspects of the Goddess (Maiden, Mother, and Crone--although I suspect that they are close to the Pagan view!)

The Three Fates are: The Spinner--known as Urdh, The Weaver--Verdandi, and The Woman Bearing Shears--Skuld.  One starts the thread of life, the other develops it, and the third cuts it.  Sound familiar?  

The Cycles Within Cycles

We talk about the past, present, and future as if the Fates operated in a straight line, but at each point in our lives we must deal with the effects of what has already happened, cope with what we are facing now, and prepare for what is to come.  We are never done with the past because it is always being created by what we are doing now, and that, in turn, becomes the future. The Planets in our lives also influence us, especially the Return of Saturn--which occurs during certain 'ages' in our lives.  The return of the Major Planets affects us greatly as we experience the majority of lessons, growth and maturity from their re-entrance into our lives. The following charts will lay out the 'ages' in our lives when we experience these returns, and what to expect when it happens!

Our own Astrological Cycles interact with the larger cycles that determine the ages of the Earth--both the long Zodiacal Ages and the sub-ages into which they are divided.  For instance, although the true "Age of Aquarius" will not begin until the twenty-fourth century we are now in an Aquarian sub-age that started in 1962 and has colored the subsequent decades and will last until the year 2141.  This sub-age of Aquarius previews in many ways what the actual age will be like.  As we go through life, experience teaches us how to deal with change.  But we will work with our Fates much more effectively when we learn to recognize the Turnings of the Wheel.  At each point, half of a 'chance' is ours to make--the Fates hold the other half!

No matter which generation you are traveling with, there are certain points at which the Fates touch you more than at others, visit you more often, and change you more deeply.  Even the Fates have their times and seasons.  We sense this in portents of things to come. These 'Fate Dates' are based on Astrology, which tells us when the relationships of the planets to those in our birth chart indicate Turning Points in our lives.  These are not just the obvious connections we see reported in the daily paper (such as the day of birth) but other, less recognized portentous times are equally important.  Without turning you into an Astrologist, let's just start by saying that the dance of the Fates is complex, with smaller cycles nestled within larger ones.  The big wheels of life form the procession of the great ages.  Within that cycle we have the sub-ages that determine our particular time period's favor.  Within each sub-age the three transpersonal planets--Neptune, Pluto and Uranus--influence the social/psychic orientation of the generations as their cycles move through the signs of the Zodiac.  But hold on! Within the span of the generational patterns we experience the Personal Planets that shape us.  These Personal Planets are the Moon, The Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars.  Their cycles moving through our Zodiac sculpt our character. The maturing, changing Self needs one more combination, another wheel of time, to turn our passages.  It is the mother lode planet Saturn, whose slow movement turns into three major destiny points in our lives.  Finally, we need Uranus to administer a cosmic shift that often is experienced as a fated accident from which new developments can spring.  On these 'Fate Dates' that follow, you can see how certain issues come to the fore in your life and need to be addressed for your soul's progress. As you look at these Fate Dates you can see the unfolding of the larger pattern of the story of your life. 

Blessings,

Lady Middy

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