A Brief History of Matrix Software
A Brief History of Matrix Software
Computers were made for astrology,
although it took some astrologers a little
time to recognize that fact. Astrologer
Michael Erlewine founded Matrix
Software in 1977 in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, the first company to create
astrology computer programs and make
them available to the general public. In
fact, there is only one software company
still in business on the Internet that is
older than Matrix, and that is a little
company called Microsoft.
Erlewine, who had been programming
on programmable calculators since the
early 1970s, switched to home
computers the moment they became
available. He became the first astrologer
to program astrology programs on
microcomputers and to make them
available to other astrologers. Erlewine
at first sent out his programs at no
charge to all who asked for them, but
soon so many were asking that he had
no time for clients and other work. That
was how Matrix Software as a business
got started.
Michael Erlewine was soon joined at
Matrix by his astrologer-brother Stephen
Erlewine, who had some years before
established “Circle Books,” one of the
most influential metaphysical bookstores
in North America. Stephen published
early-on the “Circle Book of Charts,” a
landmark collection of celebrity data,
complete with hundreds of hand-drawn
charts. When Michael Erlewine
relocated to Big Rapids, Michigan to
raise a family in 1980, Stephen soon
followed and the two brothers made the
company what it is today.
Prior to Matrix Software, astrologers did
their charts using complex log tables,
interpolation techniques, and a pencil
and paper or, at best, a 4-function
calculator. Some astrologers even tried
to make an argument that the age-old
ritual look-up tables had some special
meaning in themselves and that
computers inherently had no “soul.” This
retro attitude did not last long and
astrologers quickly came to depend on
and love their computers. Today it would
be difficult to find a professional
astrologer who does not do charts on a
computer. Creating charts with Log
tables is already a forgotten art.
From the beginning, Michael Erlewine
was primarily interested in the
“meaning” of astrology rather than about
computers or programming. He had to
teach himself the rudiments of
programming on handheld-
programmable calculators in the early
1970s in an attempt to research
techniques for which there were at that
time no books or tables, techniques like
Local Space, modern astrophysics,
heliocentrics, and so on. Erlewine
published his first book “The Sun Is
Shinging” in 1975, the first long-range
heliocentric ephemeris. Some of his
early algorithms were published by
Hewlett-Packard. In 1976 he published
a complete set of hand-drawn star maps
for astrologers, “Interface,” a book on
heliocentric planetary nodes, and
“Astrophysical Directions,” the first
astrological exploration of the
astrophysics of deep space. This was
before the advent of microcomputers
and he had to do all the calculations on
handheld calculators, in the beginning
on just 4-function calculators and later
the programmables.
Not all astrologers welcomed the
computer. When the Erlewines
published an astrological calendar with
a computer (with an astrological
 A Brief History of Matrix Software
program on its screen) on the cover in
the late 1970s, they received a letter
from a nationally- known astrologer
berating them for in any way associating
computers with astrology. Astrologers
were at that time quite computer-phobic,
even though the computer was to
eventually liberate them in such a
significant way.
The same thing happened when Matrix
pioneered Astro*Talk, their series of
interpretive-report-writing software.
These programs printed out complete
astrological interpretation reports that
astrologers could make available to their
clients for a fee. Erlewine recalls a hot
debate on these new interpretive reports
at an AFA Convention forum discussion,
where one astrologer burst into tears at
the shame of allowing these computer-
generated reports to even enter the
field.
In the beginning, well-known astrologers
would buy report writing software on the
QT, not wanting other astrologers to
know they even used them. Of course,
the rest is history. The fact is these
reports generated enormous revenue for
professional astrologers, where
suddenly they could make available a
$10-$25 report to clients who could not
afford a full sit-down session. One client
reported selling over $300,000 of
reports from a single $300 Matrix
program investment.
Over the years, Matrix has held dozens
of in-depth conferences and meetings,
featuring some of the most distinguished
astrologers of the time, speakers like
Dane Rudhyar, Michel Gauquelin,
Charles Harvey, Charles Jayne, Robert
Hand, Theodor Landscheidt, Noel Tyl,
Roger Elliot, Geoffrey Dean, John
Townley, Robert Schmidt, and scores of
others. In the late 1970s, Michael
Erlewine and Charles Jayne teamed up
to create ACT (Astrological Conferences
on Techniques), a popular round-table
forum that appeared for years at
astrological conference such as those of
the American Federation of Astrologers
and the United Astrological Conference.
In the 1980s, Michael Erlewine
established the “Heart Center
Astrological Library,” probably the
largest library of its kind in the world and
he remains the curator today.
Matrix Software has pioneered a
number of astrological techniques aside
from their initial calculations, hi-res chart
wheels, and report-writing programs,
including the first programs that
performed simple astrological database
research, programs that actually spoke
astrology (audio) and astrology (voice-
over) videos. Matrix helped to produce
the award-winning Time-Life Astrology
CD-ROM and has won scores of online
awards. Matrix was also an early
pioneer in online and internet-content,
creating (at the request of Microsoft) the
New-Age Forum on MSN, their own
TheNewAge.com site, and Matrix
helped to launch Astro*Net (AOL), which
eventually became Astrology.com.
Michael Erlewine took a leave of
absence from Matrix in the late 1990s
and created a number of large
entertainment-content sites on the web,
the All-Music Guide (allmusic.com), the
All-Movie Guide (allmovie.com), and
others.
In 2008, Michael rejoined Matrix and
continues as the director of Matrix along
with his brother Stephen as lead
programmer. Matrix Software continues
to this day to provide astrologers in
 A Brief History of Matrix Software

more than 120 countries with

professional astrological software.

Michael@Erlewine.net