Angel Wings: A Lesson on Flow and Flexibility

Stephanie Clement, PhD wrote about the Angel Wings aspect pattern in her book Aspect Patterns: What they reveal and how they are triggered. (You can borrow it for free from Open Library here.) It’s worth pointing out that she published this book 7 years prior to Andre Barbault’s first edition of Planetary Cycles Mundane Astrology in French. I say this to separate any possibility that she might have read his book, identified this pattern, and delineated accordingly. Rather, her work is based upon client and student work, as well as research on harmonics and the aspect patterns most used by astrologers.

This aspect pattern consists of at least 4 planets that form an infinity symbol or figure 8 type pattern. Here’s an example:

The main point is that whereas other aspect patterns flow in one direction around the zodiac, the Angel Wings pattern easily flows forwards and backwards. The Kite and the Mystic Rectangle are also examples that contain this back and forth flow.

This flow represents a kind of 'protection,' hence the angelic nod. The protection stems from the ability to switch direction or change gears quickly. A native with this pattern seems to be at the right place, at the right time. (Aspect patterns, p. 141)

To me, this sounds similar to Jupiter’s association with ‘luck’. Is the 'luck' really random blessings that fall from the sky or is it one’s optimistic outlook and connective disposition that draws people and opportunities in? Perhaps it’s both, but this combination of ‘right place, right time, right attitude’ is what encapsulates this planetary energy.

In the Angel Wings aspect pattern, Clement writes, 

"the energy weaves a pattern of comfortable conditions for thinking things through, drawing upon intuition, and working to produce creative results." (Aspect patterns, p. 59)

Anyone who embraces their creativity can tell you it’s not a linear process. It’s more like a back and forth conversation with your muse in order to birth the creation. Similar to this, Clement also shares that it can represent a kind of spiritual “weaving” or an awareness that there is something larger than ourselves that is at work in a positive way. 

In essence, there is an inherent creative, spiritual energy that has put a person in the right place at the right time and with the right attitude for a purpose beyond the individual to unfold.

Clement offers the useful analogy of flying a kite to best depict this creative, yet spiritual potential. If you wrap a kite string around and around in a circle on a stick, you can let it go up into the sky but it is much more difficult and painstaking to reel it back in. The flow is one-directional and you don’t have much control to guide it when a gust comes around. Also, the string can get tangled up onto itself as the circular mass bulges outward which can create quite a tangled mess. 

However, if you wrap the string from side to side on a wide handle in a figure eight pattern (aka the infinity symbol), you can both release it and draw it back in with a smooth back and forth wrist motion, freeing up a hand to guide the kite string when the right gust of wind arrives at the particular spot you are standing. It’s a lot easier cleanup which encourages continual reuse too. With this shape, the flow goes in either direction—releasing it into the heavens and calling it back down.

Using this analogy, Clement further delineates the energy behind this aspect pattern from a natal perspective: 

"We learn to play out situations and events more smoothly. We learn that we don't have to get tangled up in the details if we follow the pattern. We learn to stay in the flow. We also learn how to identify markers along the path that tell us how we are doing, without having to stop cold to think about it. And we learn that we can double back to rethink decisions more completely from another point of view. This is a pretty good description of grace in action." (emphasis mine; Aspect patterns, p. 143.)

This flexible flow allows a native to look back at lessons learned and benefit from the knowledge gained. This attitude can also capitalize on that back and forth creative and intuitive potential to a compound effect.

The July 2026 “Basket”

As mentioned earlier, intrigue with the 2026 “Basket” (see chart below) is currently making the rounds but some astrologers such as SJ Anderson and Dan Waites have been discussing it for several years now, both on YouTube and on Dan’s newsletter World Astrology Report (such as this article here on Substack). (Waites, 2022) The main focus of this rare aspect pattern is the work of Andre Barbault and his predictions that suggest we are heading toward a global new beginning.

While Andre Barbault’s work is quite prolific in the astrological world, for those who aren’t aware, he was a French astrologer from the mid-1930s up to his death in 2019—one year before the realization of one of his greatest predictions (the COVID-19 pandemic). He was able to make this predication and his predictions about 2026 by using a cyclic index he co-created. The index is based on numerical values of the distances between planets as opposed to using a traditional horoscope alone. (You can read a description of how it works here.) (André Barbault’s cyclic index…, 2026)

With the ‘who’ out of the way, the ‘what’ is why we’re having this conversation. Andre Barbault's words on this configuration are quite straightforward:

"The new world civilization, the beginnings of which appeared around the year 2000, is in full flight here. This entry into a second quarter of a century bears the stamp of achievement of a new age of humanity. The central and harmonic position of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction is especially expressive of a promotion of the lower strata of the population of the world, a significant rise in the standard of living of the poor, a victory over misery won in unprecedented solidarity." (Lenoble, Quote originally in French)

and,

“It will probably be a change for the better when the headlines will be more agreeable and the civilization of our new mini Great Year at last becomes adult.” (Barbault, p. 151)

This is quite a utopian outlook given there are at least 8 major wars resulting in more than 10,000 deaths per year going on at the present moment (List of ongoing armed conflicts, 2026) and the world has just witnessed its first trillionaire. However, my understanding is that his predictions were couched in the reality that there would be conflicts, wars, and pandemics—not that they would be avoided.

The point, I think, is the creative systemic change that can be achieved with the ‘right attitude’, and this is where Clement and Barbault overlap. Both emphasize flexibility and redirection from what hasn’t worked to create a new reality.

Alignment: Mundane, Modern Psychological, and Vedic Systems Converge

While I personally don’t want us to go through trauma and war to get to peace, (nor do I believe it is a necessary ingredient), both Barbault’s Basket and Clement’s Angel Wings suggest there is creative potential that is possible as a result of our ability to look back at lessons learned, survey the cost, and take another route. 

However, there is one other perspective that deserves attention. I do not mark it a coincidence that we have just entering a Mercury retrograde spanning the entirety of July (entering pre-retrograde shadow on June 12th at 16°19’ of tropical Cancer and exiting post-retrograde shadow on August 7th at 26°15’ of tropical Cancer). 

From the sidereal, Vedic system, this retrograde is happening almost entirely (within 0°07’) within the single Nakshatra of Punarvasu in sidereal Gemini. (Each Nakshatra is 13°20’ and a Mercury retrograde spans 10-15°.) I teamed up with Aswin Subramanyanrecently to discuss this transit. The overarching theme you need to know about Punarvasu is that it is the symbol of repeated patterns, better awareness of boundaries, collaboration, and gaining strength with each pass around the spiral.

I don’t know about you but that seems to be the epitome of reflecting back on past mistakes, incorporating the learning, and capitalizing on opportunities that present themselves to do things differently.

On a societal level, perhaps we can even learn those lessons through observing others’ mistakes (including our predecessors’) although even learning from the ones we made yesterday can yield fruit.

Possibility Meets Agency

As I mentioned, I don't think “unprecedented solidarity” requires going through something tragic. However, even if we do—or are—learning from the past, relying on our spiritual leanings / intuition, and prioritizing mutual creativity over mutual destruction is what will actualize stepping into a “new age of humanity”. 

In essence, a better future is uniquely possible (the Basket) and that possibility stems from the flow and flexibility to see things differently (Angel Wings) and actively change the identified patterns (Punarvasu). History “repeats itself” because people keep making the same choices. The significance of July 2026 may be that it offers unusual support for making different ones.

And I’m open to the possibility that perhaps this quality of time also suggests a type of angelic (or alien?) protection if we find ourselves at the edge of something cataclysmic. After all, we all need a bit of goading from time to time. 👼 🛸 

I have to agree with Clement that being in the right place at the right time and with the right attitude to make different decisions, sounds a lot like “grace in action”. The key is, we need to be open to the possibility and embrace our agency. The future can improve not because the planets make it happen, but because people become capable of responding differently.

To all of you reading—I think astrologers, spiritual leaders, esoteric-leaning philosophers, and creative-intuitive folks are in a position to offer this much-needed perspective. My takeaway, therefore, is to keep writing, speaking, and offering those alternative perspectives of lessons learned and that there is grace to do things differently. You never know who might encounter your words in the right place and at just the right time.

*Side Note (A technical comment if harmonics is of interest):

Pertaining to the types of aspects that the Angel Wings pattern is composed of, there are a few aspect patterns I’ve come across that are more “flexible”. However, since harmonics are a base concept in aspect patterns, if you use a quintile (5th harmonic, i.e. dividing a 360’ circle by five) instead of a sextile (2nd and 3rd harmonic, i.e. dividing a 360’ circle by both 2 and then 3), that changes its base essence. 

However, to Clement’s point, the way the energy moves in the pattern still holds. For example, quintiles combine two energies in a person’s nature, such as expansiveness and restraint. Pair a quintile with a trine and the dynamism is given great support to achieve its goal. 

In comparison, a sextile is the nature of 2 (an opposition) and of 3 (a trine). Again, paired with a trine, there is an element of combining ‘opposite’ energies to great effect (i.e. Earth and Water or Fire and Air). In my opinion, the sextile and trine pairing have added support as opposed to a pairing that includes a minor or hard aspect.

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