Blog

by Steven Forrest

The sun just started to blaze over the Anza-Borrego desert where I live. I am writing these words in haste since I need to pack my bags and head for the Palm Springs airport in four hours. From there, I have to make my way up to San Francisco and points north to teach one of my Apprenticeship Programs. Michelle and I just arrived here in the desert a week ago, so it hurts to leave home again so soon. We live part of the time in New Orleans and we just completed the endless, three-day cross-country drive to get here from there. When I close my eyes, I’m still hallucinating the white lines of the highway stretching out before me.

When I get back from this teaching trip, I’ll only have about ten days at home again before leaving to teach seminars in Beijing and Shanghai. When I get back from Asia, I will once more only have about ten days at home before I leave to teach the southern California edition of my Apprenticeship Program. That one is easier—just a 90 minute drive and a five-day trip.

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After Steven's webinar on Martin Scorsese's chart last month, I got the idea to do a little research project on film directors. I was curious to see how Neptune would show up their charts and what their MCs would look like. As usual with this kind of research, I found myself quickly falling down an interesting rabbit hole, with surprising twists and turns. I thought I'd share a little of what I've found so far. Take it as food for further thought and research of your own if you find it interesting.

I started by compiling a list of my favorite directors, but soon after broadened my scope to include well known directors from “best of” lists found online. When looking at the MC, I wanted to use birth times I could trust, so I narrowed my list to 22 out of 82 directors who also have an AA-rated birth time.

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The quincunx aspect in astrology—two planets separated by 150 degrees; one sign more than a trine, one less than an opposition—what does it signify? It is usually called a minor aspect, but many astrologers argue for its power. Throughout the month of July, we will all have a window on assessing the strength of this configuration. Saturn will spend the entire month in the 17th degree of Scorpio while Uranus will spend the month in the 17th degree of Aries. That geometry provides a classic experience of this aspect. Everyone one of us will be feeling it.

In this newsletter, let’s use the month-long dance between these two heavyweight planets as our laboratory as we absorb the first principles that underlie this often-misunderstood astrological aspect.

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Happy Birthday, Inner Sky!

Thirty years ago this month, The Inner Sky was published. That book coming out was probably the most pivotal biographical event of my life. From that moment onward, everything changed. Doors opened for me that never would have opened otherwise. On the strength of that book alone, I’ve seen much of the world. I’ve met countless wonderful people all over the world. I have a beautiful home. I’ve walked China’s Great Wall. I’ve flown First Class to South America on a “secret mission” under an assumed identity. I’ve patted a kangaroo in Australia and I’ve walked in the old harem of Topkapi in Istanbul.

And for thirty years, I have not had to suffer a haircut unless I wanted one. No boss! No commuting! Only one necktie in my closet!

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A Conversation Between Astrologers

At NORWAC 2011, I got Steven together with UK-based astrologer Mark Jones and filmed the conversation that unfolded. You can tell by the release date that I'm a little behind with my workload! But the conversation is a timeless one, and we're happy to be able to finally share it with you here.

Steven and Mark start out talking about some of the technical differences between their approaches, and then the conversation naturally shifts towards more common ground as they discuss the counseling dynamic in a consultation, and the popular subject of fate vs. free will.

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New Projects in the Works

Next week I'll begin editing the video footage from a complete workshop Steven presented on the Four Angles. I'm hoping to have that available for you next month, in audio and video formats, so stay tuned for that.

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When Steven asked me to write this month’s newsletter, the first idea that popped into my head was “Venus Out of Bounds.” I’d spent the last month editing and preparing his Moon Out of Bounds video and audio programs, so the subject was fresh on my mind. I thought, “If the out of bounds Moon is so dramatic in people’s charts, what about the other planets?” How would Mercury, Venus or Mars express when outside the “normal influence” of the sun?

If the out of bounds concept is new to you, start by reading Steven’s Out of Bounds Moon article, originally published in The Mountain Astrologer, which will lay out both the technical and theoretical framework. After that, if you’re hungry for more, you might revisit the Out of Bounds section in Chapter 3 of The Book of the Moon, or check out the newly released video or audio programs on the subject.

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Hellfire and brimstone? Economic collapse? Nuclear explosions? Or is it the arrival of Elvis and Sasquatch in a UFO to change our DNA and lead us all in chanting for world peace? April 2014 promises all of it . . . depending on which astrologer you read.

Astrologers tend to be a rather hysterical crowd sometimes. I’m 65 and I have lost count of the number of demi-apocalypses I have survived. One thing I’ve learned well, the hard way is that “postdiction” is easier than prediction. “I could have told you that . . .”

The reality, as I have come to understand it, is that the future is not fixed, and that therefore it cannot be reliably predicted. Consciousness interacts with vast archetypal fields of possibility and probability. What actually happens is the result of the collision of both forces.

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The beginning of March brings us an unusual patch of astrological weather. Both of the so-called “malefic” planets, Mars and Saturn, make stations and turn retrograde pretty much simultaneously. Mars does so on the 1st of the month near the end of Libra. Saturn follows just about 24 hours later in late Scorpio. Mars will remain retrograde in Libra until May 19th. Saturn turns direct a few weeks after Mars, on July 20th, still in Scorpio.

When a planet is stationary, its energy is more pronounced. We feel it more strongly. A really easy way to see this effect is to think of Jupiter. When it is moving fast and breezes through what might seem like an important conjunction in your chart, you might ask your astrologer for your money back. Where’s that promised good luck? You didn’t hit the Powerball after all. But if Jupiter makes a station on the same sensitive point, start picking out the interior for your new Lamborghini. By the way, Jupiter will also make a station during the first week of March—turning direct on the 6th, about a third of the way into Cancer. If your birthday is near the end of June or early July, head for that car dealership.

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In this issue of the Forrest Astrology newsletter, Tony shares an open discussion about Uranus and Venus retrograde in the charts of Madonna and Miley Cyrus on the night of the taping of Miley's MTV Unplugged special. But first, a couple of updates...

Today, as we enter the shadow period following Venus retrograde, we find ourselves in yet another shadow – the one just before Mercury retrograde, which kicks off officially with its station retrograde on February 6th or 7th (depending on your time zone). Completing the trio of personal planets, Mars joins this planetary backwards-day party on March 2, marking the first half of 2014 as a season of retrogrades.

We tend to complain about retrogrades no matter when they occur. But having them at the start of the year goes against the natural logic of forward momentum that any new year carries with it. Instead of marching valiantly forward with our New Year goals, we’re encouraged to take a step back.

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As I think about the state of change we find ourselves in at this particular moment in history, I’m drawn to step back and take a bigger view. I want to enter the controversial territory of The Age of Aquarius. The energetic shifts it embodies casts long shadows over all contemporary events and all the various paradigm mutations we are experiencing. I call this territory controversial because while there are many astrologers who say we are already in the Aquarian Age, there are others who claim it is still four centuries away. As is often the case, there is a lot of intellectual posturing, and behind it, quite a mountain of ignorance. 

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