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Fall into Expansion

Dean’s Update, September 2022

 
Happy Autumnal Equinox everyone! Mabon is the Celtic holiday marking this time of year. Here on the West Coast of the United States, we have been experiencing quite a hot September. We welcome the arrival of fall, the turning of the leaves and the cooler nights under the stars. Mabon is a Welsh god, the son of the Earth Mother, but using it as the title for the Fall Equinox is a new development, the original name of the holiday having been lost. In The Book of the Moon, Steven calls the last quarter lunar phase, “Mabon,” where we experience a sense of longing and recognize the impermanence of our lives. The year seems to be slipping away, but we look back to see we have made steady progress in some positive new directions. We had a number of changes this summer, along with ongoing growth at the FCEA. Let me share some of our great news!
In late August, Steven and I were sitting at the banquet of the ISAR conference in Westminster, Colorado, when they projected onto the screen that the FCEA was nominated as “Most Favorite Astrology School” by ISAR members and attendees.
 
ISAR is the International Society for Astrological Research. What an honor for the FCEA! We were not expecting this recognition at all. What a nice surprise while transiting Uranus and the north node in Taurus formed a lovely trine to Saturn in Capricorn on the 9th house cusp in the school’s birthchart. We were thrilled to be acknowledged by colleagues and the professional astrological community. Congrats FCEA!
In September, we are excited to open FCEA 302, our next advanced course at the Craftsperson level. A deeper dive into the study of the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars in our evolutionary toolbox. We look at the progressed moving Sun, Mercury out of bounds, the Venus pentangle and much more. So many juicy topics! In FCEA 301, we piloted new weekly Zoom sessions at this advanced level of instruction, introducing student presentations as a learning tool. Everyone seems to love this new format. We will continue with live, engaging tutor-led Zoom meetups. Then student presentations will be re-introduced in FCEA 303 after the New Year. Lots to look forward to in 2023 in our expanding curriculum.
We are also piloting a new Zoom lab, 101Z, for students first entering the FCEA, who may need additional basic support in the fundamentals of astrology. We recognize some students come to the FCEA brand new to our complex archetypal language. We want to make sure they are supported. These small sessions will be led by one of our outstanding tutors and limited to five students per session maximum. 101Z is designed to be a place for total newbies of astrology to relax, take it slow and work through the A, B, Cs of how to look at and read a birthchart. Another exciting change!
Our staff at the FCEA is also growing. This summer I trained three new tutors: Ricky Williams, Patty Morris-Stebbins and Aubrey Thorne. I am so thankful for their hard work serving as tutors in our current 102B cohort. Such great work! Please welcome them if you see them on one of our many Zoom calls. This fall we will more formally introduce Ricky, Patty and Aubrey once we move into the hiring process. Look for them as tutors in our upcoming fall courses. I am sad to announce we had one of our beloved tutors, Sarrah Christensen, leave our team. Sarrah has been very helpful in expanding our 100-level course offerings and she will be sorely missed. We wish her all the best in her new creative endeavors. One last final shout out of thanks to ALL our hard working staff, tutors, teachers and, of course, to Steven, our beloved master teacher.
We are all so grateful. Equinox blessings!
 
Catie Cadge, PhD
September 2022