Alex's Asteroid Astrology

The world’s most-visited museum has had a run of bad luck this autumn, with the Louvre in Paris losing some $102 million in royal jewelry after a daring theft in broad daylight in October, and a leaky pipe that flooded an Egyptology reference library in November, damaging hundreds of rare books.

The art world was shocked by the theft of several items from the French Crown Jewels collection at the Louvre Museum in Paris on 19 October 2025.  The heist occurred just a half hour after opening, when robbers disguised as workmen gained access to the Apollon Gallery via a hoist to a balcony, using glass-cutters to enter.  The theft took less than seven minutes, with nine jeweled pieces stolen, ranging from earrings and necklaces to tiaras and crowns, all dating from the Napoleonic era.  As they absconded, the thieves dropped the crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, recovered from the street, but damaged.  It was the first successful looting of the Louvre since 1998.

Multiple celestial indicators recorded the event, including an exact pairing of Mercury and Mars (both at 18 Scorpio), symbolizing thieves (Mercury-ruled) taking action (Mars).  A square to asteroid Louvre 4513 at 12 Leo, named for the palatial museum, with asteroid Apollo 1862 at 18 Leo, defines their field of action, also specifying the Apollon Gallery (Apollo in the original Greek form) as their immediate target.

Pluto at 1 Aquarius rules criminal activity, as well as large sums of money (the stolen jewels have an estimated $102 million value); here we see it conjunct the 3 Aquarius Midheaven for the 9:30 AM CET break-in, the focus of all eyes, as this daring theft surely was.  Pluto forms a T-Square with asteroid Apollonia 358 at 3 Scorpio, another match for the Apollon Gallery, and asteroid Kron 2796 at 4 Taurus, derived from the German Krone, meaning “crown.”  The crown of the Empress Eugenie was the most high-profile item stolen, albeit the thieves dropped it in their escape.  Apollonia also widely conjoins the 26 Libra Sun, pulling focus to the Appolon Gallery for the timeframe.

The shock value to Paris, all of France, and the world at large is conveyed by an exact union of asteroid Paris 3317, named for the City of Light, with Uranus (both at 0 Gemini), ruling shocks and upsets, which closely aligns with the 3 Gemini Ascendant, placing the event in a strong Angular position for the moment.  A second T-Square is formed with two asteroids which can be related to theft, with squares to asteroids Steel 4713 at 7 Virgo, homophone of “steal,” and Robbia 6057 at 2 Pisces, suggesting a robbery.

Uranus/Paris also forms a Grand Trine Kite pattern by trines with Pluto (criminality) and a precise Moon/Venus pairing at 7 Libra), suggesting art (Venus) on public display (Moon).  The String of the Kite is an opposition from Moon/Venus to Neptune at 0 Aries, representing the disguise and subterfuge the thieves used to gain access.

Many of the stolen pieces were once owned by Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon (a daughter of empress Josephine by her first husband), also married to his brother Louis, whom Napoleon created King of Holland in 1806.  Asteroid Hortensia 13116 at 25 Cancer, conjoins Jupiter at 24 Cancer, symbolizing royalty, in a third T-Square with the Sun and asteroid NOT 2857 at 23 Capricorn, a marker of negation or loss.  Although her crown was recovered, Empress Eugenie’s tiara and bodice bow remain missing, with asteroid Eugenia 45 at 25 Gemini, a point named for her (the first living person to be an asteroid designee) squared Saturn, also indicating loss.

From larceny to leaks:  on November 26th, employees found a flood had damaged hundreds of books in the Egyptian Department.  The leak stemmed from mistakenly turning on a valve in a defunct plumbing system due for replacement next year, and while no heritage artefacts were damaged, a library of Egyptology reference works, some dating from the 19th century, became a sodden, soggy mess.

A pairing of Venus at 24 Scorpio and a retrograde Mercury at 21 Scorpio signaled a potential for news (Mercury) related to the art world (Venus), and asteroid input pointed directly to a water-based tragedy at the Louvre.  The former royal palace, which first opened to the public as a museum on the eve of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror in 1793, has an asteroid named in its honor, which fell in square to the Venus/Mercury pairing from 20 Leo.  Opposed asteroid Louvre is a conjunction of Damocles 5335 at 29 Aquarius, representing an impending doom hanging unseen overhead, about to descend at any moment; and asteroid Leakey 7958 at 27 Aquarius, named for British paleoanthropologist and archaeologist Louis Leakey, but acting here as its homophone, “leaky.” 

Together, these points form a T-Square with Venus/Mercury, with Venus ruling museums and fine arts, and Mercury also ruling books and plumbing.  The celestial shorthand here translates to an unseen (Damocles) plumbing (Mercury) leak (Leakey) which threatens (Damocles) art-related (Venus) books (Mercury) at the Louvre (Louvre).

The Louvre’s current woes can be traced to activation of its “birth” chart, set for its opening as a museum on 10 August 1793.  The 18 Leo Sun in that chart has been under stress from the recent Saturn/Neptune conjunction, still in effect.  When this duo came to their retrograde stations in July, they did so in sesquiquadrate to the natal Sun, an aspect denoting difficulty and challenge.  Further, Saturn at 1 Aries indicates loss, while Neptune at 2 Aries represents both thievery and floods, neatly encapsulating the two major challenges faced by the museum this year.  This duo also squares the Louvre’s natal Venus at 2 Cancer, further imperiling its artwork, and also alluding to the value of the stolen and damaged works.

As well, the Louvre’s natal asteroid Louvre at 15 Gemini was hit by a T-Square from the Lunar Eclipse of 7 September at 15 Pisces/Virgo, adding further stress and highlighting the museum on the world stage for the ensuing six months.  The eclipse also opposed natal Mercury at 14 Virgo, pointing to books and plumbing as especially vulnerable.

In a strange twist of timing, the leak occurred under a conjunction of the transit Sun at 4 Sagittarius with asteroid Nemesis 128 at 2 Sagittarius, noted as the bringer of destruction and ruin, with the pair opposed transit Uranus, which rules antiquities.  Oddly, the museum was undergoing a precise Return of Nemesis to its natal place, reinforcing its innate potential to do serious damage.

A vulnerability to flooding from a leak is displayed in the natal conjunction of Neptune at 29 Libra with asteroid Leakey at 22 Libra, recently activated by transit Jupiter’s station at 25 Cancer in opposition.  Jupiter increases and exacerbates whatever it touches, also bringing publicity in its wake.

The Louvre’s problems didn’t end there.  Workers voted to go on strike December 15th, due to severe issues like poor working conditions, understaffing, security failures (highlighted by the recent jewel heist and water leak damage), and inadequate building maintenance, threatening closures during the busy holiday season as they demand better resources and management.  The strike was suspended after five days of protest, in deference to visitors, but employees vowed to resume the work stoppage if ongoing talks with management are not productive.

Title Image Credit: drawn by ChatGPT