Keith Richards, “the world’s most elegantly wasted human being”, guitarist, vocalist and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones for six decades with Mick Jagger, is unbelievably 80 years old tomorrow. No one thought he would survive this long with his track record for drug and alcohol intake. But he says he gave up cigarettes four years ago; cocaine went in 2006 and heroin he hasn’t touched in four decades. He said in an interview “I still like a drink occasionally – because I’m not going to heaven any time soon – but apart from that, I’m trying to enjoy being straight. It’s a unique experience for me.”
He was born 18 December 1943 at 6am (from memory) in Dartford, England and met Jagger at primary school, getting together later as music-mad teenagers. Their partnership has stayed firm despite odd rifts. “The thing with Mick and me is that people only hear about the squabbles, and they forget there’s like 15 years between one squabble and another,” says Richards. “We’re sewn together at the hip. And now and again, you know, we try to break the stitches. But we love each other.” His varied and prolific love life attracted as much attention as his raucous lifestyle but he has been married now for 39 years to Patti Hansen, a former model, and has several children and grandchildren.
He has a 2nd house Sagittarius Sun opposition an 8th house Saturn – grandparents were an important part of his childhood which fits the 8th house, one of them teaching him the guitar and the other side being civic leaders. His Sun is also in a lucky trine to a far-travelled Jupiter in Leo in his 9th. His Virgo Moon sits on his Midheaven, suiting him for a public career and it squares a Mars Uranus conjunction in his 7th giving him unpredictable mood swings, a legacy from his mother. His 12th house seductive Venus in Scorpio squares Pluto North Node in Leo.
Mick Jagger’s Moon is in Richard’s 7th house for a good partnership as is Patti Hansen’s Moon. And Richard’s Sun falls in Jagger’s 7th. They were made for each other despite odd blips where they joust and upstage the other. Jagger’s ego-centric, flamboyant Sun, Jupiter, Pluto, Mercury in Leo will grate from time to time. Their relationship chart has a good deal of friendly affection from a composite Sun Venus conjunction but also a power-couple Jupiter Pluto conjunction which last can occasionally turn into a tussle for the upper hand at a personality level. But Jagger’s Venus in Virgo sits in Richard’s 10th close to his Midheaven and Moon – so many more pluses than minuses in their togetherness.
Richards creative 5th harmonic is most notable, with his making-a-mark 17H and global-presence 22h also well aspected.
I waited tables and worked as a bartender for 27 years (Saturn in 8th). From memory, every time I had a customer walk into my bar who had lived to be, say, over 80 or so, they had a Sagittarius Sun, every time. I was always observing people and that’s actually how I discovered astrology in the first place. Noticing patterns in my bar customers over nearly 3 decades. When someone lives to be over 80 and they make it out of the house and into the world, the first thing they mention upon interaction is -how old they are. Usually as a proudly boasting declaration, and who can blame them?!
An interesting comment re Saggitarius, intuitively I would consider Capricorn longer lived if anything because of their tenacity.
I wonder whether there are statistics relating to the connection between sun signs and their life span.
My husband is 86, with a goal of living to 100, and never mentions his age while out and about except talking to doctors. He’s a Leo sun, not sure of anything else. We’ve been together 36 years, married 34.
That 8th house Saturn… Lots of staying power.
In the late 1960’s Richards and Jagger gae themselves the nick name ‘The Glimmer Twins’. I remember reading a 1990’s biogrpahy of the Stones in which the author casted ‘The Glimmer Twins’ in a sinister light, as their shared history was littered with the deaths of people who had dealings with them…
Sorry for the typos in post above. For those who are interested, the biography was actually a biography about Keith Richards by Victor Bockris (1992)
Keef-ums! That Scorpio rising with Venus close by gave him the whole ravaged but elegant Count Dracula thing. Now that he’s older you can really see the Sagg in him.
Thanks Marjorie. That photo of Keith Richards made me smile! A great musician, and somehow a force of nature too – with astonishing stamina. For all the insane chaos and rock ‘n’ roll stories, he’s never stopped creating, working, and thinking.
“Good music comes out of people playing together, knowing what they want to do and going for it. You have to sweat over it and bug it to death. You can’t do it by pushing buttons and watching a TV screen.” Keith Richards
Duh–Keef’s Sun is on the GC!! The Galactic Center. And his Jupiter is in a healthy trine, so… This could be why he persists…