RT Article T1 Living with Fate: The Lifestyle of Contemporary Astrologers JF Journal for the study of religion, nature and culture VO 13 IS 1 SP 31 OP 43 A1 Brady, Bernadette 1950- LA English YR 2019 UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1666211443 AB Astrologers are assumed to be a group of people whose lives are dictated by the stars. This position has been encouraged by ad hominem twentieth-century polemics where the astrologer is portrayed as a person of questionable mental ability who takes no responsibility for their life. These assumptions have been informed by the definition of fate from the Classical period of Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE). In contrast, my research among English-speaking astrologers revealed that their lifestyle was one where beliefs about the nature of fate varied considerably from Cicero’s views and that they used their beliefs in three ways: as an aid for their spiritual development, as a tool for personal reflection, or as a means for life-planning. The astrologers in my research actively engaged with their lives using their beliefs about fate, understanding it like a life companion rather than a life dictator. K1 Astrology K1 Determinism K1 Fate K1 Horoscopes K1 Lifestyle K1 Polemics K1 Spirituality DO 10.1558/jsrnc.38060