Hand, Robert S. (1942-)

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Hand, Robert S. (1942-)

Robert S. Hand, a contemporary astrologer, was born December 5, 1942, in Plainfield, New Jersey. He grew up in Orleans, Massachusetts, a town on Cape Cod, and attended Brandeis University. He graduated in 1965 (B.A., magna cum laude). He later pursued post-graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley and at Princeton University.

Hand's father had been an astrologer who had discovered the usefulness of astrology in forecasting changes in the stock market. Hand developed an interest in astrology during his high school years and began his formal study in 1960. After completing his college work, in 1972 he opened his practice as an astrologer. The following year he assumed a position on the board of the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR). He was named its director in 1974. In the succeeding quarter of a century he became one of the most productive astrologers in North America.

Through the 1970s Hand prepared a set of works on horo-scope interpretation: Planets in Composite (1975), Planets in Transit (1976), Planets in Youth (1977), and Horoscope Symbols (1982). These have become standard reference volumes for astrologers and translated into several languages. Hand also wrote widely for various astrological periodicals. His larger work concentrated on the scientific underpinnings of astrology and, following his father's lead, the prediction of financial and economic cycles. For his work he received numerous honors including the Regulus Award from the United Astrology Congress.

In the mid-1970s Hand became a pioneer in programming computers to do the tedious work of calculating and drawing horoscopes. His work led to the founding of Astro-Graphics Services (now Astrolabe Software). Astro-Graphics was the first company to produce horoscope-reading programs for microcomputers. In 1984, Hand issued his first version of Nova, a refined astrological calculation program that became the centerpiece for the Nova System, a series of interlocking calculation programs. Five years later Nova had transformed into AstroAnalyst produced by Hand and Bill Meridian, currently a program for determining the effect of astronomical cycles on stock, bond and commodities prices.

In 1992 Hand became the center of an informal group dedicated to procure, protect and publish translations of historical astrological works and secondary source material. This effort led to the establishing of the Archive for the Retrieval of Historical Astrological Texts (ARHAT). Its Robert Hand Library currently houses a growing collection of the original texts and translations of over two dozen ancient and medieval astrologers. Meanwhile, Hand has turned to some of the more neglected historical and philosophical problems in astrology. He has focused research on the methodologies and thought world underpinning ancient astrology in an attempt to discover any relevance for contemporary life. In 1990 he was named president of the National Council for Geocosmic Research, a post he held for nine years. He now resides on Cape Cod, where Astrolabe, Inc (P. O. Box 1750, Brewster, MA 02631) is located, and has an astrological practice. Website: http://www.robhand.com/about.htm.