"The fault is in ourselves, not in our stars"

There are still many people today who rely on horoscopes, 'fengsui,'' and tarot cards and leave their fates and destinies to the determination by fortune tellers and card readers. Many of them are devout Catholics or even born again Christians who are sternly warned by their pastors and priests to trust only the Lord, and not to have false gods before Him. There are many Filipinos who celebrate our fiestas and enjoy festivals which are all manifestations of pagan rituals and worships of the anitos. And then, when we experience bad luck, we blame our stars. Well, William Shakespeare already warned us in one of his masterpieces: "The fault, my dear Brutus, is in ourselves, not in our stars, that we are underlings."

I remember that when I was about to take the Bar, an old uncle brought me to a ''manghuhula'' in Quiapo and paid an old woman to foretell whether I would pass. After shuffling her tattered tarot cards, she told us without batting an eyelash, that she is sorry, I could not make it. Because of that devastating prediction, I suffered many sleepless nights, not because I was demoralized. It challenged me limitlessly. And so, when the Bar examination results were released, and I made it with a rating of 84.93 %, the first place I went to was the Quiapo Church, of course, to offer a prayer of thanksgiving. And to visit the old lady. I gently reminded her and she said that it was my fault that I did not give her the complete details of my birth. But she gave me a free prediction of who would become my wife.

Today, I heard that same woman predicting who will be the next President of the Republic and I shudder at her prediction. I also heard her prediction on who shall win the next elections for city mayor of Cebu, Manila, Davao, and for my towns of Ronda, Argao, and Dumanjug. And I chuckle at her attempts. What I cannot understand is how this woman could say the exact names of the politicians in such far-away towns and cities. I do this every time I hear mass in Quiapo, not really to seriously believe the predictions but just for the fun of it all, and for my single purpose of proving her wrong. In fairness to this diminutive septuagenarian, she exactly predicted who would become my wife and how many children would I have.

What I somehow like about this woman is that she does not only predict. She also gives practical advice. I heard her admonition to a bus driver. She said: Instead of consulting your cards, you should make sure that your bus is in perfect condition, and that you are in perfect health. And do not drive while you are under the influence of liquor, or proceed on a long trip when the weather is very bad, or when you have had no sleep. There is no tarot card that can prevent an accident if you yourself are careless and impulsive. She told of a story about a taxi driver who was robbed and murdered because she had the habit of picking up passengers from bars late in the night. She was only saying that people often bring the misfortune upon themselves by their own recklessness and lack of caution.

I remember a brother and a sister from Cebu who took the Bar exams together. The sister was a Cum Laude and consistent academic scholar. She was very religious and went to Quiapo Church every day to plead for God's mercy. The brother did not even hear mass at all. He just prayed and read his books every day, even for 16 hours daily. He barely passed all his subjects in law school. But he focused and never blinked. Surprisingly, he even made it to the Top Ten. The sister flunked and became so distraught that she decided never to take the Bar again. The brother is now an RTC judge. The Sister is a court interpreter, still nursing her wounds of disillusionment. The fault, my dear, Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. That we are underlings.

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