Sabian Symbol, Jones Pattern, Evolutionary Configurations, and More.

This article covers significant aspects, degree symbols, and other important factors in this New Moon at 8 Taurus on April 27.

This brings the Light of using knowledge and skill to anticipate future developments. This is a “full speed ahead” lunation which helps us giving and receiving wisdom.

We continue to be in a time of overlapping Pisces and Aries energies, so if things feel deep, vast, and heavy, be compassionate and bless what needs to leave. Pisces shows us how to navigate endings with empathy and faith that as we let go of the ghosts of the past, our life opens to new vistas. We are in a transition into a new era and won’t be done with the passage until February 2026.

The span between 6-10 Taurus is about “substantiation” on social and emotional levels of life. 8 Taurus blends the problem solving, “bridging” energies of 6 Taurus with the “return to ancient sources” of 7 Taurus resulting in the power to anticipate future conditions and shape our lives accordingly. As this is the last Lunation with Venus, Saturn, and the North Node in Pisces, keep achieving gracious and elegant closure as we flow from the past into the future.

The Planetary Spread

In this chart, because the inner planets are between late Pisces and early Taurus in a 39+ degree span, that’s the main focus for the next 4 weeks. At this point, we have planets occupying half of the zodiac between Aquarius and Leo with none in Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Capricorn. This creates a Bowl Jones pattern. At this time we have planets in Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Leo.

Depending on the position of the Moon and the inner planets relative to the outer planets, different months bring us different Jones Patterns. These patterns operate their own independent influence, regardless of which planet is in which sign.

Currently, the outer planet occupied span begins with Pluto in early Aquarius, and proceeds through Saturn in late Pisces, Neptune in early Aries, Uranus in late Taurus and ends with Jupiter in late Gemini. (We don’t include TransPluto, since Jones didn’t use it in defining his patterns). Because we have 6 signs represented with an empty span of about 180 degrees, we have a perfect “Bowl” Jones Pattern.

So What is a “Bowl” Jones Pattern and how does it work?

This type of spread, with all the planets occupying approximately half of the signs with an empty half opposite the occupied half, creates a “special type of conscious selfhood,” which Dr. Jones says “marks the Bowl type of temperament. He goes on to state “Fundamentally it is an extreme self-containment,” which “holds things, and a Bowl individual is one who always has something to bear.”

He goes on to state that with the Bowl, “the whole dynamic of man, his total power of achievement, arises in his instinctive realization that he is set off against a definite part of the world, that there is a complete segment of experience from which he is excluded in some subtle fashion. The Bowl not only holds something, but also places whatever it holds into relationship with a larger consideration.”

Dr. Jones continues that “the occupied segment of the Bowl horoscope reveals the activity and organization of the self, since planets are significant according to their place by sign and house, and the unoccupied segment becomes a challenge to existence, or the need and emptiness to which the native must direct his attention. The outstanding characteristic of the Bowl temperament is its marked sense of what is self-contained in contrast with what the self cannot hold, and this take an everyday form in an advocacy of some cause, the furtherance of a mission, an introspective concern over the purpose of experience.”

He concludes his explanation of how the pattern works with “The Bowl native always has something to give to his fellows, whether literally or psychologically, whether constructively or vindictively, because his orientation to the world arises from division; that is, frustration and uncertainty. The leading planets, determined in exactly the same way as for the Locomotive pattern, give a point of application, and shows where and how the native seeks to carry out his mission or gain his everyday justification for existence.”

He brings up another important point of analysis, as he states “the leading planet is of secondary importance in the Bowl pattern, unless it is found in a strong opposition or cosmic cross. The fundamental attack on the problems of life by the Bowl individual is indicated more significantly by the tilt or house-position of the Bowl-segment.”

He concludes this section by stating “the Bowl character is definitely more self-expending, or self-seeking, and more practically interested in what things mean and what they are. It continually throws the emphasis from the signs into the houses. It a general way the Bowl tends to ‘scoop up’ things and initiate experience when the position of the leading planet ranges from the fourth cusp, up and over the ascendant, to the Midheaven cusp, and then inclines to “capture” things or consummate various phases of life when the leading planet is placed similarly from the tenth angle down over the descendant to the nadir.”

Pluto at 4 Aquarius is the leading planet on a degree of “A Hindu healer.” This means that as we enter opportunity or experience, we will go through major purifications related to the collective Aquarian seeds being sprouted.

Some will experience life changing events which involve a revelation of some sort of latent healing power, or offered an opportunity to “consciously utilize divine potency.” This entry to the Bowl tells us we are all being exposed to the seeds of an inner divine potency if we choose to sprout them.

With Mars at 5 Leo closing the Bowl, we’ll finish experience with a sense of what we need to express if we want to accomplish something we’ve been preparing for. This Mars position can be dramatic, strong, powerful in how it expresses love, and on this degree focuses on the permanent elements in Nature as guides for action.

This will help us all to find ways around obstructions and limitations so we can move things forward which have been on hold since December. Pluto in Aquarius encourages us to share ideas in a spirit of fellowship and strengthen inner magnetism and external bonds with your spiritual Sisters and Brothers.

This leads with actional contribution, and closes with actional combustion. Because the leading edge is Aquarian Air, approach experience with a sense of vision, cooperation, the uniqueness of each part of the whole, and willingness to rise to an occasion. Because the closing edge is Leo Fire, by the time you’re done with a given experience, you’ll have a new power to sustain your outreach.

The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon

A New Moon sets the seed forms for what the following month will demonstrate. This Lunation falls at 8 Taurus, and it is said that the first third (decan) of any sign deals with the physical, material, and actional levels of life, and being the first decan of Taurus it has a sub-influence of Taurus/Venus with an added dose of Mercury. With the dispositors, this is a time of being a gentle flowing warrior. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.

The Sabian symbol for the 8th degree of Taurus is "A sleigh without snow.” In the original notes from the Marc Jones class on the symbols published in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says this degree is one of “independence of the will of the self from outer circumstances” and “ the power to mould life upon the pioneer’s prophetic vision.”

In The Astrological Mandala, he offers that this degree is about “the value of anticipating and preparing for expectable conditions,” giving us a “product of traditional skill” and our ability “to foresee and thus to prepare for a future situation.” He says this tells us “to be ready to use past knowledge and skill to meet the demands of a stage yet to come.”

He continues that “we should realize the value of future-oriented imagination but also of relying upon the natural order of unfoldment of all life processes.” He states this degree falls in the Span of Experience in Act of Differentiation, and is the synthesizing degree of the Emotional-Cultural level in the Scene of Substantiation.

Dr. Jones offers that this is a degree of “the magic which (we) may always summon to (our) assistance in facing the problems of everyday living,” stating “the static stress” of the symbol “is a needless acceptance of the contingent relationships by which the defeats of life are facilitated.” He continues “snow is only necessary for this vehicle under the most unimaginative circumstances, since Nature is ever prodigal in her means for supporting reality.”

He offers us the keyword SUSTAINMENT. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree “is a complete and effective alignment of self with whatever greater possibilities may remain unrealized in a given milieu.”

So the theme of the next month involves anticipating things to come, and using knowledge and skill to mold the future according to our vision. It would seem there’s magic to be claimed to assist us in our lives, without the need to accept unimaginative limitations. This gives us the Light of knowing how to align with greater possibilities so we can find sustainment in the future.

This month is about the Wisdom in the Light of anticipating things yet to come, and preparing for what’s down the road. This is the Light of a new social or emotional awareness shining out our knowledge and skill.

Of some importance is this was the Solar degree of the 2021 Wesak Festival which brought forth a new “Buddha Wisdom” to the world. That implies this New Moon, which anticipates the coming 2025 Wesak Festival at 23 Taurus/Scorpio, will bring some measure of that 2021 Buddha Wisdom forth which will be renewed and fulfilled in some way in the coming 2025 Wesak.

Important Aspects

Remember that in reading a Lunation chart (as well as a horary, inceptional, electional, or any event chart) the forming aspects show things to come, while separating aspects show things already past. Partile separating aspects show what’s been going on in the Now. This section covers only forming and partile separating aspects. Out of sign aspects are indicated by (oos).

The Lunation is novile Venus, novile Saturn vigintile Uranus, and decile Neptune; Mercury is semisquare Uranus and quintile Pluto; Venus is novile the Sun, trine Mars (oos), binovile Jupiter, conjunct Saturn, conjunct Neptune (oos) and sextile Pluto; and the Sun makes the same aspects as the Moon.

Outer planet aspects feature Mars semisquare Jupiter, quintile Uranus, and opposition Pluto; Jupiter is again square Saturn, quindecile Uranus, binovile Neptune, and sesquisquare Pluto; Saturn is sextile Uranus and conjunct Neptune (oos); Uranus is sextile Neptune (oos), and Neptune’s finally again sextile Pluto for the first time in 30 years!

This month the friction is provided by 2 semisquares, 1 square, 1 sesquisquare, and 0 quincunxes. While squares challenge “right action” at a turning point of a cycle, the semisquares are more about internal decisions and movement with personal inner crises, both public and private, which we must deal with.

Sesquisquares on the other hand create friction, agitation, and irritation in our world that involves others. In my experience sesquisquares are not necessarily associated with times of crisis, but they do seem to be times of no rest and spurs to act that may be inconvenient and aggravating. They definitely aren’t calm! And quincunxes force adjustments and sacrifices.

Special Configurations in Evolutionary Astrology

This month we have 2 special evolutionary configurations which overlap involving the Lunation, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune.

1) The Sun and Moon are both novile Venus and Saturn. This has four visible planets activating 2 points of a “9 Pointed Star of Spiritual Realization,” promising revelations as well as the coming forth of what’s been cooking in consciousness for a while. This affects 6-10 Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, 16-20 Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, and 26-30 Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

2) Interestingly, Venus conjunct Neptune are both binovile Jupiter, again creating two active zones in a 9-pointed Star which operate beyond the previous one while overlapping with it. This affects 1-3 Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, 9-13 Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, 19-23 Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, and 29-30 Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

That means both novile series configurations encompass 1-3 of the Fire signs, 6-13 of the Earth signs, 16-23 of the Air signs, and 26-30 of the Water signs. If you have a planet or point in these zones, expect spiritual realizations, as well as the sense of things cooking for the future. As Venus in Pisces is the planet knitting the two zones together, be as tender, caring, loving, and empathetic as you can be in your interactions, while expressing it through the power of Mars in Leo closing the Bowl.

Explaining Harmonics

Aspects in the same series are considered to be various stages of “harmonics” for each series.

The novile (9th harmonic), septile (7th harmonic) and elftile (11th harmonic) series all feature spiritual aspects. All novile series (9th harmonic) aspects indicate things which need to be put on the shelf for a while, or that which has been waiting can now move forward. They represent gestative energies that can lead to great spiritual realizations. Septile series aspects represent forks in the road of destiny, while the 11th harmonic elftile series indicate that faith is required to deal with transcending some dualities, issues and points of evolution where we must make a leap of faith to attain a form of mastery over that type of duality. This series tests our faith. Both the 7th and 11th series involve non-rational aspect values, bringing an element of irrationality in behavior and circumstances.

The quintile and biquintile (5th harmonic) and related 10th (decile and tredecile), 15th (quindecile), and 20th harmonic (vigintile) aspects are all specialization aspects. You can find more by going to Astrology Class on the Specializing Aspects Pt. 1 – The Quintile and Biquintile, and Astrology Class on the Specializing Aspects Part 2 – The Decile, Tredecile, Quindecile and the Vigintile.

You can find out more about the spiritual aspects (septile, novile, and elftile series) by referencing this brief overview of Astrological Aspects – the 7th, 9th, and 11th Harmonic Series Aspects and their Symbols. I did a much lengthier exploration and explanation of how each of the 11th harmonic series aspects work in the article The 11th Harmonic Aspects in Astrology – the Elftile Series of Faith and Transcendence.

Element Balance

This month shows a seriously imbalanced distribution. This month the 10 traditional planets occupy 6 signs. We have 3 planets in Fire (inspiration and warmth), 3 planet in Earth (practical grounding), 2 in Air (relatedness and communicating), and 2 in Water (feelings and experiencing).

Air and Earth are “cool” elements, while Fire and Water are “hot” elements. With this distribution, it’s more hot than cool with a lot of “go with the flow.” This shows a balance with more practical inspiration than ideas or feeling.

The current sequence at present of Deciding, Feeling, and Thinking

We’ve been through several different sequences over the past few months. There are six patterns, and each has their strengths and weaknesses. This continues last month’s pattern. For now, as a process of moving through events, the most effective “firing sequence” for approaching life and experience over the next four weeks involves beginning activity with feeling, then thinking, and then making decisions.

This pattern initiates activity by feeling its way into ideas, perceptions, and information. Let your hunches lead to new knowledge. Then, after a new idea, vision, or understanding, then make a decision and act on it! Try not to overplan too far into the future. Take your feeling-knowing one step at a time, and keep things in balanced motion, even if they go all over the place at times.

Once we’ve made a decision and acted on it, then a new feeling will naturally arise showing the next thing to learn about, communicate, or understand. So feel, flow, and experience, since these will lead you to ideas and views that will in turn lead to the next decision.

This pattern is sensitive to others’ feelings, and when healthy usually offers a positive and encouraging take on things. It is said this pattern has the best “bedside manner,” and can be a good sounding board to bounce all kinds of things off of until everything’s been discussed and processed so that a clear decision can be made. This pattern offers us that the journey of a thousand miles is truly one step at a time.

So if you’re wondering what to do, reference your feelings from a place of objectivity and compassion. Once you have “retreated to compassion,” then find your vision or understanding you need to execute an action or make a decision.

If you’re wondering what to do, go to your feelings and sit with them. What are you experiencing which can help you feel what you need to know before you act? If you understand something but don’t know what to do, what are your feelings telling you that you must do? If your actions aren’t bringing you clarity, what internal feelings are blocking your vision? Let your feelings lead you to clear ideas which help you make decisions.

Summing Up

This New Moon will bring visions of the future and opportunities to practice “thinking in the future” so we can anticipate what’s coming. We’re still between the old and the new, and will be until February 2026 when we move through a time portal. We’re still clearly old ghosts of the past, so allow yourself to heal and be healed while continuing to develop your imagination to master circumstances.

We now are in a convergence of past, present, and future, learning to be strong and resilient in expressing the love we ARE while leaving something from the past behind. It could be an idea, or a behavior, a ghost from the past, or an attitude which made us rigid or defensive. This month patience and persistence brings us a new sense of things to come as well as new ideas to be shared. Be loving and tender as you flow into the powerful expressions of Mars in Leo.

Purify, love without limit, and have faith that as you feel your way through the flow, you’ll find the understanding you need and the blessing to go your own way or to do your own thing in your own way. We’ve already had glimpses of what we believe abundance or fulfillment might look like; now we move forward along familiar lines of flow we’ve been navigating since September.

In the past 2 years we’ve said goodbye to old ways, places, and people, However, this created space for new experiences since there’s more potential than there is in whatever has left. Celebrate the uplifting energies at play in your chart, and let go of memories which don’t serve the flow into the future. Feel the lightness of your unique evolutionary dance through space and time. We’re all moving from the interpersonal to the transpersonal level of focus.

Neptune is giving us new Neptunian experience of Aries for the first time in about 150 years. For now, practice sensing the flow and simultaneity of knowing and experiencing a vaster connection to the collective field.

We have been exploring a new life, new field and new focus since January 2024. We now get glimpses of the future which also requires a bit of inner peace as we offer our wisdom to our world. Many have fulfilled or are fulfilling a dream, as well as a long quest. If you feel empty, sit with it and reflect on what you’ve accomplished. The void you feel will be filled in the future through the love which magnetizes what’s true for you.

Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend

While Saturn’s in Pisces, we are learning about the collective field and techniques of “non-local awareness” while developing our subtle senses of clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience. Forgiveness allows Divine Grace to manifest, and the quicker things flow down the timestream the less of an obstruction they’ll be.

Saturn in a sign of “distributing feelings” is teaching us practical compassion as we live at a higher level than we used to. Have faith that your faith in your process has brought you to a threshold of seeing the fruits of that faith made manifest.

Saturn in Pisces helps us understand how to deepen our connection with others and Source. We’ve restructured that sign response in our lives, and now have a more mature view of life’s passages and common themes. We’re stabilizing our “feeling knowing” over the next few months, so go with the flow, even when it means you have to take a plunge!

Because Saturn plays such a large part in our lives, if you haven’t gotten your copy already, please give yourself the timeless gift of my book, Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. It shows the way to take command of your power to steer your life in a conscious way, using Saturn’s strengths and skills to master life on your own terms. It was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers, and will help you understand how your life experiences assisted your Soul growth and your power to change negative karma to positive karma. Each time you re-read any part of it you’re sure to find undiscovered gems of insight helping you throw off attitudes which frustrate your ability to live your higher Purpose on your own terms.

And now, on a related note….

Because Venus is exalted and conjunct Saturn and Neptune, She is a very powerful force for practical compassion. She shows us the way to let go with grace, and promises more mature and deep relationships in the future once this passage is complete in February 2026. As She went retrograde at 11 Aries, it promises A) a new worldly order wherever we have 11 Aries, and b) the emergence of new leaders on the world stage.

During Venus retrograde, we often experience returns and/or memories of new types of love we had in the past, or old loves who allowed us maximum freedom to be ourselves. So we’ve recently reviewed early Aries and late Pisces through a Venus lens, as well as a Mercury retrograde lens as well. This has fused a lot of information, allowing us to reinterpret some things and move forward.

Venus has tremendous influence in shaping our expression and how we release our “potential for beauty” or “potential to enjoy life with others.” This month She brings beauty and value to our ability to find new relationships which develop quickly, with each naturally able to be their most genuine self.

If you want to know more about how Venus works its magic to bring us the people and things we need to find spiritual understanding, you can get a deeper understanding of you power to shape your future by getting your copy of TThe Magic of Venus: Friendships, Soul Mates, and Twin Flames.

It’s the most comprehensive book on Venus ever written about how our Venus shapes our likes and dislikes, and how we can change our patterns of attraction to make future relationships more fulfilling. It explains the world of relationship from the angles of psychology, astrology, spirituality, and worldly experience. I’ve been told it helps people find strength to turn away from unhealthy relationships and understand how not to attract anything similar in the future. It examines the qualities in healthy relationships and friendships, and offers tips on how to create long lasting personal relationships and friendships, why Soul Mates come into our lives, and how to know the difference between a Soul Mate and our Twin Flame.

It has chapters on the qualities of each sign’s natural mate, the qualities of Venus in each sign, Venus retrograde, and when crucial choices and changes are made, affecting who we attract in the future. It was written for both astrologers and lay people, and as it has a thousand gems for better relationships, with self, others, and Source, please consider getting your copy by going to the link above! (And when you’re done, please leave a review on Amazon, since it helps the book and all other books on astrology as well!)

The Long View

In 2020 we entered a transition phase in human history. While we will be functioning within the Capricorn cycles we began then, we also have begun an era unknown to humanity since the 13th and 14th centuries. Even then, we were still in the depth of the Age of Pisces, so the awakening of new ideas then were relative to the old era, whereas what’s coming involves wave after wave of Aquarian energies, pushing us to the coming Great Age emerging in the second half of this century.

The long wave Aquarian pulses were initially set into motion by the Mars conjunct Saturn at 1 Aquarius on March 31, 2020, marking the initiation of archetypal Aquarian preliminary structures offered by Saturn. The promise and potential of the new Aquarian pulse then began to expand into a greater social and cultural vision beginning at the Jupiter conjunction with Saturn, the Grand Mutation of the Solstice also at 1 Aquarius. So we have 20 years of Aquarian energies set into motion by that conjunction!

All Aquarian transits and conjunctions in 2022, 2023, and 2024 have given a new impetus and new expression to the Aquarian structures which took shape in 2021. Each transit strengthens the Pluto in Aquarius “generation” of the 21st century which lasts until 2043. As there will be a Jupiter conjunction with Pluto at 15 Aquarius in 2033, we’ll see the “expansion of the Angels of the Age of Aquarius” at that time.

2021 opened a new adventure for all of us, and the “metamorphosis” we went through showed us what the coming Age of Aquarius is about. 2022 helped us remember we are Beings of Light, a Superstar shining the Light of our Eternal Love into our world. We’re now expanding our spiritual knowledge, understanding, and effective forms of service, and have entered a new phase with Mars in a new Sun/Mars conjunction cycle.

New groups of Spiritual communities have formed since 2021, and are being given a boost this year. Those which are Aquarian in nature will be “lifted on the wings of angels” in 2024. Trust the process. Revolution is in the air! And when you find things and people of eternal worth, value them with all your heart.

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

© Copyright 2025 Robert Wilkinson