Starting back in 1986, every few years the various astrological organizations come together to produce the massive tribal gathering called UAC (say: YOU-Ack) – the United Astrology Conference. This year, it will be happening in Chicago from September 3-9 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown. I’ll be there, showing the flag for our branch on astrology’s tree. So will our Dean, Catie Cadge – she’ll be commanding an FCEA table at the huge Trade Show, sharing it with our very own Lisa Jones, who’ll be there promoting her wonderful astrological odysseys to Greece. 

If you want more details or think that you might want to attend the conference, the website is uacastrology.com.

I’ve spoken at every UAC except for the first one in 1986, which was held in San Diego, California. My second book had actually just come out around then, but I still wasn’t a known quantity in the world of astrology, so I wasn’t invited to present any talks. In fact, I don’t think I even knew the event was happening. Back then, I was deep into astrology, but I knew zip about the organizations and actually cared less – I believe at that point in my life, I hadn’t even met another professional astrologer.

By the time the second UAC rolled around in New Orleans in 1989, I’d made a bit of a splash in the community and so I was invited to speak. That’s when I actually began to meet some other figures in the profession. Amazingly, while there I also met my future partner, Michelle Kondos. Much to my embarrassment (and her amusement) I don’t remember anything about it. She apparently approached me and asked me for a reading, but as the fates would have it I was already booked up. Another Jupiter-cycle passed before we actually met in a way that I remember – and yet another cycle before we became a couple.

Since then, UACs have rolled by like milestones on a long highway – Washington D.C. in 1992, Monterey, California in 1995, 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia, then 2002 in Orlando, Florida. Six years passed as various political alliances formed and collapsed, then there was UAC #7 which happened in Denver, Colorado in 2008. In 2012, UAC returned to New Orleans. 2018 brought it to Chicago, and now, after an eight-year pause, we are heading back to Chicago for a second time. 

I’ll admit it – I have mixed feelings about these events, mostly because they are exhausting for me. I sort of both look forward to them and dread them too. Being in the spotlight for five or six days is overwhelming. Because of my work, I’ve gotten to be at least casual friends with several famous people. I’ve learned not to envy them, at least not in any simple way. It’s often stressful for them to stick their noses outside their own homes for fear of being mobbed. Thankfully, I am nowhere near that well-known. Only rarely have I been “recognized” in public – except at astrology conferences. At those events, I can’t take two steps without signing a book, someone asking for a selfie, or me having to listen to somebody’s windy theories about quincunxes versus sesquiquadrates. 

Still, there is something glorious about being in a vibrant crowd of three or four thousand mostly highly intelligent people, all of whom understand the power of astrology – and at least some of whom seem sincere in wanting to thank me for my life’s work. I sincerely appreciate that blessing! It’s good to be appreciated and I am grateful for it.

Bottom line, if you’re there in Chicago in September, if you can’t find me in the lobby or at one of my talks, I am probably hiding under my bed in my hotel room trying to catch my breath. But don’t worry – I’ll emerge soon.

MY TALKS

In case you’re interested, at this upcoming UAC I will be presenting two short talks, plus one longer “post-con” workshop. I’ll also be presenting the Regulus Award for Education at the big banquet – I won it last time, and tradition dictates that the previous winner presents it to the next one.

On Friday, September 4th, I’ll offer a talk called The Ascendant and the Journey Of A Thousand Miles.  Here’s a description of it:

When a planet hits the Ascendant, you’re at a crossroads.The trouble is that you don’t really know what you are doing. Maybe you move to a new city. Maybe you get married. How can you really know what lies ahead? Making your first step the right one requires boldness, faith, and intuition. Your wisest move? Make an ally of the planet that’s triggering this new beginning – Neptune has different plans for you than Mars or Jupiter! 

On Sunday, the 6th, I’ll do one about the cycle of the planet Uranus as it relates to the human lifetime. 

With its 84 year orbit, Uranus mirrors the human lifespan. At age 21, roughly a quarter of the way around: leaving home. At 42, halfway: welcome to midlife, At around age 63 we enter elderhood. Each turning point presents minefields and opportunities. The stakes are high too – every really cool old person you’ve ever met got each step right. Ditto, only backwards, for the tedious old folks you want to avoid. 

Finally, on Wednesday, September 9th, I’ll present a longer program entitled, The Skillful Synthesis of Planets, Signs, and Houses. Here’s what to expect there:

We can talk theoretically all day long about Mercury or Venus, but they only take on living human meaning in the context of their signs and houses. The heart of the craft of astrology lies in blending these three levels of astrological symbolism. A 3rd house Venus in Libra is a different beast entirely than a 12th house Venus in Aries. Join Steven Forrest for a step-by-step analysis of this critical integrative process.

WHY ATTEND?

All of the UACs are like a living, breathing Who’s Who in the world of astrology. They provide an unparalleled opportunity to learn directly from various teachers who’ve made their mark in all of astrology’s multifarious traditions. For someone just getting started, I can’t think of a better way to get a taste of the whole spectrum of astrological practice in order to help you decide which one feels right for you personally.

If you’re already more settled in your approach, you’ll have a chance to take your learning to the next level by studying with the best teachers in your particular branch of the field. Of course you can also do that by reading books or watching teachers on YouTube. Still, there is something magical about the “direct transmission” you get in a live setting. I don’t fully understand why that is true, but it has always been vividly real for me.

Last but far from least, you can count on having a lot of mind-blowing random conversations with other attendees. You’ll meet people who are as passionate as you are about this craft we practice. Many would be fully capable of presenting lectures of their own, but their lives have just gone down different roads so they don’t check the “famous” box quite as clearly as some of the more popular speakers. That certainly doesn’t mean that they have nothing to say or teach . . . in fact, come to think of it, we could probably say the same thing about you as a student in the FCEA! There might be someone at UAC whose life you are going to touch with a word or two based on your own learning and experience.

If you feel moved to attend, UAC could open some doors inside of you that you didn’t even know you had.

See you there? See how you feel.