Skyscript Astrology Forum

The AFA has released the sad news that James H. Holden passed away late last night. This was not unexpected as he has been ill for some time, but it is such a great loss to the astrological community. The message on the AFA website reads:

James H. Holden, a board member and Fellow of the American Federation of Astrologers, passed away August 13, 2013. He was 86. Many credit him with the revival of interest in traditional astrology because of his many translations of astrology texts from the 2nd to the 16th centuries. He also wrote A History of Horoscopic Astrology and the recently published Biographical Dictionary of Western Astrologers, and translated Mathesis by Julius Firmicus Maternus and many of the Astrologia Gallica series of books by J-B Morin.

Very sad news. RIP

We will all be lucky, I suppose, if we live as long and as productively as James did. I thought it was a shame that his contribution to astrology wasn't recognized at the last UAC with a life-time achievement award. I thought it would be.

You're absolutely right Deb. The same was with an award for Robert Blaschke.

We are luck with these translators who contribution themselves to Astrology , without them ,Astrology's tradition can not hand down generation by generation and revive in every dark period.

Thank you ,Mr. James Holden , you bring the Stars' light back to us.

My eternal thanks and praise to James Holden for helping revive traditional Astrology. A special Soul indeed.
All the best in the astral and beyond!

Considering his immense contribution to Astrology he deserves that the grand prize of astrological Oscars should be named after him. So, he would be remembered every time somebody else would get it. I will miss him tremendously. I was looking forward to his every publication. He was like a good vine: as he grew older, he was better and better and better. What a shining example for all of us.

Paul Paral

Another great loss as many "oldsters" in the astrological community are leaving us. With each passing it seems like a member of my deeply personal family has moved on, leaving us to wonder what their next contribution may be in realms we cannot see from earth. We are so very fortunate to have James Holden's publications in our libraries. Many thanks, James, and wishing you a happy journey onwards!

This is sad news. I was fortunate enough to meet him once in Phoenix in 2011 at the AFA conference in September. I was surprised to see that like Schmidt, he also possessed quite a lot of knowledge in mathematics while I was discussing programming issues. RIP.

A life to genuinely celebrate. What a shining example to us all!

I am convinced James Holden's contribution to the astrological community will be recognised long after the AFA awards are a distant memory. Like the Oscars the highest quality often fails to get the recognition it deserves in its own time.

May he have many blessings in his next birth

Mark

Hello to all, I was greatly saddened that James Holden had passed so soon after the publication of his biographical dictionary. I asked Kris Brandt Riske at the AFA if there were more Holden texts yet to be published. She said there was only one, a minor one.

As you are featuring the Robson bio at the moment, I might mention that I researched and wrote a bio of Robson and included it in the back of my edition of A Student's Text-Book, dubbing it the Vivian Robson Memorial Edition. It includes Hugh Torren's monograph, Vivian Robson, Curator turned astrologer; C.E.O. Carter's Obituary, from Astrologer's Quarterly; another obituary by George Bailey; An Appreciation, by Dorothy Ryan; a list of Robson's articles as published in the Weekly Horoscope, of 1937-8; my own biographical Afterward; as well as facsimiles of Robson's 1917 application for a Reader's Ticket to the British Museum, and his Death Certificate. I was greatly assisted by the tireless Philip Graves, to whom all thanks.

I published this in 2010. I was a tiny bit disappointed it did not come to Mr. Holden's attention, but such is life. The entire memorial is 38 pages. I would be happy to supply it as a pdf if you have some place to put it so that others can profit from it.

David R. Roell

Thanks for letting us know that Dave - is it already online? If so, it would be great to put a link to it on the page we have here on Vivian Robson.