Swiss Bar Fire on New Year’s Eve Kills Dozens

By Alex Miller

2026 got off to a tragic start in Crans-Montana, a Swiss 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 ceiling 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 (10 Capricorn) conjoined both Venus (9 Capricorn) and Mars (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 (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 (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 (11 Capricorn) and Flamini (14 Capricorn) join the stellium, both phonetically representing “flames.”  Asteroid Sierra (11 Capricorn) identifies the event as specific to Switzerland’s Sierre district.  Finally, asteroid Barmen (6 Capricorn) seems to point toward the bar’s staffers as instrumental in what occurred.  This mass grouping is squared (90 degrees) by asteroid Requiem (14 Libra), named for the funeral mass for the dead, once again bringing in the element of mortality.

As astounding as this configuration is, it pales in comparison to the points found at the Angles (1) 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.  As they move over planets and points, those energies become vitalized in the moment.

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 Ascendant ((19 Libra, the east point) we see asteroids Sparks (20 Libra) and Burney (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 (2), with squares to Jupiter (21 Cancer) on the MC (24 Cancer, the north point) and asteroid Icarus (22 Capricorn) on the IC (24 Capricorn, the south point), opposing (180 degrees) 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.

Notes:  (1) The “Angles” are the cardinal directional points, where celestial bodies rise (Ascendant) and set (Descendant) at the horizon, or achieve highest (Midheaven, or MC) or lowest elevations (Nadir, or IC). Placement here signifies enhanced importance in character or biography.  The Ascendant affects our public image, how others see us; the Descendant involves how we relate to others; the MC governs status, reputation and place in the world; and the IC represents foundations, origins and the domestic environment.

(2) A T-Square is a dynamic pattern composed of two or more planets in opposition (180 degrees), each squared (90 degrees) a third.  It represents stress and conflict, with the fulcrum point (at the square) offering a possibility of resolution.

Sources:  reporting from NPR, NBC News; chart data from serennu.com; graphic image by author

Title Image Credit:  drawn by ChatGPT