Robert Thomas Cross (born 15 May 1850 in
Worstead
Worstead is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies south of North Walsham, north of Wroxham, and north of Norwich. The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line. For the purposes of local ...
, d. 1923) was a British
astrologer
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
.
Cross was one in a series of editors of ''
Raphael's Ephemeris'', started by
Robert Cross Smith in 1827, who all took the pseudonym Raphael. Robert Thomas Cross is often confused with Robert Cross Smith due to the similarity in name and the identical pseudonym.
Life
Cross was originally named Frederick Robert Cross, but dropped the "Frederick". He began studying astrology quite young and by the age of twenty-five, already married with two sons, he was teaching astrology and accepting clients, and soon became the editor of ''
The Prophetic Messenger'', which he renamed to ''Raphael's Ephemeris''. In the 1870s he obtained the copyright to ''Raphael's Ephemeris'', which the Cross family then owned until 1985 when it was sold to W. Foulsham & Co, the publisher.
In ''Raphael's Ephemeris'' for 1913 he wrote: "Nothing has prospered with me except astrology ... I have succeeded beyond my expectations ...". In 1893, Cross's almanac sold 200,000 copies. His ''"Guide to Astrology"'', published in two volumes in 1877 and 1879 was widely used by astrologers for many years.
In 1895 the
Astrologer's Magazine quoted Cross for his support of the idea of forming an astrological society. On 14 January 1896
Alan Leo
Alan Leo, born William Frederick Allan, (Westminster, 7 August 1860 – Bude, 30 August 1917) was an English astrologer, author, publisher, astrological data collector and theosophist. He is often referred to as "the father of modern astrology ...
founded a society with himself as the first president and Cross as vice-president. ''Raphael's Ephemeris'' continues to be published, with
W. Foulsham & Company Limited.
A followup book under the pseudonym Raphael titled ''The Key To Astrology'' was published in 1896.
References
External links
''A Description of the Faces and Degrees of the Zodiac as Given in the Ancient Authors, Being Applicable to Genethliacal and Horary Astrology''by Raphael
''Raphael's Private Instructions in Genethliacal Astrology''by Raphael (handwritten copy)
''The Book of Fate: Whereby All Questions May Be Answered Respecting the Present and Future''by Raphael
*''The Guide to Astrology'' by Raphae
Vol. IVol. II''Genethliacal Astrology''
by Raphael
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Robert Thomas
English astrologers
19th-century astrologers
20th-century astrologers
1850 births
1923 deaths
People from Worstead