New Year’s Resolutions & Our Saturnian Great Work
Dean’s Update, December 2024
New Year’s Resolutions & Our Saturnian Great Work
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Dean’s Update
Holiday greetings, FCEA community! We hope you are enjoying some relaxing time off from your studies during our school break. We wish you a beautiful solstice and New Year. In the spirit of the yuletide season, I want to share a brief example of the power of the “changing sky” in the evolutionary path of a very special writer, Charles Dickens. Now, bear with me, this will be a Christmas story and I know we have a diverse FCEA community. Try to see this case as simply a great example of planets in Capricorn at work, rather than a particular religious message. It is a timeless story that touches everyone’s heart!
A few years back, during the pandemic, I wrote about the astrology at play in the fall of 1843 when Dickens took the chance to work in solitude, very hard on a writing project, the now-famous novella, “A Christmas Carol”, AKA ‘Scrooge’. It sold out by Christmas Eve that year! Let’s look at the timing of his Capricorn “great work.” With the Sun now in the sign of Capricorn at the end of the year, maybe Dickens’ story can inspire us as we create our 2025 new year’s resolutions.
Here below is a biwheel chart showing Dickens’ natal chart (inner wheel) and the current sky at the time of publication of “A Christmas Carol” (outer wheel – set for noon). I’ve included asteroids for advanced students to consider. We always start with the natal Sun, Moon and Ascendant; Aquarius, Sagittarius and Virgo, respectively, for Mr. Dickens. The revolutionary innovator with the soul of the philosopher wearing the mask of the master craftsman. Mercury, ruler of Dickens’ chart, was in the spotlight in the fall of 1843, along with Saturn and Jupiter, rulers of Aquarius and Sagittarius.

Between October and December of 1843, when Dickens produced “A Christmas Carol,” he threw himself into an intensive writing period of several weeks. Saturn, the great “task master,” was very strong in the sign of Capricorn then. During the 6-week period, the planet formed an exact conjunction with Charles Dickens’ natal Mercury on his 5th House cusp, house of creative expression, Mercury the writer. Faster moving Mars, out of bounds, came through as well by conjunction, helping Dickens to focus his will and put into action creatively his ideas about moral and social reform, the higher octave of Capricorn, through an unconventional out-of-bounds voice. By the date of publication (shown in the biwheel chart), Mars had moved on into Pisces. When the book sold the days before Christmas that same year, Venus by transit joined Saturn in the sky, again meeting Dickens’ natal Mercury. His Capricorn Saturnine creative endeavor was well received!
During November, when Dickens was at work writing, Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius were exactly in conjunction with his natal Sun, also in his 5th House. The universe was asking Dickens to take a chance and be the visionary writer as teacher of social justice and change. For those not familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the primary message is about loving one’s neighbor and family first, rather than greed and selfishness, or hoarding one’s money and doing business at the expense of the heart. By the time of publication, shown in the posted biwheel chart, we see Jupiter has moved on into Dickens’ 6th house and was forming a conjunction with Dickens’ natal Chiron, the wounded healer. Dickens took his wound as the Aquarian outsider and put it to service as healer by identifying with the plight of the poor and struggling pariahs of Victorian England. Dickens, himself, was wounded in childhood as a social pariah, having to go to a work house due to his father’s debt when he was twelve.
In 1843, it wasn’t an easy time for Dickens (Saturn conjunct his natal Mercury, Pluto in Aries by transit in an exact square) and he didn’t make much money despite the book’s popularity – he actually got into a legal scuffle over it – but in the long run, what a gift it was for all of us. It transformed our notion of Christmas for generations to come. For everyone, whether we celebrate Christmas or not, December remains a season of charity and love and human connection.
What a potential in growth of Neptunian consciousness for Charles Dickens as he wrote in isolation and silence. Neptune seems to have this impact of moving the larger collective. And there the planet was sitting on his natal Sun, his solar self. He needed a vision for his creative life, as Steven would say.
When we consider the nodes of the Moon, we see a karmic pattern, like something needed to be said. The south node in the sky in the fall of 1843, fell in his 10th House, house of mission or career, and aligned by conjunction Dickens’ Jupiter in Gemini, co-ruler of his natal south node. Of course, Gemini, ruled by Mercury, is strongly associated with communication and writing. Neptune, fellow co-ruler of Dickens’ natal south node, stimulated his creative 5th house imagination with Aquarian themes, asking Dickens to cultivate his 12th house Virgo north node with a compassionate spiritual voice.








A Leo Sun, Libra Moon and Gemini ascendant, Erin Fish first received the gift of astrology from her mother, who had 70s era astrology books in the house. Always interested in astrology, Erin started studying formally twelve years ago with Anne Ortelee and then discovered Steven Forrest nine years ago when she went to Lilydale to see him with several astrology friends. He was the first astrologer to bring a tear to her eye, something difficult for her SN in Capricorn in the 8th house. Steven’s teachings really touched her soul. She studied with Steven through his AP program and attended workshops at Omega Institute and Lake Como, Italy. Erin is retired from a 28-year career (Saturn cycle) as a military officer, as well as a career in state government. She has always wanted to teach and pass on the gift of astrology. Last year, she completed her certification as an ISAR-CAP astrologer. Erin lives in Upstate New York and, when she is not tutoring, she is busy spending time with her daughter and granddaughter, traveling, playing pickleball, swimming, knitting or watercolor painting. Welcome, Erin!
We continue to celebrate the Sun’s entrance into Libra with tutor Shirley Waram, a Libra Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Taurus ascendant with five planets in the 6th house in Libra! We are thrilled to have Shirley share with us her gifts of service and mentorship. Like Erin, Shirley was first exposed to metaphysical topics by her mom. But it wasn’t until her Chiron Return, at age fifty, that Shirley began serious study as a professional astrologer. She discovered Steven’s work in 2009 and attended many workshops through his Apprenticeship Program (AP) in North Carolina, North and Southern California, Oregon and Lilydale, New York. Shirley writes about her studies with Steven, “It seemed like the learning curve with this particular field grew the more I got to know about it, and despite – or likely because of – the challenge, I realized this was something I would never tire of – especially knowing that I could help others with it”! Shirley lives in West Lorne, a small town in southwestern Ontario, Canada, located between Toronto and Detroit. She has worked many years in office management and marketing. Now she reads charts professionally with a specialty in rectification. Welcome, Shirley!
Greetings, FCEA community! August is the time we set the calendar for the following year. It’s an exciting process of looking ahead and planning each class every month. We welcome a new cohort of students this coming September and then again in January, 2025. “Cohort” refers to a mini FCEA community of students entering the program at the same time and taking the classes in sequence until graduation. We have TEN cohorts on board for 2025! The highlight of their educational journey is the master class, 306, taught by Steven Forrest with myself as an assistant. Every student has a chance to sit in the “hot seat,” sharing their own insights into one of several fictitious clients’ charts. It takes three years to reach this point in the curriculum. Everyone is always looking ahead to this fun — and challenging! — opportunity. 





Jackie Johansen, an FCEA master-certified evolutionary astrologer, holds a Master’s Degree in Jungian Depth Psychology. She has been a mental health professional for over ten years. I have had the pleasure to work with Jackie throughout her studies and recently as she transitioned into tutorial instruction. Jackie brings such a loving, caring heart-centered approach to her work with students. Always gentle, always positive and encouraging, Jackie embodies the soul of a true teacher. We are so pleased to have Jackie expand her skills in mentoring by serving as an FCEA tutor.
Sophie Salaniat is equally wise and talented and we are blessed to have her join our FCEA team. Sophie has had a passion for astrology for thirty years, bringing a practical skill set so important as a tutor. She, too, is an FCEA master-certified evolutionary astrologer, grounded in Steve Forrest’s methods. I have read Sophie’s nurturing and supportive feedback, always revealing a love and commitment to our FCEA students. We feel so fortunate to have her gifts of wisdom and her nurturing support in the difficult work of training choice-centered and caring evolutionary astrologers.
Finally, I welcome Lidia Ranieri as she joins us as a tutor in our FCEA team. Lidia has a wealth of professional experience as a counselor and coach, having earned a Master’s Degree in Coaching Psychology. Lidia is an FCEA master-certified evolutionary astrologer talented at integrating the details of chart analysis, while also bringing to her work the heart of a loving counselor. A former AP student of Steven Forrest, she is thoroughly grounded in his methodology. I have been most fortunate to follow Lidia’s work as a student and tutor and I am very excited to have her wisdom and skills in the FCEA classroom.


But first, a graduation ceremony is in order and what better day than March 6th to celebrate our initial cohort’s graduation? For those curious about chart details, we recognize February 14th, at 1:00 pm Pacific time, as the official time of graduation for the “class of 2024.” But given the special significance of March 6th for the FCEA and for Steven and myself, we are holding a celebration on Zoom at 10 am Pacific time that day. The event is open to the public —