Everything That Happens In Life Has a Purpose
by Samantha Kane-Kennedy

My spiritual quest dates back farther than my astrological and tarot experience. For over forty years I have, like Abraxas, sought the truth in many of its various forms and formats. Having the privilege to interpret people’s life charts I have charted the experience of thousands of charts. I have explored these, weaving the tapestries of past lives and soul development into present day purpose. But it is through my own personal experience, taking the inward investigation to its maximum, that I have discovered the liberating fact that no matter what has come into your life, it has happened for a reason. I remember gasping when I was first introduced to this concept; it sounded like a harsh punishment. I was sensitive to what this may have meant, especially with my freshly stirred memories of a sexually abusive and negligent childhood.

But let me assure you, the reader, that sometimes the reason that something happens is “because of someone else“ who reacts to who you are. The more you care about what others think, the more their opinion can shape you. Knowing the self is one of the most self-empowering actions a person can take. It takes coming from a strong centre in order to ride the tidal waves of life. Sometimes forward steps cannot be taken until the journey of your past steps has been tidied up. Often we hear the words “let go“ or “surrender“ but how can we be free of old baggage if we don’t know what it is or was? If there are mysteries within your origins it is hard to relate to why, as adult individuals, we modify our behaviour to our disadvantage. We need to reclaim our purposeful strength of individual authenticity to cease in wavering and dithering with such discombobulated and confused forward movement.

If you have caused most of what has affected your life, then it is sometimes difficult to know what it is you are doing. How is your personality working at odds with your need to accomplish or relate? Are you operating dysfunctionally? If someone else’s reaction to who you are has caused an impact on how you see the world, then you need to go back to the scene of the crime. But to do this you need the objective detachment necessary to see who did what to whom, as well as take responsibility for what this caused you to do in response to such developmental dysfunction. In what way was your confident ability to stand alone affected? Are you a product of an actualized self-realization, or still following the beat of the common drum? How you explore this is very much a personal choice. There are many processes available that can help you to explore issues without actually confronting the people involved. Many methods can help you to go back into or over what the body remembers, stuff that perhaps the mind cannot configure. Certainly people’s astrological signatures can provide these intricacies of truth. But from personal experience, the deeper the issue, the more important it is to personally confront it directly, to scout out those old ghosts consciously, put the blame to rest on the shoulders of the source of the cause, and gain the personal experience to set yourself free.

The birth chart is an imprint of your soul’s separation from its host’s incubator, the conditions of life you are born into. Within the symbols and positions of Sun, Moon, planets, comets, and asteroids there is information about the previous life or lives that have contributed to the significance of this life. It is very important where you were born and at what time, for this combination of factors provides an accurate picture of what your soul needs to achieve in this lifetime. But don’t expect this information to come without contradiction—what human do you know who has everything worked out?

In the theme of making lemonade out of lemons, turning a bad thing into something good, we need to view what happens in life as needing to be. The detours of our life can actually be redirection toward our true purpose. We cannot always be so very sure of what to expect but we are actually able to make things so, just because we want to achieve them. So sometimes a detour has to come along in life to make sure you don’t achieve what was not meant to be. Sometimes before you can have what you want, or what is meant to be, stages of self-realization have to be actualized. It is always important to attend to the question of why something is happening, but to do this requires getting beyond the symptoms to the cause.

Those who have their minds set on what they want to accomplish may face these trials in hindsight. But those malleable enough to be flexible and go with the flow of life will accomplish more for their soul’s purpose, as long as they learn from their mistakes. Making mistakes is a good thing. Being able to let your self make a mistake without self-conscious embarrassment is an art form. But then you could be a person who believes in safety and security first, at all costs to the self-expression. Some people are so busy winning the latest battle that they actually lose the war. Perspective is important and that is one of the greatest gifts of astrology.

Samantha Kane-Kennedy is a Professional Astrologer with localized experience of life in Canada. She practices nationally and internationally by email, phone, or mail-order tape, and is available for personal sessions. Samantha has been working with Astrology and Tarot for 35 years and has been involved with Spiritualism and holistic health practices for 30 years. She teaches, writes, and lectures. For more information see her website: www.sam-star.com, phone (250) 382-8443, fax (306) 382-8447, email: samstar@telus.net, or write: 971 Lakeview Ave., Victoria, BC V8X 3H7. Also see her Directory of Services ad on page 18 of the 11.4 November/December issue of the WHOLifE Journal.