In the West, divinatory systems are often criticized for challenging free will. The argument goes that if the future can be predicted, then there is no free will. Whatever decision is made, what is “written” will inevitably happen.

Here, we intentionally use the word “written,” considering the Arabic expression “maktub” (مكتوب), popularized by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho in his book “The Alchemist,” meaning “it is written,” with the connotation that free will counts for little or nothing in the outcome of situations since that outcome is, or may be, predetermined.

However, this is not the idea one gets when witnessing a current practitioner of astrology (Western) in action or even when consulting the oldest works of horoscopic astrology from classical Greece or the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East.

In either case, the forecasts have a probabilistic nature, indicating, for each area of life, the likelihood of certain results (positive or negative).

This is particularly evident in Chinese divinatory systems, including Bazi 八子, which expressly indicate what attitudes and paths should be followed to compensate for any deficiencies or imbalances in a person’s original “destiny” ming 命.

Now, if it is possible to compensate for the negative or undesirable aspects of the ming 命 under which one is born, then yes, free will is possible.