Are people really brought together by fate?

Are romances and friendships really predestined? Is it possible that the stars can pull us together? Or that the hands of fates can flick a switch in our minds and force us to take one route rather than the other? If we say a prayer for example and speak our minds to the universe does something really hear our call?

Many people believe that whatever you believe in may well dictate the outcome of both your love life and your friendships. Sometimes we do not recognise our true heart's desire. We wonder why on earth we have experienced repetitive dilemmas in love but what many of us fail to recognise is that we ourselves actually desire those experiences! This is so that we can live and grow.

[1]A psychologist, Raymond Knee, PhD, University of Houston suggests that we fall into two general camps: believers in destiny and worshippers of growth. "Destiny theorists," he reports in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, are convinced that people are either meant for each other or not. "If you get into a relationship with a destiny theorist who finds you less than perfect, you had better watch out," Knee explains. "When these people are not satisfied, their relationships end abruptly."

"Growth theorists," on the other hand, expect closeness and compatibility to develop as they get to know a partner. A belief in growth is associated with a more committed, long-term approach to dating. These people have fewer one-night stands and are more are more likely to date one person for a long time. However, we all have different opinions and experiences when it comes to meeting new people. Some of us hold a very firm belief that we meet certain people through fate or unfinished business from a past life, whereas others may simply feel that it is a case of mutual attraction and coincidences.

Many of us who are spiritual thinkers may ask for certain people to enter our lives, but in many cases the person or energy that we are desiring may be part of a bigger picture in the sense that we are already intuiting their entrance and therefore “calling” or “praying” to the above is a way of acknowledging that we are indeed ready for new experiences. Many of us respond to fate very differently and it can be a tricky concept to make sense of because we can not prove either way whether or not we have met someone through fate, instead we go by our gut feeling and spiritual senses.

However, there are many ways in which we can acknowledge fate. In astrology, we can see aspects in our charts that may suggest we have been pulled together with someone for a reason. For example, [2]The vertex in astrology is a theoretical point in the heavens where the ecliptic-the apparent orbit of the Sun around the earth-crosses the prime vertical-the plane that runs at right angles to the meridian and divides the celestial sphere from front to back. It has been said that two people can meet if their vertex crosses in both charts.

This is when one person's inner planets or asteroids (Sun through to Jupiter), angles, nodes, vertex or certain Arabic parts conjunct the vertex, there can be a feeling of fate, destiny, rightness or wrongness about the encounter ( and although the two have been pulled together by fate it does not necessarily predict a happy ending!). Something in contact with that person may have the ability to create profound change in the native, over a long or short period of time. The change may be perceived as pleasing or in other cases spiteful, the conjunction often reflects the former, the opposition the later.
 
[3]Another interesting example of fate is “The Yod”, in astrology which is often described as “the finger of God”. This is an unusual and uncommon astrological configuration, is an isosceles triangle formed by two planets sextile (sixty degrees from) each other and both quincunx (one-hundred-fifty degrees from) a third, Fulcrum planet. The Yod presents a puzzle to the person who has it. Having a Yod in your chart means you have been chosen for some special purpose. This will often present a heavenly puzzle, for the person in question and they may not know what their special purpose is, and have to trust in fate that they will fulfil it, even if they never figure out what it is. A person with a Yod in their chart may undergo many experiences in life that they find hard to put in words as so many of them may seem ridiculously uncanny!

In terms of love, relationships and friendships “The Wheel of Fortune in tarot readings often predicts lovers and friendships coming together through fate. The Wheel often has no set timing and therefore predicts that it will “happen when it happens” and with the natural cycle of change, like the wheel itself. If the wheel sits next to a foreseen lover in a tarot spread then it will more than likely be predicting that the two will be bought together through fate itself and that there is a specific reason why the two people have been bought together.. The art work of the wheel stems from Greek mythology,  where there are three women known as the “ Fates.” They were responsible for spinning the destiny of each person at his or her birth. Therefore it is no surprise that so many of us feel that we are being turned by something or someone! And in particular when this card appears we know we are being looked after by fate in some form.

So overall it is for us to decide whether we are being nudged or inspired by something heavenly. We may not always  be able to make our minds up about fate but perhaps it is important to remember that some things are said to be true whether you believe in them or not! And nearly everyone has had some encounter or experience at some point in their lives that they can only assume has been twisted by the hands of fate!!!
 

[1] Psychology Today - http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199807/does-fate-make-mates

[2] http://www.falconastrology.com/vertex.htm

[3] http://sisterrayastrology.com/yodd.htm