Expectations ran high in all areas of life with the advent of the computer.  Many people were enthusiastically predicting that computers would soon do everything for us.

Astrology was not immune to this newfound technology.  Technically inclined astrologers soon began designing software expected to dramatically revolutionize the practice of astrology.  And initial pursuits proved correct.  These super-swift machines allowed precise calculation of natal charts in an instant.  This formerly tedious process was now almost automatic.  Flawless charts were quickly and easily calculated and printed.  

The next logical step was to attempt to apply computer technology to astrological interpretation.  While the computer was undeniably quite efficient at matching up specific individual interpretations, it quickly became apparent that the complete interpretive compilation was not cut-and-dried.  Sure, it was relatively easy to tell the computer what "Mars in Libra" meant, for example, but the overall picture quickly became quite muddled.  Almost without exception, contradictions occurred as more and more individual measurements were added to the individual's horoscope.

The result was -- and often still is -- a fragmented, contradictory, and confusing document. While the individual components of analysis were correct, these impressively thick documents were still unable to merge and synthesize interpretations into a coherent and meaningful image.  It quickly became evident that the human involvement was still integral to meaningful interpretation.  

But astrology's computer saga was not yet complete.  Perhaps the most significant development is just now beginning to be utilized by astrologers.

Over many years Lois Rodden meticulously compiled vast quantities of the birth data of thousands of people -- both famous and not -- with corresponding biographies and astrological information.  Then Mark McDonough met Lois and contributed his considerable computer skills to the project.  The resultant software, AstroDatabank, has become the new frontier of astrological research.

This compiled database of information allows astrologers to research even exceedingly complex astrological theories quickly and easily.  Now it is possible to explore theories that would have been excruciatingly time-consuming or impossible just a few years ago.

So the story is far from over.  The technology has already been quite useful.  But the coming years will almost certainly provide quantum leaps in the practice of astrology.

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