Fate
My understanding of the concept of Fate breaks it down into four distinct things: destiny, chance, karma, and choice. Destiny is what binds and limits us, the things and situations into which we are born. Chance is the seemingly random events that occur in our lives, with little or no association with what we choose to do. Karma is the force of consequence; I see it as involving karma from previous lives, but this is not necessary to believe in karma, as it can be seen simply as consequence. Choice is, of course, the decisions that we make and the actions that we take.
Clotho, mythologically, is the spinner; she takes the raw materials of existance and spins them into the threads of life. As with all well-done crafting, nothing is wasted. What was lost after the last weaving is saved for the next, and whatever material best fits the continuation of the thread is used. As the threads of life are spun, what we've done in the past affects the consistancy, color, thickness, and strength of our threads. As such, what we come to face in the future, while the thread is still being spun, is a direct result of what we have done in the past. Thus I associate Clotho with karma.
Lachesis, the weaver, takes the threads that Clotho spins and weaves them together into the whole of the tapestry of life. It is her duty to take the myriad, seemingly different and clashing threads and make of them a sensible whole. Thus, we may find other lives and other choices intersecting ours at seemingly unpredictable times and places. Since we can never see the whole of the tapestry, we can only see these intersections as random. Something as simple as the spin of a die or the changing of a traffic light can send our individual threads in completely different directions. Therefore, I associate Lachesis with chance.
Atropos cuts the thread of life, and has always been associated with death. I find this to be a misconception, as every thread needs to be bounded, to have limits to how long it can be and how exactly it can interact with the other threads. This is not only the limit of mortality, but also of station, species, race, gender, class, and family. Someone born poor might become rich, but will never be a gerbil. Limitations are important; they keep both the universe and society cohesive. As such, I associate Atropos with destiny.
There is, however, a fourth aspect of fate: that of choice. There is only one enacter of choice, and that is the self. Every decision made and action taken is a choice, made at some level of consciousness. In this way, the self can be seen as a part of Fate, at least as it relates to oneself.
---Koe 6
Clotho, mythologically, is the spinner; she takes the raw materials of existance and spins them into the threads of life. As with all well-done crafting, nothing is wasted. What was lost after the last weaving is saved for the next, and whatever material best fits the continuation of the thread is used. As the threads of life are spun, what we've done in the past affects the consistancy, color, thickness, and strength of our threads. As such, what we come to face in the future, while the thread is still being spun, is a direct result of what we have done in the past. Thus I associate Clotho with karma.
Lachesis, the weaver, takes the threads that Clotho spins and weaves them together into the whole of the tapestry of life. It is her duty to take the myriad, seemingly different and clashing threads and make of them a sensible whole. Thus, we may find other lives and other choices intersecting ours at seemingly unpredictable times and places. Since we can never see the whole of the tapestry, we can only see these intersections as random. Something as simple as the spin of a die or the changing of a traffic light can send our individual threads in completely different directions. Therefore, I associate Lachesis with chance.
Atropos cuts the thread of life, and has always been associated with death. I find this to be a misconception, as every thread needs to be bounded, to have limits to how long it can be and how exactly it can interact with the other threads. This is not only the limit of mortality, but also of station, species, race, gender, class, and family. Someone born poor might become rich, but will never be a gerbil. Limitations are important; they keep both the universe and society cohesive. As such, I associate Atropos with destiny.
There is, however, a fourth aspect of fate: that of choice. There is only one enacter of choice, and that is the self. Every decision made and action taken is a choice, made at some level of consciousness. In this way, the self can be seen as a part of Fate, at least as it relates to oneself.
---Koe 6