Equal parts whimsical and destructive, Pisces energy draws from dreamscapes, bathtubs, empty bottles, the ceilings of opium dens and the soaring heights of astral projection.
As the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces is an aggregate of the baggage and breakthroughs of all the signs that precede it. Incredibly empathetic, it’s easy for fish folk to understand and to a certain degree even experience the pain of others.
As a mutable sign, Pisces brings us to the end of one season and into the beginning of another. In the Northern Hemisphere, it encompasses the death of winter and the birth of spring, culminating in the vernal equinox.
Fittingly, Pisces energy demands that we go inward before we can move forward. Closure is the gift of this sign and, while it usually isn’t comfortable, it is always necessary; all manner of pain and brand of bliss must be let in, let out and ultimately let go.
Like the fish that represent them, Pisceans are drawn to objects that grab light. They like shiny things because they are distracting and multifaceted, much like the sign themselves. An example of this fondness for flash can be found in Pisces genius Tyler the Creator.
Sex and relationships are a matter of spiritual significance to the Pisces ilk. Even if a relationship is casual, it is never cheap. For evidence of their incomparable tenderness, look no further than Irish longhair and fellow Pisces Hozier, who likens sex to a religious ceremony.
The idealist, transcendental energy of Pisces is best described by fellow fish Anaïs Nin: “Anything I cannot transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn’t impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.”
Planetary ruler: Neptune
Ruled by Neptune, the planet of mysticism, compassion and escape, Pisceans are imbued with the ability to see beyond reason or belief — a kind of psychic second sight. According to Hollywood lore, actress and fellow Pisces Elizabeth Taylor didn’t open her eyes for the first eight days of her life. Given the imagination she lent to her film roles and the generosity she displayed in her philanthropic pursuits, I theorize this extended closure gave her the ability to envision what could be, rather than to accept a concrete reality that was. A dreamy idealism is endemic of Neptune’s influence.
Neptune is the native home of the dreamer and, for those born under its banner, skepticism and even reality seem like distant, decidedly unappealing concepts. When the cruelty of the world or the fragility of their illusions is made clear, Pisces are susceptible to deep disappointment, self-pity and crippling depression
Mythology
Pisces is linked to the myth of Eros and Aphrodite. Pursued by the fearsome snake-legged, sonnet-singing monster Typhon, the goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros hid amongst the reeds on the banks of the Euphrates River. Fearful of being found, Aphrodite beseeched the water nymphs for help. In one version of the myth, two fish swam to the mother and son and ferried them to safety, tying their tails together so they would not be separated in the water. The fish were rewarded for their valor by being stitched to the sky as the constellation Pisces.
Charms/strengths
Access to emotion and an absence of boundaries make Pisces the most innately creative sign in the zodiac. These people are more likely than most to keep a dream journal and a salt lamp on their bedside table. Pisceans operates without the kind of hesitation or doubt that limits the full expression of self or experience of feeling.
It comes as no surprise that tender-hearted, easy-listening, sad-boy musicians James Taylor, Michael Bolton, Chris Martin and James Blunt all fall under the stars of Pisces. Through art or the art of life, Pisces helps to normalize pain, making others feel less alone in theirs. Case in point: Pisces work-in-progress Justin Bieber, who’s been open about his struggles with mental health, even posting a selfie from his therapist’s office.
Pisces is adept not just at communicating their own suffering but channeling that of the collective. For Pisces Nina Simone, that channeling became the means to revolution.
Compassion is a hallmark of the Pisces spirit: True care bears, they are built to be of help and while their watery nature prevents them from establishing personal borderlines it blesses them with the ability to hold space for others. Case in point: Double Pisces Erykah Badu, who — in addition to being a soul-singing, truth-telling, ankh-wearing high priestess — is also a birthing doula.
Challenges/weaknesses
As a water sign, Pisces is associated with receptive, internalized energy. Guided through the world by “feeling,” they are particularly sensitive to the moods and motives of others. Symbolically speaking, unlike their fellow water signs Cancer and Scorpio, Pisces lacks a protective exoskeleton making them even more susceptible to secondhand energy. This receptivity is often mitigated by an escapist streak that sends our fish friends swimming towards avoidance, numbing agents and addictive indulgences, often to tragic ends — as in the case of apex Pisces Kurt Cobain.
There is no sign more romantic than our fair Pisces. They view relationships as a mind-body-soul-sex-magic merger, but codependency is a real issue for this ilk and they run the risk of dissolving so fully into the object of their affection that they lose hold of themselves.
Perhaps the greatest source of disappointment for Pisces lies in their mismanaged and wildly unrealistic expectations. They tend to view the world through a smokescreen of their own idealism and when people, relationships, sunsets, naps and foster pets fail to live up to their rose-colored dreams, they take it hard. Invested as they are in the idea of fate, when things go south they see it as predestined punishment for not being good or not being good enough.
True story: A Pisces will always lie to spare your feelings or to avoid accountability. Their deceit will likely be indirect, taking the shape of vague omission, unexplained absences and confusing metaphors. Exhibit A: aforementioned brilliant Pisces bigamist Anaïs Nin, who was so skilled at the art of deception that she managed to be secretly married to two men for over two decades with neither the wiser until her deathbed confession.
For Pisces, unused energy and unexpressed emotion are malignant forces; without release, they convert into dark matter, making them especially prone to depression and addiction. Acute as the path may be, the only way out for Pisces people is through.
Tarot
In the Major Arcana of the Tarot, Pisces is represented by the moon. Associated with shadow work, idealism and delusion, the card depicts a dog and a wolf howling at a full moon. One light, the other dark, these hounds are emblematic of the forces of the corporeal and spiritual within each of us. A stream, meant to suggest the unconscious mind, flows in front of them and a crayfish, representing the emergence of consciousness, crawls surely towards the shore. The card is bordered by two towers, representing the solid, practical aspects of life with the wide expanse of possibility between them. Dual natures and dueling forces: wilderness and domestication, the practical and the possible, our godly and creaturely selves are heightened by the light of the moon. The card and the sign it represents teach us that we can only ascend if we are able to see clearly and integrate fully.
12th House
The 12th House is known as the House of the Unconscious, and it is tied to themes of isolation, spirituality, suffering and surrender. These ties manifest in the Pisces spirit as introversion and the need to escape into themselves and recharge in solitude. Pisces super-trooper George Harrison exemplifies this energy of this house in his spiritual quests and preference for a life beyond the squinting lights of the stage. That dude also gets a Pisces gold star or 12th House merit badge for being the most graciously cuckolded husband of all time.
Body
Within the physical body, Pisces rules the feet and lymphatic system. The designation is apt for Pisces as the modality of the lymphatic system is absorption and expulsion, a metaphorical life lesson for the ever receptive and at points destructive people of the fish.
As the feet are also an access point to osmosis, Pisces folk do better barefoot. Being shoe-free grounds them to the tangible world they often feel disconnected from — a practice favored by Pisces child star turned earth momma and wine mogul Drew Barrymore.
Compatibility
True astrological compatibility is divined through synastry, the art of examining, comparing and interpreting birth charts. For our more generalized purposes, it’s safe to say that the following sign combinations have a decent shot at a relationship — or at the very least a memorable affair.
Virgo sits opposite Pisces on the zodiac wheel and, in the case of these two caretaking weirdos, love is not only possible but probable. Both are motivated by service — Pisces of the spiritual variety and Virgo of the practical. This pairing is truly a meeting of minds and shared purpose. Both Madden brothers found their matches and mothers to their children in Virgos Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie.
Fixed fire sign Leo ignites drive in dreamy Pisces, urging the people of the fish to commodify their creativity. As Leo Lucille Ball and Pisces Desi Arnaz prove, this pairing can result in brilliant collaboration or be destroyed by differences.
Fellow water sign Scorpio craves control and Pisces is happy to oblige. Neither is satisfied by surface-level relationships and finds in the other a willingness to dig deep and go far in terms of intimacy. Both value privacy and there’s a fated “us” against the world” energy when these waters merge, as exhibited by long-term ride-or-die couple Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling, a Pisces and Scorpio, respectively.
Recommended Listening
“Stay,” Rhianna
“Something in the Way,” Nirvana
“That’s the Way I Feel About ‘Cha,” Bobby Womack
“Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” Nina Simone
“As Long as You Love Me,” Justin Beiber
“I Live for You,” George Harrison
“Didn’t Cha Know,” Erykah Badu
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
