Alex's Asteroid Astrology

On Monday, 23 April 2018, at 11:01 AM BST in London, England, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their third child into the world. Better known as Prince William and Kate, the proud new parents named the boy Louis Arthur Charles. He is fifth in line in succession to the British throne, after his grandpapa Charles, the Prince of Wales, daddy William, and elder siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte (in an attempt to modernize the monarchy, in 2011 the rules of succession were altered to conform to strict primogeniture – that is, the eldest child succeeds, regardless of sex; previously elder sisters had to take a back seat to younger brothers).

Speculation about the name of this child was intense, made all the moreso by an unusually long wait before the name was announced. This was occasioned by the absence of his paternal grandfather from the country, and the parents’ desire for Prince Charles to meet his new grandson before all the world was introduced to him. So it was not until the Friday that the new princeling’s moniker was made known. Popular favorites in the betting were Arthur and Alexander (which I plumped for myself, based on a wry comment from the father-to-be and the incidence of having asteroid Alexander exactly conjunct the Sun on the day of his birth). The name Louis was way down in the betting, but Arthur did make the cut, if only as a second name.

Louis is actually a fairly common lesser name in recent royal history; Louis’ own father has it as the last in a long string (William Arthur Philip Louis), his older brother is named George Alexander Louis, and great-uncle Prince Edward is properly known as Edward Anthony Richard Louis. In all cases, the name is an homage to Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s uncle (and thus great-great-grand-uncle to the new prince), an important formative figure and mentor to Prince Charles. Louis Mountbatten was instrumental in bringing his nephew, born a prince of Greece, to Britain, and in furthering the romance between him and the heiress to the British throne, then Princess Elizabeth; he was killed in 1979 when his fishing boat was blown to pieces by the IRA.

Lord Louis Mountbatten, source of the new prince’s name, with a young Prince Charles, his great-nephew

All of Kate’s children have been born while transit TNO Haumea has been active in her chart. Named for the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth, Haumea was conjoined Saturn (parental responsibility) and squared Kate’s Sun for the birth of Prince George in 2013, when she first embarked on motherhood; similarly, Princess Charlotte came along in 2015 with Haumea (which as a Trans-Neptunian moves very slowly) still with Saturn and squared the Sun, and beginning to activate natal Diana, named for the Roman goddess who protected mothers during childbirth. At 24 Libra for Louis’ birth, Haumea is still within orb of Kate’s natal Saturn at 21 Libra and Diana at 23 Libra, and widely squared the Sun at 19 Capricorn.

Louis’ birth chart shows him to be potentially quite a handful. The 3 Taurus Sun indicates a likelihood of some degree of stubbornness, backed up by a Mars/Pluto conjunction at 19 and 21 Capricorn, angular on the 27 Capricorn Descendant, which denotes a determined will and the force to back it up. Note that this Mars is exactly conjunct mommy’s Sun, so there is likely some friction pending there. A square from the Sun to a conjunction of Ceres and the Moon (both representing the mother) at 8 and 9 Leo hints at conflict as well, and an opposition from Demeter, Greek goddess of motherhood, at 2 Cancer to Saturn at 9 Capricorn suggests that Kate plays the enforcer, or authoritarian figure, in Louis’ early life.

Prince Louis, in the first of many photo sessions

Modifying factors on the Sun include Uranus at 28 Aries, prompting volatile outbursts, unconventional self-expression, and rebelliousness generally. There is a conjunction with asteroid Phaeton, also known for explosiveness, at 1 Taurus, and an exact opposition to TNO Typhon (root of our word “typhoon”), denoting a “stormy” quality to Louis, with the likelihood of frequent temper tantrums as the “terrible twos” ensue. Asteroid Achilles at 1 Aquarius in square could prompt moodiness or sulks, but also inclines him to a military career (some degree of service is de rigueur for the male royals, including Louis’ father, uncle and grandfather, but not all remain in the profession). Asteroid Pandora in exact square from 3 Aquarius also suggests some level of pigheadedness, willful disregard of advice or instructions, and a tendency to be overly curious, prying into things which are better left alone.

And he may not be universally popular with his siblings – asteroid Askalaphus at 29 Capricorn is close by the Descendant (giving it angular force and power), and is the signature of the snitch or tattler. Louis could well be the informer of George and Charlotte’s misdeeds in the nursery.

The Cambridge family, pre-Louis

Asteroid Hybris is also on the Ascendant, at 21 Cancer, and so is TNO Varuna, at 29 Cancer. Hybris is an indicator of rampant arrogance, something natural enough in one “born to the purple”, and although the current Royal Family has been very good at “keeping things real” and appearing down-to-earth, this is a special weak spot for Louis which they’d be well advised to quell early on. Varuna relates to one’s legacy, as well as law and order. So Louis may become a very “by the book” sort of fellow, especially concerned with the proprieties and anxious to ensure a good name and lasting legacy.

Of course Personal-Named Asteroids have a role to play as well. Louis’ parents are represented by, among others, asteroids Kate and Williams; these are conjunct each other at 28 Pisces and 2 Aries, straddling the 1 Aries MC and Chiron at 0 Aries. This makes them doubly mentors and role models, exemplars for their child, given Chiron’s connection with teaching and mentoring, and their elevated status at the Midheaven. It also shows them as presenting a united front to Louis, who may not be able to play off one against the other.

Great-grandparents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip; their 70-year marriage is the longest in British royal history

Daddy is further depicted by a remarkable string of points, comprised of Cambridge (daddy’s current title) at 19 Aries, William at 23 Aries, and King (daddy’s eventual title) at 27 Aries. There is also a combination of Prinz (for prince) and Saturn at 13 and 9 Capricorn, suggestive of a royal paternity. Mommy shows up again as asteroid Kathryn, which at 21 Cancer conjoins the Ascendant at 27 Cancer and exactly opposes Pluto (with Mars also in opposition), another indicator both of the strong influence she will have on how he presents himself, his outer face (Ascendant) and the likely power struggles and squabbles (Pluto and Mars) to come. With Kathryn/Ascendant, he may come to physically resemble his mother. There is also a conjunction of Mercury, ruling children generally, with asteroid Queen’s at 7 and 10 Aries, and one day a queen’s child he will be.

Brother George is present in the form of an eponymous asteroid, located at 14 Pisces and conjunct Neptune at 15.   This could indicate a strong spiritual connection between the brothers, a sense of special unity or bonding, or the possibility of deception, misunderstanding, or some fundamental absence or distance which isolates them from each other. Establishing George’s future status as sovereign are asteroid Roy (homonym for the French “roi”, “king”) and Konig (German for “king”) at 15 and 17 Pisces. George is also semisquare the Sun and sesquiquadrate the Ascendant, making him potentially another role model for Louis, as any elder brother would be.

Grandpapa Charles, Prince of Wales, with second wife Camilla; Charles will be the first divorced British king since Henry VIII

Sister Charlotte shows up as asteroid Charlotte, which at 29 Gemini is sextile Uranus and the Sun, and squared the Midheaven and Chiron. Again, there is the potential to act as a role model (Chiron), especially when on display in public (Midheaven) but perhaps in less conventional ways (Uranus), encouraging the maverick side (Chiron) of her little brother to come out and play.

And then, of course there is Louis himself. There are three suitable celestial referents, though no exact match. Asteroid Louise, the English feminine equivalent, falls at 24 Aries, on the outer limits of conjunction to the Sun, but right next to daddy William (and also within orb of asteroid Cambridge at 19 Aries, Louis’ current “last name”). Asteroid Luisa, an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variation, appears at 6 Aries, conjunct Mercury, ruling the naming function. Finally, asteroid Lewis at 4 Capricorn is in close trine to the Sun. All represent typical placements for one’s own PNAs.

In mother’s chart, Louis also figures prominently. All of Kate’s children’s asteroids have connections to her Saturn at 21 Libra, establishing her parental authority. George at 23 Aquarius is in trine and Charlotte at 22 Libra is conjoined, so she gets on well with him and has her constantly underfoot. Louise at 19 Taurus is inconjunct, and as such, we have another indicator that Louis might not quite “fit” into the family dynamic, at least from mommy’s point of view, but requires some special “adjustment” (inconjunct) to be brought fully into the fold. Lewis and Luisa at 11 and 15 Sagittarius clump together with Juno and Williams at 16 and 18 Sag, and are trine Cambridge and William at 13 and 14 Aries. This shows “William Cambridge” as Kate’s partner (Juno), and Louis as one of the fruits of that union. It also identifies her second son very strongly with his father in some sense, perhaps two peas in a pod.

The doting parents coo over their latest arrival

In daddy’s chart, we find Louise and Lewis, at 3 and 6 Aquarius respectively, again in an inconjunct aspect, this time to the 0 Cancer Sun and 4 Cancer Moon, making Louis once again potentially an ill fit. But ameliorating this somewhat is Luisa, which at 8 Cancer is conjunct both bodies, and also squared Saturn at 15 Libra. William likely sees something of himself (Sun) in this son, and has a strong emotional identification with him (Moon); he can provide the structure (Saturn) which the Uranian, footloose Louis needs, hopefully without the likely fireworks accompanying his interactions with his mother.

So, there’s Louis Cambridge, who will never be King. Or will he?

With two healthy elder siblings in line ahead of him, this seems highly unlikely, absent some unimaginably horrific family tragedy, but there are numerous chart indicators that provide the potential for Louis to be the first English King of that name.

First, asteroid King at 27 Aries is within orb of the Sun, perhaps prefiguring his future identity or profession. Here, too is TNO Albion, at 6 Taurus, an ancient name for Britain, which could lead to Louis becoming the embodiment (Sun) of that nation, as its sovereign and principal face to the world. Louise is also conjoined King, and Lewis conjoins Saturn, an indicator of head of state, while Luisa squares it. Roy and Konig are both semisquare the Sun, which is also sesquiquadrate to asteroid Rey, Spanish for “king”, at 20 Virgo.

That’s an awful lot of factors celestially thrusting a crown on Louis’ head. So if the unthinkable occurs, remember, you heard it here first! Of course, I also thought he’d be called Alexander, so what do I know?