Chrissie Hynde: Rock Devotee

Chrissie Hynde is a devata of a different kind, a Rock Goddess. A case can be put for her nominal AA birthtime which gives 0° sidereal Libra rising, though only four minutes earlier gives Virgo rising and a notably more auspicious yoga-laden chart. This point is a clincher in view of her success and longevity. Saturn rising shows the black makeup and gothic chic image, while as a singer, guitarist and campaigner she is instantly recognisable, something approaching a female Keith Richards.

Two potent dharma-karma-adhipati yogas stand out, with 4th and 5th lords Jupiter and Saturn aspecting across the ascendant, and 9th and 10th lords Venus and Mercury associating in the 12th. Self-evident as some people’s achievements seem, astrology puts their status in perspective, and Chrissie Hynde’s chart confirms her as an iconic figure. Chart ruler Mercury is powerful stationary direct (and strong in the Navamsha), and along with Moon in the 3rd it’s no surprise she originally made her name as a journalist.

Virgo lagna also puts her Leo stellium of Sun, Mercury, Venus and Ketu in the 12th house, showing her wandering, international style. She came to Europe from the USA in 1974 (Mercury-Sun period) and found fame on the back of the Punk movement in England. Even today she remains perpetually restless, never staying in one place for long. Anyone with this chart signature would be a spiritual seeker, and while Chrissie is famous for her vegetarian activism (Rahu in the 6th), she is less well-known for Vaisnava Hindu beliefs which sees her travelling regularly to India.

7th September 1951, 10:15am (rectified from 10:20), Akron Ohio, USA

She has led a full rock-and-roll life, with ups and downs and casualties along the way. Chart ruler Mercury’s period 1967 to 1984 saw her emerge with The Pretenders, though that Mahadasha’s end saw tragedy as two band members fatally overdosed in successive years 1983-4. This was during Mercury-Saturn, which also saw Chrissie’s first marriage and the birth of her first child (Saturn rules the 5th house).

Jupiter in the seventh house makes Hamsa Yoga, and Chrissie has had high-profile marriages to two well-known musicians, Ray Davies and Jim Kerr. This signature is not quite karaka bhava naso, but there is a suggestion of too much of a good thing. She would be looking to relate on a spiritual level and may end up as something of a guru figure herself for any potential husband. Her Jupiter-Saturn raja yoga promises fame, but 6th lord Saturn gazing at the 7th house is not good for marital harmony.

She caused controversy in her recently published autobiography after claiming that she was in some way to blame for being raped as a young woman. “If you play with fire you get burnt. It’s not any secret, is it?” The incident she related would have happened in 1972, during her Mercury-Venus period, with both planets in the area of ‘bed pleasures’. Many people were dismayed at her self-blaming, but Chrissie seemed unrepentant in her typically perverse Venus retrograde view. Victim guilt is a complex issue, but a particular kind of psychic openness and naivety (which she admits) comes from the 12th house, particularly with otherworldly Ketu involved.

Her lyrics to the Pretenders’ song ‘Boots of Chinese Plastic’ sum up her activism and spiritual stance.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Buddha, please Can you help a little peasant that’s begging on her knees Illusion fills my head like an empty can Spent a million lifetimes loving the same man

Hare Krishna, Hare Rama too Govinda, I am still in love with You I see you in the birds and in the trees That’s why they call me Krishna Mayee