The life of Sonny Bono
Who was Sonny Bono?
Salvatore Phillip Bono, known as Sonny Bono, was a songwriter, performer and politician born in Detroit to Sicilian immigrant parents. He worked as a session player and promotion man at Specialty Records before joining Phil Spector's operation, where he met Cher. As half of Sonny and Cher he wrote and produced their 1965 breakthrough I Got You Babe, and the pair hosted The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour on CBS from 1971. After the act ended he moved into restaurants and then politics, serving as mayor of Palm Springs from 1988 and as a US Representative for California from 1995 until his death in a skiing accident in January 1998.
Defining moments
Sonny Bono's child Chaz Bono is born
Neptune squared Sonny Bono's second-house Sun 71 days before the birth, marking a shifting window of personal identity and values leading into fatherhood.
The Birth in the timeline ↓Sonny Bono and Cher marry in Tijuana
Saturn conjunct the Sun in the fifth house peaked six days after the wedding, anchoring their creative romance into a formal, binding partnership.
The Marriage in the timeline ↓Sonny Bono dies
Pluto sextiled his Ascendant in the third house 11 days before his death, marking a heavy threshold of personal transformation leading into his final days.
The Death in the timeline ↓Cher and Sonny Bono divorce
Eleven days after the divorce, Uranus trine Cher's first-house Sun framed the split as an empowering entry into personal independence and self-reinvention.
The Divorce in the timeline ↓Sonny Bono becomes United States representative
Pluto square Sun in house 2 hit 353 days before his swearing-in, marking a deep power window that catalyzed his political reinvention.
The Position Held in the timeline ↓Sonny Bono's birth chart
This is how a birth chart reads: the wheel plots Sonny Bono's placements at the moment of birth, and the three below anchor everything else on this page. Try it on your own chart to run the same read on a chart of your own.
☾ Born Feb 16, 1935 · 9:21 PM EDT · Detroit · Birth data: AA · See sources
3 placements that explain this chart
Sonny Bono balanced a concentrated Aquarius fifth-house stellium with an unaspected Leo Moon, pivoting from sixties pop stardom to Capitol Hill.
The core drive: independent, idea-driven, and a little ahead of the room.
The emotional undercurrent: warm, performative, and happiest when it has an audience worth the effort.
The first impression: diplomatic, aesthetic, and always weighing the other side.
How Sonny Bono's chart holds together
Twelve systems read the same birth chart twelve different ways. Match your chart to see how yours lines up with Sonny Bono's.
This is what a whole chart looks like at once, before it breaks into individual placements: where the element and modality weight sits, and how the four quadrants divide.
Elements and modalities
Water-led, with no modality standing out.
Elements × modalities
| Cardinal | Fixed | Mutable | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🜂 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 🜃 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 🜁 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 🜄 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
Elements
Modalities
Some charts hold a recognizable shape across several placements at once. This is what a pattern reading looks like when one is present.
Chart patterns that stand out
Moon unaspected: running with no major aspect to anchor it
See celebrities with this pattern →Grand Trine: Venus, Jupiter & Pluto in flowing harmony
See celebrities with this pattern →Frequencies are measured against the profile corpus, not asserted.
Twelve systems read Sonny Bono's chart
the full reading
13 placements in the chart signature →The same birth data, read through each system in turn: this is what a full multi-system reading looks like on one chart.
Natal Chart
placidus houses
Full natal readingCollapse
Exact planetary positions
● Sun, Moon or chart ruler · ℞ retrograde
| Body | Position | House | Motion | Theme | Sabian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uranus | ♈︎ Aries 28°14' | 7 | - | — | — |
| Chiron | ♊︎ Gemini 4°36' | 9 | - | — | — |
| Pluto | ♋︎ Cancer 24°19' | 10 | ℞ | — | — |
| Moon | ♌︎ Leo 12°41' | 11 | - | — | — |
| Lilith | ♌︎ Leo 23°38' | 11 | - | — | — |
| Neptune | ♍︎ Virgo 13°38' | 12 | ℞ | — | — |
| Mars | ♎︎ Libra 23°59' | 1 | - | — | — |
| Jupiter | ♏︎ Scorpio 22°37' | 2 | - | — | — |
| North node | ♒︎ Aquarius 1°04' | 4 | ℞ | — | — |
| Sun | ♒︎ Aquarius 27°30' | 5 | - | — | — |
| Mercury | ♒︎ Aquarius 27°51' | 5 | ℞ | — | — |
| Saturn | ♓︎ Pisces 0°18' | 5 | - | — | — |
| Venus | ♓︎ Pisces 18°56' | 6 | - | — | — |
| South node | ♌︎ Leo 1°04' | — | - | — | — |
| House | Cusp sign | Degree | Planets |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 1 | ♎︎ Libra | 6°31' | ♂︎ |
| House 2 | ♏︎ Scorpio | 2°49' | ♃︎ |
| House 3 | ♐︎ Sagittarius | 3°35' | - |
| House 4 | ♑︎ Capricorn | 7°40' | ☊ |
| House 5 | ♒︎ Aquarius | 11°24' | ☉︎☿︎♄︎ |
| House 6 | ♓︎ Pisces | 11°22' | ♀︎ |
| House 7 | ♈︎ Aries | 6°31' | ♅︎ |
| House 8 | ♉︎ Taurus | 2°49' | - |
| House 9 | ♊︎ Gemini | 3°35' | ⚷ |
| House 10 | ♋︎ Cancer | 7°40' | ♇︎ |
| House 11 | ♌︎ Leo | 11°24' | ☽︎⚸ |
| House 12 | ♍︎ Virgo | 11°22' | ♆︎ |
Full aspects · 32
Chart patterns
House system: placidus · Birth time: sourced, Rodden AA · Angles trusted
Transits
Lifetime cosmic weather & power windows
Sonny Bono and Cher marry in Tijuana
The Tijuana ceremony was not legally binding. The couple exchanged vows and lived as married for the next five years, but were not legally married until 1969.Wikidata P26 claim on Q179150
Personal year 11 · Pinnacle 7
Sonny Bono's read · timed chart
Editorial note · Saturn conjunction Sun
Saturn conjunct the Sun in the fifth house peaked six days after the wedding, anchoring their creative romance into a formal, binding partnership.
Sonny Bono's chart on the wedding day, 1964Collapse
Apr 30Oct 27Apr 25Apr 30, 1964 – Apr 25, 1965 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Neptune trine Venusslow
- Saturn conjunction Mercuryslow
- Saturn conjunction Sunslow
- North Node trine Marsfast
Cher's read
Editorial note · Saturn square Sun
A power window peaked 22 days before the wedding as Saturn squared the natal Sun in the 9th house, demanding sober maturity and legal realism before their Mexican elopement.
Cher's chart on the wedding day, 1964Collapse
Apr 30Oct 27Apr 25Apr 30, 1964 – Apr 25, 1965 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Neptune opposition Mercuryslow
- Saturn square Sunslow
- Neptune sextile Moonslow
- Chiron sextile Mercuryslow
- Pluto trine Mercuryslow
- North Node square Midheavenfast
- Jupiter sextile Midheavenfast
- North Node conjunction Venusfast
- 5 QUIET YEARS
Sonny Bono and Cher legally marry
The legal marriage, five years after the unofficial Tijuana ceremony. The exact date is not documented, so this is recorded at year precision.Wikidata P26 claim on Q12003, P580 start time qualifier at year precision.
Personal year 7 · Pinnacle 7
No dated transit window covers this date in Sonny Bono's chart.
A quiet chart is a reading, not a gap.
Sonny Bono's child Chaz Bono is born
Personal year 7 · Pinnacle 7
Editorial note · Neptune square Sun
Neptune squared Sonny Bono's second-house Sun 71 days before the birth, marking a shifting window of personal identity and values leading into fatherhood.
Sonny Bono's chart on the day of a birth, 1969Collapse
Dec 23Mar 4May 14Dec 23, 1968 – May 14, 1969 · 142 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Neptune square Sunslow
- Neptune square Mercuryslow
- Saturn opposition Marsslow
- 6 YEARS UNRECORDED
Cher and Sonny Bono divorce
Personal year 4 · Pinnacle 7
Sonny Bono's read · timed chart
Editorial note · Uranus trine Sun
Eleven days after the divorce, Uranus trine Cher's first-house Sun framed the split as an empowering entry into personal independence and self-reinvention.
Sonny Bono's chart on the day of the divorce, 1975Collapse
Dec 28Jun 26Dec 23Dec 28, 1974 – Dec 23, 1975 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Pluto conjunction Ascendantslow
- Pluto square Midheavenslow
- Chiron sextile Mercuryslow
- Chiron sextile Sunslow
- Saturn trine Venusslow
- Uranus trine Mercuryslow
- Uranus trine Sunslow
- North Node square Mercuryfast
Cher's read
Editorial note · Saturn opposition Moon
Fourteen days before the divorce, Saturn opposing her first-house Moon anchored a heavy emotional reckoning and a stark personal separation.
Cher's chart on the day of the divorce, 1975Collapse
Dec 28Jun 26Dec 23Dec 28, 1974 – Dec 23, 1975 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Pluto square Ascendantslow
- Chiron sextile Venusslow
- Saturn opposition Moonslow
- North Node opposition Sunfast
- Jupiter square Moonfast
- 6 QUIET YEARS
Sonny Bono and Susie Coelho marry
Personal year 1 · Pinnacle 11
Editorial note · Pluto trine Sun
Peaking 29 days after their wedding, Pluto trine his first-house Sun marked a powerful chapter of personal renewal as he stepped into this union.
Sonny Bono's chart on the wedding day, 1981Collapse
Jul 4Dec 31Jun 29Jul 4, 1981 – Jun 29, 1982 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Neptune sextile Marsslow
- Chiron sextile Venusslow
- Pluto trine Sunslow
- Pluto trine Mercuryslow
- Saturn conjunction Marsslow
- Jupiter trine Midheavenfast
- North Node square Marsfast
Sonny Bono and Susie Coelho divorce
Wikidata P26 claim on Q179150, P582 end time qualifier at year precision.
Personal year 4 · Pinnacle 11
No dated transit window covers this date in Sonny Bono's chart.
A quiet chart is a reading, not a gap.
Sonny Bono and Mary Bono marry
Personal year 6 · Pinnacle 11
No dated transit window covers this date in Sonny Bono's chart.
A quiet chart is a reading, not a gap.
- 9 QUIET YEARS
Sonny Bono becomes United States representative
Personal year 6 · Pinnacle 11
Editorial note · Pluto square Sun
Pluto square the Sun 352 days before the event marked a powerful shift in personal authority ahead of his congressional win.
Sonny Bono's chart on the day the role began, 1995Collapse
Jul 7Jan 3Jul 2Jul 7, 1994 – Jul 2, 1995 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Pluto square Sunslow
- Neptune square Marsslow
- Pluto square Mercuryslow
- Pluto square Mercuryslow
- Uranus square Marsslow
- Saturn trine Midheavenslow
- North Node square Moonfast
- Jupiter sextile Ascendantfast
Sonny Bono becomes United States representative
Personal year 6 · Pinnacle 11
Editorial note · Pluto square Sun
Pluto square Sun in house 2 hit 353 days before his swearing-in, marking a deep power window that catalyzed his political reinvention.
Sonny Bono's chart on the day the role began, 1995Collapse
Jul 8Jan 4Jul 3Jul 8, 1994 – Jul 3, 1995 · 360 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Pluto square Sunslow
- Neptune square Marsslow
- Pluto square Mercuryslow
- Pluto square Mercuryslow
- Uranus square Marsslow
- Saturn trine Midheavenslow
- North Node square Moonfast
- Jupiter sextile Ascendantfast
Sonny Bono becomes United States representative
Personal year 8 · Pinnacle 11
Editorial note · Pluto sextile Ascendant
Sixty-one days after taking office, Pluto sextile his Ascendant brought a deep power window that solidified his political voice in Congress.
Sonny Bono's chart on the day the role began, 1997Collapse
Nov 7Jan 7Mar 9Nov 7, 1996 – Mar 9, 1997 · 122 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Pluto sextile Ascendantslow
- Jupiter square Marsfast
Sonny Bono dies
Personal year 9 · Pinnacle 11
Editorial note · Pluto sextile Ascendant
Pluto sextiled his Ascendant in the third house 11 days before his death, marking a heavy threshold of personal transformation leading into his final days.
Sonny Bono's chart on the day of death, 1998Collapse
Aug 3Jan 5Jun 9Aug 3, 1997 – Jun 9, 1998 · 310 days
Birth time recorded to the minute · all contacts shown
- Pluto sextile Ascendantslow
- Uranus trine Ascendantslow
- Saturn trine Moonslow
Human Design
generator · 4_6 · emotional
This chart doesn't include centre data, so the bodygraph and the centres list aren't shown.
Full Human Design readingCollapse
This chart doesn't include centre data, so the bodygraph and the centres list aren't shown.
Chart properties
Signature
When the strategy is working
—
Not-self theme
When it isn't
—
Incarnation crossThe Right Angle Cross of Contagion
Centres and channels derive from the combined design (88° solar arc pre-birth) and personality (natal) gate set; lines come from planetary longitude.
Gene Keys
Hologenetic profile & activation sequence
Hologenetic profile & activation sequence
Full Gene Keys readingCollapse
Hologenetic Profile
Gene Keys derive from the same combined design (88 days pre-birth) and personality (natal) gate set as Human Design, read through the shadow → gift → siddhi spectrum rather than defined/undefined centres.
Vedic Nakshatras
Sidereal lunar mansions & dashas
Full Vedic readingCollapse
Ayanamsa: 22.951 · Dasha system: Vimshottari · Ascendant nakshatra omitted: no trusted birth time
Mayan Tzolkin
Kin 93 · White Wizard · Lunar
Ix · Lunar tone
Full Mayan Tzolkin readingCollapse
Seal & tone
Oracle relations
Kin from birth date against the 260-day count, Dreamspell correlation · Seal = kin mod 20, tone = kin mod 13
Numerology
Life Path 9
Full Numerology readingCollapse
Core numbers
Chinese Zodiac
pig · wood
Full Chinese Zodiac readingCollapse
| Pillar | Stem | Branch |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 乙 | 亥 |
| Month | 戊 | 寅 |
| Day | 癸 | 未 |
| Hour | 癸 | 亥 |
Day master
癸 anchors this Four Pillars reading: the Day pillar's Heavenly Stem, and the one value here that never depends on a recorded birth time.
Inner animals
Solar calendar; year boundary at the start of spring, not January 1.
Feng Shui
Kua 2
Favorable: Northeast, West, Northwest, Southwest
Full Feng Shui readingCollapse
Supportive directions
Directions to avoid
Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai) method · Kua number from birth year and gender
The Sage
Ask the Sage about Sonny Bono
The Sage reads every placement on this page in context. Ask what Sonny Bono's chart means, or bring your own.
Begin your journeyQuestions about Sonny Bono's birth chart
What is Sonny Bono's zodiac sign?
Sonny Bono's Sun sign is Aquarius.
What is Sonny Bono's moon and rising sign?
Sonny Bono has a Leo Moon and a Libra rising.
When was Sonny Bono born?
Sonny Bono was born on Feb 16, 1935.
How reliable is this birth data?
This chart carries a Rodden rating of AA: the standard scale astrologers use to grade how well-documented a birth time is. Verified by a birth certificate or official record: full chart shown, including houses and the rising sign.
Also appears in
Connected through shared moments
More famous Aquarians
/famous-aquarians →Sources
Sources & further reading
Birth data
Photo: Joop van Bilsen / Anefo, Nationaal Archief NL, via Wikimedia Commons · CC0