RICHARD HOUCK
(1947-2001)

Lois Rodden's biographical notes on Richard Houck from his AstroDatabank record say that he was an American astrologer, pro since 1980, a lecturer and author of over 100 articles in astrological magazines. With a background in the business and computer worlds and a degree in philosophy from the University of Maryland, he was a partner for many years in ARC associates in Washington, DC. His discipline was Vedic astrology, sidereal, which he applied to political, business, financial and medical astrology. He was also certified by Jim Lewis as an Astro*Carto*Graphy practitioner.

His extensive obituary published in the Washington Post of April 3, 2001, (p. B07) notes that for about 20 years, he was a computer security specialist, manager of computer security for Intelsat, Arthur Andersen, Comsat and Geico. He was a former president of the Electronic Data Processing Auditors Association of Washington. During the time he was working in computers, he amassed a library of more than 600 books on astrology and began studying the foundations of Vedic astrology, in addition to Western astrology.

The Post notes that in 1992, after 15 years of study, he decided to make his avocation a full-time job and left his career as a computer security specialist to practice and write about astrology full time. In 1994, he published his groundbreaking book, The Astrology of Death, which was highly applauded and very well received.

BIRTH AND DEATH DATA: Lois Rodden received the following information from him in a letter in April, 1993, Rated A, from his memory. He was born April 13, 1947, at 12:51 AM CST in Des Moines, IA, 41 N 36; 93 W 36. In April, 1999, he was diagnosed with cancer, which metastasized throughout his body. He died some time during the night between April 1 and 2, 2001. (See Donna Quinn's story, below.)

BOOKS BY RICHARD HOUCK: He published three of his own books, all through Groundswell Press: Astrology of Death; Digital Astrology; and Special Sidereal Ephemeris, 1920-2019. He was the editor for Hindu Astrology Lessons, 36 Teachers Share Their Wisdom, also from Groundswell Press.

Vedic astrologer Ronnie Gale Dreyer notes,
"Rick was a pioneer in bringing together Vedic Astrology and Western Astrology. For those of you who did not know, he had been dealing with cancer for the last two years. He had been extraordinarily brave and faced death with as much honesty as anyone I know. It is very sad for me both personally and professionally."

Donna Quinn wrote for this memorial:
"Rick and I got to know other extensively thru email correspondence and from there, it blossomed into a wonderful and loving friendship. He taught me much about so many new things, including new fields of astrology. He had this wonderful, eloquent way of writing with just the right touch of wittiness to offset what would otherwise wind up being a very dry subject matter.

His expertise was in the field of rectification, and he was without a doubt one of the best rectifiers in the country. He never considered himself a true Vedic astrologer though as he loved to combine western techniques with the east. And of course the arena where he shined the best and the brightest was as a nationally renowned political astrologer.

"On the day of his death, I was sitting at my desk and suddenly I became intensely aware of him and just KNEW that he passed. I said out loud, "God speed my friend." I felt he had just come to say Good bye. I looked at the clock and the time read 11:55 and I wondered if that was the time of his passing.

I found out later that night from his wife Paula that he had passed away in the early morning hours but when I questioned her about it later on, she stated that she awoke at 2:30 am to find him already gone by then. He had slipped into a coma on Friday night and could've passed on anytime after she had gone to bed that night. It would've been just like Rick to try to tell me that his passing actually happened at 11:55 PM, just before midnight, just for the record. . . He was the ultimate Astrologer of Death after all. . .

"I feel so honored to have known and loved this man if only for the very briefest of moments in my life and I'm sure we'll meet again some bright, sunny day." Donna Quinn

Rebecca Mayo wrote for this memorial:

Rick and I were extremely close friends....we did everything together as many of you know. I have been an astrologer for 30 some years and continue...although I am not Vedic as Rick was......I just want you all to know I have his books....I think some of the press believe his books are out of print....not so!! I have boxes and boxes still for sale. I also have his personal library. I have Lung Cancer and have not been fully active for some months now, but his books are still available through me, Amazon.com and New Leaf...I live in Alexandria, Virginia and my email is: mayobecky@aol.com. Thank you for letting me include this ... I still miss him every day....we were that close! I am fortunate to have Paula, his wife, in my life. Friendship is very special sometimes .... Rick was one of those "sometimes".

"Although I never knew Mr. Houck personally, I have great admiration for his work, principally through his books of which I now have three. And, interestingly enough, I first heard about his books and, in fact, first developed an interest in Vedic astrology, through The Mountain Astrologer.

"I believe Mr. Houck will be sorely missed by the astrological community but, on the bright side, aren't we lucky to have the legacy of his books and other writings to continue to learn from here on this plane? As well, I enjoyed looking through several of these Web pages today and delighting once again in his witty, irreverent and thought provoking observations on astrology. Well, he is no doubt delighting the entities he now resides with as much as he enlightened us during the all too short time he was here."

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DESIGN CREDITS: This page was created by Donna Cunningham of Word of Mouth Web Design. Photos were supplied by his web site and by Rick's friends. The border was based on graphics from a clip art disk by Expert Software.