Steven Forrest Evolutionary Astrology Apprenticeship Retreat
September 24 through September 28, 2010
I have just completed an absolutely wonderful week at the Steven Forrest Evolutionary Astrology Apprenticeship Retreat in Calistoga, California. I arrived at the San Francisco Airport on Friday, September 24 and took the Airport Express bus to the Sonoma County Airport where I was picked up by Dawn, who was helping set up the retreat at Mountain Home Ranch. As I had never seen the Golden Gate Bridge before, it was a big thrill to go over the bridge on the way to the Sonoma County Airport. Seeing the beautiful bridge above the sparkling water, I just knew I was in for a wonderful time!
The ride on Airport Express to the Sonoma County Airport took a long time because of the Friday evening traffic and the road construction. However, by 6:00 pm I was at Mountain Home Ranch eating appetizers and meeting my fellow retreat members. Then at 7:00 pm it was my first dinner at Mountain Home—the first of many absolutely wonderful, fresh, home grown meals that I was to have at the Ranch.
I met my roommate who had been selected for astrological compatibility by Joyce Van Horn of Gossamer Rings, the organizer of all of Steven Forrest’s Calistoga, California retreats. We were assigned to the rustic cabin called “Beauty.” “Beauty” as it turns out is a cabin with a history. She had fell into a gulch twice and had to be hauled back up the hill and reset until she finally ended up at her present location in the trees just up the hill from the main lodge.
Saturday morning Steven Forrest began his presentation and we all began our wonderful journey into some very fascinating information about the Moon. As Steven mentioned, the Sun has stolen all of the glory as far as astrological interpretations, and the Moon has been somewhat ignored. However, when you consider that the Moon is the focal point of a person’s happiness, you realize how very, very important it is for astrologers to understand the Moon and its importance when interpreting a client’s birth chart.
Steven’s lectures began Saturday. The first lecture was about the out-of-bounds Moon and its significance in the birth chart. Like all out-of-bounds planets the Moon can “take over” the birth chart. Due to the Moon’s orbit, only certain people will be born with an out-of-bounds Moon.
The next lecture was about the eight phases of the Moon as it goes through its monthly journey. Understanding these phases in depth vividly explained the needs of the Moon (and, consequently, our emotional needs) as it goes through each phase. We then learned about how each phase of the Moon is acted out in an individual birth chart and the evolutionary challenge of each phase.
On Monday, we began an in-depth study of the progressed Moon through the eight Moon phases. A knowledge of the progressed Moon as it goes through the phases allows us to chart our course as we begin and finish major projects in our life. Understanding that the Moon takes approximately two and one-half years to complete each phase is crucial for a full understanding of our life cycles.
On the final day of the retreat Steven interpreted the Moon in a few charts of the Evolutionary Astrology Apprenticeship students.
Then, sadly, the magical retreat was over and it was time to go home.
Stay tuned for several in-depth Moon articles about some of the topics I have briefly discussed in this article.
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