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Robert Oliva

Ms. Figueroa

Senior English

8 March 2019

Fate: is it something to believe?

Is fate something people should be truly afraid of or is it something completely maid up.

Fate is something people have feared for a long time. But it is not just one thing that happens.

Fate happens first, then comes Destiny, after that is Doom. Macbeth’s fate was decided when he

listened about what will happen to him in the future. He goes along with it and destiny happens.

Then doom comes to him when he dies of someone not born from women. Macbeth’s universal

theme of fate is seen in everyday society because people will listen to what is being said from the

bible, Astrology, and in the different religions around the world.

The bible is one thing that people believe in when it comes to fate. Everyone is created in

different ways by how one may show in the appearance.” For we are God’s handiwork, created

in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Mahoney 2). We

are all maid differently but in advance we are all maid to be doing something great. Fate is set

up, but it matters with what one does to it.” Everything has already been decided. It was known

long ago what each person would be. So there’s no arguing with God about your destiny”

(Mahoney 7). People’s fate have been decided by something and someone barely anyone can see.

Fate has been decided once someone is born ad cannot be changed.

Astrology has a lot to do with fate based on what horoscope someone may have. The

different horoscopes can deify someone else's fate. Different types of fate happen to different
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people around the world based on their horoscopes.” Presents a view of fate that connects the

contour of external events to the internal patterns psyche” (Perry 1). This shows that whatever

sign a person may be their fate can either be altered or changed their fate is up to them. The

different characteristics for all the zodiac signs may differ only a little bit but can change

someone's fate in time.” Every zodiacal sign has physical characteristics that make it

distinguishable from every other sign, thus providing an astrological overlay to hereditary

influences” (Perry 12). Therefore, every zodiac symbol is different based on how people are with

how they act. Astrology has to do with fate because it contains the zodiac symbols that people

believe in and will follow if it brings them good luck.

In the many religion seen around the world, fate is seen differently in all of them.

Hinduism is a way of life to most people who follow it and will continue to do so.” Hindus

believe their position in their present life was determined by their actions in a previous life”

(Every student). They believe that in their past life that the fate will be determined based on how

good of a person one is. Muslims believe that there is only one almighty god and that their fate is

decided when they praise to it.” Muslims believe there is only Almighty God, named Allah, who

is infinitely superior to and transcendent from human kind” (Every student). In the end, Muslims

fate are decided when their god is praised, and they will be gifted what they believe in. In

conclusion, the different religions in the world believe in fate differently from everyone one else

who believes that fate will just go their way.

In Ancient Greek mythology fate is a very interesting concept based off the Judeo-

Christian concept. They did not call it fate they used another term for it. “Even the gods

themselves could not escape their destiny's, and from this point the concept of 'Moria' was

devised” (Morrison). They used this term because it was something that could not have been
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avoided due to what has been set. This represents a type of personification of how things are

represented.” Moria represents the personification of power acting in parallel with the gods in

Homer” (Morrison). This shows that fate had the same power as most of the Greek gods had and

they were even afraid of what will happen and try to change it. Ancient Greek was very into fate

and the gods didn’t know that fate was going to be hard to handle and very hard to change based

off what they can see.

Buddhism have another word for fate and they describe it as being predetermined. The

word that they use is Niyati. “In Buddhism, the concept of destiny or fate is called niyati. Niyati

refers to predetermined, inevitable, and unalterable events. In some religious traditions of India,

such as the Vedanta school of Hinduism, an external or divine power or outside agency is seen to

be able to influence one’s fate” (Springer). They use it as it it saying that life is already set for a

certain person and no matter what they do they cannot change what fate and destiny have been

set. They have it very distinct between Karma and niyati in the sense that they are two separate

things. “The Buddha did make a distinction between karma and niyati, in the sense that some

events are not karmically determined but are rather the result of niyati. For the most part,

however, individuals are viewed to possess the capacity to manipulate future events through

interventions to karma” (Springer). They are saying that they differ in how they act I life and the

way one acts will have their whole life set for them. To believe in Buddhism one must be

prepared for what their fate will be in the future.

In Judaism they believe in the holy book of Torah. They completely rejected fate for what

it is.” Among the major Jewish sects of antiquity, the Essenes believed that fate determined

everything, the Sadducees rejected fate entirely, and the Pharisees- the forerunner of rabbinic

Judaism-believed” (My Jewish Learning). Among all of this they are many things that they
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believe are not in control of their life. The different things that they have and the different people

that do believe in fate say that they should live however they want.” Perhaps the most radical

solution to the problem of free will is that of the Hasidic Izbicer Rebbe who stated that, in fact,

humans do not have the ability to choose their actions. God is the source of all human actions”

(My Jewish Learning). That everyone’s fate is different and is set once they are born into the

world. Judaism is a very complicated religion and is shown respect in its community.

Candomble is a type of religion that is developed in the northeastern part of Brazil in the

late eighteenth century. It is a religion that has balance and reciprocity which places a lot of

emphasize to what it means.” Each person is only required to fulfil his or her destiny to the

fullest, regardless of what that is before each one dies. This is not a free ticket to do whatever

you want though. Candomble teaches that any evil you cause to people will return to you

eventually” (FindYourFate). That one has to complete their own fate and achieve what is already

set. That needing to let things go and worshipping the right ceremonies will help if something

bad happens for someone’s fate.” This is regulated during the worship ceremonies. When a

person becomes possessed of their ancestor spirit during the ceremony, they may act out scenes

from the community to highlight both good and bad actions in a sort of public tribunal.

Shintoism is an informal animist religion that honors their ancestors. They all pay tribute

to them because they have a strong bond. “There are literally millions of kamis, most of whom

are associated with the heavens or natural objects on earth such as trees and mountains” (Hays).

It is a way of saying that when they passed, they become animals or other living things. Shinto

has been around for over 1400 years and they believe that it does not have fate but what someone

does in their present life will be affected by what they do.” Shintoism a structure and social and

political organization and provided the notion that ritual went hand in hand with being a good
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human being and being a contributing member of society” (Hays). That by doing good things

will go good for everyone and all things will work out in the end.

The word fate comes from the Latin word fatum. It means ‘that which has been spoken’

and it cannot be changed. It is said to be a type of natural order in the universe. “Fate refers to

the three goddesses Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, who control the birth and life of humans”

(Pediaa). That they each represented something that is like a spindle, they would spin the thread

of destiny. Fate is often associated with the negatives of destiny and may or may not be avoided.

An example is when one person has experienced a misfortune towards his fate. “Since he thinks

that fate is inevitable, he wouldn’t try to change his future. This belief that all events are

predetermined and, therefore, inevitable is called fatalism” (Pediaa). Some phrases such as fate is

worse than death implies to negative connotation. Fate is something people choose to believe in

and is something many people fear.

Destiny is something that comes from the Latin word Destinata. It is to make firm or

establish. It is predetermined events that are set for every individual if they choose to believe in

it. “However, it is a common belief that destiny, unlike fate, can be changed or shaped by an

individual. Qualities like hard work, effort, patience, courage can help you to change your

destiny” (Pediaa). That if someone works hard enough they will be able to change destiny and

how it was set for them at one point in time. A person has a choice on to make their own destiny

or go with what fate has set for that certain individual. “A person can choose his own destiny. In

this sense, destiny is slightly positive than fate. Destiny can also be a result of a person’s actions”

(Pediaa).

The difference between fate and destiny are that one is already set for someone and the

other is that someone has the ability to change what is set for them. They are both predetermined
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but one can be slightly altered based on what one can do.” Fate can be defined as the power that

is believed to control all events. Destiny, on the other hand, is the hidden power that is believed

to control future events” (Difference Between).The difference is that one controls the events and

how they can be affected while the other can be changed by what one does towards others and

how they act. Even though they can be viewed as similar words they actually control two

different things. “This gives the idea that Fate and Destiny can be viewed as similar. But, if we

were to view Fate as the power that determines events whereas the destiny is what is destined to

happen, this presents a difference in meaning” (Difference Between). That for them being very

similar they have very different views on what is happening to what is been done and what can

be done to make things better.

Both terms are used were people are using them in ways that can have someone scared.

Fate has been seen throughout the whole world as an unseen force that is applied.” “Fate” comes

from the Latin word Fatum meaning “that which has been spoken.” Therefore, through the ages,

fate has come to be associated with that which has been predetermined for our lives” (Loner

wolf). Even though fate is predetermined somethings may be able to change based on how one

involves themselves with the world. Destiny has a more positive side towards how things will be

in the future.” Unlike fate, there is an element of choice in destiny. Qualities such as courage,

compassion, willpower, and patience can all help to change your destiny” (Loner wolf). When

looking at how destiny is set, it can be altered ever so slightly depending on what the person

does.

The universal theme seen in Macbeth is fate around the world. There are seen in the

Bible, Astrology and in many different religions. There are all connected by believing in

something that may happen or may not happen at all. Fate has its destiny and doom at the end of
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things. They are seen in society as something to be feared by and to not be believed in. All things

considered, Macbeth heard his fate and caused it like a cat chasing a mouse. The mouse will

always be on top and things will always be like that.

Works Cited

Admin, and About the Author: AdminComing from Engineering cum Human Resource

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By. “What's the Difference Between Fate and Destiny? (Don't Get Them Confused!) ⋆

LonerWolf.” LonerWolf, 11 Apr. 2019, lonerwolf.com/difference-between-fate-and-destiny/.

“Connecting with the Divine.” EveryStudent.com,

www.everystudent.com/features/connecting.html.

“Difference Between Fate and Destiny.” Pediaa.Com, 5 Jan. 2016, pediaa.com/difference-

between-fate-and-destiny/.

Eloy. “Fate in Ancient Greek Mythology.” Fate in Ancient Greek Mythology, 1 Jan. 1970,

agroeh.blogspot.com/2011/11/moirae-and-graeae.html.

Glenn Perry. “Personality, Astrology and Fate.” Glenn Perry, 22 June 2016,

aaperry.com/astrology-and-fate/.

Mahoney, Kelli. “Bible Scripture That Explains the Concept of Fate and Destiny.” Thoughtco.,

Dotdash, 20 Feb. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/bible-verses-on-fate-712102.

Mjl. “Responding to the Free Will Problem in Judaism.” My Jewish Learning, My Jewish

Learning, 16 Apr. 2003, www.myjewishlearning.com/article/responding-to-the-free-will-

problem-in-judaism/.