Analysis of Keith Richards' astrological chart

We all know the incredible story recounting how Keith Richards met a certain Mick Jagger on a railway platform. We even remember that it was on 25 October 1960. That's all for the rock' n' roll annals. Together, the two founding members of the Rolling Stones wrote a few legendary pages of those crazy years, between extravagances and planetary successes. Nowadays, the Stones are a matchless myth. It is obvious that nothing would have been the same without Richards. Not only because he composed the majority of the group's original repertoire, but also because he fully epitomised the ups and downs of the "sex, drug, and rock' n' roll" age.

As expected, Richards' chart has numerous clues pointing to such an influence. The Ascendant posited in Scorpio describes how Richards comes across, or reveals that he enjoys giving more than receiving. In different circumstances, however, this Ascendant may be synonymous with social unease. In Richards' case, surprisingly, he confessed that he took drugs so as not to be a rock star. Since he did not need at all to be adulated by crowds in order to exist, in the beginning, he had a hard time dealing with the phenomenal stardom Guitar Hero brought about.

The 8th sign alone explains at the same time Richards' magnetism, tormented character, and rebirth capacity. He is glad to boast that "What would kill other people does not kill me", parodying Nietzsche's famous words, "What does not kill me makes me stronger".

Nevertheless, in his biography, published several years later, Richards admits that he hit bottom in Toronto in 1977. Arrested by the police, and charged with drug trafficking, he narrowly escaped a several-year prison sentence. The survival of the Stones was at stake. It took Richards a long time to get back on track. It is most likely that music was his saviour. As for the rest, how a man who lost himself in addiction to such an extent during several decades was able to get back on the saddle remains a total mystery. The analysis of Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio, shows the necessity to experience the most extreme ordeals. Indeed, Pluto is conjunct the North Node. Therefore, the Devil's temptation is there. However, the fact that Richards is rather strong and has been blessed with strokes of good luck must be acknowledged.

After all, this is not surprising for a person born with the Sun in Sagittarius wonderfully supported by a trine from Jupiter (the planet ruling the chart) posited in the magnificent sign of Leo. Richards has the assets required to impress his fans onstage, thus competing with his flamboyant friend Mick Jagger, another Leo, not less domineering despite a quite different style. In Richards' chart, the Sun-Saturn opposition indicates shyness or hindrances linked to his poor childhood. This aspect also highlights difficulties with his father, from whom he was estranged for a long time. On the other hand, young Keith owed a lot to his maternal grandfather (Saturn symbolises ancestors), who introduced him to the guitar and thus enabled the rocker seed within to grow.

While Richards' chart possesses the qualities just mentioned, it nonetheless displays a few worrisome aspects. For instance, the Mars-Uranus conjunction in Gemini in the 7th House – not angular – receives a square from the Moon conjunct the Midheaven. The Moon promises popularity, but in this configuration she describes a fanciful nature, perhaps exceedingly poetic or cut off from reality, which causes power struggles, or dramatic and sudden clashes.

From his standpoint, the musician would say that aggressiveness comes from other people, and that he only listens to his instincts and his emotions. Relationships with women were probably problematic, at least in the first part of life. We have heard about the stories regarding the light-hearted banters involving certain muses and other members of the band. The rest can be easily guessed. However, since he married Patti Hansen (in 1993), Richards seemed to appreciate the joys of a discreet conjugal life. In his chart, the good connection between the Moon at the Midheaven and Venus in Scorpio in the 12th House may explain that he has been able to tame his impulses.

Getting back to the artistic facet, the man who is considered to be the Stones' musical conscience probably owes this to his nice Moon-Mercury trine. This planet, sextile Venus, favours the career: in the 2nd House, it denotes the capacity to turn success into cash. The musician can rely on the talents of Neptune, well-disposed towards the Mars-Uranus conjunction, which gives a higher dimension to impulsivity. Transcendence through mysticism, who knows?

Keith Richards

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Author: Jerzy Bednarski
Credits: Own work
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Saturday, December 18, 1943

Dartford (United Kingdom)

25°24' Sagittarius

7°41' Virgo

19°58' Scorpio

9°37' Virgo

DominantDom. Signs

DominantDom. Planets

DominantDom. Houses

DominantDom. Elements

Water Goat

Birth Path

5' 8½" (1m74) tall

130,079

Biography of Keith Richards (excerpt)

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine called Richards the creator of "rock's greatest single body of riffs" on guitar and ranked him fourth on its list of 100 best guitarists in 2011. The magazine...

Reliability

From memory or autobiography

Arthur Blackwell

You can also read the Astrotheme astrological portrait of Keith Richards.

Richards is currently experiencing the third contact of Saturn with the natal Sun. This transit necessarily confronts him with the passing of time, looming old age, even though he repeats that he will stop only when he kicks the bucket. The news should be more heartening in early 2018 when Jupiter moves into Scorpio. The planet ruling the Sun sign is in the rising sign, and heralds (again) renewed fame or a final come-back for this perhaps immortal Stone.

You will also find below the interactive horoscope of Keith Richards:

^* A planet less than 1° from the next House cusp is considered to be posited in the said House. 2° when the AS and the MC are involved