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Pisces:
19 February to 20 March
Element:
Water sign (Feeling) - 3rd Decan of the Water Trilogy
Quality: Mutable (Changeable, Flexible, Chameleon)
Polarity: Negative, Feminine, Yin (non initiating, passive, receptive)
Symbology:
The symbol for Pisces is a pair of fish swimming in opposite
directions. One of the fish is Man's physical body with its
limitations and its mortality. The other fish is Man's soul and the
world of spirit, which is infinite and immortal. The fish being tied
together but swimming in opposite directions, represents the soul's
urge to find divinity being hindered by being in a physical body and
the tendency for mankind to over-identify with the physical realm and
forget the importance of the spiritual realm. Pisces is known as one
of the dual signs. Seasonally, it is a time of waiting. Humankind is
now anticipating the coming of the warmer months, the snow and ice
are melting and running away, and the earth is becoming receptive to
the promise of Spring and new life. The function of Pisces in the
chart is to be aware of the possibilities of life, to assimilate and
understand a whole cycle of past experiences in preparing for a new
beginning, and to know that there is an inner life as powerful as the
outer one.
Mythology:
The story of Pisces goes something like this: The gods were being
threatened by a hundred headed monster called Typhon. Gaea, the
mother of Saturn and the Titans, created the monster as revenge
against Jupiter (Zeus, Jove) for killing her children when he became
ruler of Mt Olympus. One day, the goddess Venus and her son Cupid
were sunbathing on the bank of a river, when the Typhon came upon
them very suddenly. In their fright, both Venus and Cupid fell into
the river. Each were caught by a fish and were prevented from
drowning. To show gratitude, Venus placed the fish together in the
sky as Pisces.
Glyph: The
Pisces glyph shows two fish swimming away from each other but still
tied together, symbolic of the soul limited for a time to the
physical body. The two semicircles represent the finite consciousness
of Man and the infinite consciousness of the universe (cosmic
consciousness), and the line is the Earth where the material and
spiritual aspects of being meet. The house ruled by Pisces in the
chart shows where you have a desire to be absorbed into something
bigger than yourself, where you will make the most sacrifices and
where you will show the most instinctive understanding and empathy.
It also shows where you are most imaginative and the most unrealistic.
Ruling Planet: Neptune Colour: Silvery Blues/Greens Gemstone: Aquamarine
Body
Rulership: Pisces rules the feet, the lymphatic system, the endocrine
system, mucous membranes of the body, and the pineal gland.
Keyword:
Empathy Keyphrase: "I Believe"
Other
Pisces keywords: Positive: Sentimental, introspective, modest,
sensitive, devoted, compassionate, good natured, sympathetic,
friendly, intuitive, psychic, imaginative, artistic, creative,
empathetic, gentle. Negative: Over-emotional, melancholy,
interfering, long suffering, lazy, self pitying, vague, unrealistic,
confused, addictive (can't cope with reality), submissive, secretive,
superstitious, gullible, neurotic, deceptive (but don't realise it).
Pisces
operates totally from an emotional and instinctual level - she
doesn't work from head level because her head is in touch with her
gut directly. Therefore, she is often highly psychic as her extreme
sensitivity to people around her, enables energies and impressions to
be easily picked up. There is often a deeply felt but unspoken
longing for oneness with God and she often gives the impression of
not being all here. Pisces is the most sensitive sign of the zodiac,
and the most unreal if negative, often living in a fantasy world or
becoming a victim, martyr or saviour. She is extremely compassionate
and empathetic, having a special affinity with the underdog, and
towards animals. She tends to agonise over the world and may be
involved with charity work, but there is a hook to this behaviour:
Pisces needs to "help" so much that they never really allow
those they are helping to get better.
Likewise,
Pisces often has the attitude of "I would rather suffer than be
of no importance" - both of which are covert forms of egotism.
Pisces has a very addictive personality - even if her addiction is
not to drugs or alcohol but to things like chocolate, coffee, bad
relationships, "helping" etc. Her addiction springs from an
unconscious spiritual pain of her separation from oneness with the
divine and coming into a physical body. What she is addicted to makes
her feel better temporarily and dulls the pain of separation. When
positive, she is the most understanding and unconditionally loving
sign of the zodiac. Pisces has a relationship with the 12th house as
both are connected with spirituality and sacrifice. Pisces is ruled
by Neptune, co-ruled by Jupiter and has an affinity with the
semi-sextile aspect.
Allegory:
"To you Pisces, I give the most difficult task of all. I ask
you to collect all of man's sorrow and return it to Me. Your tears
are to be ultimately My Tears. The sorrow you will absorb is the
effect of man's misunderstanding My Idea, but you are to give him
compassion that he may try again. For this the most difficult task of
all, I give the greatest gift of all. " You will be the only one
of my children to understand Me. But this gift of understanding is
for you Pisces, for when you try to spread it to man, he will not
listen." And Pisces stepped back into place.
Then God
said to all: "You each have a part of My Idea. You must not
mistake that part for all of My Idea, nor may you desire to trade
parts with each other. For each of you is perfect, but you will not
know that until all twelve of you are one. For then the whole of My
Idea will be revealed to each of you." And the children left,
each determined to do his job best that he might receive his gift.
But none fully understood his task or his gift, and when they
returned puzzled, God said, "You each believe that other gifts
are better, therefore I will allow you to trade." And for a
moment each child was elated as he considered all the possibilities
of his new mission. But God smiled as He said, "You will return
to Me many times asking to be relieved of your mission, and each time
I will grant you your wish. You will go through countless
incarnations before you complete the original mission I have
prescribed for you.
(c) Cecily Bazak
References:
(The above information was adapted from class notes from my teachers,
some of which comes from “The Only Way to Learn Astrology
Series”, (March and McEvers), and the information on Mythology
is from the Encyclopedia of Astrology (James Lewis), Mythic Astrology
(Guttman and Johnson) and Encyclopedia of Mythology (Arthur Cotterell). |
