Perhaps finding that team spirit, the mutual love we share for Steven’s approach and for evolutionary astrology, is what we most need when taking on Saturn in 2022. You might recall Steven wrote in his Master’s Musings last month about Saturn transiting the school’s 10th house following Jupiter’s recent path. Obstacles and hard work are part of the journey. It helps me to think of the words of the late, great comedian Robin Williams, “There is still a lot to learn and there is always great stuff out there. Even mistakes can be wonderful.” Robin’s natal Pisces Moon speaks of a passion for life’s possibilities, that glass half full. Sensitive, emotional, and intuitive, Robin also deeply felt all that engulfed him. His natal Moon in the 4th house longed for the caring and compassionate bonds of family. I am hoping 2022 opens our school to such a longing, such a joy in the FCEA “team,” and a powerful shared dream of “family.” And, yes, it will undoubtedly include some mistakes!

Catie Cadge, PhD
FCEA Dean

Congratulations to our students in their successful completion of FCEA 202, the Practicum in Transits, Progressions and Solar Arcs. We were so impressed by the level of engagement and the love all you showed to one another in class discussions. Such an honor for me to work with such talented evolutionary astrologers! Such a gift for me…I wish to give a shout out to tutors Marie, Joey and Teal in thanks for their constant help and support in moving FCEA 202 to a successful finish. I could not do this work as dean without them! Just before solstice, our current FCEA 103 section will be coming to a close, so I also wish them the best of luck in their final submissions and a big thank you to Karen, Sarrah, Bryan, Ryan, and Allison for such stellar work in guiding our students through FCEA 103. What a busy fall term it has been here at the school.

I want to share with you some exciting news: we have hired three new employees to help the FCEA with the structural needs and difficult tasks of Saturn in the months ahead. We are thrilled to have Paula Wansley as our chief financial operator to guide us through the school’s anticipated growth in 2022 (“Knock on wood”… As Steven says, Jupiter wants us to take a chance!). Paula comes to us after years of experience working for Steven and Ingrid Coffin planning and helping to coordinate many Apprenticeship Programs, Steven’s live teaching sessions formerly held outside of San Diego. I have known Paula, myself, for seven years now. I always feel immediately at ease with Paula; a great trait when it comes to handling financial discussions. Thank you, Paula! I love that we will be working with her in the years ahead.

I am extremely grateful to announce we have a new communications coordinator, Penelope Love. Penelope is gifted in so many skills it is difficult to know where to begin! Holding an MA in Mass Communication, Penelope is a successful author, editor and publisher. She will be handling our newsletter, helping with Zoom calls and organizing our events, and contributing much-needed revisions to our website. As the FCEA grows, Penelope will be helping us reach a wide audience through social media platforms as well. Some of you may know Penelope from our current 100-level classes. Please welcome her as staff when you see her on a Zoom call! We are so thankful and thrilled to work with such a talented soul. I am confident Penelope will be critical to the school’s success in 2022.

A third new staff member to the FCEA is Carlos Velazquez, our Technical Support “Jack-of-all-trades.” Carlos comes to us with experience in web development, systems administration, and information technology. He will be working with Penelope to ease students successfully through enrollment and then register our students into Moodle, our Learning Management System. Carlos will be a critical link in the chain, helping us to update and improve the website, as well as successfully getting new classes up in Moodle and ready for instruction. Thank you, Carlos! We are so grateful for your many talents. And a big thank you to Jeff Parrett for training Carlos and Penelope in these essential tasks. Carlos is a current 100-level FCEA student. Please congratulate him when you see him on Zoom!

Catie Cadge, PhD
FCEA Dean

Perhaps the answers to these questions are best summed up by Steven’s definition of the biopsychic script as we will study it in FCEA 203, “As we mature, our consciousness – and our circumstances – change in somewhat predictable and rather universal ways. Within limits, everyone experiences these maturational developments similarly. Astrology can take us beyond the realm of what is immediately obvious, sensitizing us to the subtleties of these life-chapters in very illuminating ways. We call this particular area of astrological study the biopsychic script.”

In FCEA 203, we will continue to rely upon the birthchart as root prediction and set these commonly experienced life events, such as the Saturn Return, the Uranus Opposition, the Jupiter Return, to name just a few, into the biographical stories of specific individuals, individuals undoubtedly experiencing other important transits, progressions or solar arcs simultaneously in unique ways. And we will return again to Wilma’s chart, our fictional client, with whom we have been developing a counseling rapport. How will her fiery primal triad and her stellium in Gemini and her 10th house work with the rhythms of the lunar nodes and her Nodal Return?

We will also consider some key events of the biopsychic script, such as the Saturn Return, within the context of the client’s age. Can we see certain themes during the first Saturn Return in a person’s late 20s that change with advancing age when a soul reaches the late 50s? What lessons or questions do we encounter when Saturn again returns to its natal position? Thinking back to my first Saturn Return and comparing that time to my current reality in 2021, as Saturn again travels through Aquarius, I notice some similarities of experience; the universe sets up the carousel horses once again in ways I must mature into and work through with patience and discipline. Ah, Saturn, you really do remind me of ‘father time.’ And what is it Steven always tells us about Saturn? “How bad do you want it”? No doubt in my mind that FCEA students will meet the challenge!

It takes a desire to keep going, keep trying and to keep your goals always in sight.

Remember we have Jupiter somewhere out there in the sky. In the spring of 2022, Jupiter will join together with Neptune in Pisces.We all need to dream BIG and have faith in our imaginations and hope for a better future. Both planets will trine the north node of the Moon in Cancer, 3rd house, in the FCEA school’s natal chart, while squaring the school’s Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 7th. Let’s support each other in this cosmic dance, have faith in what we all can do as evolutionary astrologers, and spread healing wisdom with the passion for this sacred craft we all share.

As we continue through 2021, we need to apply ourselves and work hard, but remember to be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day! 

In the meantime, I hope we all can cultivate some Piscean compassion for one another. I am so impressed by how kind and loving FCEA students are in replying to each other’s posts. A true spirit of camaraderie! For those that feel overwhelmed, slow down, listen to one another. A community is here for you. May Jupiter and Neptune in the year ahead expand our intuitive gifts, our visions for the future and build dreams upon all this hard work and effort.

I hope to see many of you at our first annual FCEA summit on November 13th!

Part of our mission is to lay the foundation for the time-tested and methodical approach to evolutionary astrology Steven practices and teaches. First and foremost, the basic concepts of the Primal Triad, along with eight core planets in our solar system, and the fundamental vocabulary of houses, angles and major aspects, must be thoroughly understood in order to integrate all into a clear and concise reading. How easy it is to get sidestepped in this process, when Chiron becomes the popular astrology trend or Eris, all of a sudden, appears to make the picture even more convoluted and complex. I must say I enjoy reading student posts and insights into these rich topics we have barely introduced at all. Thank you! But I also encourage you to embrace the fundamentals. The ABCs are key to making this kind of astrology work and our jobs a success. I know some of you already know about Chiron or “Out-Of-Bounds” planets, but please hold back on sharing that kind of thing — we don’t want to undercut the confidence of the relative beginners who might start feeling bad about themselves because they think they missed something.

We are saving a number of astrological insights of a “lunar kind,” for inclusion in our 300-level Moon course. You may already be familiar with these subjects from reading Steven’s The Book of the Moon, the textbook we will use in this exciting class. So many juicy details we can see when playing with these techniques, most of which we have not even mentioned yet in class! In the FCEA courses so far, many sample charts, such as Wilma’s, include a grid showing declination and a number of students have ventured into interpretation of a planet “Out of Bounds.” Yup, it was Wilma, herself, our favorite made-up client, with that 5th house “Sadge” Moon, conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn, that made a number of students chime in with creative renditions of what exactly is happening with Wilma’s sense of self expression and what brings her joy. 

I know some felt lost when hearing the phrase, “Out Of Bounds,” a.k.a “OOB,” when working with Wilma’s chart. Astrology as a discipline is filled with such lingo. And the “OOB” phenomenon is quite recent in its popular usage. Please be patient with yourselves! Again, it is easy to let these tools in the wizard’s kit overwhelm the foundational skills necessary for our sacred profession.

In the 300-level Moon course, we investigate in much more depth the “OOB” status of the Moon, while we also introduce “OOB” planets in our other 300 courses covering key planetary players. These classes are structured in a focused way through advanced coursework. The 300-level, (following the 200-level changing sky, biopsychic script and synastry courses), provides opportunities to more fully understand each planet better in terms of transit, progression and solar arc, while also catching any missing gaps from the Apprentice-level program. There is a lot to look forward to in the months ahead.

Wishing you all a great Libra season!

In Neptune fashion, we are also using our creative imaginations to dream new ways of building bridges of connection in the FCEA, while still preserving confidentiality. We are hopeful that we will be able to eventually return to live gatherings, where perhaps advanced students might present or engage in more in-depth chart analysis, together with Steven and the FCEA teachers and tutors. By November’s summit, Jupiter will be marching forward again in Aquarius in the FCEA’s 10th house. Let’s seize the opportunity to set the stage with this maiden trip, a community gathering. This first summit is just a start. 

Please look for upcoming mailings regarding sign up and/or a link to participate in the 1st annual FCEA Summit: A Community Gathering. We hope to see you on board! 

Looking at the birthchart of our very own school, the FCEA, we see Neptune by transit, moving retrograde through the 11th house, forming a square aspect to the FCEA’s Jupiter at 22°30’ Sagittarius in the 7th house. What opportunities are open to us now at the FCEA to listen to each other, the ideas and suggestions of our community of learners and educators, to strive for the best in our 11th house goals to learn this sacred skill?

We want to reassure you, in true 7th house fashion, we hear you. And we know many students want us to grow in ways that will allow more human interaction in their on-line education. I have been in on-line education for over a decade and I can tell you building an honest, loving “real” connection between students, tutors and teachers is THE most challenging aspect of education in our current 21st-century Aquarian age. In The Book of Neptune, Steven uses the word “sangha,” a spiritually-based community, to describe the friendships we build through an 11th house Neptune. With the planet there, both natally and by transit in the FCEA chart, can we dream of a better future, a better way to relate?

Fine-tuning that Neptunian vision is part of the work we see ahead for us in the FCEA. We are considering several possible avenues to create more places for students, tutors, and teachers to have face-to-face engagement, talking and sharing together through on-line conversations. All of this takes time and resources. And we are grateful for your ongoing patience envisioning new stages – new evolutionary growth! – as we change and develop the best way forward for our FCEA sangha. One that nurtures love, community and understanding. Look for some creative developments in the FCEA curriculum in the months ahead!

Of course, we think about Jupiter as the planet of expansion and opportunity. But how does the “King of the Gods,” the great gaseous giant, open doors for evolutionary soul growth? A Jupiter Return can bring more than the over indulgence in pleasure, the few extra pounds we gain, or the joy at being the life of the party. In FCEA 203, Steven presents the biopsychic script, such as the Saturn Return or Jupiter Return, in ways that can help us counsel our clients in creative and personally empowering steps they can take to make the most of the evolutionary astrological cycles we all experience. 

Here’s an example to give you a taste of the curriculum we are creating for FCEA 203. The ever-popular Hollywood film, Titanic, won eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, in 1998. Just two weeks before, lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio experienced his second Jupiter Return. It occurred at 8 degrees 6 minutes of Pisces in his 6th house, and made a number of other transits to key degrees in his birthchart. Leonardo was only 23 years old then and it was certainly a time of revelry and celebration for him. Yet, how can we look deeper at this transit, one we all share when we reach our early 20s? Or, how can we give the Jupiter Return a more in-depth analysis in light of the individual soul journey of this particular young actor, turned megastar? 

Our FCEA 200 courses dive into topics in evolutionary astrology, such as the biopsychic script, that allow students to fine-tune their skills in chart analysis and take readings to a deeper, and much more richer level of interpretation.

Wishing everyone a wonderful solstice!

We are proud to announce our first soul-friend, Marie O’Neill, is the author of a new book “…And The Lotus Opened.” Founder of Padma Life Coaching, in Santa Rosa, California, Marie has an MBA and has many years of experience as a Life Coach, Astrologer, Speaker Coach, Past Life Regression facilitator and lecturer. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster through Toastmasters International and serves on the Board of Directors with TEDx Sonoma County. In addition, Marie lectures at numerous Astrology conferences. Marie says her passion is helping others achieve their dreams, goals and to shine brightly in the world.

Our next tutor and soul-friend, Joey Paynter, just earned her Ph.D. in depth psychology with an emphasis in Jungian and Archetypal studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Congratulations Joey! She also holds a Master’s degree in clinical psychology. She has traveled to over 40 countries as a counselor, healer, lecturer, teacher, and photojournalist. She is co-owner of Soul Stories and also co-facilitates an archetypal study group called The Coven, a place where ritual and the art of sacred play come together to help others meet their inner figures. Joey has been a full time practicing evolutionary astrologer for five years and loves uncovering the myths that live within.

Last – but far from least! – we have our multi-talented and artistic soul-friend, Teal Rowe. From choosing the best time to plant and harvest the garden, to learning one’s “primal triad”, the planets, signs, and houses, Teal has been using the sacred wisdom of astrology since she was a young artist. It wasn’t until many moons later, at the time of an ending to a successful art career and marriage that she dove into the astrology books more seriously.  From seeking to find meaning in the transition, to a few years later doing readings for clients, she then found Steven Forrest’s Apprentice Program. In the AP, she says she is very happy to be surrounded by a community of people that are as passionate about learning the endless study of astrology as she is. Teal has a very successful professional evolutionary astrology practice in Ojai, California.

Steven explores key events in the biographies of current rising stars, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a.k.a. “the powerful AOC,” in her quest for political office, along with some old favorites from our apprenticeship coursework. We see again Muhammad Ali, when he refused the draft during the Vietnam War, robbing him of some of the best years ahead in boxing, to uphold his personal convictions in his fight for civil rights in America and for social justice. 

My personal favorite is Steven’s in-depth study of the birthchart, the root prediction, of Carl Gustav Jung, and then his analysis of the transits, progressions and solar arcs – the critical astrological events from 1913 to 1917 – that lead to a major turning point in the famous psychoanalyst’s influential career. Steven describes how Jung was going through a pivotal time, “a psychological initiation of truly shamanic proportions,” writing the famous Red Book, but also doing “the lion’s share of his psychoanalytic theory and understanding – a foundation upon which we modern astrologers still, to a great extent, stand.” In FCEA 202: Changing Sky – Transits, Progressions and Solar Arcs, we watch Steven unfold this critical moment for Carl Gustav Jung. This video lecture is followed by class discussions, where we share insightful conversation and learn collaboratively the art of astrological timing and counsel. What a Neptune time for Jung!

Wishing ongoing success for ALL our FCEA graduates. We are so grateful and we appreciate sharing the learning process with all of you. Springtime blessings everyone!