Competency Program
COMPETENCY a.k.a. “Placing Out of Basic Courses”
Is the FCEA “Competency Track” for You?
By Steven Forrest
The Forrest Center for Evolutionary Astrology is a step-by-step “Kindergarten through PhD” training program, aimed at turning intelligent, motivated beginners into professional “Steven Forrest Method” astrologers. The trouble is that many of you are not beginners. A large number of you have attended my classes or studied astrology diligently through my books and other media. We respect the work you have done. The FCEA provides a path for you to place out of the more basic programs.
At each stage of the program, there are exercises and exams. Students enroll in the 100-series, in the self-directed or guided program, aiming ultimately for certification, complete the exercises and take the exams as many times as they want. A big part of the 100-series exam is a chance to engage in an actual chart interpretation, which our team of Forrest-trained tutors evaluates. If a student were to fail the exams, he or she could learn from those errors, and take it again (and again) until he, she, or they passed. In other words, in the FCEA, exams are more about teaching than about judging or shaming anyone.
“Dare to be competent. Competency is what makes everyone remain at peace when things are being handled by you. Watch yourself if everyone feels uncomfortable just because it’s you doing it.”
Say that you already consider yourself to be an intermediate or advanced astrologer. You are very probably right about that – but we do ask you to prove it by doing the exercises and taking the same exams, including your ability to interpret a chart. Pass them, and you will have demonstrated your competency. Were you to fail, that suggests that there are gaps in your foundational knowledge. Then we would invite you to enroll in the course at that level to “fill in the blanks” and sharpen your skills. Once again, our aim is teaching, not judging – but in this case we would hold a mirror before the actual state of your competency.
Administering the competency courses takes some person-power. That is especially true of evaluating your chart interpretation skills. This means there will be a fee involved. Also, critically, unlike a normally-enrolled student, you only get one shot at the competency exams.
Over the past couple of decades, something like 2000 people have attended my Apprenticeship Programs. Many have gone on to become professional evolutionary astrologers, serving their communities. I am really proud of that. Some, unfortunately, even ones who hold certificates, have not done their homework. That has always been the main weakness in the AP – a certificate only proves attendance, not that a person has actually mastered the material, in particular the Steven Forrest Method. On several occasions, this has put me in a painful ethical bind. With my Level one and Level Two certificates, I have essentially endorsed the work of a few people who have not made the necessary effort to become truly competent craftspeople. Their disgruntled clients have sometimes sent me angry emails. All I could do was apologize. Mea culpa.
That is the issue we are addressing with the FCEA’s Competency policy. Our school is more structured and rigorous than the previous Apprenticeship Programs. Again, we are committed to respecting the work you have already done. From wherever you join the program, we will hold your hand all the way through the next steps toward Mastery. But anyone who attains the highest level of FCEA certification is guaranteed actually to have the knowledge and be a master of the craft, just as if he or she had earned a degree from a respected university. As the school develops, we will also be empowering people as teachers of the Steven Forrest Method, and of course the existing programs will involve FCEA-certified tutors whom we have trained even more rigorously.
Thanks for your understanding. We are trying to cobble together a bridge between my previous teaching and the new world of the FCEA. Our competency courses might seem a bit on the bureaucratic side, but they are the fairest solution we could find.
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FCEA-101C
FCEA-101C
Astrology Basics Competency
This course is self-paced, designed for students who already understand the basic vocabulary of evolutionary astrology. This understanding can be from studying previously with Steven or another evolutionary program.
It is based on Steven’s book The Inner Sky.
Students must understand the concepts including:
- Planets, signs and houses
- Aspects and rulership
- Archetypes
Students demonstrate their competency by completing the exercises and passing the exam from The Inner Sky – Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology (FCEA-101) course. Exercises can be repeated, the exam must be passed on the first attempt. Failure to pass will required completion of the associated FCEA course.
FCEA-101
FCEA-101
The Inner Sky – Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology
This course can be taken self-paced or guided when taken in conjunction with the lab (FCEA-101B). It provides an introduction to the basics of evolutionary astrology. You will learn the core language and key concepts as described in the required course textbook, The Inner Sky. It will contain a mixture of brief videos and narrative teaching components, as well as tests to gauge your familiarity with and/or grasp of the material covered. You will learn the concepts of planets, signs, houses and aspects. The course will expose you to the symbols used to represent these concepts and how to interpret them in the context of a person’s birthchart. As your proficiency increases, you’ll assemble these into sentences, paragraphs and ultimately a story about the individual whose chart you are interpreting.
“The Sky Speaks…Learn How to Listen“
The focus in FCEA 101 is developing a fundamental understanding of a person’s psychological nature as reflected in the birthchart. Next in FCEA 102, you will learn how to add the metaphysical, reincarnational perspectives which make evolutionary astrology different from other forms of astrology. That will be achieved by adding two more symbols to your vocabulary, the north and south nodes of the Moon.The final course in the 100 series is FCEA 103, a practicum where you will be doing actual chart interpretations.
The course materials are organized into cohesive modules. Each module may contain reading assignments, videos, PDF handouts and self-directed exercises. The course will complete with the assignment of a final exam. Completion of the self-directed exercises and passing the final exam is required for anyone seeking certification.
Books are not included.
Required Textbook:
- The Inner Sky
Book by Steven Forrest, available through Seven Paws Press.
Supplemental Textbooks:
These texts are recommended, especially for anyone pursuing astrology as a career. They are excellent reference books and provide deeper understanding of the astrological concepts and symbols.
- The Book of Fire
- The Book of Earth
- The Book of Air
- The Book of Water
All books by Steven Forrest, available through Seven Paws Press.
Recommended Reading:
- The Night Speaks: How Astrology Works
Book by Steven Forrest, available through Seven Paws Press.
FCEA-102C
FCEA-102C
Nodal Analysis Competency
This course is self-paced, designed for students who already understand nodal analysis using the Steven Forrest Method. This understanding can be from studying previously with Steven or another evolutionary program.
It is based on Steven’s book Yesterday’s Sky.
Students must understand the concepts including:
- North and South Node of the Moon
- Nodal Analysis
Students demonstrate their competency by completing the exercises and passing the exam from Yesterday’s Sky – Lunar Nodes, Astrology and Reincarnation (FCEA-102) course. Exercises can be repeated, the exam must be passed on the first attempt. Failure to pass will required completion of the associated FCEA course.
FCEA-102B
FCEA-102B
Yesterday’s Sky – Lunar Nodes, Astrology and Reincarnation Lab
The Lab course is taken at the same time as the main course (FCEA-102). It provides a weekly structure, guiding the student through the curriculum. It includes on-line forums where students are engaged by a teacher/tutor, deepening their understanding each weeks material.
Students work together each week using discussions designed to better understand this core material. They will hone their skills in chart analysis by looking at charts together as a group, receiving support from each other through sharing insights and offering encouragement.
Engagement Forum provide a place for the Teacher/Tutor to post a discussion topic. Students respond based on their understanding the weeks materials.
Technical Forum provides a place for students to post questions, getting deeper understanding from their Teacher/Tutor.
FCEA-102
FCEA-102
Yesterday’s Sky – Nodal Analysis, Astrology and Reincarnation
This course can be taken self-paced or guided when taken in conjunction with the lab (FCEA-102B). It will teach the techniques for detecting the fingerprints of unresolved issues from prior lifetimes, as presented in the birthchart. This is “the chart behind the chart.” You will learn how to decode it, and determine the remedy for the dilemmas it represents. This is the heart of evolutionary astrology.
“Understand the Chart Behind the Chart“
In FCEA 101, you learned how to understand a person’s psychological makeup. Here you will learn to see why he or she is that way today, facing challenges and possibilities. As these two perspectives come together, we encounter the full analytical power of this system of human understanding.
You will learn nodal analysis, the Steven Forrest Method, the fundamental methods and techniques needed to add an evolutionary astrological perspective, through the Moon’s north and south nodes. You will learn the basic astronomy used to determine the lunar nodes location. Then applying the techniques already learned, interpreting nodes by sign and house placement, refining this through their planetary rulers, and planetary aspects, you will create a nodal story.
As your understanding deepens, you will develop concepts and practices to better reveal the wounds a person carries in this lifetime. You’ll be able to offer possible roads for addressing them. This is the heart of evolutionary astrological counseling.
The course materials are organized into cohesive modules. Each module may contain reading assignments, videos, PDF handouts and self-directed exercises. The course will complete with the assignment of a final exam. Completion of the self-directed exercises and final exam is required for anyone seeking certification.
Books are not included.
Required Textbook:
- Yesterday’s Sky: Astrology and Reincarnation
Book by Steven Forrest, available through Seven Paws Press.
FCEA-101B
FCEA-101B
The Inner Sky – Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology Lab
The Lab course is taken at the same time as the main course (FCEA-101). It provides a weekly structure, guiding the student through the curriculum. It includes on-line forums where students are engaged by a teacher/tutor, deepening their understanding each weeks material.
Students work together each week using discussions designed to better understand this core material. They will hone their skills in chart analysis by looking at charts together as a group, receiving support from each other through sharing insights and offering encouragement.
Engagement Forum provide a place for the Teacher/Tutor to post a discussion topic. Students respond based on their understanding the weeks materials.
Technical Forum provides a place for students to post questions, getting deeper understanding from their Teacher/Tutor.