Pisces Sign-wise

 From Searle's Zodiac by cartoonist Ronald Searle

The more posts I write, and the more natal charts I inspect, the less I feel able to label anyone with the name of the zodiac sign through which the Sun was travelling as they were born. There are clearly defined labels and characteristics associated with each zodiac sign, available in any astrology text book. These are labels and keywords applying to essences of the signs; they are almost always stated in descriptive terms which are human-related, in order to assist readers wishing to learn how to interpret the natal charts of humans.

Other than for a small number of people who, at birth, had all personal planets and ascendant in just one zodiac sign, text book guidelines for any single zodiac sign, taken as description of a person who was born as the Sun traversed that sign, are going to seem anywhere from a touch off course to miles adrift in a sea of confusion.

Bearing that in mind, a look at Pisces, last of the 12 zodiac signs, through which the Sun now travels. Pisces, like Aquarius, has two potential rulers: its traditional ruler is Jupiter, but modern astrologers hold that Neptune rules Pisces. Jupiter does fit its other sign of rulership, Sagittarius, very well. How did it traditionally fit Pisces? Jupiter's reputation for excess could relate to a potential for addiction associated with Pisces; Jupiter has links to religion and philosophy, the Age of Pisces, through which many astrologers consider we are still wandering, was marked by the start of Christianity.

Neptune as Pisces modern ruler: Neptunian traits can be reflected in any sign if Neptune is strongly placed and aligned in a chart, same thing applies to traits of Uranus, modern ruler of Aquarius. I'd hesitate to apply reputed Neptunian traits (e.g. love of the sea, film/photography, highly creative, dreamy, foggy) automatically to anyone born with a strong showing of Pisces in their natal chart, unless Neptune were linked by aspect to personal planets.

On the whole I find it safer to rely on Pisces' astrological element and quality for guidance: Mutable Water. Translated = gentleness, sensitivity, emotionality, empathy. Once Pisces is thrown into the natal mix, though, it becomes part and parcel of something else.

Let's use a metaphor: natal chart as ...a salad. Lettuce (or any leafy vegetable), the base of many salads, remains lettuce or leafy vegetable whatever else is tossed into the bowl - but its flavor blends differently when taken as a mouthful of lettuce and walnut, or lettuce and olive , or lettuce and strawberry, with a delicate vinaigrette ...or, well, you get the idea. Lettuce is still lettuce, but it takes on a different characteristic depending on accompaniments. Unless you ate a bowl of lettuce, unadorned by dressing, even without salt and pepper, you'd never experience the true flavor and texture of lettuce. Likewise, unless a natal chart is composed purely of personal planets and ascendant in a single sign, you'd never see unadulterated Pisces (or any other sign) in a human personality.

I'd like to write about a purely Pisces person, I'd love to meet one, I don't know one. I know one with Sun at 1 Aries, Mercury at 29 Pisces, and Saturn at 26 Pisces - the husband! He's "cuspy" - but proper astrologers don't often give "cuspiness" much credence. I can "feel" his Pisces parts (he doesn't allow just anyone to do this!) They are, however, always being frog-marched into hiding by Aries, not to mention being occasionally outshone by Moon and ascendant in Leo.

So here we have Pisces manifesting as someone with artistic talent, love of photography; with a rather quieter nature than is often found in Aries Sun + Leo Moon and rising - yet with a background in management; impulsive and spontaneous, but can't remember what day it is or what he had for breakfast, or even if he did in fact have breakfast. It's all rolled up into one....Aries modifies Pisces, Pisces modifies Aries, and Leo modifies both and is, at the same time, itself modified. As it happens, in the husband's chart Neptune trines Jupiter - so the two rulers of Pisces are in harmony with each other, and Neptune semi-sextiles Moon, so Neptune's link to photography is relevant here.

What I'm trying to say, in convoluted fashion, is that although every sign has it's intrinsic meaning, it's unwise to assume that the sign's text book meaning will show up unmodified, or even in an outwardly recognisable form, in a flesh and blood human being.