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Uranus is famous for providing surprises and it sure worked for me a couple of days ago! I was speaking at the United Astrology Conference in Chicago. On Monday night, transiting Uranus was just 0°28' from conjuncting my natal north node of the Moon. “Expect the unexpected” is the classic advice. And it sure worked! I won the Regulus Award for Astrological Education.

I don’t mean to sound disingenuously modest here. I know my work is popular and that I have a high profile in the world of astrology. It seems that winning an award should not come as a total shock. But it did. Some of my surprise derived from simple experience. I had often been nominated, and never won. I had no reason to think this time would be any different.

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by Steven Forrest

Call me old-fashioned, but in this age of digital relationships, I like to ring the bells for the magic of good old face-to-face, eye-to-eye human contact. That is especially true when I am teaching astrology. Something special happens between my students and myself in my classes, something beyond what is available in any other way. My favorite way to say it is that, unlike the digital world, life is composed of more than audio and video tracks.

I think of a treasure: my friendship with Robert A. Johnson, the great Jungian writer and thinker. I had read all his work avidly. It had sunk into my own thinking and had made a real impact on the way I practiced astrology. But when the fates brought us together as neighbors a few years ago, I felt that I understood his work in a much more multidimensional way. It had already entered my mind; but after getting to know him, it sunk into my heart.

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There are many challenges connected with being a professional astrologer, but blessedly getting older is not one of them. Unlike runway models, athletes, and rock stars, a few “credibility lines” on the face only enhance our plausibility in the role.

Another plus is that, the older you get, the more transits you have personally experienced. No one asks a teenager about the second Saturn return!  Let’s celebrate this under-appreciated dimension of our field. Not old yet? Well, maybe you aspire to be . . .

We hope you enjoy this keynote presentation from the 2013 NORWAC conference. 

Your Second Saturn Return Webinar

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by Tony Howard

Mars buddied up with Saturn in Capricorn at the end of March, and almost instantly I started hearing from friends whose charts are triggered by this aspect. One friend with transiting Mars-Saturn squaring her natal Pluto wrote, “I’m feeling confronted with this left, right and center.” You can hear Mars in the word “confronted” and the overwhelm feeling that can be associated with any transit to Pluto. So let’s work out how to respond to this energy in a constructive way.

Last year I was invited to speak about Mars to Frank Clifford’s London School of Astrology. As part of my lecture, I spoke about Mars-Saturn aspects in the natal chart. After looking at some Mars-Saturn charts in preparation, the word “tenacious” came to mind. So I Googled quotes with the word “tenacious” and amazingly, the first three quotes were all spoken by prominent people with Mars-Saturn aspects.

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Mars, currently in Sagittarius, enters Capricorn on March 17^th, joining Saturn and Pluto there. Interestingly, around the same time, it also goes “out of bounds,” crossing south of the Sun’s most southerly possible declination. Mars remains in that strange, volatile “OOB” condition until early April. On April 1, it forms its conjunction with Saturn. Finally, back within bounds, it catches up with Pluto on April 26^th.    

It promises to be a colorful few weeks.

Before I attempt to unravel all this moving symbolism, first let’s have a quick word about what it means when a planet goes out of bounds just so we are all up to speed. It’s an easy concept – imagine Earth’s equator projected onto the heavens. Planets are usually above it or below it, just like New York is north of Buenos Aires and they lie on either side of the equator. In the sky, what we call “latitude” here on Earth is called “declination.”

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"A Man Born Before His Time"
by Vernon Robinson

Bayard Rustin was the chief strategist for Martin Luther King’s famous march on Washington, but he was also a behind-the-scenes force in various rights movements, including Civil Rights, Labor Rights and Gay Rights. A man born before his time, he was a black, gay, pacifist (WWII), radical at a time when each of those identities worked against the grain of the dominant culture. He believed in changing the status quo to have a more democratic and equal society. Rustin has not been as well-known as other historical figures, perhaps because of his sexuality and the times he lived in, but also because others in the movement considered him a liability. We’ll talk about that shortly.

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by Steven Forrest

“In like a lion, out like a lamb” is a proverb generally associated with the month of March.  Blame it on global warming, but I think we will see that happy transition occurring a little earlier this year, in February.  And I am not exactly talking about weather reports.  The warming trend I am expecting is in the human heart.  The month begins with an unusual concentration of energies in feisty, often-contrarian Aquarius. By mid-month, we begin to see a mass migration into milder Pisces.

Let’s look at the astrological specifics for starters, then dive into their meaning and purpose.

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Saturn has begun its three-year passage through Capricorn. The King has returned to his own land, in other words. In a way, it’s Judgement Day, but don’t worry – if you’ve lived with integrity, you’ll be rewarded. (That coin has another side, however.)

In our December newsletter and podcast Steven looked into the mirror of history,  exploring some of the past events that illustrate this epochal transit. He reflected on its current collective significance in the larger world. That free offering provides a solid foundation for the deeper material he's just recorded for a new audio download.

In this new recording, Steven offers a more intimate perspective. What does Saturn’s return to Capricorn mean for you personally?

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by Steven Forrest

Saturn is the planet that gives us the ability to do what we do not feel like doing. When was the last time you felt like going to the dentist? Or cleaning the house? But consider the consequences if you simply decide to blow off those little duties.

Well, your personal “forever” is likely to be shorter and less pleasant.

If Saturn could Tweet, here is what it would say: Every action, wise or foolish, has consequences. Now do whatever you want.

Capricorn is similar in nature. Up here in the northern hemisphere, the Sun’s entry into the sign of the Sea-Goat signals winter’s beginning. And in winter, in order to survive, we must do many things that have nothing to do with satisfying our immediate appetites: getting out of bed even though it’s cold, for starters.  Chop the wood, shovel the snow. Make 678 beans last until the Big Thaw . . . whenever that decides to happen.

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COMING SOON TO A SKY NEAR YOU --
DON’T MISS THE BIG VENUS-JUPITER CONJUNCTION!

Are any of you out there in the mood to get out of bed before sunrise on November 13th?  Or maybe you’re a night owl. Then it might be better just to stay up all night and catch the late show that way?

Either way, there’s a rare visual treat in store. That night, the two brightest planets in the sky – Jupiter and Venus – will very nearly merge into one single blinding light. This is an unusual event. It is actually one of the many possibilities cited for what the famous “Star of Bethlehem” might have been.

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