The Signs and Accomplished People – Pisces
by Leslie Marlar
charts cayce bene pope charts ken holiday chart e l james
Pisces is the 12th and last sign of the zodiac. It is feminine, mutable, water. It receives, it adapts and it is changeable. And it is emotional and intuitive.
The image of the constellation associated with the sign is two fishes tied together or both anchored to an object. Many meanings come from this image. Pisces is not alone. He or she is connected to someone or something. Pisces is bi-corporeal or two bodied, thus Pisces has two sides. One fish swims along the ecliptic, it is with the flow. The other is moving away from the group and upward. This fish is pursuing something lofty. The geometry of their different destinations is a square. Squares are associated with energies that interfere with each other. For example, at the first and last quarter of the Moon, Sun and Moon energies interfere with each other to produce lower tides. So Pisces is dealing with conflicting energies.
The image also conveys the notion of bonding or bondage. Pisces is connected and possibly enslaved. One of the essential requirements for Pisces to succeed is for them to note what they are connected to and whether or not it is good for them. Are they connected to a bottle of single malt aged scotch, a syringe of heroine, a good mate, an abusive mate, an endless supply of dough-nuts, or a divine presence? Due to the feminine nature of the sign, whatever Pisces is connected to, gives its energies to the Pisces.
The planets associated with Pisces are Neptune and Jupiter. Neptune is the higher octave or higher expression of Venus. Venus likes and loves. Neptune is mystified and enthralled. Venus is pleasure. Neptune is ecstasy whether is comes from drugs or is that produced by the disciplines of saints and yogis. Neptune represents the imagination and its contents that are described in mythology as sea monsters and sea deities. If your mind gives you information that is beyond the processes of logic, Neptune is part of that.
Jupiter is the visible planet that also rules Pisces. It is expansive, confident, in charge, helpful, and religious. When I look at a chart and update it, Jupiter, the good planet that brings good things and people to the client, represents Sagittarians and Pisceans.
The phrase associated with Pisces is I Believe. A belief is an important unseen thing that we are connected to. Religious Jupiter and supernatural Neptune ruling Pisces make this logical.
The season associated with Pisces is late winter. In some climes the winter stores are running out. It’s time for Lent. There is some fiscal practicality here. But also, Lent or discipline is what Pisces needs. Neither Venus nor Neptune are disciplined. If Pisces wants to succeed, they need to bring in opposite energy, Saturn energy, self discipline.
The body part associated with Pisces is the humble, lowly, dirty feet. These are our foundation even as the contents of the psyche, part of this psychological sign, are also our foundation.
Each sign has the seed of the opposite sign within them. The sign opposite Pisces is Virgo. This sign is competent, skilled, particular, practical, service oriented, realistic, analytical, and critical. These are complementary qualities that the Pisces needs to develop.
Now that we know this, we can see some mythological connections. Ceres/Demeter was the earth mother and grain goddess; that’s Virgo. She had a special relationship with Dionysus/Bacchus. If you look up the word Bacchic in the dictionary it says riotous, orgiastic, and drunken; that’s Pisces. So with Virgo Pisces we have the work-a-day world and the fantastic world; the earth mother and the god of altered states; bread and wine. A little fish added to the bread and wine could be the perfect meal. And then there is Jesus. Any one who knows the gospel or bumper stickers knows that Jesus is the fish. Finally, the Ceres/Bacchus axis flips when we see that the goddess originated the Eleusinian Mysteries, which actually come under Neptune/Pisces rule.
Pisces is also associated with the 12th house of the horoscope. This is a place of secrets, supernatural things, disappointments, and restrictions. Pisces needs to be conscious of the restrictions that they place upon themselves, although they do need a little hermit time. They also need to be good psychologists and not let disappointments live longer in their minds than necessary. The restrictions, bondage, beliefs, and darkness of the Middle Ages is explained by this time period being the center of the Piscesn Age.
So the dynamic of Pisces is connectedness. The gift is the ability to bond with every person and living thing on earth and achieve oneness.
My picture for Pisces is a person with a rope tied around their waste. The things associated with any planet that they have in Pisces are tied to the other end of the rope.
My advice to Pisces is be good like Jupiter. Pursue the wonders of Neptune. And watch out for self indulgence and excess . With a little self discipline, Pisces can soar like the upward moving fish.
Here’s what other astrologers say about Pisces.
Kathleen Burt says that Pisces is the ocean and also the collective unconscious. Pisces is connected to all things. She suggest that Pisces needs to have a good Mercury. It’s good if they are in a helping profession. It is very important that they not believe in negative things. She says that Virgo gives Pisces facts, precision, logic, service, and discrimination. Pisces gives Virgo art, creativity, imaginativeness, the big picture, and the ability to smell the flowers. Finally she notes that Pisces is third degree emanation which means that they are directed from the outside.
Alan Oken, looking at the symbol, says that Pisces has two minds, one human and the other cosmic. The symbolism also represents body and soul. Their bondage represents karma and paying one’s dues.
Biblical elements of the symbolism are Jesus, walking on water, the fisherman disciples, the washing of the feet, and Judas.
Oken provides further contrasts like: swimming upstream or downstream , having a profound inner life vs. and earthly life, and experiencing the temptations of the lower nature vs. the glories of the spirit.
He notes that Pisces is like a psychic sponge. And that they have experienced all actions, all systems of thought, all sensual desires, and all spiritual quests.
He gives Pisces’ good qualities as: unselfish, creative, having a vast imagination, universal, and spiritual. The negative qualities are controlling by giving, hallucinations, having potential locked within, poor sense of individuality, and sensuality.
Evangeline Adams describes Pisces as restless physically, inattentive mentally, wandering, lacking concentration, directionless, struggling, of conflicting interest, and scattered. She says that Pisces is the weakest sign in relation to the material world and the mental world.
On the brighter side she says that Pisces is the passive half of genius and that he has intimate knowledge of the spiritual in any phenomena. The subconscious is his best part.
She notes that in love they are devoted and parasitic and that nothing should be entrusted to them.
She says they need to build confidence and be educated. They can be molded.
Kustesky defines them as dreamy, mystical, and romantic. They want universal brotherhood, the highest expression of love, peace on earth, and good will towards man. But they can be too dreamy to practice these ideals.
As a victim in a bad marriage, they can develop very negative qualities. On a higher level the two crescents of the symbol represent two souls, soulmates.
Negas suggests that the Jupiter’s influence of Pisces causes them to overextend. The Neptune influence shows them above and below the physical plane. To use Neptune well, Pisceans should involve ourselves with music, art, movies, making wine, volunteering, studying auras, and enjoying life.
Moore and Douglas say that Pisces is make believe and also possibly the knowledge of the very essence of things. Pisces is the sign of bondage but also promises freedom from matter to become a higher being. Finally, Pisces serves and saves those less fortunate.
Z. Dobins says that Pisces seeks to assimilate the whole and experience oneness. Pisces has a hunger for emotion and wants the absolute and the infinite in love and beauty. The three choices for Pisces are artist, savior, and victim. The little escapes are daydreaming, tv and movies, romantic fiction, and sleeping. The big escapes are illness, crime, psychosis, drugs, and alcohol. Pisces has faith in a higher power and is protected by it.
Matthews says that one fish is dead and has to be cut loose. On a milder note he notes that Pisces has two kinds of work. Pisces has to be careful not to hide his light under a bushel basket. He needs to shine.
M. Hone says that Pisces has a desire for a distant ideal. And that Neptune, Pisces ruler reaches for the intangible. Each fish in the Pisces symbol has a different goal.
Isabelle Hickey refers to Pisces as the dustbin of the zodiac. ( Freud called the subconscious the dustbin of the psyche.) She notes that Pisces must serve or suffer. Finally she says that the world is not their habitat and that they want to escape.
Let’s look at some charts of accomplished people who have something important in the sign, Pisces.
Pope Benedict 16. The recent Pope Benedict 16 has the Ascendant, Jupiter, and Mercury in Pisces. He is connected. Connected to Jesus and the Church. He is a theologian, a student of godly subjects, Mercury conjunct Jupiter. And he’s smart and a writer of many books, Mercury in late Pisces conjunct brilliant Uranus in early Aries.
Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday was a marvelous singer, an addict, and was treated like a slave These are all Neptune and Pisces qualities. She had Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury in Pisces. Mercury and Jupiter form a grand trine with Neptune and the Midheaven. She was a super artist and known for it. Here Neptune and its sign are active and she eventually became a heroin addict. We see both the boon and bane of Neptune.
Ted Kennedy. In his youth he was healthy, happy, and likable. He was also lazy and morally weak. He cheated in college and became known for his drinking and nymphing. We can see the low point at Chappaquiddick. He was naturally gifted in politics and developed a love for his constituents and and their concerns. I remember him standing up for the little guy. He has the Sun in Pisces opposing the Moon which is right next to Neptune. Look to Laurence Leamer’s “The Kennedy Men” for details.
Edgar Cayce. This consummate psychic has Mercury, Saturn, Venus, and the Sun in Pisces. And Neptune is near his Moon. We classify psychism as Neptune and Pisces because it is the supernatural part of ourselves interacting with the supernatural.
E.L. James. This author has succeeded in writing a best seller full of sex, romance, and bondage. She has a Pisces Sun near Jupiter and oppose overwhelming Pluto. Pisces is bondage, the Sun is success, and Jupiter is wealth. She also has Venus in Aquarius oppose Mars in Leo. Mars and Venus contacts are about sex, contact between the female and male. Her characters have popped right of her chart. Venus in Aquarius is an intelligent woman. Anastasia is an English major. Mars in Leo is a powerful man, Christian.