About AstroDatabank Company

Our Mission

AstroDatabank Company is dedicated to creating better astrologers through database learning software. Our goals are to provide the community with a preeminent collection of data and to further the objective validation and world-wide acceptance of the field of astrology by giving astrologers the tools needed to test their astrological theories and improve their analysis and delineation skills.

For our trade show schedule and media coverage, please see our News page.

AstroDatabank Company was formed to bring the astrology software product, AstroDatabank, to market. AstroDatabank was developed by Mark McDonough to access and work with the astrology birth data collected by Lois Rodden over 40 years of research. Six months before she died, Lois named Pat Taglilatelo as her successor. Mark turned ownership of the company over to Richard Smoot in July 2005.

Terri McCartney is AstroDatabank's research director, joining our team in August of 2004.

Richard Smoot

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Date: 04/08/1949 (Apr 8) Time: 16:20 EST  Place: Detroit, MI  Lat: 42 N 19 Lng: 83 W 02 Rodden Rating: AA Data Source: BC in hand

E-mail Richard

Richard Smoot became the current Owner and President of AstroDatabank and the Astrology Software Shop, in July, 2005 when Mark McDonough decided to pursue his other varied interests.

Richard began serious study and practice in astrology in 1971 with Ray Merriman as his teacher. Eventually, Richard completed both Level IV certification with NCGR and Certified Astrological Professional certification with ISAR. Currently he is the editor and publisher of the ISAR International Astrologer; Chairperson of the ISAR (International Society for Astrological Research) Consulting Skills Program; Board Member with OPA (Organization for Professional Astrology) and serves on the Board of Examiners with the NCGR (National Counsel for Geocosmic Research) and belongs to many astrological organizations.

As a licensed Social Worker with the State of Michigan, Richard's interest is in developing and using client-centered consulting techniques in conjunction with astrology to assist clients in solving their own problems. As a business entrepreneur in the astrological community, Richard desires to continue to offer well researched data to support quality astrological research and educate and offer the astrological community the best astrological software available.

Enjoying people and a concern for their welfare drove Richard to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services from California State University and a Masters in Public Administration graduate degree from Eastern Michigan University. Having worked in the not-for-profit sector all his life, Richard has been on various Board of Directors for several non-profit organizations and has worked as a family services social worker and Administrator with the American Red Cross; an inner city Detroit hospital Administrator in Hematology and Oncology; and as a crisis intervention/suicide prevention counselor for 15 years.

Pat Taglilatelo

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Date: 09/14/1946 (Sep 14) Time: 12:30 EDT  Place: Boston, MA  Lat: 42 N 22 Lng: 71 W 04 Rodden Rating: AA Data Source: BC in hand

E-mail Pat

As editor at AstroDatabank, Pat writes the text for the Newsmaker and Update column on the AstroDatabank website, and, for the software program, researches data, writes biographies for new records and updates existing information. Her mission is to continue the work to which Lois Rodden devoted her life and uphold the standards of data and journalistic integrity that Lois established.

Pat joined AstroDatabank in January 2003 as Lois's understudy shortly after Lois, in a flash of insight, chose Pat to be her successor. Lois had become familiar with Pat's writing and data-reporting through the "The Astrologers' Newsletter," a publication that Pat edits and produces, and the two women had often exchanged information during that time.

Pat's Sun-Mercury-Midheaven conjunction in Virgo are helpful placements for a writer/editor who needs to track multiple details with precision. Squaring an angular Uranus in the seventh house, this combination gives a facility with technology, an ability to be objective, and an affinity for interesting people. A strong ninth house combined with South Node and Ascendant in Sagittarius provides a love for knowledge and a big-picture perspective. Pat's ninth house planets stand at the apex of a fixed T-square that offers depth and strength.

Fascinated by astrology since she was young, Pat began an intensive study of this beautiful art at mid-life. With all the intensity inherent in her T-square, she immersed herself in its study, using the charts of family and friends, reading stacks of books, and studying with well-known professional astrologers. She sat for and passed all levels of the NCGR exams, one after the other in a two-year span.

In addition to her astrological practice, Pat is Vice President of NCGR's Boston chapter and editor of its publication, "The Astrologers' Newsletter." A member of several astrological organizations, she participates in a monthly astrologers' peer group held in her area. Pat assisted the Education Committee Chair in organizing the educational program for UAC '02. Her career has included teaching high school English, counseling high school children and their parents, working as a communications specialist and human resources executive in business, owning her own management consulting company, coaching job-seekers, and teaching college courses in human relations and management. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Boston University, a Master's in Education in Counseling from University of Massachusetts, and NCGR Level IV certification. She has been an avid reader and lover of words since she could first recognize the letters of the alphabet, has traveled widely, and is a life-long learner.

Terri McCartney

E-mail Terri

A professional consulting astrologer, teacher and researcher, Terri joined AstroDatabank as Research Director in August 2004 (as her progressed MC formed a conjunction with her natal and progressed Uranus.) Terri began her astrological studies in 1980 after a friend recommended that she have a reading. With Virgo rising and a Capricorn Sun, Terri was skeptical but her friend was persistent and Terri finally had the reading just to appease her friend. Impressed but far from convinced, the reading ignited an interest and, without respite since then, Terri has been passionately immersed in studying, applying, practicing and researching astrology ever since.

She initiated her professional practice in 1985 but it was not until 1995 that astrology became her full-time vocation. Prior to that time she primarily supplemented her astrology income as a software consultant and instructor but, with Ascendant and MC ruler Mercury unaspected in Aquarius, she has performed in a wide-variety of occupations, easily acquiring whatever skills were needed. Terri graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University and both her undergraduate and graduate studies were in Communication, with a focus on interpersonal communication, group dynamics and conflict resolution.

Terri's practice flourished after she joined the cyberspace community in November 1997. She describes herself as a practically-oriented, spiritual and evolutionary astrologer who uses both the Western and Vedic disciplines in her practice. With a 7th house Pisces Moon, and a Capricorn Sun in T-square opposite Uranus and square Neptune at the apex, she is a practical visionary. The two T-squares in her chart supply her with enormous drive, a dedicated work ethic and a passion for providing quality service. Her web address is www.astroresources.com.

Kathy "Kat" Hebert

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Date: 06/04/1951 (June 4) Time: 09:25 DST  Place: Burlington, VT  Lat: 44 N 28 Lng: 73 W 12 Rodden Rating: AA Data Source: BC in hand

E-mail Kathy

Known as the "Cheshire Kat" of the Astrology Software Shop, Kathy is the person who takes your software order and performs her magic so that you can receive and enjoy your software. Kathy describes herself as our Customer Service Cheshire Kat. She is covered with stripes and disappears and reappears with no warning (probably run off to the Post Office again!). She claims to have an evil grin (12 years of Cat-o-lick schools) and an evil laugh; however it only appears that way.

On any day you might find her answering the phones, helping customers, working on the computer, planting vegetables and flowers in her garden (hard to do in New England with all those rocks around), rehearsing to sing at some up-coming wedding, teaching an art class, preparing oil paintings for her art show and studying astrology at night! No kidding!!! Gemini energy is exhausting!!! She has led a very eventful life which she hopes no one will ever know about. Hence, the evil Cheshire grin. She has chosen to stay single because – There just isn't time!!!! Cats are her children and murder mysteries are her pleasure (more grinning).

Kat came to the Astrology Software Shop about 3 years ago because she has an obsessive need to organize information (and objects), can do 12 things at once and finds astrology an on-going, grounding, necessary part of her life. Her jobs have included cat and dog sitter (she's a Kat, remember), housecleaner (on her own) and Gal Friday, typist, artist's model, singer (10 years!!), portrait painter and artist, cashier, art teacher (sometimes therapist), crafts person, seamstress, sales woman and customer service rep.

Her goals are to have less than 2 nervous breakdowns a day, to retire and paint, read, write, photograph, study astrology – all at once!!! She would like to be rich but understands that artists have to die first – and she's not quite ready for that yet. After all, she wouldn't want to miss that 2^nd Saturn return.

Kat is happiest when she can't be seen (even with that Leo Ascendant!!), when she's watching Boston Legal, CSI or I Love Lucy, when she's painting and when she's organizing. Just remember, the Kat has Pluto in the first house! So, even with all the cute, fuzzy Gemini – no one ever finds the bodies (insert very evil grin and earthy laughter here).

AstroDatabank's Professors Emeritus

Lois Rodden

Lois had Sun in Gemini, Moon in Cancer, and Aquarius rising. Her first degree Gemini Sun brought journalistic talent and her Cancer Moon brought an appreciation for cataloging the past. Saturn was the most powerful planet in her chart. It was the most elevated, at the focus of a bucket, and given even more power through a contra-parallel and an inconjunct to Pluto. This is what kept her going through five kids (as a single mom), ten cancer operations, five data books, three astrology textbooks and the continual painstaking work of maintaining the 25,000+ records in the AstroDatabank.

Lois began studying astrology with the Church of Light in 1962 and became a charter member of Professional Astrologers, Inc. in September 1968. Moving to Hollywood in 1973, she built up a clientele of people in the entertainment industry as well as other general fields, always more comfortable with pragmatic counseling than with the emotional or psychological dilemmas in the client's charts. She published five books of astrological data, the Astro-Data series, plus The Mercury Method of Chart Comparison, Modern Transits, and Money: How to Find it With Astrology. In 1992, she won the Regulus Award for Enhancing Astrology's Image.

Data collection and research were always her foremost interests. In 1985, Rodden made an agreement with ISAR to put her extensive data collection on computer in order to provide data to astrologers at a reasonable price. The project moved ahead slowly until reaching a full stop somewhere after 1991.

On 03-Jul-1996, Rodden met Mark McDonough when he expressed an interest in helping with the databank. Out of this meeting, the AstroDatabank was born, with McDonough designing and creating the program to store and deliver the Rodden data.

She maintained warm relationships with her three daughters and two sons plus four grandsons. Her annual trips to conferences and/ or family were enjoyable breaks from her concentration on data collecting. The astrological community was a valuable part of her life with rewarding friendships and continual intellectual challenge.

Lois won the Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2002. She died on June 5, 2003.

Mark McDonough

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Date: 03/09/1956 (Mar 9) Time: 20:31 EST  Place: Natick, MA  Lat: 42 N 17 Lng: 71 W 21 Rodden Rating: AA Data Source: BC in hand

Mark McDonough is the former president of AstrologySoftwareShop.com and AstroDatabank Company. Mark's vision and business acumen sparked the creation of AstroDatabank when he and Lois Rodden became business partners. Mark soon realized that while AstroDatabank.com became an extraordinarily popular website, sales of the program did not pay all the costs of programming and data collection. So he applied same meticulous attention to detail to the task of designing an easy-to-use website that would help people find the best astrology software and supports the programming and research of AstroDatabank. AstrologySoftwareShop.com is now the largest distributor of astrology software.

Uranus conjunct the Midheaven gives talent for computers and astrology. It also closely aspects Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Neptune and the Ascendant. His closest aspect is Venus inconjunct Saturn which gives a talent for creating beautiful structures like the AstroDatabank and a damnable conflict between work and love.

Mark has studied astrology off and on since he was 13 years old. He wrote his first astrology software at Vassar college on an IBM 360 mainframe with 32K of memory in 1976 while majoring in "Relating Eastern Spirituality to Western Profane Consciousness." In 1982 he matriculated at MIT's Sloan School of Business. While studying for his MBA, he became so excited about an interface for making databases powerful and easy to use that he started a company to make one. He sold the product to the world's largest supplier of microcomputer databases and it was sold around the world in 11 languages.

He began his most earnest foray into astrology at the end of his training as a Marriage and Family therapist. To aid himself in studying astrology, he hand-entered all of the planetary positions of his friends into a database to create sorted lists of planets by sign and house. His logical mind was frustrated by the plethora of conflicting astrological techniques. He longed for a tool that would make it easy to resolve the competing claims made by equally eminent astrologers. He went to ISAR's "Computers and Astrology" conference in July 1996 to find such software and contact Lois Rodden to pick up some accurate data for doing research.

While at the conference he realized that his knowledge of databases and astrology plus access to capital put him in a unique position to make a contribution to the field of astrology. McDonough and Rodden formed a tentative partnership which became a full-time occupation six months later.

McDonough has since moved on from astrology, AstroDatabank and the Astrology Software Shop to devote his time to the other passions in his life. Mark owns several restaurants, including Alchemy Cafe & Bistro, a restaurant featuring vegetarian and creative cooking in Gloucester, MA. Mark's other passion is his involvement and work with his not-for-profit organization, Time Banks USA, an organization whose mission is to build local economies and communities that reward decency, caring and a passion for justice.

"Lois Rodden's AstroDatabank is the culmination of a lifetime of standard-setting work in the field of data collection.";

Donna Cunningham, MSW
columnist for The Mountain Astrologer and Horoscope

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