JOSEPH GOODAVAGE
October 29, 1925-April 14, 1989

Joseph Goodavage was born on October 29, 1925, at 10:36 AM EST in Philadelphia, PA. Joe was a brilliant and unique individualist with a genius intellect as one might expect with a 3rd. house Uranus. Joe exuded a warm personality, an incredible wit and profound wisdom. He was a fascinating man with a deep innate intellectual prowess, great communication skills and a fabulous sense of humor. He was a prolific writer and journalist, a remarkable astrologer and a gifted painter.

I had the privilege of knowing Joe for the last five years of his life. Initially, we met in an oil painting class where we became acquainted when I recognized his name and asked him to autograph his best-known treatise Write Your Own Horoscope. Joe and I frequently spoke about science, metaphysics and astrology.

Like so many mainstream people, Joe became interested in astrology in order to debunk it. Instead, he became entranced by it and became an extraordinary astrologer. I have in my possession a copy of a letter written by Joe to a US Senator warning him only a few months before John F. Kennedy was assassinated that a serious attempt would be made on JFK's life.

Knowledge was a quest for Joe as his Sagittarian ascendant indicates. Many of Joe's works were science oriented and he was particularly interested in astrometeorology. Joe's first book, Astrology: A Space Age Science, was published in 1966, and Write Your Own Horoscope followed in 1968. Write Your Own Horoscope was updated and re-published in 1975, 1979 and 1990. The Astrology Guide and Almanac for 1970 followed. In 1973, Joe's next work The Comet Kohoutek appeared.

Magic: the Science of the Future was published in 1976 and, like so many of Joseph's works, was ahead of its time. I have personally seen this work listed in the bibliography of numerous current works and seminars regarding the merging of science and spirituality.

In 1978, Joe's Our Threatened Planet and Seven by Seven were published. Following in 1979 was Storm on the Sun. Additionally, Joe had extensively researched similarities in the lives of "time twins" and was contracted to write on this subject.

Write Your Own Horoscope, Joe's most well-known and popular treatise, has a distinct honor. It has been available since 1968 and was the first astrological book to sell over a million copies. When many practitioners of astrology recall their first exposure to serious astrology this work often comes to mind. It brought real astrology into the hands of the general public. This was indicated by Joe's third house Moon in Aries suggesting his efforts in communication would be popular and quite pioneering. Additionally, Uranus in this same house suggests Aquarian mental interests such as the occult and, in specific, the Aquarius/Uranian art and science of astrology.

Joe would often recount insightful and hilarious stories about very famous astrologers such as his friend, Linda Goodman, Al Morrison, and others from his personal interactions with them. He'd describe various astrological conventions he attended in which fist fights over "the preferred house system" were commonplace.

All of Joe's works were written on a typewriter. When he got a computer it was a hilarious event for many times he threatened to throw this "artificial intelligence" off the roof of his apartment building in Queens, New York where he lived for many years. Joe was "a character," and, like most geniuses, he was talented in many arenas of life. He was a fabulous cook and he could tell a joke or a story in a way that no one else could. His imagination was phenomenal and he put it to use in a fabulous spellbinding science-fiction tale that unfortunately remains unfinished.

Shortly before his death Joe was working on a book exploring the electro-magnetic field(s) and/or aura surrounding any living being. I received a copy of a chapter from this work at Joe's funeral from his wonderful family. Its title was: "Is Dead Dead?" True to his Scorpionic nature Joe investigated similar subjects such as the after-life and those persons who spontaneously combust.

Joseph passed away on April 14, 1989, in Kansas City after battling heart disease for many years. Intuitively he knew his time to pass over was approaching. He made his own funeral arrangements and scripted his own graveside memorial. Joe requested that we, his family and friends, sing The Mickey Mouse Song before his burial was completed. We honored the wishes of a great man. Even in death this gifted, exceptional and unique soul made those of us who love him smile. To know Joe was to love him for he compelled us to laugh hard, reflect often and contemplate deeply.

"There was a huge ingress of people into astrology during the Sixties, while Pluto and Uranus were conjunct in the sign Virgo. Many of us began our studies and research with dog-eared copies of Joseph Goodavage's Write Your Own Horoscope. Along with his friend, Linda Goodman, Joseph Goodavage was responsible for introducing many of todays' most accomplished astrologers to the field. I personally clutched that small volume in my hands as I went to the three astrology classes a week I attended in my first year. The house and sign placements from each chart I laboriously calculated of a friend, family member, or romantic interest were dutifully scrawled in the margin so that I could begin to discern the patterns. Joe's interpretations were conveniently brief but accurate."

BIRTH AND DEATH DATA: AstroDatabank gave the following information, rated A: According to the ISAR Membership list, he said he was born October, 29, 1925, at 10:36 AM EST in Philadelphia, PA, 75W10; 39N57. Irene Masiello says that Joe died in Kansas City while undergoing treatment with chelation therapy on April 14, 1989.

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CREDITS: The photo came from one of Joseph's out of print books, Our Threatened Planet. The background, part of a set of the twelve signs, was designed by Robin's Web. This memorial was created by Donna Cunningham.