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HEIMARMENE (FATE)

(or the Fateful) – "Fate, Will and Power, says Eliphas Levi, are the magical triangle which, in human affairs, corresponds to the divine triangle.

*Fate, or the Fateful, is the inevitable sequence of causes leading to their effects, in accordance with a certain fixed order. Will is the guiding faculty of the rational powers toward the reconciliation of the freedom of individuals with the necessity of things. Power is the prudent employment of the will, which compels even the Fateful itself to serve the fulfilment of the desires of the wise man."

In the Pythagorean right-angled triangle, Fate is represented by the hypotenuse, while the two perpendicular sides represent Providence and Will. From this it follows that the human will cannot match the power of Fate, except only with the aid of divine Providence. On this basis a most interesting study may be made, both theoretical and practical, concerning the manner in which the force of the fateful may be diminished and consequently evil abolished — that evil of which the Fateful is the apparent cause and yet, in reality, the fated resultant. It follows that, if I place my hand upon the fire I shall be burned; the "evil" of the burn (pain) is an application of the fateful. Insofar as I remain ignorant, I am subject to Necessity and to Fate; I must therefore seek a means by which I may become stronger than the fateful. I possess a power whose force, suitably cultivated, may become significant: this is the will. If I were to train and develop this power, if I were to "dynamize" it, if I were to render it invincible and all-powerful (mysteries), like that of God, I should surely succeed in conquering the Fateful, in subjugating it, in chaining it. Thus reasons the adherent of "dianoetic" magic — and thus, more or less, the criminal also thinks."

Trismegistus, in the dialogue "Asclepius", provides the solution to the problem of Fate: "That which we call Fate is that Necessity which presides over the course of all events, binding them together with a continuous chain… Fate and Necessity are inseparably bound together by a kind of unbreakable bond. Fate comes first, which carries within it the beginning of all things, while Necessity comes to bring definitively and inevitably to their end all that Fate has begun. Both have as their consequence Order — that is, the harmonious arrangement and the temporal succession of everything that must come to pass. For nothing escapes the regulation of Order, and thus this beautiful Cosmos is brought into being." "To attribute our injustices and misdeeds to Fate is as though we made ourselves good and the gods evil — unless by this we mean to say that the Cosmos, considered as a whole and according to nature, inclines toward evil in all that comes to be. But a faulty upbringing and a weak nature turn the advantages that come from Fate into evil, as happens, for example, with the sun, which, although it is beneficent, is harmful to those suffering from ophthalmia and to those in fever." (Sallustius, On the Gods and the World 20). (Cf. Power, Necessity, Will, the Fateful, Providence). Bibliography. Guenon, Gr, Triade 142. Barlot, Occult. 55) Allendy 151. Levi, Dogma, 60. Voile d'Is. s No 38, 94. Leisegang, Gnosis 363, 376, 385. Papus, Magie 87.

The Fateful

The fateful is the binding of causes with their effects — predetermined events that cannot be altered through the will or the effort of man.

Theosophy accepts that Karma entails inevitable consequences. Yet when consciousness is raised toward the higher (heavenly), formless realms, then causality (the law of cause and effect) ceases to affect it, and the individual is freed from the fateful.

In other words, the Fateful is a form of causality that operates only on the lower, material or formal levels. The purpose of the initiatory training of the initiate is to be freed from the bonds of these lower realms and to be raised toward the formless and spiritual levels.

When this happens, the «Wheel of Fate» no longer finds any point of attachment upon the initiate; he acts freely, without being affected by destiny.

Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) was an Italian philosopher

The divinatory sciences —astrology in particular— demonstrate, on the basis of facts, the existence of a clear causality (determinisme). We must accept that this causality is due to various karmic bonds, formed in previous existences (that is, by Karma or Fate).

Trismegistus, in the dialogue Asclepius, gives the solution to the problem of Fate (Destiny):

«That which we call Fate is that Necessity which governs the course of all events, binding them together with an unceasing chain.

Fate and Necessity are inseparably bound to one another by an unbreakable bond.

Fate comes first — that which carries within it the beginning of all things.

Necessity comes afterward, to lead definitively and inevitably to their end all that Fate has begun.

Both have as their result Order, that is, the harmonious arrangement and the temporal succession of every thing that must come to pass.

For nothing escapes the regulation of this Order, and thus this wondrous, harmonious Cosmos is brought into being.»

(Asclepius, 1,228)

Sallustius, in the work On the Gods and the World (20), adds on this matter:

«To attribute our injustices and failings to Fate is as though we made ourselves good and the gods evil —unless by this we mean to say that the Cosmos, as a whole and according to nature, is led toward evil.

Yet a faulty upbringing and a feeble nature can turn into evil those things which come from Fate as goods —as happens, for example, with the sun: although it is beneficent, it becomes harmful to those who suffer from ophthalmia or who are in fever.»

Fate, according to the Hermetic teaching, is the power that gives birth to the beginning of all things, while Necessity is that which leads them to their end — and together they create the universal Order. However, the responsibility for evil belongs not to Fate but to man himself, who, through his weakness or his evil nature, distorts the good into evil.

-The purpose of providence is the perfection of all beings; the means it uses for this purpose is what is called time