Lois Rodden
Encyclopedia
Lois Rodden was an astrologer
, astrological data collector and founder of Astrodatabank. She was a pioneer in raising awareness of the sourcing of data being foundational in the credibility of astrology.
Lois was born on May 22, 1928 at 12:22 am MST (rectified by her) in Lang, Saskatchewan
, Canada
. She died on June 5, 2003 at 8.30 am PDT, Yucaipa, California
.
with the Church of Light began in 1962 when she moved to Los Angeles
. She sold her first astrology article in February, 1968, and in September, 1968, was invited to become a charter member of Professional Astrologers Inc. At the same time, she was invited to give a series of astrology lectures in San Jose and to teach at the Hollywood Astrological Society. She believed that her career as an astrologer began at that time.
Beginning around 1973, she built up a clientele mainly of people in the entertainment
industry, keeping to practical rather than psychological concerns in the client's charts. In 1976 she wrote a list of transit
definitions for one of the first computer
companies to sell monthly forecasts. She also wrote Sun signs for the astrology scrolls that sell from vending machines, annual sun sign books for checkout stands and astrologically-based advertising
copy
.
In 1985 she moved to a less urban part of California to concentrate more on research than clients. She first went to Europe
in 1990.
/publisher of the long-running journal, Data News, Rodden wrote five books of astrological data (the Astro-Data series), and three textbooks, The Mercury Method of Chart Comparison; Modern Transits, and Money, How to Find it With Astrology.
Of her publication, she said it "was always a cottage industry. It was my voice, my way to reach people with corrections and updated data, and the best way to trade data with my colleagues and fellow data-freaks." (Data News, August 2001)
Rodden had high standards - she believed in a kind of public responsibility for the astrologer to choose clean (accurate) data over the flawed type (dirty). She constantly lobbied publishers, editors and fellow astrologers to make them aware of her concerns.
After meeting with computer program
designer, Mark McDonough at a conference in 1996, she founded Astrodatabank. Together they developed her data collection of astrological details on thousands of notable people into an online resource. The repository is a tool for astrologers to formulate accurate birth charts for distribution, reference, study and research.
Her system of ratings based on accuracy is known universally as the Rodden Rating System - the result of extensive research which was constantly updated and regraded. Her work of 40 years is continued by her researchers and successors at AstroDataBank online.
In 2009, after being sold to the Swiss company Astrodienst AG, Astrodatabank was converted into wiki format and is now a freely accessible Internet resource.
2002 UAC Award for Lifetime Achievement
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
, astrological data collector and founder of Astrodatabank. She was a pioneer in raising awareness of the sourcing of data being foundational in the credibility of astrology.
Lois was born on May 22, 1928 at 12:22 am MST (rectified by her) in Lang, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She died on June 5, 2003 at 8.30 am PDT, Yucaipa, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Life and work
Rodden's study of astrologyAstrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
with the Church of Light began in 1962 when she moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. She sold her first astrology article in February, 1968, and in September, 1968, was invited to become a charter member of Professional Astrologers Inc. At the same time, she was invited to give a series of astrology lectures in San Jose and to teach at the Hollywood Astrological Society. She believed that her career as an astrologer began at that time.
Beginning around 1973, she built up a clientele mainly of people in the entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
industry, keeping to practical rather than psychological concerns in the client's charts. In 1976 she wrote a list of transit
Astrological transit
Astrological transits are one of the main means used in horoscopic astrology to forecast future trends and developments...
definitions for one of the first computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
companies to sell monthly forecasts. She also wrote Sun signs for the astrology scrolls that sell from vending machines, annual sun sign books for checkout stands and astrologically-based advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
copy
Copy (written)
Copy refers to written material, in contrast to photographs or other elements of layout, in a large number of contexts, including magazines, advertising, and book publishing....
.
In 1985 she moved to a less urban part of California to concentrate more on research than clients. She first went to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1990.
Publications
In addition to being editorEditing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
/publisher of the long-running journal, Data News, Rodden wrote five books of astrological data (the Astro-Data series), and three textbooks, The Mercury Method of Chart Comparison; Modern Transits, and Money, How to Find it With Astrology.
Of her publication, she said it "was always a cottage industry. It was my voice, my way to reach people with corrections and updated data, and the best way to trade data with my colleagues and fellow data-freaks." (Data News, August 2001)
Astrodatabank and the Rodden Rating System
Rodden was best known for avidly collecting exact data of births and times of public figures and celebrities. She emphasised the importance of calculating charts using time zones, time signatures, longitudes and latitude, deploring the tendency of many astrologers to use inaccurate or non-sourced information as an easy alternative to proper research.Rodden had high standards - she believed in a kind of public responsibility for the astrologer to choose clean (accurate) data over the flawed type (dirty). She constantly lobbied publishers, editors and fellow astrologers to make them aware of her concerns.
After meeting with computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
designer, Mark McDonough at a conference in 1996, she founded Astrodatabank. Together they developed her data collection of astrological details on thousands of notable people into an online resource. The repository is a tool for astrologers to formulate accurate birth charts for distribution, reference, study and research.
Her system of ratings based on accuracy is known universally as the Rodden Rating System - the result of extensive research which was constantly updated and regraded. Her work of 40 years is continued by her researchers and successors at AstroDataBank online.
In 2009, after being sold to the Swiss company Astrodienst AG, Astrodatabank was converted into wiki format and is now a freely accessible Internet resource.
Awards
1992, UAC Regulus Award for Enhancing Astrology's Image.2002 UAC Award for Lifetime Achievement
External links
- http://koti.mbnet.fi/neptunia/astrology/rodden1.htm
- http://www.astrolodge.co.uk/ (memorial)
- http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/rodden.html (memorial)
- http://www.astrodatabank.com now automatically redirected to http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Main_Page