Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get in touch with you?
We're at PO Box 82 , Borrego Springs, CA 92004 | 760.767.4720 | Fax 760.767.4730
Our answering machine is always on, so please leave a message.

How can I get an astrological reading?

1. First, to decide what sort of astrological work you would prefer, see all of these pages:
* our astrological reading types page
* and our computerized personalized astrological reports page.

2. Then, get in touch with us to give us your complete birth information and arrange payment.
Please be certain of the accuracy of the birth data you provide us! If you've made a mistake and need the chart re-done, we'll have to charge you the full price for the corrected order, unless of course, the birth data error was ours.

Please do not adjust the birthtime for daylight or war time if you think it was in effect. We have sophisticated astrological atlases that will do any such adjustment for you, so please just give us the birth time exactly as it was stated on the birth certificate or birth record, or exactly as it was given to you by your parents, without your adjusting it in any way.

How long does it take to get a reading?
Steven and Jodie both have waiting lists, currently up to 6 months. However, if you can get to Borrego Springs, it is sometimes possible to get in much sooner. Please contact us if you'd like to schedule a reading in person. We can sometimes offer a rushed reading for an extra fee, please ask.

Isn't there anything faster?
We offer computerized astrological reports, personalized for your birth data. Data from the reports was written by us. You can have them emailed and receive them generally withing 24 hours. The turnaround time on mailed versions is two to five business days. Read a sample birthchart report!

I don't want to wait to see one of you. Can you refer me to an astrologer in my area?
Yes!
1. Visit our Directory of Astrologers Trained by Steven Forrest.
2. Go to http://www.FindAnAstrologer.com.
3. Ask the National Council for Geocosmic Research for a referral. Contact Margie Herskovitz, 5826 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21209, tel. (410) 466-1510.

Can you email me my report order?
Yes, we can!
We can email the following reports: The Sky Within, Skylog, The Sky We Share, The Single Sky, Heaven Knows What, and Astro*Carto*Graphy.
We cannot email Starlight: The Fixed Star Natal Report, and we cannot email birthcharts.
Please be aware that we don't email the reports automatically! They are emailed on business days during business hours Eastern time, when our office manager is here to process them (roughly 10am-4pm, Mon.-Fri.).

Do you take credit cards?
Yes, Visa and MasterCard and Discover and American Express. We also accept Paypal. We do not accept payments from credit cards outside of the US through our main payment system, however, we do accept these cards through Paypal.
Please remember that the charge on your credit card will be from "Alpha Lyra Consulting" or "Seven Paws Press".

Do you have a privacy policy?
Yes. See our privacy policy page.

How much is postage?
That depends on what you're getting, where you live and what shipping method you want to use.

Where is my order? Shouldn't it have arrived by now?

Provided that Steven, Jodie and our office manager are not all out of town when your order arrived, we ship within five business days, except for items on back order such as some lecture tapes or books, and taped personal interpretations. Please note that emailed reports are not sent automatically; they are sent on business days during business hours Eastern time, by our office manage. For other orders, the transit time may depend on how it was shipped:

1. Unfortunately, once in a while we have known the U.S. Postal Service to take as much as ten days to two weeks to deliver even priority mail--but it's still your best bet to get your order faster without using Fed Ex. U.S. air mail overseas is supposed to take 5-10 days, but we have seen it take as long as 6-8 weeks.
2. If we shipped it UPS or Fed Ex, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it you haven't received it yet, and we'll track the airbill for you.
3. If it's an order for tapes or CDs: please be aware that we sell CDs on a print-on-demand basis. Orders are duped first-come first-served, during business days and hours, in real time, one order at a time as orders come in. Depending on how many orders are ahead of yours, it could take us a week or more to dupe yours. We appreciate your patience!

What if all I want is a copy of my birthchart with no interpretation?
Visit astro.com.

How about having a reading by telephone?
Jodie does some astrological work by phone, but because of the demands on his time and waiting list, Steve does no phone work at all.

What is Astro*Carto*Graphy?
It's a branch of astrology developed by the late Jim Lewis, which examines how going to or living in a different geographic location can affect your expression of your birthchart. For details, go to readings page, or try this sample Astro*Carto*Graphy report.

I've heard there's a kind of astrology that can help you decide what places in the country or overseas are best for you to live. What's that about?
That's Astro*Carto*Graphy! See the question and answer above.

Can you help me pick a good wedding date?
Indeed we can, by using Electional Astrology--and a good date to open a business or move or apply for a job, etc. Anything that has a beginning has a birthchart. Jodie does Electional Astrology. See our readings page for details.

Can astrology answer specific questions?
Sometimes! That's Horary Astrology, and Jodie does it. See our readings page.

Where can I get an overview and comparisons of lots of astrological software, and also buy it?
For the most extensive selection of astrology software with descriptions and comparative reviews, we recommend going to AstrologySoftwareShop.com.

Where can I buy astrological software for PCs?
From us! We distribute products from Alphee Lavoie's AIR Software; go to our software page. Don't know what you want yet? For an extensive selection of astrology software with descriptions and comparative reviews, we recommend AstrologySoftwareShop.com

Where can I buy astrological software for MACs?
For software that will run on Mac systems, try Time Passage, by AstroGraph. Henry Seltzer,
251 Dufour Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. (831) 425-3686. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or www.astrograph.com. Also, for the most extensive selection of astrology software with descriptions and screenshots and comparative reviews, we recommend:

Where can I buy the software that runs your "The Sky Within" and "Skylog" reports?
You can purchase this software from Matrix Software, 800-752-6387, or 231-796-2483, 407 N. State St., Big Rapids MI 49307, http://www.thenewage.com Also, for the most extensive selection of astrology software with descriptions and screenshots and comparative reviews, we recommend:

Where can I buy the software that runs your "The Sky We Share" and "The Single Sky" reports?
Sorry, that software is not for sale.

Can I buy your books from you?
Yes, and some by other authors too. Click here.

Can I buy your books from Amazon.com?
Yes. If you do, and you go to Amazon by using the link below, we get a small cut of the sale, so we would appreciate it if you would please use this link to go there. You can find it on all of our website's pages:

Do you teach classes?
See our schedule page. It has our teaching / conference lecture schedule, including Steven's apprenticeship program.
Also, many of our lectures and workshops have been recorded and are available as mp3's and cd's.
Jodie works with students locally or by telephone (on business days, and during or very close to business hours); call 760.767.4720 or email for more information. Many of Steven's apprentices have supplemented the apprenticeship program with one on one work with Jodie. Please email Jodie if you would like to contact one or more of them for a reference.
Also check out the Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences!

What is Evolutionary Astrology?
Click on our Evolutionary Astrology page for a definition.

I'd like to set up my own astrological practice. Do you have any advice?

First, read Robert Blaschke's A HANDBOOK FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED ASTROLOGER. This is the book we recommend to people who want to set up their own practices. A practical handbook for self-employed astrologers that addresses all of their concerns: transitioning from a student to a professional; establishing a professional practice; handling income, expenses and taxes; marketing and advertising; navigating the client relationship; teaching and local public speaking; writing, publishing and lecture travel; participating in the astrological community; overcoming occupational hazards; fostering personal and spiritual growth; notes for astrologers in the UK and Australia; and more. Visit Amazon: A Handbook for the Self-Employed Astrologer
You may find it answers all your questions and then some; however, if you'd still like a consult about setting up a practice, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

How important is it to give you my correct birthtime?
VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!!!! Sometimes even five minutes can make a significant difference in a birthchart. Please be certain of the accuracy of the birth data you send! If you've made an error and need the chart re-done, you'll be charged the full price for the corrected order, unless the birth data error was our error and not yours.

How can I find my birthtime?
In the US, sometimes the state recorded the time, even if it isn't on the birth certificate. Visit our Where to Order Birth Certificates page for details. That page also has some information for Europe; scroll down to the end of the page. And if you have any additions or corrections to that page, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so she can update that information.
Also, if you're adopted and all you want to know is your birthtime, our clients have told us that the Internet itself has become a great source of information. Go to http://www.google.com, type in "adoptee information" or something similar, and see what you can locate. (And if you find anything you think other adoptees would like to know and that we could post on our site, please let us know. Thanks!)

What if I still can't find my birthtime?
Jodie (not Steven) has a CHART RECTIFICATION SERVICE. First, we encourage you to explore every other possibility (relatives' memories, baby books, relatives' diaries, hospital records, etc.) to verify your birth time or at least get a ballpark figure for it. Why? Because rectification may not be accurate, and because its accuracy will vary with the time frame within which you were born. What does that mean? For example, if you know you were born between noon and 2 p.m., the rectification will probably be more accurate than if you know you were born between noon and 4 p.m. Still, sometimes finding a birthtime is impossible. If you've tried everything with no success, Jodie can "work backwards" through astrology's predictive techniques to find a chart that would have accurately predicted the timing of various biographical events. She'll need a list of at least two dozen emotionally or developmentally significant dates in your life, along with brief descriptions of them--"got married," for example.
The fee varies with the imprecision of the birth time. Please note that the rectification fee is added to the normal fee for a reading. For a rectification only, without a reading, see the fee schedule below.
If you know the time within one hour..............$125.00

within 2 hours: 175.00
within 3 hours: 225.00
within 4 hours: 275.00
within 5 hours: 325.00
within 6 hours: $375.00

For time frames wider than six hours, ask if rectification is feasible in your case.

Accuracy in astrological work is so important, and astrologers have such a responsibility to honor that importance and not come up with an inaccurate chart, that Jodie will not attempt a rectification if you have no idea what time you were born, or if the time frame is too wide.

Will Seven Paws Press publish my manuscript?
We're sorry to disappoint you, but Seven Paws Press is not accepting any manuscripts or any queries of any kind until further notice. Our slate is full for the indefinite future. Please do not send us anything! The sheer volume of our mail is such that it will not be acknowledged or returned to you. Thank you very much for your understanding and consideration in this matter. In the meantime, as writers ourselves, we sympathize with your desire to get published. We suggest that you go to the nearest library and ask the reference desk for Literary Market Place. Study the "agents" chapter carefully and see what agents handle your sort of manuscript--it is very, very difficult to get unagented material published, and all agents specialize in certain kinds of work. Follow the agents' query requirements exactly before you send them anything, and the very best of luck to you!

If you decide to self-publish, we highly recommend that you buy these two books: Tom and Marilyn Ross's The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, and Dan Poynter's The Self-Publisher's Manual.

Why is your press called Seven Paws Press?
For its Feline Overseers! We had a spoiled, affectionate, three-legged, one-eared, talkative Wise Elder Cat named Vincent, who will probably be human in his next lifetime. He left this world on July 29, 2000, and we will always miss him. Rest in peace, Vincent the Cat. Photo credit: Meredith Terretta. Thank you, Meredith!

...and we have a spoiled, uppity four-legged, two-eared cat named Pyanfar, who is yawning in the photo below, and who is sure she's really an 800 pound panther placed under a Spell of Shrinking...

For the source of Pyanfar's name, see the science fiction and fantasy writer C.J. Cherryh's website, http://www.cherryh.com If you love cats and/or a rollicking good space opera , you absolutely must read C.J. Cherryh's "Chanur" series, starting with The Pride of Chanur. Pyanfar Chanur is a merchanter spaceship captain. She's bold, wily, and a member of the "hani" race, who are related to felines the way that you and I are related to primates. How that hani society of feline descent is run on Pyanfar's homeworld is very interesting... Because it's always been taken for granted that the males of the species are too hormonally violent towards one another to be cooped up together for long space flight, only the women crew the ships and deal with the other fascinating alien species out there--at least at the beginning of the series, and until the first lone hapless human being wanders into that sector of space...

Interested? Read more at Amazon.com. Click on this highlighted title: The Pride of Chanur

What's the origin of the name "Alpha Lyra Consulting"?
If you draw a line from the brightest star (Vega) in the constellation Lyra to the ecliptic, it points to the middle of Capricorn, where Steven's Sun conjuncts Jodie's Moon.

Why do Steven Forrest and Jeffrey Wolf Green call themselves "The Pluto Brothers"?
1. Because they've both written books about Pluto.
2. Because they both have Scorpio rising and Ninth House Plutos that rule their ascendants.
3. Because they're good friends and co-authored the Measuring the Night: Evolutionary Astrology and the Keys to the Soul, Volume One series, based on a series of lectures they gave together.
4. See Hadley Fitzgerald's fine interview with them, "The Pluto Brothers Measure the Night".
5. A picture is worth a thousand words.... ;-)

I want to communicate something about your website.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I didn't find the answer to my question here.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it --she'll do her best to answer it, and also to revise this page to make it more helpful.