Steven
Forrest's and Jodie Forrest's Website:
Alpha
Lyra Consulting and Seven Paws Press
Frequently Asked Questions
Steven
Forrest's and Jodie Forrest's Website:
Alpha
Lyra Consulting and Seven Paws Press
* How
can I get in touch with you?
We're at POB
2345, Chapel Hill NC 27515. Send us email
Our telephone is 919.929.4287.
Our
answering machine is always on, so please leave a message. Our fax is
919.929.7092.
* 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 personal
consultations page
* our other
types of astrological work page
* and our
computerized
personalized written astrological reports page.
2. Then, get in touch with us (use our contact information in the question and answer right above this one) to give us your complete birth information and arrange payment, or use our secure order form on this website.
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, you'll be charged the full price for the corrected order, unless the birth data error was ours and not yours.Also 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.
3. Jodie and Steven are now members of the Better Business Bureau!
* How long does it take to get a reading?
Unless you want a rush reading, which is much more expensive, we both have very long waiting lists, anywhere from four months to almost two years.* Isn't there anything faster?
We offer computerized astrological written reports, personalized for your birth data. The turnaround time on shipping them to you, if we are in town when your order comes in, 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. Go to our Directory of Astrologers Trained by Steven Forrest.
2. Go to http://www.findastrologer.com.
3. Or ask the National Council for Geocosmic Research for a referral. Contact Margie Herskovitz, 5826 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21209, tel. (410) 466-1510.* Help! Something showed up on my order acknowledgment that I didn't order!
We run the charges from our office, not automatically and not online, so if you've ordered something by mistake by either method (the online store or the order form), then promptly call us (919.929.4287) or fax us (919.929.7092) or email us (info@sevenpawspress.com, and/or sevenpawspress@yahoo.com), and we can very probably omit the extra item before we charge your card. If you didn't catch us before we ran the charge, we will of course issue a refund.* Can you email me my report order?
Yes, we can!
We can now 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 have an online store or a shopping cart or something?
We do indeed. Click on the shopping cart icon on any of our webpages* Do you take credit cards?
Yes, Visa and MasterCard and Discover and American Express.
Please remember that the charge on your credit card will be from
"Alpha Lyra Consulting."
It is illegal for us to require a minimum credit card order from you. However, we request, not require, that you use your card only if your order total comes to more than $10.00. Why? Because our bank charges us a fee for the privilege and convenience of accepting your credit cards, and the lower the amount of our average credit card sale is, the higher that bank fee is. Because of that fee and other associated expenses, we basically lose money on credit card orders of under $10.00. Therefore, we would really appreciate it if you would honor our request and use your credit cards for orders of over $10.00. Thank you!* 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.
Shipping rate increase: Effective Jan. 1, 2006, our shipping rates for priority mail go up by $1, and we are discontinuing media mail and surface mail. Please click here for details.
NEW SHIPPING RATES NOW IN EFFECT
As of Jan. 1, 2006, our new shipping rates are as follows:
NC residents, add 7% sales tax to all orders EXCEPT taped personalized interpretations, horaries and electionals.For retail orders of TAPED PERSONALIZED INTERPRETATIONS only:
mailed within the US (includes AK, HI, PR, APO and FPO), priority mail shipping.....free.
sent within the US by Fed Ex standard overnight if available....................................$20.00
mailed outside of the US by US airmail....................................................................$17.00
(We do not recommend surface mail for taped interpretations.)
sent outside the US by Fed Ex standard overnight if available..................................$35.00
For orders of charts only, of five charts or fewer, shipping is $1.
For all other retail orders sent within the US (includes AK, HI, PR, APO and FPO), priority mail shipping rates are as follows:
$ 00.01 - $50.00.....................$7.00
$ 50.01 - $75.00.....................$8.00
$ 75.01 - $100.00...................$11.00
$100.01 - $150.00...................$12.00
$150.01 - $200.00...................$14.00
$200.01 - $300.00...................$16.00
$300.01 - $500.00...................$18.00
For all other retail orders sent outside the US by air mail, add $20.00 to the rates above.For all other retail orders sent within the US by Fed Ex three day if available, add $8.00 to the rates above.
For all other retail orders sent within the US by Fed Ex standard overnight if available, add $20.00 to the rates above.
For all other retail orders sent outside the US by Fed Ex three day if available, add $35.00 to the rates above.
For all other retail orders sent outside the US by Fed Ex standard overnight if available, add $60.00 to the rates above.
Note: for some book orders, the order weight may require us to charge more for Fed Ex. If that’s the case, we will notify you first.* Where is my order? Shouldn't it have arrived by now?
Provided that Steven, Jodie and our office manager Laura 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, when our office manager is here to process them. 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, let us know you haven't received it yet, and we'll track the airbill for you.
3. The delay *might* be related to the NC weather:
* If it's December, January or February, we may have lost power and / or phone service from an ice storm, so we may be unable to receive your order, run it or notify you about it until the power and phone service are restored. Or we may be snowbound; the South doesn't have many snowplows, and usually reserves them for the major highways.
* If it's hurricane season, which runs from about Aug. to Nov. and peaks in September, we may have lost power and / or phone service.
4. If it's an order for tapes or CDs: please be aware that we sell audiotapes and CDs on a print-on-demand basis. We do not have the storage space to keep these tapes and CDs in stock. 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. Please be patient.
Update, Feb. 11, 2008:
Order Delays--We Have Growing Pains!
1. Our assistant Laura is taking a new job at a bigger publishing house (waaah!). Her last day is Feb 15th, 2008. We'll miss you, Laura.
2. We won't be replacing her til Aug. 15th at the earliest, after our move to CA, so Jodie will be filling orders as well as continuing *all* of her other regular work (clients, students, her travel/teaching schedule, her writing--look for her new book,"The Naked Eye Planets," in early '09--Seven Paws Press work, and general admin chores). Meanwhile, Steven is maxed out with clients and with his next book, "Yesterday's Sky" which should be out by the end of '08.
3. We are in upgrading our website and online store, and they may have down time during the upgrade (and Jodie's learning curve with the new software). So please be patient! We aren't accepting any new orders for recorded lectures until after Feb. 25th, and there may be a backlog getting those and other orders filled and sent to you. Feel free to email Steven directly with any requests for astrological readings: stevenforrest@mindspring.com and to email Jodie directly about her readings, teaching, the website, and your orders: jodieforrest@mindspring.com.
* What if all I want is a copy of my birthchart with no interpretation?
You will find links on our Computerized Chart Calculation Service page to a couple of websites who offer a chart-only (no interpretation!) service for free.* How about having a reading by telephone?
Jodie does some of the briefer kinds of astrological work by phone (see "other kinds of astrological work"), 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 our other types of astrological work page, our computerized chart calculation service page, and our written astrological reports page.* 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 other types of astrological work page for details.* Can astrology answer specific questions?
Sometimes! That's Horary Astrology, and Jodie does it. See our other types of astrological work 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. info@astrograph.com,
or
* Where can I buy the software that runs your "The Sky Within" and "Skylog" reports?
Not from us. 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. Go to Books by the Forrests and Books by Other Authors.* 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 page "Lectures and Workshops." It has our teaching / conference lecture schedule, including Steven's apprenticeship program.
Also, many of our lectures and workshops have been recorded onto audiocassette and are for sale. Please see our Taped Lectures page.
Jodie works with students locally or by telephone (on business days, and during or very close to business hours); call 919-929-4287 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.
Go to our Links page and learn about the exciting new 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. Dimensions, 182 pgs., $18.94. We don't carry this book, but Amazon.com does. Click on this link: 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 email Jodie.
* 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. To go to our page with addresses for the relevant state agency in your case, click here. 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 email Jodie, the webmaster, so she can update that information. Thank you!
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.* What are some other astrologically-oriented websites on the Internet?
Click on "links" below and scroll all the way down that page! We have lots of them for you.* 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 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," on this website.
5. A picture is worth a thousand words.... ;-)
* I want to communicate something about your website.
Email Jodie; she's the webmaster.* I didn't find the answer to my question here.
Email Jodie--she'll do her best to answer it, and also to revise this page to make it more helpful.
