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. 

But we require rigorous study and hard work during the years leading up to 306. For those new members and students, let me review our program structure. Students start by taking our 100-level classes, some through a self-guided version at the very beginning in our introductory courses, 101 and 102. Or the guided classes, led by our talented team of tutors and teachers, 101B and 102B, taken simultaneously with the main 101 and 102 courses. Then all students join 103, a hands-on practicum with tutor support. This class makes a useful guidepost to a student’s skill set achieved so far. Focused upon the essential details of birthchart analysis, FCEA 103 forms the foundation for the advanced work students eventually master. In 2025, we have three 103 classes scheduled with about fifty-five students in each. 

After graduating from the 100-level, students enter the Craftsperson 200-level courses. Again, we provide a self-guided basic transit, progression and solar arc class, 201, with an option for the guided version, 201B. FCEA 202, a practicum similar to 103 but addressing the “changing sky,” gives every student hands-on practice. My personal favorite, FCEA 203, covering the “biopsychic script,” those key astrological events that occur like clockwork for every individual, follows 202. And then we end the 200-level with two courses, 204 (synastry) and 205 (the composite chart).

It is a lot to digest over a two-year period! Our monthly Q and A Zoom meetings with Steven are priceless. They provide a chance for students to ask any questions they may have for Steven to answer and a mini chart reading as well. Check out our indexed library of previous Zoom calls with Steven, which is available to students and members. Members are welcome to join these calls, bringing the whole FCEA community together. Don’t miss these monthly opportunities scheduled throughout 2025! We also offer learning labs, “Z” classes, small group Zoom sessions with a tutor at both the 100-level and 200-level. These “Z” classes are a great way to review the material in a live Zoom setting. At any point, a student can take a break from their path of study to hone their skills or reflect upon the learning process on their own time in more depth. 

Happy Leo season, FCEA community! In the spirit of Leo the lion, let’s give a big shout out of appreciation to our advanced students finishing up FCEA 306: The Master Practicum. They all did outstanding work answering questions in the “hot seat” under the guidance of Steven Forrest. A hearty round of applause for a job well done! I have had the great honor of helping to run the 306 calls and learning from each one of our talented students. It has been such a gift for this busy Dean to share the classroom with them. Congratulations, 306 class!

For me, one of the most rewarding parts of attending the FCEA 306 class sessions is hearing each individual’s unique astrological voice and the love and passion they bring to their craft. This point alone makes writing this month’s Dean’s Update a bit easier. You see the topic of this article is our new policy addressing the use of Artificial Intelligence at the FCEA. Since Pluto’s arrival in Aquarius, extensive conversation has been taking place in astrology circles around the world. How do we best use this incredible new technology? And how do we hold onto the “human face” of our sacred craft and maintain the integrity of our work as a unique personal expression of our soul’s intentions and true talents? How do we use AI in supporting our education, while not derailing the important process of learning and developing our own voices as evolutionary astrologers?

Recently, our staff came together as a team with the assistance of Alan Egge, a recent FCEA graduate with a wealth of knowledge about AI and its various ins and outs. Thank you so much, Alan! As a team, we came up with a working policy, which I would like to share with everyone in this newsletter report.

I want to wish everyone a joyful solstice celebration, FCEA community! Please join us on Zoom, Thursday, June 20th, at 5 pm Pacific time, when we come together just after the Sun’s entrance into Cancer. Steven shares a brief presentation on the importance of this season at the beginning of our monthly student Q and A call. This is an open invitation to attend our gathering. We welcome all to our celebratory call! Please see information on how to attend this event on Zoom.

Meanwhile, I have some other important news to share this month. We are at the beginning of our yearly official process of choosing scholarship recipients. Whether you are a new student looking to start the FCEA Program or a seasoned student already enrolled, and you are in need of financial support for your studies, why not apply? Current students can start by applying award money to the next classes they take (a scholarship isn’t retroactive, but it will help you continue). Perhaps transiting Jupiter in Gemini is asking you to take a chance on your next step in your educational journey. Or maybe Neptune is asking, do you have a vision for your life? We only have a limited number of awards, but we try our best to be fair and supportive. We do encourage all interested to apply!

I can’t believe it is mid-May already, FCEA community. It seems like yesterday we were starting our new classes of 2024. We celebrate the FCEA 103 graduating class and the hard work they have done these past several weeks in finishing the practicum. Congratulations, apprentice graduates! We want to acknowledge your effort and achievement. And let me also say how impressed we are with the dedication and love all our students are showing as they advance through the FCEA curriculum. The path is not an easy one! But we are certain the rewards of being actively engaged and completing homework and posts will pay off in the long run. Don’t give up! Be stubborn as Taurus the Bull and focus upon calming down and finding a rhythm and peace with daily practice and study. 

As I write to you, the Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Uranus form what we like to call a rolling conjunction, all in Taurus. But with the newsletter’s publication in a few days’ time, we enter Gemini season with the excitement and curiosity of what is to come with Jupiter’s arrival in the sign of the twins. But meanwhile, I can’t help but wonder what little babies born now, with this metaplanet in Taurus, might make as a high road in response to such a fixed, Earth energy in a sign ruled by Venus. Creative juju perhaps? Authentic and radical artistic expression? Or maybe we will see innovative souls seeking radical opportunities to save Momma Earth. Some may grow up to serve as counselors or healers enlightening the people they serve as they strive to find a Taurus sense of inner calm and peace. We shall see. I know for myself, the planets fall in my second house, so I have been asking, what is it in my current life that I truly value? What resources or gifts do I have or need to develop? What perhaps do I need to let go of? By synchronicity, my process of training and hiring new FCEA tutors seems to echo some of these questions I hold inside myself. Let me explain.

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!

Greetings, FCEA community. March is always a special month for me, because it marks the anniversary of so many important Piscean moments in my life’s journey. Bear with me as I explain my deeply personal connection to this watery, mystical time of year. I promise I will connect all of this back to the school! But first and foremost, I hold in my heart my dear Mom, Anne. Her birthday falls in the first week of March. Unquestionably, she was the most important Pisces soul in my life, always loving, always playful and always compassionate in supporting her Capricorn daughter’s ambitions, imagination and dreams. I miss her so. 

My mother passed away just four months prior to my meeting in person Steven Forrest, whom I met for the first time on my Mom’s solar return, March 7th, in 2014.  I had studied Steven’s writings since I was a young woman in the 1980s, and even though I had heard him speak in person prior, I never actually spoke with him directly, until the transformative year of my Chiron Return, when Pluto by transit formed a conjunction with my south node and transiting Jupiter my north node. How appropriate I should meet Steven on my Mom’s birthday, when in spirit she was so close and near to me.

About this time every year, the Sun at mid-Pisces lines up with my Ascendant. March 6th and 7th seem to be two days that carry a lot of emotion and meaning for me. As many of you may know, March 6th is the day we first officially started planning the FCEA in 2019 and so we consider it the school’s birthday. Now this year, in 2024, Saturn by transit conjuncts my 12th house Chiron and my Ascendant as the FCEA turns five (we opened for instruction early 2021, so we count three years of actual live classes). How fitting a time for the FCEA as we plan for the very first graduating class this March 6, 2024. How ever Saturn is asking me to “mature” as a Piscean Dean, I do hope sincerely I “get it right.”

But enough about me. Let me say how thrilled Steven and I and our wonderful FCEA team are about the successful completion of our program of fifteen highly talented and gifted evolutionary astrologers. We are so proud of their accomplishment! The word “impressed” does not fully capture what I feel, when I hear our master grads speak the archetypes and dive deeply into carefully-crafted chart analysis with loving, caring words and guidance. 

I always find January to be such a busy month at the FCEA. Students are slowly returning to class after the holidays. Our tutors and staff are all abuzz with new classes opening every week. We have eleven new classes opening just this month! I am thrilled to see a lot of student interest in our 101Z and 201Z classes. Please take a look at our new catalog entries for them on our website. These two Zoom-based offerings add another way for us to build community and address student needs. I hope everyone is enjoying their return to school and that you all are excited about the topics covered in your next FCEA course.

I personally feel a sense of accomplishment as I have been working with Steven on fine-tuning our new counseling course this winter with the support of the class teacher, Joey Paynter. Holding two master degrees in Clinical Psychology and Depth Psychology and a PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Joey brings a wealth of constructive and creative insight into FCEA 401: Sacred Counsel. Joey was one of the very first tutors on the FCEA staff. I’m so happy to see her return to teach this important course. 

FCEA 401: Sacred Counsel marks the completion of the master certificate program, six years of curriculum development for Steven and me. It’s been a lot of work and I am proud of what we have created! But the day-to-day workings of the school continue to change and expand in fresh directions. Let me share with you some of these new developments.

Solstice is upon us! For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we enter the season of increasing light. I can’t help but think of Jupiter and the hope the planet brings us as we look ahead into 2024. Steven’s recent lecture about the upcoming Jupiter and Uranus conjunction next spring reminded us to “think big” but also not “TOO big.” In other words, we need to claim Jupiter’s gumption but use logic and strategy as well. One never knows when Uranus is involved! It was a pleasure to see so many of you on our recent holiday gathering on Zoom, when Steven spoke about the conjunction. With this timing in mind, let me share with you our FCEA dreams for growth in the year ahead. And, of course, some of the perpetual growing pains we anticipate too.

We have two new projects we will be starting after the New Year:

Greetings, FCEA community! The holidays are here and solstice is almost upon us. 2024 is just around the corner. We are excited for a new year of growth and expansion of the FCEA program in the year ahead. I feel so blessed to have all of you as my friends and colleagues. What a pleasure to work each day with fellow passionate evolutionary astrologers, learning and practicing Steven’s methods and sharing wisdom. 

Next year, we will see our very first graduating class finish their studies and receive master certification. Congratulations for all your hard work, master practicum students! It has been a pleasure to join you in your educational journey these past three years. I learned so much from you every step of the way! I am confident your skills and gifts as evolutionary astrologers will help many souls discover the fine nuances of their birthchart and that you will offer precious words of counsel in the years ahead.

We are excited to open FCEA 401: Sacred Counsel in January. This counseling course will complete the FCEA degree program, providing critical assistance in perhaps the most important aspects of our jobs as evolutionary astrologers. How best do we work one-on-one with clients, how do we lay the foundation for a strong rapport and how do we resolve potential conflicts or wrestle with obstacles inevitable in the counseling room? How do we best honor diversity, recognize and respect each individual coming to us for guidance? And then how do we care for ourselves while doing this critical work of service? We developed a series of modules to help you reflect upon these important topics. We see FCEA 401 as a final step, an essential one, in bringing the FCEA educational journey to certification to completion. 

Hold tight! More 400-level classes addressing various advanced topics will be available in the near future as course electives as well. We have been growing slowly with care under Saturn’s practical limits (the ringed planet is in the FCEA’s 10th house by transit as I write, soon to enter the 11th next year), while we plan for Jupiter crossing the school’s ascendant in late May.

We are just about in the middle of our fall semester here at the FCEA. Always around this time, we have our mid-course Q&A Zoom calls. I love getting a chance to connect and touch base with so many of you! This fall, I am glad to hear our courses are going so well. But we are at the start of Scorpio season now, so I am going to dive into the truth, even if it involves a little “shadow work.” You see I’d like to encourage more students to take an active interest in attending our class orientation and Q&A calls. Sometimes students mention they want more Zoom interaction at the FCEA. These calls are a PERFECT way to do just that! Hmmm…why do students say they want more Zoom, but then not follow up with attending?

We typically have a good attendance for the mid-course Q&A calls, but still we often miss a good third of our class enrollment. Why is this so? Students often love our Zoom calls, where everyone gets to meet the teacher and tutors, as well as fellow classmates. So I am giving a big “shout out” – please try to attend our course calls. The calls are always recorded, but having a live conversation with the teacher or a tutor is so helpful. We are here to answer questions and share chart analysis together. The opportunity is always there.

On a similar note, we have created new courses: 101Z and 201Z, composed entirely of Zoom interaction with a tutor and a small group of classmates. We listened to your request for more Zoom learning experiences. However, again, enrollment needs a boost. The class enrollment is limited to five students and we need four to make them run. We have yet to see many students following through on enrollment and taking an active interest in these new classes. Please consider them an option in 2024!

I also want to share with everyone that the structure of the FCEA curriculum has a really clear mission and design. We start off with Zoom interaction through the orientation and Q&A calls for the new folks working through the 100-level and continue this basic approach into the 200-intermediate level. Steven and I chose to make most of the student contact occur in written format at these early stages, because we believe learning best takes place when students actively apply what they are learning.

Now don’t get me wrong – I do see the value of our course Zoom calls and also our popular study group calls on Zoom. But such methods of instruction emphasize passive learning, when many students sit back and listen and less time is involved with putting both our mind and heart to applying our skills in chart analysis. Just pay attention to these calls – mostly the same students speak up and, well, some students simply remain quiet, while a tutor takes center stage. In FCEA 103 and 200-level FCEA classes, students must take an active interest in posting in discussions and completing written assignments. And it is hard work! First and foremost, we hope to train talented and skilled evolutionary astrologers who can do the work. But it just takes patience to see it unfold.

Recently, I had an email exchange with one of our advanced 300-level students currently taking the 306 Master Practicum with Steven and myself (she humbly asked to remain anonymous). She shared with me how impressed she was by the sheer talent and thorough work her classmates demonstrated. Steven and I totally agree! It is truly a gift to listen to them explain chart analysis in our 306 Practicum class. Their comments are clear, concise, and beautifully spoken. In response to our discussion about how well the 306 students were doing this fall, this advanced student shared with me: