David R. Roell is a practitioner of contemporary astrology. As a child, he traveled extensively in his native Kansas. The eldest of nine, he was editor of his high school yearbook. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas (bachelor of science degree in journalism) and many years ago spoke fluent French. During a prolonged stay in Europe, he compiled a photographic portfolio of English and French church interiors. He is a former member of the Royal Photographic Society and of Mensa. He was once a factotum to one of the chief financial officers of the United Nations.
Vatican II led Roell on a 30-year study of metaphysics, which eventually included theosophy, Alice Bailey, the seven rays, Gothic architecture, the esoteric church, the Great Ages, alchemy, reincarnation, pyramidology, astral projection, pranic healing, magic, UFOs, Gurdjieff/Ouspensky, the Second Coming, and other subjects. In 1983, he bought his first astrology book. From 1986 to 1990, he worked at the New York Astrology Center. In 1993, on a dare, he and a friend established what eventually became the Astrology Center of America, in Ventura, California. In January 1996, the store moved onto the Internet as AstroAmerica.com. In 1998 he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since 2000, he has lived in New York City with his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Veracity.