David Bowie had his first hit in 1969 with "Space Oddity", a UK top-five single. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars followed in 1972, "Heroes" in 1977 and Let's Dance in 1983, the album of his greatest commercial success. He died on January 10, 2016, two days after his 69th birthday and the release of Blackstar.
Born at home, timed by his parents
Astro-Databank rates 9:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time an A, "From memory". Its notes cite Peter and Leni Gillman's biography Alias David Bowie (1986), which gives 9:00 AM "from his parents," and Mary Angela Barnett's Backstage Passes (1993) and Marc Spitz's Bowie: A Biography (2010), which agree. The editors add that he was born at the family home, so his parents' recollection is likely the most accurate. The birth certificate carries the date but no time.
Gary Lorig quotes Bowie personally for 9:30 AM, at a 1998 conference. David Douglas's 1975 book says "just before midnight". Both clock times under 10 a.m. give the same signs; the midnight account would put Libra on the ascendant.
| Birth time | Where it came from | Rising sign | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. | his parents, via the Gillman biography; rated A | ♒︎ Aquarius 3°24′ | Leo |
| 9:30 a.m. | Gary Lorig, quoting Bowie personally (1998) | ♒︎ Aquarius 15°44′ | Leo |
| Point | Sign at birth | In that sign | Before and after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising sign | ♒︎ Aquarius | 8:51 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. | Capricorn before, Pisces after |
| Midheaven | ♐︎ Sagittarius | 8:44 a.m. to 10:51 a.m. | Scorpio before, Capricorn after |
| Moon | ♌︎ Leo | 2:53 a.m. to midnight | Cancer before |
Rising sign, midheaven and Moon calculated by us for each time, Brixton, Greenwich Mean Time.
A Leo Moon on the horizon line, with Saturn and Pluto
The Moon stands at 3°50′ of Leo, 0°26′ past the descendant, the point opposite the ascendant. That point is tied to partners and open rivals, and the Moon to instinct and what a person needs, with Leo adding warmth and a wish to be seen. The Moon entered the sign at 2:53 a.m. that morning.
Retrograde Saturn, at 6°52′, is 3°02′ from the Moon, and retrograde Pluto, at 12°45′, is in the same sign. All three sit in the 7th house whichever method you use, the house of one-to-one relationships. Saturn brings discipline and Pluto intensity, and a crowded 7th house is taken to mean other people loom large.
Our pages: Moon in Leo · Saturn in Leo · Pluto in Leo · 7th house · moon sign calculator.
Aquarius on the horizon from 8:51 a.m. to 9:59 a.m.
At 9:00 a.m. the ascendant is 3°24′ Aquarius, nine minutes after Aquarius began to rise; at 9:30 it is 15°44′ Aquarius. Aquarius rising goes with a detached, original manner. Uranus, the sign's modern ruler, is retrograde at 18°41′ of Gemini.
The midheaven is 3°58′ Sagittarius, and Sagittarius holds it from 8:44 a.m. to 10:51 a.m., so both recorded times share it. The midheaven stands for public standing, and Sagittarius there suggests reach and a taste for the large idea.
Our pages: Aquarius rising · Libra rising · Midheaven in Sagittarius · Uranus in Gemini · rising sign calculator.
Sun and Mars in Capricorn, joined in the 12th house
The Sun at 17°15′ entered Capricorn at 9:01 a.m. on January 2. Mars at 16°44′ is 0°31′ from it, the closest aspect anywhere in the chart. Sun with Mars suggests drive aligned with identity, and Capricorn adds patience and long planning.
Both planets are in the 12th house in either system, the house of hidden work and time spent apart. Mercury, at 8°11′ of Capricorn, joins them by Whole Sign and falls in the 11th, the house of groups, by Placidus.
Our pages: Capricorn · Mars in Capricorn · Mercury in Capricorn · 12th house · 11th house.
Venus in Sagittarius, 1°49′ short of the midheaven
Venus, at 2°09′ of Sagittarius, stands just ahead of the midheaven. Venus stands for taste, pleasure and what a person is drawn to, and near the top of a chart those qualities show in public. The Moon trines it, 1°41′ from exact, which suggests an easy flow of feeling.
Venus is in the 9th house, of travel and ideas, by Placidus and the 11th, of friends and audiences, by Whole Sign.
Our pages: Venus in Sagittarius · 9th house · 11th house · Sun, Moon and rising together.
All major aspects between the planets in David Bowie's chart
- Sun conjunction Mars orb 0°31′
- Moon trine Venus orb 1°41′
- Neptune sextile Pluto orb 1°57′
- Mercury square Neptune orb 2°37′
- Moon conjunction Saturn orb 3°02′
- Saturn sextile Neptune orb 3°56′
- Sun sextile Jupiter orb 4°23′
- Venus trine Saturn orb 4°43′
- Mars sextile Jupiter orb 4°54′
- Saturn conjunction Pluto orb 5°53′
- Mars square Neptune orb 5°56′
- Uranus sextile Pluto orb 5°56′
- Sun square Neptune orb 6°27′
- Moon sextile Neptune orb 6°58′
- Uranus trine Neptune orb 7°53′
- Moon conjunction Pluto orb 8°55′
- Sun conjunction Mercury orb 9°03′
Orbs: 8° for conjunction, opposition, square and trine, 6° for sextile, 2° more when the Sun or Moon is involved; Node, Lilith, Ascendant and Midheaven not counted. Same rules as our birth chart calculator.
Questions about David Bowie's chart
What is David Bowie's rising sign?
Aquarius, at 3°24′ Aquarius, from his parents' 9:00 a.m. The 9:30 a.m. he gave Gary Lorig also gives Aquarius, at 15°44′ Aquarius.
What zodiac sign was David Bowie?
Capricorn. The Sun was at 17°15′ on January 8, 1947, having entered the sign at 9:01 a.m. on January 2.
Which sign is David Bowie's Moon in?
Leo, at 3°50′, having crossed in from Cancer at 2:53 a.m. on the morning he was born.
What time was David Bowie born?
At 9:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time in Brixton, London, according to his parents as quoted in a 1986 biography. Astro-Databank grades it A.
Could he have been a Libra rising?
Only on the "just before midnight" account in a 1975 book. Neither 9:00 nor 9:30 a.m. gives it.
Which planets are in his 7th house?
The Moon, Saturn and Pluto, all in Leo, in Placidus and Whole Sign alike.
Sources
- Astronomy Engine: the open-source ephemeris library behind our planet positions, dates and statistics
- Astro-Databank (Astrodienst): published birth charts we test the calculation against
- How we create our readings: our own calculation of sign dates, positions and the 1930 to 2025 statistics
More celebrity birth charts
Charts closest to this one, sharing the Sun sign, the rising sign or the Moon: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy · Mac Miller · Finn Wolfhard · Amy Poehler · Dolly Parton · Zendaya · Timothée Chalamet · Jim Carrey · Elvis Presley · LeBron James. All 143 charts with their sources and Rodden ratings: celebrity birth charts.
Astrology is a symbolic tradition, not a science. This page explains what the tradition says about the placements in a published chart; it makes no claims about David Bowie's character, health or private life. Birth data: Astro-Databank (Astrodienst), checked October 20, 2026. Positions: our calculation with the astronomy-engine ephemeris; it matches the Sun, Moon and ascendant degrees Astro-Databank publishes for this chart to within one arc minute.