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Stored deep in the antiquarian depths of my memory banks is an old giggle about the dance that heterosexual people do: “She ran away from him until she caught him.” Are the times gone when people believed that script? Is it extinct? I guess that is an essay question nowadays as the old gender assumptions pass through the wringer of cultural change.

In any case, the saying came to mind as I watched Venus chase Mars around the Zodiac this month. At the beginning of January, Venus is speeding through the last degrees of Capricorn while Mars lies safely ahead, deep in Aquarius. Venus joins “him” there on the 3rd, but “he” quickly escapes into Pisces on January 12th. Venus tracks Mars down and enters Pisces “herself” at the end of the month, on the 28th. Mars nearly makes his getaway yet again—he just manages to cross the line into Aries in mid-February, but Venus finally catches up with him there on February 22nd.

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Steven is just back from his annual trip to China, and after a grueling travel schedule, we're giving him a break from his newsletter-writing duties. But that doesn't mean you won't get your Steven fix this month. I've been busy editing some new audio for you and have just prepared not one, but THREE new releases-all on the planet Mercury. Details below.

Most of us know Mercury as the messenger planet, ruling the transmission of information, transport and translation. But Mercury also has to do with omens and synchronicities, a subject Steven explores in more depth in the new programs.

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The following is a timeline of dates and notable events under the transit of Neptune in the sign Pisces.

• 281 B.C. - 266 B.C.
  • First Punic War - Roma vs Carthage, 264 BC (ends in 241)
• 117 B.C. - 102 B.C.
• 47 AD - 61 AD.
  • Paul begins journeys in 45 A.D
  • 58 A.D - Emperor Ming-Ti intro’s Buddhism to China.
  • 61 A.D - Boudicca queen of Iceni defeated and killed by Seutonius Paulinus
• 4/210 A.D. - 2/225 AD
• 3/374 A.D. - 1/389 AD
  • Theodosius the Great, Emperor in East to 395.Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. After his death, the two parts split permanently. He is also known for making Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. In his early reign, Theodosius was fairly tolerant of the pagans, for he needed the support of the influential pagan ruling class. However he would in time stamp out the last vestiges of paganism with great severity.[12] His first attempt to inhibit paganism was in 381 when he reiterated Constantine's ban on sacrifice. In 384 he prohibited haruspicy (entrail-reading) on pain of death.

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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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