Pisces

GLYPH MEANING A pair of fish tied together symbolizes the fluid and passive nature of Pisces.

ARCHETYPES The artist. The mystic. The healer.

DATES February 18–March 21*

HOUSE Twelfth

POLARITY Negative

MODALITY Mutable/Changeable

ELEMENT Water

PLANETARY RULER Jupiter (traditional), Neptune (modern)

*the dates represent the first and the last possible day when the Sun can be in Pisces and may vary slightly depending on the year

CHARACTERISTICS

Pisces is the twelfth sign of the zodiac. As the third water sign, Pisces represents the living water, which has healing and regenerative properties. In the sign of Pisces, the soul is learning how to develop universal love for fellow human beings and the ability to heal humanity in an emotional and psychological sense. Pisces helps the soul develop these traits with their universal compassion and powerful intuition.

Of all the signs, Pisces has the most adaptable and malleable personality. Their energy is diffused and capable of adapting to the environment. Pisces is kind, selfless, gentle, and compassionate. On top of that, they are also emotionally open and unconditionally accepting of others, which means they don’t resist going with the flow of life. As a consequence, they come into contact and easily befriend people from all walks of life. Their love is of a spiritual kind. They see the soul in people and feel what is alive in them. They understand that we are all connected on some level, which is why they accept others’ flaws and choose to see the good in everyone. They see things other people don’t and have a natural ability to bring out the best in others. This is why they often have a calming, soothing, and even healing effect on others. Their wisdom is that of an old soul, besides which they are also intuitive. They often have a psychic gift or the ability of extrasensory perception.

Pisces is the most sensitive sign of the zodiac. Often they unwillingly absorb other people’s emotional states and experience them as their own. They are very loving by nature and love to take care of others, especially children and animals. Due to their selfless and caring nature as well as universal compassion, they are sensitive to other people’s suffering and deeply feel any kind of injustice done to others. They normally try to help anyone to their best abilities, however, they are especially protective of the weak and the marginalized.

In relationships, Pisces is caring, gentle, and kind. They are very romantic and see their partner in the best light. Their intuition helps them sense their partner’s mood. They can almost read their partner’s mind, and respond accordingly, which makes them very considerate and soothing to have around. More than anything, they want a deep, soulful connection with their partner. They like to feel like they are one with their partner and that they know their partner better than anyone else. The right person for Pisces is someone who understands their sensitive nature, who is supportive of them, and loves them just as they are. Their ability to absorb people’s feelings means that they need to retreat regularly and spend some time alone. It is important that their partner understands this need and lets them be by themselves.

On the negative side, their flexibility of character and lack of clear personal boundaries make Pisces so changeable and adaptable they have trouble finding direction in life. This means they are often confused about their life goals, which is why they like to be around confident, self-directed people - since they know what they want, they might be able to help Pisces structure their lives, too. This is difficult to do, however, for someone who doesn't know where they want to go. Always referring to other people makes Pisces co-dependent and free of responsibility for their life. This can lead to them playing the victim, self-pitying behavior, and blaming other people for their failures.

Pisces is also overly idealistic by nature. They see others and life in general through rose-colored glasses and choose to believe the best about others, which makes them quite naive and gullible. Their tendency to project their expectations on people also means they can get easily hurt and disappointed. They often deceive themselves, and sometimes they are downright delusional about people and situations they find themselves in. In large part, they also create these circumstances themselves because they are so changeable that they confuse others. They adapt their personality to the people around them and, without meaning to, they project an image of themselves that may not be true. Later on, when they turn out to be different from how they initially presented, other people feel that Pisces lied and deceived them on purpose.

Pisces can sometimes self-sacrifice to the point where they do too much for others. Their loving nature leads them to allow others to cross their boundaries and take advantage of their kindness. Secretly they worry they will always be treated like that because they don’t know how to say no. They are also very compassionate and wish to help anyone in need, which many times leads them to emotional burnout and self-martyrdom. Too often they show compassion towards people who don’t deserve it, and, in an attempt to help them, they end up hurting themselves. If they spend time with toxic or problematic people, they can easily take on their characteristics, which often leads Pisces to problems such as substance abuse, escaping responsibility, and general aimlessness. This is why it is so important they carefully choose the people they surround themselves with. Besides that, they should also try to be as consistent and grounded as possible.

The most important life lesson Pisces needs to learn is related to the way they use their sensitivity and compassion. They often have a hard time watching the suffering of others, so they try to help as much as they can. Despite their best efforts, however, they cannot save everyone and solve all the injustices happening in the world. This realization can often lead them into emotional exhaustion and a general feeling of disappointment over the state of the world. As a consequence, they tend to find ways to escape reality, which may include irresponsible behavior and dependency in all its forms. Instead of running away from the difficulties of life, they first need to learn how to take care of themselves in a practical, material, and emotional sense, and how to direct their sensitivity towards caring for other people.

Pisces needs to look to its opposite sign Virgo and learn how to take a more practical and grounded approach to life. Just like Pisces, Virgo is accommodating and always ready to help others, however, they understand that serving others to their best ability also requires some discernment on their part. When helping others, it is important that we choose people who won't take advantage of us, and we must know when to stop giving. Pisces needs to learn how to use their sensitivity and intuition in practical ways. With their abilities, they can help people find deep emotional and psychological healing, they can encourage compassion and unity among people and they can help the world see that the differences between us are superficial and that we are all connected. They can find their identity and life purpose in the spiritual and intuitive side of their personality. Pisces can become their best self when they learn to use their emotional sensitivity as a cure for the world.