Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys
January 25, 1980
New York, NY

This double Aquarius is someone who definitely knows how to handle success.

'People are dying to hear me say that there was a crazy amount of pressure and I was suffering under the weight on my shoulders, but I didn't feel like that.'

Alicia Keys's Tarot Reading

Alicia Augello-Cook is an only child. Her mother is of Irish and Italian descent, her father has Jamaican roots and her maternal grandmother is of Puerto Rican heritage. A child prodigy, she was accepted at Columbia University at age 16. She opted instead for a career in music and signed a recording deal with Arista records in 1998 where she not only wrote but also produced her own music. The next year she joined renowned producer Clive Davis as the first artist to sign with his new label, J Records and her star continued to rise. She sold six million copies of her first album, Songs in A Minor, which also won her five Grammy Awards. 'A Minor is one of my all-time favorite keys to play in', she says. 'It's a very moody key and also 'A' is the first letter of my name. It just represents the songs through my eyes.' In 2005, she put out an album called Diary, saying, 'I knew I wanted it to be in a diary form, because that's the way I write my music.' Diary garnered her four more Grammy awards, for a total of nine by the time she was 25 years old.

Sun in Aquarius reveals that Alicia Keys is a freedom-loving, strong-willed and independent-minded soul. She insists upon living life as she sees fit. In personal relationships she cannot be owned or possessed and while she is willing to share herself with another, she does not always adjust easily to the emotional give and take of a close relationship. Though intellectually open, she can be enormously stubborn, opinionated and inflexible on a one-to-one level. She has strong convictions about equality and tries to live by her ideals -- but her ideals about how people should treat one another don't always take into account human weaknesses, differences and needs. She very likely dislikes sentimentality and established gender roles. But she finds the portrayal of women in hip-hop to be especially offensive: 'Oh My God, the hip-hop videos! The imagery is so awful! I just can't get with it at all. The best thing I can say about it is that sometimes you have to see that kind of stuff so as to have a more balanced view about why it's so bad.'

She is fair, intelligent, objective, rational and often lets her head rule rather than her heart. She seems rather self-sufficient and detached emotionally because she is capable of putting aside her personal feelings to view things dispassionately. But once she makes up her mind, she is difficult to sway and can be rather dogmatic.

She thinks in broad terms and is concerned with the world beyond her own personal sphere. 'I believe AIDS is the most important issue we face because how we treat the poor is a reflection of who we are as a people,' says Keys. 'I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in the world. I hope I can do half as much in my life.'

She is likely to become involved in community affairs, social organizations and groups of all kinds. She enjoys being part of a group endeavor and may find herself organizing or supervising such activities. 'Keep a Child Alive is my passion and my mission,' she declares. Forward-looking and progressive, she harbors great hopes for the future. She stays current and responds to contemporary cultural trends in personal style as well as ideas. She has an experimental mind and is attracted by what is new. Her strong points include her concern for human welfare and social betterment, her sense of fairness, her democratic spirit and her vision. Her faults are her stubbornness and a tendency to be insensitive when it comes to personal feelings and needs.

With Mercury in Aquarius she is a progressive thinker, open and receptive to new technologies, breakthroughs in science and the latest discoveries in any field. She has high expectations and a deep belief that mankind's problems can be solved through the use of creative intelligence. She has no patience for people whose conservative or unimaginative outlook limits their capacity to find solutions and envision a better future. With a strong humanitarian impulse, she also likes to keep abreast of developments in world affairs for she instinctively knows that what happens in one part of the world affects everyone. Practically speaking, she has an aptitude for organization and enjoys being involved in groundbreaking cooperative endeavors.

With Uranus conjunct Mercury/Mars she has a tendency to act with speed and may not think things through very carefully. She is likely to make impulsive decisions without adequate forethought and should make sure she is in a position where she can change her mind, for she may do it often.

Venus in Pisces suggests that she is tremendously softhearted and sympathetic, gives selflessly and devotedly to those she loves and may allow others to become overly dependent upon her. More compassionate than passionate, she could become romantically involved with someone because they need love and she wants to help them, rather than out of mutual attraction. She is drawn to sensitive, imaginative, gentle souls -- poets, musicians, dreamers -- or to someone she feels she can have a deep spiritual relationship with. 'I like somebody who is ambitious, who is very strong-minded but still sensitive and I like somebody who knows how to talk and how to listen,' says Alicia. 'I tend to like a man who's a little bit older than I am.' She idealizes love and has a romantic vision of what it can be, as expressed in her song, 'A Woman's Worth.'

You could buy me diamonds, you could buy me pearls
Take me on a cruise around the world
Baby you know I'm worth it
Dinner lit by candles, run my bubble bath
Make love tenderly to last and last
Baby you know I'm worth it.
Wanna please wanna keep wanna treat your woman right
Not just to hold but to show that you know she is worth your time
You will lose if you choose to refuse to put her first
She will if she can't find a man who knows her worth.

Venus opposition Mars means she doesn't feel alive without a vibrant, passionate love in her life. If her romantic urges are frustrated or if her intimate relationships become too tame or mellow, she will do something to stir up the fires. 'There is a special man in my life,' she admits. 'And it's my secret.' Fighting, competition, tumultuous and fiery love-making are natural ways she relates.

Venus opposition Jupiter indicates that money is likely to be an issue in her life, not because she doesn't have it but because she can not or will not hold onto it. With a generous, open-handed attitude she would prefer to spend and enjoy the pleasures of the moment rather than save, discipline herself or budget. At her worst, she wants an easy ride and friends will often let her slide because she is such an agreeable, gracious person. Or, she may let others take advantage of her hospitality and tolerance. She also avoids confronting difficult issues in relationships either because it is too much trouble or seems too petty. She just wants to have a good time, or as she puts it, 'Simplicity makes me happy.'

Venus opposition Mars/Jupiter denotes that she is rich in feelings and has the ability to express them well. She has a knack for making others feel good and is likely to enjoy a harmonious love life. 'I'm a giving person and I like to see people really happy,' she says. She also has a strong need to create and may have a flair for fashion design.

Mars in Virgo makes her a perfectionist with high standards for her own work. She often feels that if she wants something done right she must do it herself. Doing a task well is very important to Alicia and she may labor over minute details that others wouldn't bother with. She strives for accuracy and efficiency and becomes irritable when things are not done 'right.' On the other hand, she can become so much of a perfectionist and so self-critical, that she may not even attempt certain projects, feeling that her efforts won't be good enough. She is modest and realistic in assessing what she can accomplish and, if anything, underestimates herself. Of course, if she does apply herself in a given area, she gradually gains self-confidence as she masters skills and develops expertise. She has recently added acting to her repertoire, playing an assassin alongside Jeremy Piven, Andy Garcia, Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds and many others in Joe Carnahan's 2006 mobster film, Smokin' Aces. She is also credited with writing and performing the song, 'Fight' for the 2001 film, Ali.

Alicia conserves her energy and paces herself so that she does not waste her efforts. In her words, 'I really like to live my life in a low-key fashion.' However, an unwillingness to take risks or venture from the beaten path can sometimes limit her opportunities. In short, she may not aim high enough and settle for too little at times.

In apparent contradiction, Mars conjunct Jupiter signifies that she has a positive, can-do attitude and tackles life's challenges with relish. She is self-confident and has a strong will to succeed and to see how far she can go. 'I always want to stay focused on who I am, even as I'm discovering who I am,' she says. No matter what she accomplishes, she does not slow down. She wants to keep going and do even greater things. She is avant-garde, inventive and passionate about new projects. She is not happy in situations that don't offer challenge and the potential for future expansion -- no matter how satisfactory they may be in other respects. She enjoys competition, but competes mostly with herself, to see how much she can actually achieve. She makes a good leader, inspiring faith and courage in others. She usually enjoys good health and high energy.

Saturn sextile Uranus promises that in meeting life's difficulties, she does have allies: her ability to tolerate tension and ambivalence, her ability to compromise and a capacity to endure discomfort. 'I lived with my mom in a really small apartment,' she recalls. 'My bedroom was like in the living room. That's why I still love to sleep on couches now.' Remaining steady in the midst of crisis or sudden change is an aspect of this, as well as knowing when to wait and when to make necessary changes. Her timing is usually good.

Saturn in Virgo means that she has a penchant for order and precision and an almost compulsive attention to detail. She can be such a perfectionist that she may discourage herself or others from attempting something that won't be done exactly the way she knows it should be done. She frequently picks things apart mentally and must learn that she does not have to rationally understand everything in order for it to be valid. Saturn square Neptune indicates that she struggles a great deal with her ideals or spiritual aspirations. She may go through periods of asceticism and serious study of religious philosophy and spiritual practices. Or she may lose heart and become cynical about religious ideals, without completely divorcing herself from her idealistic interests.

With Jupiter in Virgo her ability to think things through clearly and to analyze the smallest details of any plan is highly developed. She has a humble nature and is more concerned with the success of her work than with personal aggrandizement. She enjoys working and is happiest when she is being productive and using her time efficiently. In 2004, she became an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. That same year she won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best R and B. About her musical style, she says, 'There'll be a moment where it's really, really personal. It's almost like me and you and we're alone and I'm just playing. Then there'll be another moment where it just gets crazy and the energy rises. I love to show those different sides of myself.'