Open Letter to Steven Forrest and the Greater Astrological Community

In light of the current events putting the racism of one of the founders of Evolutionary Astrology, and well-respected member of the astrological community on display, we have been a part of drafting an open letter to the community.

Please read below, and if you are interested in adding your name, the link to the form is here.

Astrology is a practice of knowing the other. Through our varied astrological practices, we encounter deep, intimate, and sometimes hidden parts of both ourselves and those we work with. This is not a casual practice—it is the kind of vulnerable connection that requires profound sensitivity and a solid sense of ethical and moral responsibility.

Racism is one of those hidden parts of us. A shadow, if you will. Systemic racism affects every single one of us—nobody is immune. We are socialized into a global system which both covertly and overtly gives preference to white people at the expense of others. In the United States, Black people have endured hundreds of years of compounded trauma due to colonial, extractive systems. It is the duty and ethical obligation of non-Black people to dismantle anti-Black racism and work toward justice in every way possible. This dismantling must happen on systemic levels–but also in interpersonal ways of relating. The astrology community is not excluded from this call-to-action. Anti-racism work requires deliberate, consistent, active effort. From all of us.

Astrologers can be deeply involved in the work of healing, but we cannot heal on the individual level without repairing on a systemic level. The astrological hierarchy we see today, which disproportionately endorses white people and men, is a product of systemic racism. Racial hierarchies in the field of astrology are a reflection of the economic violence that Black communities have fought to dismantle–generation after generation. The people who have been encouraged, favored, and platformed to success, shaping the minds of generations of astrologers, have been enabled to do so by this arbitrary, archaic system put in place by their own ancestors.

Steven Forrest is one of these people. He has benefited not only from his privilege as a white person and a man, but also from his lineage—one that historically has and continues to terrorize and murder Black people for generations. In a world that has been made unsafe for Black people to thrive, others, like Steven, have been handed ease, open doors, and the generational wealth that comes along with this privilege.

As individuals, we are not solely responsible for the actions of our ancestors. However, we do have a responsibility to directly acknowledge their actions and harm, especially when we are engaging in public behaviour that mirrors those harmful actions. When one’s ancestor is a confederate war general and the founding grand wizard of the ku klux klan and this is mentioned, flippantly, in the context of using a racial slur promulgated by said ancestor that has and continues to cause trauma? You are absolutely responsible for taking accountability and making amends for harm done, both by the ancestor and yourself.

There is no room for racism in astrology and the community as a whole needs to center a commitment to anti-racism. ISAR and Sam Reynolds have set an example–now, the rest of the community needs to follow suit and listen to what Black astrologers and Black communities need for repair, healing, and equal access to economic opportunities. Active anti-racism means acknowledging harm done rather than attempting to justify it, taking action to educate oneself, and working toward repairing the harm. The benchmark for repair can only be met as determined by those impacted, in this case, the Black members of our community.

As deeply concerned members of the astrological community, we call for Steven Forrest to be deplatformed until measures are taken to remedy harm done. Our demands are as follows:

• UAC follows the advice laid out by Imani Harmon in this call to action, by inviting “participating Black and African-descended astrologers (speakers, ideally attendees and members of UAC board organizations) to the table to discuss the path forward”.

• To that end, we offer these suggestions to the team that will convene, that UAC:

  • remove Steven Forrest from his speaking positions at the 2026 conference;

  • redistribute the honorarium or payment that would be due Steven Forrest to hire Black practitioners engaged in repair work who will lead the community in discussion;

  • and utilize the time slots that he would have occupied for that purpose.

Furthermore, we demand that:

• Steven Forrest is barred from future speaking opportunities at the conference level community-wide at least until the next UAC and permanently unless the following measures are taken:

  • a public acknowledgement of harm done;

  • a documented commitment to anti-racist education;

  • and a commitment to a sustained financial contribution with the purpose of furthering Black presence in the greater astrology community.

    • This can be accomplished through a call made to convene Black astrologers and draft a plan for appropriate methods of repayment

    • Options: scholarships for learning opportunities, scholarships for conference attendance, dedicated speaking slots at conferences, dedicated book deals, etc.

If Pluto in Aquarius is to teach us anything, it is that united we have power—and we will not let this stand.

If these demands are not met, it is our intention to call for a boycott of UAC with a full refund granted to all conference participants who choose not to attend based on this decision, and a future boycott of all mainstream conferences and organizations until which time they are proven to be safe spaces for all of us.