Alex's Asteroid Astrology

2026 got off to a tragic start in Crans-Montana, a Swiss alpine ski resort, where a New Year celebration took a deadly turn, sparking a fire that killed upwards of 40 people, with an additional 115 wounded.  At about 1:30 AM CET, patrons at Le Constellation, a popular regional bar in Switzerland’s Sierre district, watched in horror and scrambled for the exits as a champagne bottle, topped with either sparklers or a lit candle (reports vary) was hoisted to the rafters by a staffer resting on another staffer’s shoulders.  The wooden ceiling caught fire, with flames spreading rapidly to create an inferno.  Pandemonium ensued, with guests smashing windows to make their escape.

A remarkable juxtaposition of celestial objects sets the stage for the tragedy, beginning with the Sun at 10 Capricorn, conjoined both Venus at 9 Capricorn and Mars at 12 Capricorn, with the Sun pulling focus, Venus ruling entertainments and parties, and Mars ruling fire and flames.  That thumbnail sketch of the event is given stark detail by additional accompanying points. 

Dwarf Planet Quaoar 50000 at 10 Capricorn, a point associated with games, play, sports and fun, further establishes the victims as in partying mode, with a nod to the ski resort locale.  Centaur Pholus 5145 at 10 Capricorn is also conjunct, indicating mass casualties, by whatever cause (often active in mass shooting events with large loss of life, as well as natural disasters).  Asteroids Flammario 1021 at 11 Capricorn and Flamini 18099 at 14 Capricorn join the stellium, both phonetically representing “flames.”  Asteroid Sierra 12598 at 11 Capricorn identifies the event as specific to Switzerland’s Sierre district.  Finally, asteroid Barmen 118173 at 6 Capricorn seems to point toward the bar’s staffers as instrumental in what occurred. 

This mass grouping is squared by asteroid Requiem 2254 at 14 Libra, named for the funeral mass for the dead, once again bringing in the element of mortality.  As well, a square to dwarf planet Makemake 136472 at 12 Libra, and a sesquiquadrate to Uranus at 27 Taurus, underscores the shocking, unexpected (Uranus) nature and sudden misfortune (Makemake) of the event, which was caused by an accident (Uranus again).  Uranus is conjoined by asteroid Osiris 1923 at 26 Taurus, named for the Egyptian god of the dead, repeating the theme of death.  Osiris is also at station (turning direct a week later), reinforcing its power and impact.

As astounding as this configuration is, it pales in comparison to the points found at the Angles of the event.  The Angles are the zodiacal degrees that reside at the four cardinal points of the sky at any given moment, and are the fastest-moving points in any chart, changing degrees approximately every four minutes, thus their effects are powerful, but fleeting.  As they move over planets and points, those energies become vitalized in the moment, but with the potential for manifestations that long endure.

In this case, at 1:30 AM CET when the fire is estimated to have broken out, three of the four Angles are occupied by points vividly describing the circumstances.  On the 19 Libra Ascendant we see asteroids Sparks 15129 at 20 Libra and Burney 6235 at 24 Libra, planting the seeds for a small fire (Sparks) igniting an overall conflagration (Burney).  This group rests on the fulcrum of a T-Square, with squares to Jupiter at 21 Cancer on the 24 Cancer MC and asteroid Icarus 1566 at 22 Capricorn) on the 24 Capricorn IC, opposing each other.  Icarus represents rash reckless acts, such as seem to have started the fire, while Jupiter increases, enhances and inflates whatever it touches, for good or ill. 

Jupiter’s energy is over-the-top, going to extremes, and celebratory, also ruling foreigners.  It can be fairly described as “fanning the flames,” here quite literally.  In this context it describes the party setting; the revelers/victims themselves (many of whom were foreign nationals visiting for the New Year holiday); the overblown spark (Sparks) that quickly, almost instantly, became a blaze (Burney); and the excess of recklessness (Icarus) in the raising of a lit bottle to the ceiling.

As amazing as all this is, it’s just scratching the surface.  Digging deeper we find an incredible number of supporting aspects which continue to reiterate the tragedy in cosmic terms.  The concurrent Mercury square to the Saturn/Neptune conjunction forms another vital piece of the puzzle. Mercury at 28 Sagittarius rules young people (reportedly most of those present were in their teens and twenties) and waitstaff. Neptune rules alcohol, seemingly a key element of the incident; and Saturn is the ancient lord of death.  This aspect becomes a full-fledged Grand Cross with the addition of asteroids Alps 10957 at 27 Sagittarius (conjoined Mercury), establishing the general venue; Flammeus 8752 at 27 Gemini, another allusion to flames; and Lachesis 120 at 29 Virgo, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life.

A second Grand Cross is formed by asteroid Atropos 273 at 5 Sagittarius, named for the Fate who severs the thread of life at death, conjunct asteroid Fireman 431 at 7 Sagittarius and opposed asteroid Anubis 1912 at 10 Gemini, named for the Egyptian deity ruling funerary rites.  The crossbars are Damocles 5335 at 0 Pisces, representing the doom hanging unseen overhead, about to descend at any moment (here quite literally with the collapsing wooden roof), and asteroid Dionysus 3671 at 6 Virgo, suggesting revelry.  Dionysus is also at station, trine the Sun, and forming a Grand Trine with stationary asteroid Schweitzer 7698 at 14 Taurus, the German word for a Swiss national.  Dionysus turned retrograde on December 26^th; Schweitzer turned direct on December 28^th.

Pluto, modern lord of death, appears at 2 Aquarius conjoined asteroids Bacchus 2063, named for the Roman god of wine and revelry, and Rip 7711, at 3 and 5 Aquarius respectively.  Rip acts as a death indicator in the form of the acronym RIP, “Rest In Peace,” a common tombstone inscription.  An opposition to asteroid Burns 2708 at 11 Leo recalls the deadly fire, and Pluto’s presence here also suggests that criminal charges may be filed in time, in connection with the tragedy.

Finally, the town of Crans-Montana is represented by asteroid Montana 797 (named for the US state, but resonating to all Montanas generally), which at 27 Scorpio opposes the Uranus/Osiris pairing at 27/26 Taurus, portraying accidental (Uranus) deaths (Osiris) at the ski resort town (Montana).  Damocles at 0 Pisces forms a T-Square, indicating the unsuspected doom hanging over all.

An unimaginable calamity, occurring just 90 minutes into the new year; let’s hope it’s not an omen of things in store for 2026.

Title Image Credit:  drawn by ChatGPT