One Step Back to Go Forward
Dean’s Update, January 2023
One Step Back to Go Forward — Plus a Peek at the Master-Level Practicum
Welcome to the 2023 FCEA school year! We are off to a great start with several new classes opening this week and next. We have a brand-new cohort of 101B students embarking on their studies of evolutionary astrology and the Steven Forrest method. Please greet them if you meet them on our calls and welcome them on board!
As Steven celebrated his 74th solar return last week, we took stock of the year past and then the year ahead at the FCEA. I would like to share some good news of what is in the works. But remember, with Mercury and Mars in retrograde motion for much of January, we have been reworking and reconfiguring some of our curricular goals without any set formulations just yet…
But fasten your seatbelts because we have a great year ahead!
I think most students and members know I am a Capricorn, like Steven, and part of my stellium in the sign of the sea goat falls in the 11th house. I often think of Steven’s 11th house mantra, “Be there then” and 2023 is no different. While Mercury, the planet of perception and ideas, was appearing to move backward in the sky in Capricorn, I found myself reflecting upon the strength of the sign to piece together a strategy, to work methodically in climbing the proverbial mountain. I love to take in the slow evolutionary progress we make as a collective, not just at the FCEA, and to watch the big picture unfold. Let me give a quick example of what I mean.
Over the years, I have seen how common notions about astrology have changed. Just recall the many social media posts about Mercury retrograde in years past, showing us some kind of inevitable fall into miscommunication and mayhem. I even remember not long ago a popular Facebook meme of a poor soul wrapped tightly from head-to-toe in a large, cumbersome pink sweater suit geared to protect her from the perils of Mercury moving backward! I think the great astronomer and astrologer Johannes Kepler, also a Capricorn, who first accurately explained retrograde motion, would be rolling over in his grave.
But the Capricorn strides we all make to reveal a more life-affirming evolutionary perspective of Mercury (and Mars) retrograde have paid off.
Notice how we see much less defeatist, fatalistic rhetoric on the social media “airwaves” now and much more positive takes on astrological transits in support of personal growth, choice and change. I even read an essay recently sharing Vedic insights into the current celestial moment, and was shocked to read in essence an evolutionary spin on Mercury retrograde! In general, Vedic or Indian astrology is about fate and prediction, but even this type of astrology is subtly changing. Our work is paying off. I personally see all of us in the FCEA community as part of this revolution in consciousness, in bringing evolutionary practice of our sacred craft to the front and center of the collective’s notion of what astrology is and can be.
So how about the year ahead at the FCEA? Most exciting is Steven stepping in to work closely with our advanced students in preparation of their master certification. We are working on the development of our Craftsperson program to include a course, FCEA 306, Chart Reading Practicum, opening in September. Steven and I discussed co-teaching a seminar-like class on Zoom where students actively work with the master fine-tuning and sharing chart insights to best hone their skills.
