Dean’s Update, September 2023

Meet Our Four New Tutors

Greetings, FCEA family! I write to you on equinox, the start of our fall season here in California. The Sun’s ingress into Libra sets the stage for us to work closely one on one and help each other calm down and find peace in learning our sacred craft. The south node in Libra and north node in Aries ask us to move beyond superficial pleasantries and have the courage to take the initiative in forging our path. In this spirit of both collaboration and stepping into new frontiers in bold Aries fashion, I am thrilled to announce that we have hired four new outstanding tutors to join our growing FCEA team. We welcome Fern Vuchinich, Lisa Jones, Harry Farmer and Vernon Robinson. They began serving as tutors at the end of June. This month, they officially come on board, so expect to see them in several classes this fall and in 2024.

Dean’s Update, August 2023

Late Summer Transits of Transition

We are on the threshold of our first FCEA “summer” break. I hope everyone enjoys a little rest and relaxation before classes resume in September. I put the word, summer, in quotes, because, of course, we have FCEA students and members all around the world and, for some down in the southern hemisphere, I wish them a joy-filled winter recess.

Here in my home in California, it feels as if summer has zoomed by in a wink of an eye. Busy transitions are in place at our growing school. Let me welcome our many new members and students! I look forward to the new cohort of students joining our 100-level guided program beginning September 20th. There’s still room if you find yourself, or perhaps a friend, eager now to learn our sacred craft. But I have other news to share as well, some sad, some more like a Saturn time in feel, other announcements align more with Jupiter. Let’s start with Saturn challenges first.

One of the hardest tasks I find I face as FCEA Dean is keeping our tutors happy, motivated and eager to share their wisdom. But we all know Saturn can bring endings and a process of maturation involving difficult effort for a soul (Or in this case, our school. I am thinking of Saturn’s transit in the FCEA’s 10th house, moving retrograde now). Saturn’s call to task was evident in my summertime work to train and guide seven new tutor trainees. I will provide a formal introduction to our new tutors in September, when the hiring process is confirmed. I am thrilled to be working with this new talented group! But as one could expect, there have been some ups and downs and a learning curve for everyone, especially in light of the distinctive tutoring environment of Moodle, our learning platform. I’m including this Saturnian roller coaster of roadblocks and challenges, because I want to thank FCEA students and staff for your patience and love you have shown our new trainees. All are top-notch evolutionary astrologers; it just takes some hurdles to get the nuts and bolts of working in our classes down.

On another Saturn note, we say goodbye to our tutor and teacher, Marie O’Neill. Marie is stepping into new endeavors and taking her flourishing career as an astrologer and writer in fresh directions. We want to wish her all the best in her soul’s journey! And, of course, we support her in any way we can. Marie has been an outstanding staff member of the FCEA. We are so grateful for her constant care and dedication she always showed her students. Marie’s astrological wisdom and insight has been a great gift of service, especially in her tutor role in our advanced, 300-level classes. Marie was a “founding tutor” at the school; one of three who made the plunge with us when we first opened our doors. Her wise guidance and initial contributions to building the school played a critical role in making the FCEA happen. I am personally so grateful for her love and support over the last three years. I will miss her greatly.

Dean’s Update, July 2023

Our Community Is Our Family

Greetings, FCEA family! August is around the corner and Venus is slowing down and about to turn retrograde. The obvious message we might glean from this introspective Venusian time is a reevaluation of our closest partnerships. Are we fully cherished for the gifts of love we bring to the table? Or do we strive too much to be seen or go overboard in our need for applause and approval? There are many ways to contemplate Venus’s backward dance through Leo. But one way we might consider this transit as FCEA students and staff is the all-important role we play as counselors, always in that delicate dance of Venusian rapport we develop with our clients. How can we best creatively express a generous Leo heart, letting our soul shine as “leader,” in the counseling room as we work one-on-one with our clients in Venusian fashion?

As we all know, in evolutionary astrology, we use the perceived backward motion of retrograde planets to reassess or reconsider how we work with the planetary archetypes. What Venusian questions of a Leo-like nature do we ask of ourselves now? Of course, in order to make the strongest response to Venus’s placement at the moment, we look to the planet’s placement in the natal chart. Moving through the 6th house of my own chart, I ask myself how can I reconcile the need to be of service, both as “mentor” and as “mentee” (I am Steven’s apprentice myself) and step into the leadership role I find myself playing as Dean. How can I revel in the joy and playfulness of Leo in all the dimensions of my 6th house? 

Dean’s Update, June 2023

Our Evolving FCEA Curriculum

Greetings, FCEA community! During the long days of June, I have been working with Steven to put the final touches on a new course we are opening mid-month. FCEA 305: Chiron and Eris is the last 300-level class prior to the masters-level practicum. I have to admit it is a bittersweet moment for me as FCEA Dean. I have enjoyed working alongside Steven, slowly writing our curriculum, one course at a time. We started back in 2019, continued through the pandemic and then kept going, even as the FCEA was growing as a new school. It has been such an enriching experience for me.

There is something about the learning that takes place when writing class content that is hard to replace as a method for polishing one’s own skills as an astrologer. Now that most of the classes are written and the school is flourishing, I can look back and take stock of what we have created. I sincerely hope it provides a good, solid education in evolutionary astrology. We tried our best and I think we succeeded!

My ever-curious and inquisitive Gemini Moon recognizes the FCEA curricular projects may never quite end. Curriculum development is always on-going and certainly other topics will surface. But at least the main foundation of the FCEA masters program is now in place.

We end the 300-level in-depth focused study of the planets with little comet-like Chiron and mysterious, slow-moving Eris, just barely a newborn in our expanding concept of our solar system.

 Why cover Chiron, the wounded healer, in the FCEA program, when so many asteroids compete for our attention? Steven argues Chiron’s popularity might be partly a product of current trends, but the little rock in the sky does seem to carry a punch. Personally, I feel we are always creating and expanding our astrological language, simply through our usage of the archetypes that then become part of our shared collective consciousness. We will them into being through our creative minds and hearts. Either way you look at it, Chiron is definitely a valid player and worthy of addition to our astrological toolboxes. 

Why not add Chariklo, the wife of Chiron in Greek mythology and a planetary object larger than Chiron? Many astrologers do add Chariklo to chart analysis. Nothing wrong with that. But we decided to focus upon what Steven’s experience merits our attention and study. And Steven and I wish our students all the best in doing their own investigations and research into what astrological frontiers lay ahead.

Dean’s Update, May 2023

New “Z” Courses — How We’re Bolstering Calm Amidst EA’s Complexity

A cheerful, chatty welcome to everyone this Gemini season! I’ve got some good news to share about a new course offering at the FCEA. But first, just a reminder. We are starting our official process of choosing scholarship recipients this summer. We have a limited number of awards. Competition will be steep, but we encourage all interested to apply. Jupiter is in Taurus now and maybe the planet is calling out to you to take a chance and submit an application. Trust your instincts! We will do our best to be fair and supportive. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please check our website under the Learn tab at the top of the main page and see the posted descriptions and instructions. The window for application submissions is June 15th through July 15th every year.

Moving on to the main topic I wish to focus upon, let’s think about Jupiter now in Taurus as a chance to calm down and find peace with the complexities of learning the many-faceted tool box of evolutionary astrology. I have a new class to introduce to hopefully help with this Taurean process!

First, a little history to explain how the class came about.

Last year, we started offering a basic level course in the fundamentals – the A, B, Cs – of our sacred craft. 101-Z was developed as a simple, live discussion class, entirely on Zoom, where students could ask questions and review any trouble spots in learning the very basic vocabulary of the birthchart. The beauty of 101-Z is class size is small, making the discussion about the material less intimidating and more personal. No exams, writing assignments nor forums. Just a chance to relax (think Jupiter in Taurus again!) and simply “be” with the primary parts of reading a chart. So far, the class has been a success! 101-Z is up and running several times a year and is available to any student currently enrolled at the 100-level. Now we hope to expand upon this curricular model with a brand new 201-Z.

Dean’s Update, April 2023

Scholarship Opportunities

April is a busy month at the FCEA. We have six classes in operation at three levels of instruction!  A special congratulations to those students who recently graduated from the apprentice level last month and our advanced craftspeople who have now embarked on the 300-level. Way to go! I also wish to give a shout out to the 101B grads who are now starting 102B. We are so impressed by everyone’s growing skill set and devotion to study, along with the spirit of community you all bring to the school. We are so grateful!

I have some long-awaited news to share about our scholarship opportunities this year. We have been receiving questions about financial aid practically since the first day the FCEA has opened. It has been tough for Steven, myself and our staff because so many are in need and we, of course, wish to help. The problem is the school’s limited resources. We are just now gradually moving ahead with our very first scholarship application process to try to alleviate even just a small fraction of this hardship experienced by so many. Thank you for your patience!

Here is the scoop:

• There will be a scholarship application and selection process.

• Full instructions will be posted under the “Learn” tab on the FCEA website by late May.

• We will be offering a limited number of scholarships providing the awarded students a full tuition waiver from the time of the award until masters certification, as long as they are actively enrolled at the FCEA.

• All students are eligible to apply.

• Scholarship rewards are not retroactive and only apply to coursework not yet attempted by the student.

• Scholarships require the student to successfully pass their coursework in each class. 

There are two types of scholarships at the FCEA: a needs-based award in response to a student’s financial hardship and a diversity scholarship intended to support students from historically marginalized and/or oppressed communities worldwide. Let me share the descriptions:

The FCEA NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIP:

The FCEA recognizes that in order to create the best in an astrological education, a student body must be inclusive of those with limited resources or financial support. This full scholarship will be awarded to the person whom our scholarship committee deems to be the most promising aspiring student who is in need of financial assistance in covering tuition at the FCEA.

The FCEA DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP:

The FCEA is committed to promoting diversity in our student body in terms of race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender preference and the inclusion of other underrepresented groups in education and in the professional field of astrology. The scholarship committee seeks to award candidates with a full scholarship who contribute to a diverse student body and who help build a more inclusive learning experience at the FCEA.

The number of students chosen will depend upon the school’s growth and financial position at the time of application. Students will be chosen once a year by our Scholarship Selection Committee by August 1st. June 15 to July 15 is the date window for submitting an application. Again, please refer to our website for complete application directions in late May.

Dean’s Update, March 2023

Our Study Group Survey Results Are In!

Blessings on the March equinox, FCEA community! Vernal equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere starts a new cycle of life, new beginnings. Astrologers call the day of the Sun’s entrance into Aries “International Astrology Day.” Can you think of a better New Year for all of us to share!?

Claim some Aries fire and initiative, and have courage in yourself and your direction, and your flower will open, as Steven likes to tell us. Well, some of the Aries spark for the FCEA involves planting new seeds and working our soil with new goals and aspirations. The equinox on March 20th occurs at 2:24 pm Pacific time at 00°0’ Aries in the school’s 11th house, conjunct Chiron, in the FCEA birthchart. Welcome to spring! And to our Southern Hemisphere students, love to you in the new season.

Reassessing the format and future of the FCEA study group calls is one seed we hope to plant in the weeks ahead. We are so grateful for the student feedback we received from you through our recent survey. The results are so helpful as we strive to improve our current Zoom calls and also discuss and consider options for change. Thank YOU for your participation and sharing your thoughts! I also want to thank our tutor, Patty Morris-Stebbins, and our registrar, Penelope Love, for creating and implementing the Study Group call survey. Great job, Patty and Penelope!

I’d like to share with you a summary of the survey results. Students who responded were roughly split between the apprentice, 100-level, and the craftsperson, 200-level, groups. Let’s start with what seems to be working for students: length of the calls, Tuesday as a meetup day and the time of day we currently schedule all received the most positive feedback in comparison to other dates and time options.

In addition, students were asked about whether they preferred the current format for our study group calls and by far the majority liked the set up as it is. Only 16.7% commented that they did not like the current format. So, this is good news!

Most students prefer chart interpretation in small groups (breakout rooms) and a brief tutor-led Q and A when call participants reconvene or within the breakout room itself. This again reinforces that the current study groups are working well, given this is the structure we now have in place. Most pleasing for me to read was how so many students appreciate the sense of community the study group calls provide and the connections they make with their peers.

The area students express a need for improvement is having a tutor consistently in the breakout rooms. Unfortunately, we have limited staff to work these calls. And though we strive to have some tutor availability as much as possible in each room, we are not able to accommodate students this way in the current structure. Read on and you will see our suggestion for change.

Dean’s Update, February 2023

We’re Growing Through Changes at the FCEA

Current Students — Please Take the Study Group Call Survey (See details below)

February greetings to our FCEA community! It is a bright, clear Valentine’s Day morning here in Santa Cruz, California, and, of course, in the spirit of the day, I have relationships on my mind. On a recent FCEA Member Q&A call, Steven mentioned how having the sign Virgo on the cusp of the 7th house gives a soul ample opportunity to critically work on herself through interactions with others. Yup, well, that’s me. I have Pluto on my Virgo descendant. And the FCEA is providing plenty of chances to learn and grow for me through the good, bad and ugly (well, let’s say challenging) sides of so many souls. Let me give this a positive spin and explain some of the relationship dynamics and changes we are going through as a school.

First, some news about our tutors and tutorial assistants. The FCEA is blessed to have a great group of highly talented and loving staff! As I write, transiting Mercury is conjunct our 9th house Venus in Aquarius in the FCEA birthchart. We have been so fortunate to have not only master evolutionary astrologers as teachers and mentors, but also folks with open Aquarian minds and a willingness to embrace the online learning experience of the FCEA curriculum. We could not do any of our courses without them! We are so grateful.

With a heavy heart, I start by mentioning one of our very best tutors, Joey Paynter, is leaving us at the beginning of March. Joey has been instrumental in helping us get the FCEA up and running. She was with us from the very day our doors opened. Joey’s insights and feedback played a key role in helping us establish the student and tutor relationship via online learning the very heart of what we do at the FCEA. So supportive and always loving, Joey gave us a penetrating and passionate Scorpionic lens into how to make the FCEA tick and grow as a school. But we realize our tutors have busy lives and growing astrological practices of their own, and the time has come for Joey to leave us. We are forever thankful for all the hard work Joey has done for us and, most importantly, all the care and commitment she showed our students. Joey, you will be sorely missed. We wish you many blessings in all you do, Joey!

On a hopeful note, we recruited two new work study students, Linda Walker and Andre Arellano, to our team. Linda is one of our students from our very first cohort and has been studying with us since 2021. A fine astrologer, Linda has the gift of the storyteller, a true evolutionary bard, in the style of Steven Forrest. Linda will be helping to oversee tutor involvement in all our courses, making sure discussions get properly posted and that weekly interaction between tutor and student occurs. Andre, a student also at the advanced level, brings to the table a number of tech-related skills as well as being a gifted evolutionary astrologer. We look forward to working with Andre to grow our social media presence and to help develop a social platform for student engagement. Welcome Linda and Andre!

Another area of growth and change, in terms of how we relate to each other, learn and teach evolutionary astrology and the Steven Forrest method, has been our study group calls. With Saturn by transit in Aquarius in the school’s 10th house and the transiting Sun conjunct as a trigger this week, we are working on improving the format of these weekly Zoom calls. We hear your feedback! We are also sending out a survey soon to gather ideas on improving this part of the FCEA experience to make it more user-friendly and supportive.

However, a little history of the study group calls might be instructive. When we developed the FCEA curriculum, we never intended to have live Zoom instruction on a weekly basis. We designed the school to be asynchronous, the teaching and learning occurring online in written discussion forums and assignments. There are a number of advantages to this format:

• • Students and tutors can post anytime their schedules allow, providing a flexibility needed by so many in our learning community

  • Proactive learning by the student – students must think and be engaged in the material rather than a passive Zoom experience led primarily by a tutor

  • A cost structure that allows us to keep tuition low

In our initial year of instruction, we wanted to add social Zoom calls for students to share ideas and to grow community. These calls were never intended to replace online written instruction nor to be lectures by our tutors. We consider them study group calls for student interaction. Master teaching occurs once a month via Zoom with Steven. This is a Zoom classroom, not the study group calls each week.

We look forward to the results of the FCEA Study Group Feedback Survey we are currently conducting, however we are considering replacing the study group calls altogether with an online student social platform. To take the survey: Log in to your FCEA account and find it under Community > Home.

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. 

Dean’s Update, December 2022

Yuletide blessings, everyone! Happy Solstice to all. December is a month when I so often reflect upon the friendships in my life and the joy of family and loved ones. For this holiday newsletter, I want to comment upon the sign Capricorn in light of the FCEA family and our development as a school. I will share with you some of our community’s insights on a remarkable bi-wheel chart, natal chart of author Charles Dickens, and the date of his publication of A Christmas Carol.

As many readers know, we use “mystery charts” during our Study Group calls with our students, tutors, and tutorial assistants.  It is often a lively Zoom affair and the highlight of my week when I am able to attend. We all join in the analysis of the chosen charts of the day, getting to know how each of us think as evolutionary astrologers. The magic of our collective intuition works to build a fun conversation, a chance to get to know each other as colleagues and friends. 

A few weeks ago, in the spirit of the holiday season, I shared with our Study Group the bi-wheel chart you see below. It shows the transits (in the outer wheel), set for noon, on the day of publication of Charles Dickens’ most famous holiday story. Immediately students started seeing the obvious meetups of Mercury, ruler of his north node, and Saturn in an interesting exchange between the birthchart and the transits of December 19th, 1843. Touching both the 4th and the 5th houses, the solitary creative time of writing for Dickens was coming to a head as the “great work” of Capricorn, as Steven would tell us, of his lifetime. Dickens wrote many classics, of course, but A Christmas Carol has had an enduring impact upon our collective understanding of the true meaning of the season. Goodwill, love, and a shared compassion for all. One of our students noted how Dickens’ natal Aquarius 5th house Sun had progressed into Pisces and was “rising” into the 7th house in this fateful year, while transiting Neptune, in turn, formed a conjunction with Dickens’ natal Sun. 

The highlight of working together on our Zoom Study Group call was to hear everyone discuss Charles Dickens’ 10th house Jupiter in Gemini. We all saw the potential his voice held for reaching and changing the hearts of many. I have to admit why I loved this part of our class analysis. You see the students so clearly applied an evolutionary perspective.