Dean’s Update, April 2024

This month, I am happy to announce the FCEA is still growing at a healthy pace. Following the equinox in March, we opened a number of new classes at the school and we are in the process of training and hiring six new tutors in the months ahead. Wow! We have a lot to celebrate. But April began in a reflective mood Mercury turned retrograde in Aries. I have been spending some time turning inward since the month began. I wanted to give some deep thought to where, as Dean, I need courage to lead and take the school into its next chapter of development.

There are so many possibilities. I am looking ahead to Jupiter’s ingress into Gemini when the “king of the gods” crosses the FCEA’s Ascendant. Where do we need fresh perspectives? How might we adapt and be flexible in seeing what opportunities could unfold for our school? We also were in eclipse season with a total solar eclipse in Aries happening April 8th. Steven always stresses the power of a New Moon at such a time. What’s in store for us to initiate in fiery Aries fashion? How can we boldly go where no one has gone before and move deeper into our study of evolutionary astrology? These are questions for all of us to ponder. I hope some of you were fortunate to catch a view of the eclipse, and if you were lucky enough to be close to the eclipse path, that the clouds obeyed!

When I consider our FCEA Gemini rising sign, I am thankful to have such a diverse and talented group of teachers and tutors. Each one brings a unique skill set. All together, we are blessed with a multiplicity of tutor voices and teaching strategies sharing the same methods of our beloved master teacher, Steven Forrest. In this newsletter article, I wish to briefly share with you just a thought, an inner reflection to hold in your heart, during Mercury retrograde now.

The FCEA’s growth always seems to be accompanied with our fair share of adjustments and challenges. We know that sometimes students wrestle with our Moodle platform, stumble through the necessary changes in our scheduling, or express disappointment with the assignment of a particular tutor. I am so grateful to all of you for your patience and commitment, especially when it comes to the slow process of addressing your concerns as best as we can. I also want to thank our phenomenal staff, teachers and tutors for working overtime in getting the work done! Please realize we listen to you when you reach out. Every question and every concern helps to steer our school in a better direction.

So here is what I am asking of you all. On April 20th, we experienced the exact conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus, an event I know many of you had been anticipating for months. For a quick look at Steven’s insights into how to best use the conjunction, have a look at his current website newsletter at forrestastrology.com. I also wrote a longer reflection about the conjunction you can read at caraevolutionaryastrology.com. The coming together of the two planets fell in the FCEA’s 12th house and formed a lovely trine to the school’s Saturn, Pluto and south node conjunction in Capricorn, 9th house. The element of Earth speaks to making something real and grounded about our higher learning and knowledge that builds off a compassionate awakening to what we truly value as a mystical school of wizards. What helps us calm down, be at peace and put in the necessary hours of study? Hard work requires discipline, effort, and, well, constructive criticism too. I hear mostly rave reviews of our tutors from students. Again, I am so thankful for our team! But I also know some are sensitive to the critical comments of a tutor in class. In such times, please remember that in each FCEA course, you will be guided by different tutors, different FCEA voices. So, dear students, members and staff, when a task or an assignment seems too long, a tutor’s comments too harsh, or feedback too demanding, certainly communicate to us your concerns! But let’s also see such moments as one step in a long Capricorn 9th house climb to being the best evolutionary astrologers we can be. Critical insight and correction can be good things!