The High Road of Neptune and Saturn in Aries

The High Road of Neptune and Saturn in Aries

Dean’s Update, April 2025

The High Road of Neptune and Saturn in Aries

 
 
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Dean’s Update
 
Let me start this month’s update with a personal reflection about our current moment in time. In preparation for Saturn’s entrance into Aries on May 24th, I find myself contemplating what I need to work on in myself, the hard work it may take, to have the courage to lead the FCEA with the initiative and gumption of Aries. You see the sign Aries falls in my natal 1st house, intercepted, with Jupiter at 10°28’, providing me an opportunity for expressing the energy in the sign of the ram. 

 

But, as Steven always says, the full expression of a planet sitting in an intercepted sign takes a longer time to mature and develop. Jupiter, co-ruler of my Pisces ascendant, and Saturn, dispositor of my Capricorn Sun, always seem to be duking it out for me. My natal Saturn is in Aquarius and in the 12th house. Now Saturn by transit is traveling through my 1st house, the ringed planet will conjunct my Jupiter in about a year’s time. Is the universe asking me to accept the challenge and somehow integrate the energy of these vastly different planets? To step up to the plate and mature, Saturn style, into leadership? 

 

These are valid questions I imagine for myself. But when I also think of Aries, I ponder: What is worth fighting for and defending? And isn’t the 1st house the house Steven calls “enlightened selfishness”? With Neptune by transit there as well, I wonder, where is the spiritual path leading to deeper consciousness for me? How does one balance a call to action with meditation and the emptiness of ego? Moving Saturn will square my natal 10th house Capricorn Sun soon in 2026, Neptune in orb of a square as well.

 

Enough about me. How do individuals at the FCEA respond on a high road to both Saturn and Neptune in Aries? In past newsletter articles, I encouraged people to claim the path of the spiritual warrior. And, to me, this is still valid. But I would like to ride a little more with the concept of “enlightened selfishness”. What needs to radically develop in ourselves to be that warrior? I say a realistic and at times selfish approach to our basic rights to make our quest for consciousness front and center in our lives. 

 

Now don’t get me wrong; I am the Dean of our school and I certainly want to see us studying and applying ourselves through mental effort at every stage of our course work or on calls as FCEA members. How else can we learn the nuts and bolts of our sacred craft? But perhaps the universe is saying make the time, put the work in, and have the courage to dive into, as Steven would say, “cleaning our spiritual windows.” Doing so may involve some risk, some personal gumption in order to put your needs first. How else can we strive to be accomplished evolutionary astrologers if we don’t put our spiritual journey in the forefront of our lives?
 
I realize I am asking a lot of questions here. I just think reflecting upon transiting Saturn and Neptune for all of us involves giving definition to what works for us individually in growing our spiritual practice. It will follow that the mystical, psychic, and sensitive watery energies of Neptune will bless and make real our intuitive gifts. Then we can really put into place all the technical skills of study at the FCEA. With discipline and dedication, we grow in consciousness and then we become the kind of warriors the world needs. Set intentions for putting your Neptune work into action, giving your spiritual life a “right to take up space.” I have a feeling the rest of your astrological work will fall into place.
 
Catie Cadge, PhD
April 2025
 
 

Walking Our Talk

Walking Our Talk

December

Master’s Musings, April 2025

Walking Our Talk: What’s Happening in the FCEA’s Chart

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Master’s Musings

 

Keeping aware of what’s happening in your own chart is an essential practice. There’s nothing that brings you to the heart of astrology faster than watching your own experience mirrored there. Individually we can all do that. In that same spirit, let’s have a quick peek at what is currently unfolding in our school’s chart.
 
Let’s start with a biggie: on January 13th, our solar arc north node entered Leo where it will remain for the next three decades. Just six days later, the nodal axis also made a square to the position of Uranus on the school’s inception chart. Meanwhile, our progressed Moon finally hit our Ascendant on March 3rd. That means that we will be in this mission-critical “new beginning” stage until the Moon progresses into the 2nd house. That doesn’t happen until January 7, 2027, so we now have the rest of this year and all of next year to get ourselves properly launched into the fresh twenty-seven year lunar cycle.
 
  • That means that two different important configurations both are pointing to the start of a three-decades-long cycle. The stakes are high!
 
Probably the single most important factor in developmental astrology – the astrology of transits, progressions, and solar arcs – is the progressed Sun itself.The only trouble with it is that it’s very slow, moving at just about one degree per year, so you generally don’t want to hold your breath waiting for it to get anywhere. Not this year, not for our school! The progressed Sun is super-busy, making not one but two major aspects before the year’s end. On October 23rd it forms a square to our powerful 7th house Sagittarian Jupiter. Less than a month later, on November 18th, it sextiles our Pluto, which lies in Capricorn in the 9th house lined up with Saturn and the south node of the Moon. Given the slow speed of the progressed Sun, those aspects are definitely already activated.

 

What about transits? Contrary to what many astrological doomsayers might have predicted, we’ve actually been thriving under a relentless onslaught of Saturn energy. Between April 2024 and this past January, Saturn has been crisscrossing through a series of conjunctions with both our Sun and our Moon. The last hit on the Moon happened as recently as January 25th. Just as we would counsel our clients to do, rather than curling up and dying, we have worked hard and matured under Saturn’s rays. During this period, our registration has actually grown. That makes me happy for two reasons. The first is obvious. The second is that it feels good to make monkeys out of those astrological doomsayers!

 

In all charts, there’s always a lot going on by transit, but we’ve got one more standout to put on the table: on July 7th, Uranus enters Gemini and exactly one month later it makes its first precise contact with the school’s Ascendant. It will retrograde back through that exact conjunction on October 5th and hit it a final time going direct on May 15, 2026 – then settle in for a seven year passage through our 1st house. The fabled Lord of Earthquakes and Lightning Bolts is coming for a visit.

 

Here’s a quadwheel that shows the school’s natal chart at the center, then progressions, solar arcs, and finally transits in the outermost wheel. (Personally I find these quadwheels a bit overwhelming visually, but at least all the relevant positions I’ve discussed are visible there.)
 

 
THE BIG PICTURE
 
There’s more of course, but those are the major pieces of the puzzle. What can we make of them? What is the universe telling us about our path? How do we stay in harmony with the larger cosmic flow?

If the school were a client of mine, I would build my presentation around those seven events I just mentioned. In fact, even though there are dozens of other interesting astrological forces at play, I might very well limit myself to them. This is always a drum I like to beat: you don’t have to talk about everything. In fact, you cannot – there is never enough time. Say I have two hours with a client and these seven configurations to discuss. Crudely, that’s seventeen minutes per configuration, which doesn’t sound too bad. But the reality is that you need to not only describe these seven individual transits, progressions, and solar arcs, you also need to tie them together into a coherent, meaningful whole. And naturally if your client is sitting with you or you’re engaged on a Zoom screen, that person will very likely have a few things to say too. That “seventeen minutes” per configuration quickly collapses into much less time.
 
  • The goal of a professional astrological reading is to leave the client with some clarity, some practical, actionable tips, and a feeling of encouragement about their journey – not a spinning head jammed with confusing jargon and an endless string of dates.
 
With a client, I’d actually take a couple of hours to explain this astrological weather report. Here in this newsletter, my goal is more modest. I want to talk about how I would strategize everything in my own mind before I said one word. I know that before I open my mouth, I need to have a basic narrative in my head. What are the broad outlines of the story – the CliffsNotes version, so to speak? If you’re clear about that, you will have a handle on the whole presentation. You will know what the client’s takeaway will be. You’ve avoided the single greatest peril that faces any working astrologer: confusion. Getting lost in the astrological labyrinth is the easiest thing in the world – and remember: if you’re even slightly confused, your client will be totally confused!
 
So: the FCEA is clearly moving into a new beginning. Anything significant hitting the Ascendant is ample evidence of that, and we’ve got two of them: the progressed Moon and transiting Uranus. The former emphasizes a need to follow our heart’s guidance: our intuitive function, which has been honed and prepared during the Moon’s long passage through the 12th house. The upcoming bolt of Uranian energy tells us to be open to innovation and to the unexpected. We’ll need to individuate and to be wary of judging ourselves by the standards of “our culture,” which is basically to say the rest of the astrological community – other astrological schools, in particular.
 
Our road is the road less traveled.
 
In practical terms, Uranus often correlates with the impact of new technologies. Openness in that area can be a great advantage, so we should keep our eyes open for those kinds of “wave of the future” possibilities.
 
Just as the progressed Moon’s passage through our 12th house can be understood as part of our preparation for this momentous new beginning, similarly we can frame the Saturnian maturation we have just experienced as also having laid the foundation for what is coming.
 
  • Our narrative is founded on the simple idea that we have been preparing for a fresh start and that now the time has come for us to light the fuse on it.
 
That simple overarching idea adds a unifying structure to the big picture. Instead of drinking from the firehose of fragmented astrological details, we now have a single, comprehensible narrative framework that pulls everything together.
 
Now that we have that basic idea understood, the ground under us is solid enough to bear some more complexity, so let’s keep going. Our solar arc north node has entered Leo, and to get it right, the new beginning we have just been describing must be informed by Leo values. We need to bet on ourselves. We need to risk putting ourselves out there. If we cultivate a feeling of being welcome in the world and act on it, we overcome any Aquarian south node attachment to the idea “that nobody will understand us” or that “nobody will ever like us.” It’s time to walk like kings and queens even though in order to succeed, for a while we may have to “fake it until we make it.”
 
What about the immediate square of that solar arc node to Uranus? Let’s ask that question in the light of our core integrative principle: remember what you have already said! Recall that transiting Uranus will be hitting our Ascendant around the same time. Put them together and again we are reminded to be careful not to let attachment to past patterns trip us up.
 
New technology? New procedures? New attitudes? Those are qualities that put a smile on the face of the great, thundering god, Uranus. And let’s expect some wild cards too. But, realistically, how can anyone do that? Obviously “expecting the unexpected” is a logical conundrum. Still, to some extent, it is actionable advice. We can cultivate alertness. We can avoid letting habitual patterns blind us to early warning signals. We can have Plan B.
 
The progressed Sun is coming to a square of Jupiter. Jupiter is still Jupiter and so we  continue with integrating the theme of expansion and positive, confident thinking. There’s always a cautionary note implicit in squares though. Over-extension could be a danger. If, say, someone put forth a plan to grow our student body to a thousand people by summer 2026, I’d say let’s question whether that is something we actually want. And let’s reflect on that question before we even wrestle with the question of whether or not it is possible. Wanting what is truly good for us is always the key with Jupiter and it’s not as easy as it sounds.
 
That Jupiter is in the 7th house. Such dubious growth plans could very well come from someone or some other institution suggesting a partnership or alliance. Sagittarius might possibly indicate something foreign.
 
Once again, caution and discernment are indicated.
 
Around the same time that the Sun/Jupiter action peaks, we also see the progressed Sun forming a sextile with Pluto. With just a month separating these two peaks, it’s really best to see them as one single event. Pluto always calls for making an effort in the direction of honest self-knowledge – the famous “long, hard talk with ourselves.” With the sextile, such a talk doesn’t have to be gut-wrenching, but it does need to be truthful. Add the 9th house: what are our core values? Add Capricorn: let’s put maintaining our integrity at the top of our list. Mixed with Jupiter, we might face “a temptation.”
 
I am reminded of a line from an old Lowell George song: “The easier it looks, the harder it hooks. Ain’t no such thing as easy money.” It’s a good lyric – and good advice for anyone experiencing a Jupiter square with a big dollop of Pluto in it.
 
Once again, everything that I have written here is definitely the short version of any professional reading I would do. My central aim has really been to help us see the unifying pattern behind these configurations. Sometimes it takes sitting with the symbols for a while before that pattern jumps out. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to be patient enough to wait for that lightbulb to light over your head. There’s little worse than opening your mouth with a client and realizing that you have no idea what you’re talking about. This approach remedies that.
 
SO WHAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING FOR THE SCHOOL?
 
We already see evidence of these energies coming into practical manifestation. My recent bout with retinal detachment leading us to suddenly cancel a Q&A for the first time certainly bears the fingerprints of Uranian energy. Still, it’s helpful to remember that a lot of what we’ve explored here simply hasn’t happened yet. There will certainly be some more surprises – how could it be otherwise with Uranus in the picture? But whatever happens, there’s one point we can take to the bank: we will see the signatures of these seven configurations underlying everything. Astrology always works.
 
As I mentioned earlier, enrollment at the school has grown a bit over the past year – not to a spectacular degree, but solidly. We now have eighteen tutors – or nineteen, if we count our Dean, Catie Cadge. She wears a lot of hats, but tutoring is one of them. Penelope Love, our Communications Director, is also a  tutor now as well. The mixture of Saturnian hard work and Jupiterian opportunity has made itself felt, in other words – and remember: even though the progressed Sun isn’t exactly square to Jupiter until later this year, it’s been within orbs for quite a while.
 
(By the way, we’ve also been experiencing transiting Jupiter in our 1st house since the middle of last year. I could easily and justifiably have included that configuration in our list of seven biggies. Why didn’t I? Simple: I knew that with a client, I’d be covering that Jupiter base since the progressed Sun was squaring it. I keep the nuances of difference between these two Jupiter events alive in my head, but I don’t want to fog my client’s head with unnecessary jargon and complexity.)
 
Our beloved Communications Director, Penelope Love, tells me of a somewhat unexpected development – and there’s another early Uranian fingerprint. She says that there are many already-experienced astrologers arriving and signing up as students. Because they are advanced in their studies, they are mostly enrolled in the self-paced 101 course so they can get right to the guided nodal work and learn what’s unique about our approach. Their arrival has quickened the pace of the school’s growth. Penelope adds that now more people self-pace at all different rates. We don’t actually see their faces until they get to 102 or 103.
 
What about new technology? Well, as we all know, Artificial Intelligence is popping up everywhere lately, which brings us back to Penelope: “Our Call Archive from all of the Q&A sessions Steve has done since the school began is currently in a reconstruction format. We’re working on a project using AI to timestamp past calls and will be releasing a major improvement of the Call Archives in the future. I can’t say exactly when, but it’s going to be a major upgrade.”
 
Here’s another piece of evidence of our recent Saturnian maturation. I’ll start by saying that I personally think of us all as mental health professionals – really, that’s exactly what we are doing, even if we do it in a somewhat more Uranian way than the term conventionally implies. (Feel some Jupiter in that assertion? Let’s boldly and confidently assume our position next to society’s various “licensed” psychotherapists.)
 
Counseling other human beings is serious business and it  requires a specific skill-set. That’s why our 300-level Sacred Counsel course is so integral to our larger program. I’ve written and recorded a lot of material for it myself, but I bow gratefully to Dr. Joey Paynter for doing the lion’s share of the teaching. She’s a mental health professional by anyone’s standards and with her education she brings something to the table that I could never bring myself. Thank you, Joey!
 
Catie reminds me that in our last term, our Sacred Counsel course was a big success – but we all realized it needed to be expanded. Now it’s FCEA 300SC and it’s expanded to full two-hour sessions, still under Joey’s able guidance.
 
Once again, the wheels I describe here in this edition of Master’s Musing are only beginning to turn. We’ve all got front row seats well-positioned for seeing what actually happens next.
 
Enjoy the show and thanks for being part of it!
 
Steven Forrest
April 2025

Join Us for Sacred Counsel Sooner

Join Us for Sacred Counsel Sooner

Dean’s Update, March 2025

Join Us for Sacred Counsel Sooner

 
 
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Dean’s Update
 
 
Happy equinox, FCEA community. Here in California, our clocks “spring forward” so now we have more hours of light and longer days. To me, Aries season always says it’s time to spring into action! We see lots of new growth and excitement at the FCEA. Everyone is doing a fine job finishing up their classwork before spring break. We are about to start up our second round of 2025 classes in late March and April. Steven and I want to give a special thank you to cohort 5 for their great contributions to 306-05, The Master Practicum. We were so impressed by the level of insight and skill this group demonstrated in class! Next up, this group will be taking our counseling course, Sacred Counsel. We listened to our students’ requests about this class. We expanded it to two-hour Zoom sessions a week. We are also excited to announce some changes in scheduling to better assist students in different time zones. Let me explain.

 

First, the big news: we are now opening up the Sacred Counsel class to any student currently enrolled in the 300-level curriculum. We changed the numbering of the class to reflect three different offerings at three different times a year. Times may vary one year to the next, so please consult the school catalog when published the year before. You can now take Sacred Counsel along with another 300-level class if you wish. FCEA Sacred Counsel is now FCEA-300SC. This year the class will be held according to the following dates:
 
  • FCEA-300SC-25A — March 25 – April 15, 2025 (Tuesdays 12:00 – 2:00 pm PT) 
    First Priority to Cohorts 5 & 7
  • FCEA-300SC-25B — June 25 – July 16, 2025 (Wednesdays 8:00 – 10:00 am PT) 
    First Priority to Cohort 7 & 9
  • FCEA-300SC-25C — September 18 – October 9, 2025 (Thursdays 5:00 – 7:00 pm PT) 
    First Priority to Cohorts 9 & 11

Priority registration will be given to the cohort (class of students) who has finished FCEA 306: The Master Practicum or the cohort next in line to take it. 
 
Students in cohorts 5, 7, 9 and 11 can register starting on March 19th when they read this in the newsletter.
 
Once cohort 13 successfully finishes the 200-level curriculum in June, they, too, may register for FCEA 300SC-25C or wait for one of the 300SC offerings next year.
 
This new series of FCEA 300SC will allow students to choose a time and day of the week suitable for their unique schedule. We are hoping this will help students find a class that works for them. 
 
Meanwhile, we also made some changes to the graduation schedule in light of the new dates of completion of FCEA 300SC. We will hold two graduations a year: one in late July and one in late November. Because students will complete the FCEA curriculum at different times of the year, two graduation ceremonies will best accommodate all. We realize this biannual event may bring together students from different cohorts, but we hope we can support each other and share student achievements as a community with Steven. We will announce these graduation dates in the weeks ahead. Students would be listed in the directory on our website as soon as they successfully complete both 300SC and 306.

 

Finally, I look forward to seeing some of you soon in Athens, Greece, for Steven’s program, “Finding the Heart of the Birth Chart,” April 24 through 29th, followed by our Sacred Sites Journey, April 29th through May 7th. This is our first FCEA-sponsored live event with Steven! We are thrilled to share time together in person in class and to experience the wonders of the sacred landscape of Greece. I also recognize many would like to see other opportunities to meet in person as the FCEA community. Penelope Love and I will attend Steven’s class at OMEGA, in Rhinebeck, New York, this summer from August 17th through the 22nd.  The topic is an exciting one: synastry! Although this is not an official FCEA-sponsored event, we love to see students and staff at OMEGA. Please consider joining us!  As Neptune prepares to enter Aries, let’s dream big!
 
Catie Cadge, PhD
March 2025
 
 

2025 Live Events with Steven

2025 Live Events with Steven

December

Master’s Musings, March 2025

2025 Live Events with Steven

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Master’s Musings
 

With three planets in Capricorn and a Virgo Saturn on the Midheaven, still being able to work at my age is a blessing beyond all measure – and something that I plan to continue doing as long as my mind and my body are in agreement. In this edition of Master’s Musings, I want to give you a rundown of all the public astrological show-and-tell that I’ll be doing this year outside of the strictly in-house teaching within the school’s curriculum. 

Three of the events I’ll be tooting here are “live, in person.” As always, it’s a joy to see any of you in the flesh rather than just on a Zoom screen, so I hope you can attend at least one of them. Two are here in the United States and one is in Europe. 

WEBINAR ON MARCH 23: HOW TO BE THE HERO IN YOUR OWN STORY

This will be part of a weekend event sponsored by Astrology University called “The New Air and Fire Era.” In it, I’ll be offering a webinar about Neptune’s entry into Aries. Here’s my description of the talk:

Warrior talk: imagine the sheer emptiness of having nothing in your life that was worth dying for. So many of our greatest heroes – Jesus, Joan d’Arc, Martin Luther King – have walked that talk. But then how many human beings have been bamboozled into giving away their lives for almost nothing – a political theory, a worthless king, or even a banking system. Neptune in Aries is a volatile, passionate energy – powerful, but not easily kept on a healthy track.

Here are the keys to getting it right: what was the sacred gift you were given while Neptune was in Pisces? What are you going to do about it now?

If you’re interested in attending, here’s the link for signing up or learning more about the whole event: https://www.astrologyuniversity.com/summit

My Neptune talk will also be available separately on my forrestastrology.com website shortly after the summit.

INTERVIEW ON APRIL 10

I was approached by Sam Liebowitz who emcees the popular podcast, The Conscious Consultant Hour, about doing a show. He and I had a lively Zoom chat about the possibility. I liked him and I decided to go for it. Here’s the link to his show where I suspect that sooner or later you’ll find the details about my time with him: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-conscious-consu-29372591/

INTERVIEW ON APRIL 18

Bestselling author, former champion hotelier, and emerging Elder, Chip Conley, has been a pal of mine since the days of tape cassettes. He now runs the Modern Elder Academy with campuses in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Baja California, Mexico. On April 18, I’ll be enjoying a Zoom Fireside Chat with him as we talk about the changing culture and psychology around an event that lies ahead for just about every one of us: getting older.  Interested in experiencing my talk with Chip? Information about tuning into our chat will soon be available at https://www.meawisdom.com. 

LIVE 4-DAY CLASS IN GREECE, starting on Friday, April 25

I’m really excited about this event! This one is actually sponsored by the FCEA and run by our very own Lisa Jones, along with our hardworking Dean, Catie Cadge. We’re giving priority to our students, but others will be allowed to attend, provided that we have the space. It will be a very practical four day master class in Athens, followed by a six-day bus adventure.  Limited space is still available for this class and the unique sacred journey following. Please join us! Hit this link for the details: https://forrestastrology.center/Greece2025/

LIVE 5-DAY CLASS IN SANTA FE, NM, AT THE MODERN ELDER ACADEMY, June 16-21

A few lines ago I mentioned my Fireside Chat with Chip Conley. That will be a Zoom event. In June, I’ll physically be returning to his elegant Modern Elder Academy to teach. The campus is set on four square miles of magical land south of Santa Fe. Last year we had a wonderfully warm and friendly group of about twenty-five people. Some were experienced with astrology and some were not, but they all “got it” quickly. This year, I plan to talk about the current sign changes of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and how each of us can best work with these fresh new energies at a personal level. For details, here’s the link: https://www.meawisdom.com/enroll/

 

WEBINAR ABOUT URANUS ENTERING GEMINI, Saturday, July 12.

I’ll be offering this talk with the help of the inimitable Tony Howard who has run my business for a couple of decades. When Uranus enters a new sign, the shocks, surprises, and breakthroughs start coming from new directions. Want to be prepared? Join us! Sign up (or watch the program later on) at forrestastrology.com.

 

LIVE 5-DAY SYNASTRY CLASS AT THE OMEGA INSTITUTE, Rhinebeck, NY, August 18-22.

This will be my third year in a row returning to Omega, a truly sacred space that always leaves me feeling a lot more hope for humanity. In the last two events, we had huge crowds of over a hundred both times, with a large minority of them FCEA students. It was a delight to finally meet so many of you in person. This year, our topic is synastry. We’ll cover the whole spectrum of techniques, and we’ll be using the charts of volunteer class members as examples. Here’s the link: https://www.eomega.org/workshops/astrology-intimacy 

 

ZOOM PRESENTATION FOR THE U.K. ASTROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE, on the weekend of August 29-31.

 

England is too far away for me to travel just to offer a short talk. This year, they’ve offered me a chance to attend their conference via Zoom. My presentation is entitled, “Sharpening Our Vision” and here’s the description: “There is a chart behind your chart. Whether the information hidden there reflects prior lifetimes or something else, it makes itself felt in the present tense – sometimes in such a fashion that by not knowing it, our work founders. Want proof? Join Steven for this brief introduction to evolutionary astrology.”  I’ve not found any details on their website yet and that includes the exact time of my talk, but I’m sure everything will be up there before long. Here’s the link: https://www.astrologicalassociation.com/

Other than my FCEA classes and my private work, that’s everything I have booked for the rest of this year, at least as of this moment. I’m sure various other podcasts will appear. They tend to be set up fairly spontaneously so it’s hard to give much notice, but afterwards I almost always post links to Facebook and elsewhere. 

For later in 2025, China is the wild card. My trip there this past October was a huge success. I have lots of fun and good, warmhearted friends there, but I’m getting a bit old for twenty-four hour airline journeys. Bottom line: I’m not yet sure about China.

In any case, I hope that some of you feel drawn to attend some of the events I just listed, especially the live ones where we can make a human connection. Those are so precious, especially now with the world in such turmoil.

 
Steven Forrest
March 2025

 

 

Envision Ways You’ll Use Your Evolving Voice

Envision the Ways You'll Use Your Evolving Voice

Dean’s Update, February 2025

Envision the Ways You’ll Use Your Evolving Voice

 
 
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Dean’s Update
 
March 6 marks the 6th birthday of the FCEA (try saying that six times fast!). Congratulations dear school! Near the end of next month, in March, Neptune makes a big shift by moving into Aries and I am wondering, now that we are in Pisces season, what type of vision do we need for our school? As we all know, there is a certain letting go process with the archetypes of Pisces and Neptune. What behaviors need to go now so that we can all take the Neptunian initiative with fiery action in the spirit of Aries? Being a mystic and going to the mountaintop all has its place. But somehow I feel now we need to be ready to act.
 
I am hoping this short essay might inspire FCEA students and community members to step out and make your own voices heard! Let me explain.
 
I think of Steven’s description of a child learning to read under a “Mercury time,” and how that little one carries that ability to read into the future, well past that moment with Mercury. How do we build upon the mystical insights and spiritual work we have been doing this past fourteen years since the watery planet of consciousness, Neptune, entered Pisces? In the years ahead, we all will need those spiritual tools earned through Neptune’s journey through each and every one of our charts to handle the potential low road of delusion and aggression possible with a “me first” attitude of Aries. But let’s also remember there is a high road of Aries. Where do we as a school of evolutionary astrology step into the future with Aries gumption and a warrior spirit?

The FCEA Chart
 
In the natal chart of the FCEA, we have Chiron, the “wounded healer,” at 0°54’ Aries in the 11th house. Mercury at 29°34’ Pisces, stationed at the time of the school’s “birth,” before turning retrograde, and it conjuncts Chiron. Wouldn’t you agree this is such an intriguing natal conjunction, given Neptune’s current position and the planet’s upcoming ingress into Aries? Clearly, our particular methods and approach in practicing evolutionary astrology depend upon a compassionate, intuitive Piscean voice. Ideally, we help to guide the 11th house collective into a growth of spiritual consciousness. But that’s a tall order for our FCEA community! It takes courage! That Chiron of ours suggests that we may have a wound to process when it comes to asserting our right to “take up space” or claim “enlightened selfishness,” as Steven says, in the larger community we hope to serve.
 
I recall Steven’s accurate description of the high road of Mars, ruler of Aries, as “spiritual warrior.” Out-of-bounds Mars by transit is about to station direct February 23 at 17°00’ Cancer on the FCEA’s 3rd house cusp and in opposition to our Saturn at 18°13’ Capricorn on our 9th house cusp. Meanwhile, the FCEA’s progressed Moon in Gemini is just about to cross our school’s ascendant. What feeds our healing voices while we attempt to bring our ideas, methods and wisdom to the collective table? I mean this next statement in a most humble Piscean way, but I think we need to step into our power, our abilities to be leaders among our peers in astrology, to put ourselves first as worthy healers of a choice-centered evolutionary approach. Our voices have a right to “take up space”!

It is time for our voices to be heard and be a force for change in our world. Have you thought about sharing your own astrological insights built upon a foundation of your studies at the FCEA? Or how about writing ideas in response to Steven’s Q and A calls or his many insightful publications? Consider giving a paper at one of the many astrology conferences or organizational meetups. Or introduce evolutionary astrology through a local gathering. As FCEA students and community members, we all have a multiplicity of Gemini perspectives that our school’s Progressed Moon wants to boldly put forward. It is time to claim that Aries Chiron wound in the 11th and use it to forge ahead with confidence and a strong, yet healing, voice. We’ve got this! And we all have something to say.
 
Catie Cadge, PhD
February 2025
 
 

Jupiter Returns

The Cycle of Jupiter Returns

December

Master’s Musings, February 2025

The Cycle of Jupiter Returns

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Master’s Musings
 

Every twelve years or so, Jupiter returns to the sign and degree it occupied when you were born. For obvious reasons, that represents a time of intensified Jupiter energy for anyone who experiences it – and we all do, pretty much like clockwork when we turn twelve years old, or twenty-four, or thirty-six, or forty-eight, and so on.

Naturally, seeing a peak in Jupiter energy, all the fortune-telling astrologers jump for joy. They’ll tell us that it’s time to buy a lottery ticket or ask the boss for a raise. And it is! When “dumb luck” knocks on your door, there is a good chance that Juptier is knocking too. We evolutionary astrologers recognize that fact – but we also recognize Jupiter’s darker potentials. The familiar cliche, “all that glitters is not gold,” pretty much summarizes them. To that cautionary note, I always like to add a happy rider: but gold glitters! Any Jupiter time is an excellent opportunity to add some of that glitter to your life.

As ever, with Jupiter the real questions are always how have you been underestimating yourself? How have you been settling for too little? It’s time for a victory – or at least some significant improvement in your life. And because of the laws of synchronicity, when Jupiter steps into the spotlight the opportunities for those improvements are all in place. It’s your job to recognize them – and meanwhile, to be wary of the kinds of fool’s gold opportunities that merely glitter, but will never feed your soul.

All that I’ve just written applies to any kind of Jupiter event. To those of you who have been studying evolutionary astrology for a while, it’s all familiar territory. In this essay, I want to explore one dimension of our understanding of Jupiter returns, specifically – one that applies to everyone, rarely fails, and generally does not appear in the astrological literature.

By the way, Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun takes 11.86 years, so calling it “twelve years” isn’t exactly spot-on. And of course, like the rest of the planets, Jupiter turns retrograde from time to time, and so putting a date on your personal returns is a bit complicated. Your first Jupiter return might not occur when you are exactly 11.86 years old. Because of retrograde motion, it might also involve three hits on the exact conjunction rather than just a single hit. As always, to nail the precise timing, you need to turn on the computer or open up the ephemeris.

For our purposes here, let’s keep it simple and say we all have Jupitier returns like clockwork every dozen years. That means that they are part of what we call the biopsychic script in the FCEA – that subset of transits and progressions that hit everybody at the same age. Because of that universality, they are woven into human culture, generally stripped of their obvious astrological signatures. In other words, you’ll see plenty of “common knowledge” in what we are about to explore.

What I want to reflect on here is how each subsequent Jupiter return is unique, with its own signature set of issues and opportunities. They always represent a chance to “estimate yourself” more positively, but in each case the breakthrough they offer is different. The delightful heart of the matter is the way each of these Jupiter returns is mirrored in that fabled archetype that underlies every cycle that impacts everything that comes into existence: the astrological houses.

The key here is to start with the first Jupiter return and relate it to the first house. I missed this whole connection for a long time by thinking that birth should be the first house, with the first Jupiter return then being relegated to the second house, and so on around the circle. That might make a kind of logical sense, but as you’ll soon see, it doesn’t work that way.

 

 

THE FIRST RETURN: AGE TWELVE

The first house is about autonomy and freedom. It’s about making our own choices – and dealing with the consequences. As we turn twelve, we are beginning to “grow up.” Civilized behavior is expected of us. We’re now  expected to know the difference between right and wrong. We are also starting to operate outside the protective context of family – and beyond its watchful eye. We start to feel touchy about our independence. Sexual energy begins to impact us, drawing our attention to the wider world. We start to become conscious – and probably self-conscious – about our appearance: another classic dimension of the first house and how we “dawn on people.” We start to feel motivated to find our own “style.” We no longer assume that we will automatically be loved or remembered. We have to earn it.

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Step out confidently into the wider world with all its dangers and possibilities.

 

THE SECOND RETURN: AGE TWENTY-FOUR

Traditionally, the second house refers to money – and there are obvious connections with financial matters at this crossroads. Individual stories vary, but around this age there is a general assumption that we will begin to be self-supporting – or that we should be. Failure in that regard tends to feed back negatively into our self-image. In classic second house fashion, it is time that we begin to “prove ourselves.” Who are we and what’s going to be our place in the eternal pecking order? The hungry drive – and the attendant personal insecurity – of just “starting out” dominate our lives. The dramas of rejection and acceptance around mate selection accentuate second house questions of self-worth and confidence. Marriage and the birth of the first child are common around now, further raising questions around our ability to “provide.”

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Trust and value yourself and have faith in the future that you are starting to create.

 

THE THIRD RETURN: AGE THIRTY-SIX

The third house is related to speech and around this time two developments are happening in that communications arena. First, we are simply finding our adult voice. Second, what we have to say is beginning to be taken more seriously by people of all ages. When we express an opinion, we’re not seen as “the kid” anymore. We have reached an age where we can speak with a kind of authority which people older than ourselves find plausible, natural, and legitimate. The third house is also about sheer, frantic busyness and the general buzz of life, which are typically reaching a crescendo around this time. How many balls can we juggle?

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Speak up confidently and expect that you will be taken seriously.

 

THE FOURTH RETURN: AGE FORTY-EIGHT

The fourth house has a strong connection with home and family and so our focus naturally shifts in that direction. Generally by this age, we’ve put down some kind of roots in both of those categories – home and family. While we may be very busy with our work in the world, there also arises a stronger sense of the importance of our primary domestic relationships. In eternal fourth house fashion, psychology calls us – whether it takes the simple form of more introspection and reflection, or some actual “crisis of meaning” in our lives. Aging parents often begin to loom large in our lives at this stage too, further emphasizing familial themes.

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Make your stand in the world, taking appreciative responsibility for your home, your family, and your community.

 

THE FIFTH RETURN: AGE SIXTY

As we come to our fifth Jupiter return, we are also experiencing our second Saturn return, so this is a particularly momentous existential turning point. The fifth house is associated with joy, creativity, and playfulness – and more importantly, with seizing the moment for the expression of those kinds of values. Most of us are still reasonably healthy and active at this age, but we are also vividly aware of getting older. There’s less satisfaction derived from imagining good things that will “come tomorrow.” Fifth house fashion, we want them right now. It’s not unusual for people to become grandparents around this time and thus we see the traditional fifth house focus on the joy that children can bring, except in this case it’s our children’s children.

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift:  Be generous with yourself. Do something big for yourself. Do it right now.

 

THE SIXTH RETURN: AGE SEVENTY-TWO

One traditional focus with the sixth house is health and illness. We may still be fine physically as we approach age seventy-two, but we’re generally becoming more aware of physical issues and limitations, even impending ones. Those health concerns are part of the sixth Jupiter return, but the heart of it lies in that often-forgotten dimension of the sixth house: mentoring. Much joy derives from passing on our gifts of knowledge and wisdom and having them received gratefully by younger people. We now often find ourselves “passing on the torch” in terms of our life’s work. Meeting needs that are essentially egocentric becomes less of a motivator for us. There’s humility in the sixth house – and a lot of generosity too.

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Take better care of your physical body starting right now – and keep your eyes open for younger people who could use some skillfully diplomatic, respectful guidance from you.

 

THE SEVENTH RETURN: AGE EIGHTY-FOUR

As we come to our seventh Jupiter return, we are also experiencing our Uranian return, so once again as with the fifth return it is reinforced and thus it is a particularly momentous time. The seventh house is all about relationships in general, not just marriage. Ask anyone at age eighty-four what they think is the most important value in life and there is a good chance that you will hear something about the quality of their human connections. Worldly success and glory are losing their grip on us. It’s the people we love that matter now – and with that Uranian signature in the mixture, the people we love are the ones who accept us as we are. The rest can take a long walk off a short pier.

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Say “I love you” to the people who deserve to hear it. Be yourself – and be grateful if anyone who doesn’t like you being who you actually are chooses to go away and leave you alone.

 

THE EIGHTH RETURN: AGE NINETY-SIX

For obvious reasons, only a few of us make it to the eighth Jupiter return. Traditionally, the eighth is the house of death and naturally mortality looms large and imminent at this point. We know that we don’t have much time left in this world. Younger people might find those words ominous, but never forget to add the nature of Jupiter itself. This is the planet of exuberant faith. A joyful sense of “going home” is trying to arise in the psyche now – and trying to break through the cultural walls of fear around end-of-life matters. Most of our peers – old friends, lovers, and partners – are gone now. We know that we will soon follow them. Often a sweet feeling that we will see them again begins to loom in us.

 

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Face your own passing from this world in a spirit of faith, surrender, and gratitude.

 

THE NINTH RETURN: AGE ONE HUNDRED EIGHT

It happens sometimes! But clearly a ninth Jupiter return is a rare event. What is the meaning of the ninth house? “Long journeys” is one – and anyone who makes it this far is contemplating the longest journey of them all. Another meaning of the ninth house is religion or philosophy. Either one of those subjects can become quite central in the mind of anyone who makes it this far. It’s time to figure out what your life has meant. What did you learn? What will you take with you?

Claiming Jupiter’s Gift: Reflect on what you have learned from your long years in this world. See if you can put it into ten words or less. That’s the essence of what you’ll bring through the gateway we call death – and out the other side.

So there it is, the cycle of Jupiter returns, each with its own unique signature.

 
Steven Forrest
February 2025

 

Become the Astrologer Our World Needs You to Be

Become the Astrologer Our World Needs You to Be

Dean’s Update, January 2025

Become the Astrologer Our World Needs You to Be

 
 
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Dean’s Update
 
At the FCEA, in January, we open our doors after the holiday season and welcome back to class our students, tutors and teachers. I hope all return refreshed and eager to dive into their studies once again. We are moving full-steam ahead in 2025. It’s been a busy few weeks! Ten classes are now up and running. I am so grateful for our amazing staff who worked closely as a team to get everyone all set in terms of registration, enrollment in Moodle (our online learning platform) and timing of orientation calls. I want to give a special welcome to our new students joining us in FCEA 101B, our guided introductory course. I wish them the best in embarking upon learning our sacred craft. There is lots for us to look forward to in the months ahead!
 
Let me start the year by sharing some thoughts I have about the current dance between the planet Jupiter, in the sign Gemini, and Saturn in Pisces. I’m going to mention just briefly some of my own transits in recent months, then apply my thought processes to the FCEA community and what we hope to accomplish collectively. Most readers are probably familiar with the ongoing square between Jupiter, “King of the Gods,” and Saturn, “the old taskmaster.” Last year, the square was exact August 19th and December 24th, and we will see one final one this coming June 15th in Cancer and Aries respectively (Neptune also enters Aries this spring). Of course, taking into account orbs, the square has been in play off and on for months (orbs are such a tricky factor, as Steven would say, “when does a kitten become a cat?”) And then we see certain triggers enter the astrological picture. I write this article just a day after quick-moving Venus lined up by conjunction with Saturn in Pisces. 
 
Here’s my personal connection to this ongoing square: This past year, Saturn crossed my Pisces ascendant three times, while Jupiter formed an exact conjunction with my natal Gemini Moon only once last summer. The exact squares of 2024 fell within a tight orb of both my ascendant and Moon. Yet now, I have to admit, as Jupiter in Gemini slows down in preparation of turning direct February 4th at 11°16’, I feel the “full monty” of Jupiter’s gumption and overloading tendencies, all while the big gaseous giant stops in the sky so close, but not exact, my natal Moon at 11°11’. I’m over-extended, sure. Opportunities abound, sure. But, from an evolutionary perspective, the question to ask myself is what truly makes me happy?   
 
You see my Gemini Moon falls in my 3rd house, house of communication and perception, of learning and teaching, of the curious mind and data in and data out. I can tell you I have definitely encountered Jupiter “the teacher” with this month’s close conjunction. Where do I need to reassess my role as teacher, how can I rekindle the passion I have for sharing ideas and claiming my lunar “voice”? Saturn on my ascendant wants me to see the path of maturation to be the kind of Piscean “mystic” I hope to be. Where do I need limits and a reality check about boundaries in the last third of my life? There’s Jupiter “the trickster.” Saturn on my ascendant says define what kind of mask I will don.
 
Thanks for listening while I tried to sum up these impactful transits in my own evolutionary path. But how can we all learn from Jupiter’s upcoming stationary period? How can we make the most of it at the FCEA? Perhaps it might help to remember we have a monumental shift this spring when both Saturn and Neptune enter Aries. Maybe Jupiter sets the stage for us to claim our true voices, to use our curious minds, so we can be the type of spiritual and wise warrior humanity sorely needs. What kind of fresh perspectives or new avenues of learning do you need? In the weeks ahead as Jupiter stations and stops in the sky we can roll the dice on ourselves in Gemini fashion. Where does 11°Gemini fall in your natal chart? 
 
Returning to the FCEA classroom, each of us works hard to build a repertoire of words, questions and metaphors useful as an evolutionary astrologer while learning the nuts and bolts of astrology. We learn a skill set needed to speak a language that heals, offers compassion and makes real our Piscean intuitive and visionary imagination. Late January and the month of February provide an astrological moment in time rich in educational potential. You simply have to let synchronicity and your curiosity take center stage. Make your mind an open book, absorb, practice, and grab hold of Jupiter “the teacher.” All I can say is let’s hope more and more people learn to understand the language of evolutionary astrology, so we can become those spiritual warriors ready to fight. Make this time one of Jupiterian growth and hopeful dreams and aspirations. 
 
My heart goes out to those in our community affected by the recent devastating fires in Southern California. A fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire makes us all yearn more for peace and an end to this brutal war. Democracy seems to slip through our fingers. As evolutionary astrologers, we have much to do to help heal a wounded world. This spring, in class or as you study, work hard to think, learn, expand your mind as we prepare for Jupiter moving into Cancer. Become the astrologer the world needs you to be. With the north node of the Moon now in Pisces, strive to be that healing mystic.

 

Catie Cadge, PhD
January 2025
 
 

What is Mutual Reception?

What is Mutual Reception?

December

Master’s Musings, January 2025

What is Mutual Reception?

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Master’s Musings
 
In your astrological studies, you’ll occasionally encounter the term “mutual reception.” I don’t think I’ve ever written about it before, but I suspect it may have popped up from time to time in my videos or in one of our question-and-answer sessions. It’s not a pivotal tool in evolutionary astrology, but it’s something worth understanding.
 
The basic idea is the soul of simplicity: we have two planets and each one lies in the sign that the other one rules. You might, for example, have Mercury in Aries and Mars in Gemini. Or maybe your Jupiter is in Cancer while the Moon is in Sagittarius. Even though every planet is  different, in the case of mutual reception, each one is wired to have a special understanding of the other one. They are working as a team.
 
  • A common interpretive thread in the traditions around mutual reception is that these planets can help each other escape from various perils. They watch out for each other. They have each other’s backs. They can “bail each other out.” They can offer each other “escape hatches.”
 
Those phrases give us the basic interpretive template. Mercury in Aries and Mars in Gemini? Maybe your shoot-from-the-hip Mercury gets you into trouble – you say something injudicious and suddenly everyone is giving you dirty looks. Mars-in-Gemini to the rescue – you quickly come up with a “clarification” that gets you off the hook.
 
Jupiter in Cancer and the Moon in Sagittarius? Maybe you’re worried about how you’re going to pay for that fixer-upper home you just bought in Calabria, Italy? (There’s your impulsive Moon in Sagittarius.)  Right on schedule, your grandmother dies and leaves you half a million dollars. (Jupiter in Cancer to the rescue.)
 
Once I read that you can think of two planets in mutual reception the same way you might think of a trine aspect between them. That’s a crude analogy, but it does contain a germ of truth –. clearly the simple notion of “luck” has some relevance here. But naturally it’s possible for two planets in mutual reception to be joined by a hard aspect, so it’s a bit more complicated than thinking of them as “trine.” The classic example there would be Mars in Libra opposing Venus in Aries. Here’s another – Jupiter in Virgo in square aspect to Mercury in Sagittarius. In those cases, we’re obviously dealing with some complexity – the integrative challenges of the hard aspect are mixed with themes of alliance, mutual aid, and shared goals and understandings.
 
 
JULIANE KOEPCKE
 
Here’s a real life story of a woman born with Saturn in Scorpio and Mars in Capricorn – a classic example of mutual reception. She’s also on the short list for the luckiest human being ever to have lived. On Christmas Eve 1971, the plane in which she was flying with her mother in South America was struck by lightning and disintegrated in midair. Still strapped to her seat, she fell 10,000 feet and crashed into the Amazon rainforest far below, miraculously still alive. She was the sole survivor of the crash, suffering a concussion, a broken collar bone, and various lacerations.
 
Following creeks and rivers downstream, she wandered through the jungle for nine days before finding a camp set up by lumberjacks who finally got her to help. Two weeks later, she was strong enough to be able to help authorities locate the crash site, where she had the horrific experience of finding her own mother’s body.
 
Obviously, there is considerable ambiguity in calling Juliane Koepcke “lucky.” Still, there are not many human beings who can fall from a height of nearly two miles and live to tell the tale. Google her if you’d like to know the rest of her story.
 
Meanwhile, here’s her AA-rated chart.
 

 
There’s a clear mutual reception between Mars and Saturn, in Capricorn and Scorpio respectively. The interpretive details are truly eerie and they verge us a lot closer to fortune-telling astrology than where we usually go in our work. Keep perspective: I am sure that there are thousands of people who have “malefic”  Mars in “the house of long journeys” and who have never fallen out of airplanes – even if Mars not only rules their charts, but is also conjunct Chiron, opposing a Uranus/Jupiter conjunction, and squared by Neptune!
 
The astrological symbolism behind Koepcke’s spectacular accident is clearly quite literal in this case: she had a horrible accident (Mars) on a “long journey” (9th house) and miraculously (mutual reception) survived. As always, astrology works – we’re just never sure exactly how it’s going to work. And naturally in exploring this single event, while the correlations are indeed extremely striking and obvious, we are far from seeing the “only” meaning these configurations could possibly have had – or actually have had in her life. Any astrologer who looks at her chart and tries to play the “I could have told you that” game is standing on very shaky ground.
 
Our focus here is on understanding mutual reception in generalizable ways. How does Koepcke’s Mars interact with her 7th house Saturn in Scorpio, along with Saturn’s solid conjunction with Mercury? To really get to the heart of the matter, that’s the technical question we need to answer. Here’s a critical piece of background information – something which opens the door to understanding the cooperative interaction between her Mars and her Saturn. When she was born, Juliane Koepcke’s parents were German zoologists working at the Museum of Natural History in Lima, Peru. When Juliane was fourteen, they left Lima to create a research facility deep in the Amazon rainforest, where she learned jungle survival skills. Without those skills, it is doubtful that she would have gotten through her rainforest trek alive.
 
When we think of survival, what astrological symbolism comes to mind? Scorpio resonates with the presence of death. Mars resonates with the fierce desire to fight to remain alive. Saturn resonates with sheer determination in the face of daunting difficulties.
 
And Mercury resonates with knowledge.
 
In those last few sentences, we see the stew of astrological energies that kept Juliane Koepcke alive. She needed the sheer grit of Mars and Saturn, but without her technical “Mercury” knowledge about survival skills specific to the perils of the Amazon basin, she wouldn’t have made it through in one piece.
 
Still, the obvious question remains: what kept her alive as she fell 10,000 feet to the jungle floor far below? No amount of knowledge prepares anyone to survive such a trauma. That part is not so easy to explain – and in that we perhaps glimpse the deeper mysteries implicit in mutual reception.
 
It seems that guardian angels find mutual receptions attractive.
 
Juliane Koepcke’s example is obviously a “Perfect Ten” on the Richter Scale of drama. That’s fitting with Mars, Saturn, and Scorpio in the mixture. Let’s now turn our attention to a softer example – one that’s closer to the more psychological realities that you’ll actually encounter in the course of pursuing an astrological practice in the everyday world. Here we’ll stick nearer to home. Let’s look at the chart of the FCEA’s beloved Communications Director . . .
 
 
PENELOPE LOVE
 
With Penelope, we are looking at a very powerful example of mutual reception, but one that isn’t quite so chocked full of hellfire and brimstone as Koepcke’s. Penelope’s chart-ruling Venus lies in Cancer and conjunct her Sun – she’s clearly Madame Venus. Meanwhile, her Moon lies in Taurus. That provides us with a classic example of mutual reception: the Moon is in a sign that Venus rules while Venus occupies the Moon’s own sign, Cancer.
 

 

Intimate themes clearly pervade Penelope’s mutual reception. Venus is of course “the goddess of love” and it could hardly be more prominent in her chart. Being in Cancer, Venus definitely takes on the coloration of “wife” and “life-partner” –  in terms of relationship, Cancer means that we’re talking about serious commitment for the long haul. That stable, monogamous intention is further underscored by the Moon being in the Fixed sign, Taurus. More to the point, the Moon is also in the 8th house, which links directly to the idea of sexual bonding as distinct from any  examples of the broader range of human sexual expression. With Penelope’s symbols, we’re talking about the mystery of couples who pass the test of time. God bless our flings and our  adventures on either side of the bedsheets, but those kinds of amorous situations are more in the 5th house category than the 8th. Penelope’s evolutionary intention in this lifetime very definitely includes the experience of serious commitment running in both directions – to cherish and to be cherished.
 
Here’s the hitch: her 8th house Taurus Moon is in a conjunction with her south node, which is in turn ruled by that same Venus. In Penelope’s case, this whole mutual reception structure is pervaded by unresolved intimate karma – and note that “earthquaking” Uranus opposes both the south node and the Moon. That configuration is strongly suggestive of past life bereavement or abandonment – something that left her with a bit of PTSD in the love department as she began this incarnation.
 
Would that mutual reception of Venus and the Moon come to the rescue in this lifetime?
 
Rather than telling you Penelope’s story here, let me just refer you to her book, Wake Up In Love. In fact, you can enter it in Amazon’s search engine right now and read a few pages for free. There, you’ll see the heart of the matter in action – and I bet you’ll quickly want to buy the book too! Support your local Communications Director!
 
Steven Forrest
January 2025

 

Charles Dickens’ Transits for “A Christmas Carol”

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.
Photo by Andy Mabbett via Wikimedia Commons
I often think about what a collective impact “A Christmas Carol” had and how its legacy is so enduring. Good ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge and his encounter with the three ghosts; I think just about everyone knows the story.
Knowing your natal chart and the potential of the “current sky” is such an extraordinary and sacred tool. Now is a good season to ask yourself, what great work is dormant in me? How in Capricorn season can I strive for my “great work” in 2025? I hope you enjoyed my story. Solstice blessings, everyone! I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the FCEA next year!
Catie Cadge, PhD
December 2024
 
 

Planetary On-Ramps

Planetary On-Ramps

December

Master’s Musings, December 2024

Planetary On-Ramps

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Master’s Musings
 
I want to begin by thanking every brave veteran of our 306 master classes. I am looking forward to our next one which begins on Monday, January 13th. Without what I’ve learned from them, I would not be able to write this little essay. This one is about “something I knew, but didn’t know I knew” – at least until I’d spent many hours helping our most advanced students expand their astrological chops.
 
As many of you are aware, our format in the master classes involves everyone looking at the same new chart each week. The charts are all invented – they’re not famous people. The students receive them in advance along with fictional biographies for each character. One week we’ll look at a birthchart, another week we’ll look at current transits and progressions for that same invented person. Late in the program, there’s always a synastry as we imagine two of our fictional characters falling in love. For efficiency’s sake, with the t’s & p’s and the synastry,  we stick to birthcharts we’ve already studied, so we can skip that step.
 
The underlying idea in the master class is that each student needs to be ready for anything with that weekly chart – just like we need to be fully prepared to talk about anything and everything if a client is coming to sit with us.
 
We meet on Zoom for seven sessions. Students are required to attend at least four of the seven class sessions in order to pass. The FCEA is wonderfully international, but that does create some scheduling challenges. By alternating between an early-morning and a late-afternoon US West coast starting time, we make class times as accessible as possible for different time zones. Each time, either Catie or I propose a series of questions about the chart-of-the-week. The questions could be technical or they could be something we say in human terms. What about that Jupiter square Saturn? Or how would you counsel this person in terms of career direction?
 
I then reach into a hat, draw the name of a class member, and that (heavily perspiring) person takes it from there. Nobody knows when the fickle finger of fate is going to point in their direction. In a typical meeting, five or six people are called to stand in the spotlight. Most of the students take ten minutes or so to do their presentations, then I make some comments and usually ask some follow-up questions.
 
As a system, this format has worked really well. In designing it, what we were up against was our usual enemy: the clock. Ideally, each student would present a full, integrated analysis of a chart – something that would take at least an hour and probably longer. With a dozen or so people in the class, there just wasn’t enough time for that. The math didn’t lie: seven sessions times ninety minutes is only ten hours or so. On top of it, part of the teaching is me commenting on each student’s work – that’s where the “master class” dimension comes into play. And that takes time too.
 
That’s where our tricky method enters the picture: each student has to be ready to present a full chart analysis at any given moment – they just don’t know in advance which part of the chart they’ll be asked to discuss or even if “today is their day.”
 
We keep it friendly and supportive, of course – we’re the FCEA! But you can probably see why I referred to the brave veterans of our 306 classes at the beginning of this essay, not to mention their perspiration. No matter how nice we are to each other, it’s still a high pressure situation.
 
All in all, I’ve been delighted with the performances of our students. By the time they complete 306, they are well on their way to being graduates of our school and every one of them is worthy of that honor. They’ve mastered the technicalities. They are capable of representing the best of evolutionary astrology. They can carry the flame forward, and for that I can only thank them.
For those triumphant students, the only thing that lies ahead is practice, practice, practice. They’ve internalized the nuts and bolts of our system. Now they need to find their own  voices.
 
In listening to the presentations of these students, I realized that there was one consistent piece of advice that I could give most of them – something that would help their future clients to follow what they were talking about more easily. It was the “something I knew, but didn’t know I knew” that I referred to at the beginning of this little essay. More to the point, it was also something that was often missing in our students’ presentations.
 
That missing piece is my subject here. I am calling it planetary on-ramps.
 
 
GETTING ON THE HIGHWAY
 
We’ve all either been behind the wheel or riding shotgun when the time comes to join the hurtling traffic on a crowded freeway. We accelerate up the on-ramp hoping for a hole in the screaming mass of moving metal. Often it’s a nail-biter. When it comes to actual driving skills, merging with speeding traffic is a high-stakes test, something far more challenging than just cruising down the highway. That’s why we breathe a sigh of relief once we actually settle into the flow with the rest of the cars and trucks.
 
Cutting to the astrological counseling room . . .
 
There you are in the middle of a reading. You’ve done a good job of presenting an integrated view of the client’s Sun, Moon, and Sagittarian Ascendant. You’re about to scream up the on-ramp to their chart-ruling Jupiter. What are the first words out of your mouth? They better be good. You’re about to set the tone for a fresh, major chapter of your presentation.
 
You understand Jupiter. You’ve burned the midnight oil in your FCEA studies. Intellectually and conceptually you are prepared. Your client is intelligent and open-minded –  but pig-ignorant when it comes to what Jupiter signifies. How do you get that part of the conversation off on the right track? How do you make sure that the client’s mind is attuned to Jupiter’s wavelength? 
Where is the on-ramp? 
 
  • Maybe you say, from the evolutionary perspective, the big questions with Jupiter are how have you been underestimating yourself? How have you sold yourself short? Where have you been settling for too little?
 
See what happens when you open with those familiar words? Instantly, the client’s mind is set on the right questions. Their mental radio is tuned to Jupiter’s channel. You’ve set the correct tone. With those leading sentences, you’ve established a context for everything that will follow.
For each planet, we can create similar “on-ramps.” In each case, there are many possibilities. In a moment, I’ll make a suggestion for each one of them – but, remember, these are just suggestions. You can certainly come up with others and I encourage you to do that.
 
Nothing that follows will sound new or surprising. It’s all stuff you’ve heard before, much of it back in the 100 courses when you were learning the astrological basics. The point is that these verbal “on-ramps,” even though they reflect astrological theory, are really about the art of astrological counseling – which is always about building and maintaining a linguistic bridge of rapport, connection, and mutual comprehension with our astrologically-naive clients. Think of these on-ramps as a way of holding your clients’ hands as you lead them into the deep dark forest of astrological symbolism.
 
Let me reiterate that memorizing and using the “on ramps” that follow is a good starting point, but there are many others waiting to be created – or already lurking in the various FCEA teaching materials that you’ve studied.
 
SAMPLE ON-RAMPS
 
With the Sun, you might open by saying, “Taking care of the Sun is the secret of sanity. Make a priority of the basic values we’re about to explore and you’ll feel centered, grounded, and confident that you are on the right track in life.”
 
With the Moon, you might open by saying, “Taking care of the Moon is the secret of happiness, well-being, and maintaining a generally good mood. Meet the needs that we are about to discuss and you’ll beat back the blues every time.”
 
With the Ascendant, you might open by saying, “Following the path of your Ascendant helps you align your outer life with the actual intentions of your soul. It helps you “get your act together,” in other words. It helps you become the person whom you were always actually meant to be. 
 
With Mercury, you might open by saying, “Mercury is the messenger of the gods. It’s about helping you find your true voice. More critically, it’s about a set of perceptions – things you need to focus on learning – in order to get there. And then there’s the Grand Prize: when you speak with your true voice, people will really listen to you.”
 
With Venus, you might open by saying, “For you, certain kinds of people are like triggers or catalysts for your evolution. Here’s how to recognize those people – and how to avoid the ones who’ll just waste your time, or worse.”
 
With Mars, you might open by saying, “Mars is the god of war – and there is one virtue that warriors esteem above all others. That’s courage – and where Mars lies, you’re going to need it! In this area of life, you’re getting a crash course in assertiveness. You can be the hunter or you can be the prey. The choice is yours.”
 
(We looked at Jupiter earlier in this essay.)
 
With Saturn, you might open by saying, “Saturn often gets a bad rap, but it’s not really  bad – it’s just hard. And there’s a big difference. We are going to look at a place where you were born with a blockage, but that doesn’t mean you have to die with it too. The Great Work of your life lies in making a big breakthrough here. You can succeed, but it will require relentless effort and self-discipline. And it’s worth it.
 
With Uranus, you might open by saying, “Who would you be if you had been born with a different mother or father? More generally, think of all of the external forces that have shaped you – and maybe misshaped you. Uranus is the guardian of your true individuality – and a place where you will have to fight your way to the kind of true self-knowledge that’s the only path to real freedom. It’s also a place where you’ve probably gotten a lot of well-meaning bad advice, and that’s a problem we’ll need to straighten out.”
 
With Neptune, you might open by saying, “Neptune is the god of the sea. What it really means is the sea of consciousness itself – the sea into which we dive when we meditate or dream. When it comes to spirituality, everyone’s path is different. Here’s yours – here’s your doorway into the mysteries.”
 
With Pluto, you might open by saying, “Pluto is the lord of the underworld” – also known as, “the god of hell.” It’s a place where you’ve been hurt, maybe in a past life, maybe in the present one, maybe in both. To heal the wound, there’s a hurt place that you need to see clearly in yourself. It’s also a place where, if you get it right, you can claim your true power.”
 
WHY ARE THESE ON-RAMPS SO MISSION-CRITICAL?
 
If we open our discussion of each planet with these kinds of simple “on-ramp” statements, our clients’ attention is instantly aimed in exactly the right direction. They know precisely what we are talking about and they mentally file everything that you are about to say under the correct headings. 
 
You’ve successfully set the right tone and they are now ready to absorb the details of their evolutionary strategy.
 
Steven Forrest
December 2024