In many religions of the ancient world, fate and destiny had such a central role that there were deities specifically identified with those aspects. In the religion of
, fate was embodied by three goddesses known as Moirai, who in
became known as the Parcae, and in English simply as the Fates. These three sisters - named Lachesis, Clotho and Atropos - were in charge of spinning, measuring and cutting the thread of the life of each human being. A similar trio of goddesses, the Norns, existed in the ancient
. Their names were Uršr, Veršandi and Skuld; Uršr is the ancestor of the English word "weird".
The advent of
seemed to do away with the notion of fate ruling human life, introducing the theological concept of free will along that of divine providence . However, while
emphasizes the human ability to choose between right and wrong, some
denominations strongly believe in predestination as regards the fate of the soul after death. In particular, the
doctrine of unconditional election maintains that some individuals are predestined for salvation, and others for eternal damnation.
Moving on to the other major
religions, in most currents of
the concept of an inevitable fate is rejected in favour of the exercise of free choice. On the other hand, "qadar" (often translated as "divine decree") is one of the six Articles of Faith of
. This key concept, however, does not relieve human beings of responsibility for their actions. In the ancient religion of
, still practiced in parts of Asia and some Western countries, fate ("bakt") is seen as a path laid out for each human being by the supreme deity, Ahura Mazda: it is up to every person to choose, reject or alter it of their own free will.
shares the belief in karma with other religions that have their origins in the
. In the West, this concept is often mistakenly regarded as an equivalent of fate or destiny, though it is rather based on a relationship of cause and effect. In
, which encompasses a wide range of practices gleaned from the many belief systems of that vast country, a number of concepts of fate can be found - namely "bao ying" (cosmic and moral reciprocity), "ming yun" (personal destiny), and "yuanfen" (fateful coincidence). "Wu wei", the core ethical concept of
- often translated as "inaction" - can be interpreted as the ultimate surrender to fate, avoiding any action that may disrupt the natural order of things.
