A sign is descriptive in nature and indicative of core things and values, being able to enact the how and the why of planets or points that fall within them. It is at once both independent of and tertiary to the planets within and transiting it. Therefore, in order to understand a sign, we must understand its element, modality, and planetary ruler and how these factors come together to create the archetype of the sign. However, we must also understand that the how and why (and also some of the what) of the sign is also independent of these.
BREAKDOWN
Pisces is a water sign. Therefore, it is concerned with matters of the intangible plane and truth and purpose birthed out of the emotional life. The prerogative is to expand the inner world, even via the outer world. If water is prominent, emotions become tools aiding interpretation and are understood to be greater than just descriptors of experience. The feelings are seen as deserving of deference and giving their own wisdom. The sign of Pisces will play out its energy depending on how well it can develop boundaries between itself and the surroundings. Based on this, the Pisces part of a chart may act out traits like psychic abilities and connected independence or it may stoop into gullibility, falsification of reality, and deplorability. Water deals with both the past’s persistence in our lives and an at once separate and integrated knowing. Perception of the hidden and defying impossibilities are Pisces’s greatest abilities, if honed.
Pisces is also a mutable sign. Therefore Pisces are going to possess multiplicity of character and adapt to the intuitive and emotional world. As with other mutable signs, Pisces is seeking to link the old and new with the current. The focus for Pisces will be to find contradicting truths/realities and orient their life (and the earth) as a result of this melding. Versatile and joinding/segmenting by nature, mutable signs carry the ability to reform and (re)integrate pieces of existence. However, mutability is influenced by beliefs of inevitability and often reject both solidity and singular causality; leading to fickleness, unreliability, negative duplicitousness, and confusion-producing manipulation. Whether or not Pisces performs effective osmosis and does accurate and often reflection will determine if it expresses enlightening-ly, becoming brilliant and eroding conditions or deceptively and horrifyingly, drowning themselves and others in falsehoods and killing non-emotional meaning while adhering to a chaotic evil or chaotic good style of ethics.
The Jupiter rulership of Pisces shows that this sign obeys Jupiter and its prerogatives. This shows that the “how,” “why”s and few “whats” of Pisces are related to elements of truth seeking, faith and wisdom, and expansiveness. Pisces energy desires emotional enlightenment and reconciliation between the personal and collective experience of it. It wants to find the “real deal” in terms of felt, connected life just as Jupiter wants the truest or most real expression of a thing/experience/belief.
The Neptune sub rulership of Pisces shows that this sign obeys in part Neptune and its prerogatives. The “how,” “why”s and few “whats” of Pisces working behind but supporting the dominant influence of Jupiter are likely related to elements of sacrifice, transcendence, imagination, covertness, and uncontrollability. This influence sees Pisces conflate truth with belief often and enforce this conflation on others or else rebuke and refuse the truth. Similarly, Pisces can be overly focused outside of the self making them victims and wielders of gaslighting techniques. They also have an escapist nature not lending well to rigid structure and thus can too often become unreliable. However, if they give themselves their required periods of isolation, Pisces has the ability to more clearly see “what is really happening” both with and apart from everyone, everything, and all past and present influences. Pisces can find its definition from struggle with boundary just as neptune and the universe is defined by struggling with classification and definition.
The Pluto spirit/soul rulership of Pisces shows that this sign obeys and has the purpose refined by Pluto and its prerogatives. These are related to themes of inner wealth of experience, destroying the outer to reveal the inner, laying things bare, and unconcern or detrimental disregard of the material reality. The esoteric principles believe the energy of Pisces (especially if on the ascendant, sun, or moon) is here to search for the truth of the felt but not seen world, yet unlearned, around us and to walk a singular path with the realization that--at once--they are everything and themselves. Pisces is here to reveal what’s hidden and balance all life (past, present and gone), holding everything inside them as a singular, final truth.
REVEALING THE SIGN
Overview
When all of these are put together, the sign of Pisces reveals itself to express in a way that is focused on integrating and holding different emotions and immaterial actions to create a wealth of experience. This is a visionary-Giver type. Absorbing and being impacted by the seeable and unseeable forces around us, Pisces energy is one that adapts through emotional contact. It also seeks out more people, makes itself vulnerable to more emotional triggers so as to find what it feels is real or energizing or fits its vision. This energy is prone to confirmation bias, misdirection, being an emotional sponge, lethargy, and being debilitatingly sensitive; it works through these conditions by being reflective, looking broader and outside the self, and evaluating the self. The ability to entertain and discover the not yet imaginable or provable is one of Pisces skills if honed.
Pisces in a chart is going to focus on the emotional imprint of everything around them (water) and desires to constantly know and be moved by it outside of itself (water/jupiter). It is going to be desirous to service (mutable) and personally impersonal (jupiter/water). It will be prone to fantastical thoughts (water) and escapism (neptune) and will feel the onslaught of the feelings of others (neptune) losing itself or seeking complete solitude as a result, either one being a form of escapism. It will want to be at once one with and separate from everything and have a hard time bringing definition or clarity without much thought, centering, and introspection. An unwillingness to be alone, to take the time to zoom out from the immediate or “small” will not service this energy. The refusal to put together or integrate the mesh of contradictions around them and firmly understand the distinctions between them will result in this energy lying to itself and also to other people. Without a firm sense of self, they will not be able to create or find anything.
Pisces are also highly perceptive and transformative people; they work best with letting things flow through them and can learn to master just about anything they want by taking this less rigid approach. However, they too often confuse this with passivity which can harm them by acting (not reacting) without thought or purpose. They can also hold themselves back in this way and can be seen to perform self depreciation, hold beliefs of attributes or skills they do not in fact possess, or else completely self deny. Developing a strong understanding of self while leaving that open to the ebbs and inputs from the above and outside world is key to Pisces tuning into their more psychic and visionary.
Pisces is gifted with mediumship and connecting with life past, present, and future. To “just know” or to sense things miles or years away lets Pisces know what they can do and how they can adapt accordingly. Their spongeyness can be used to gain the skills or get the energy they need to accomplish what they desire. But they must temper this lest it feed the tendency to take on false personalities, identity theft, and delusion regarding every aspect of themselves.
Extra Tidbits
Pisces was and has always been a complex and complicated sign, even since days of old. Pisces in its original 12th house connotation represents the beforetime, the final end, and also the time right before the physical end. Pisces has always been an elusive, dual sign (much like its mutable status would reveal). Earlier texts deem those born under it would be unsteady and unreliable but would have their fortunes change to prolific and popular, albeit potentially shameless and theivish. This also points to the roaming morals of Pisces and the opportunity for great fortune and brilliance despite a disenergetic, unstructured, and unrealistic streak..
USEFUL KEYWORDS
Useful Keywords For Sign
Adaptability, Deception, Psychic ability, Faith, Elusiveness, Unrealistic, Isolationist, Connected (voluntary or involuntary), Sacrifice/Martyrdom, Unidentifiable, Flexibility, Abstraction, Divine Intervention, Murkiness, Secrets, False Perfection
I feel really seen with this, thank you for sharing! Pisces energy is really powerful in a lot of ways, through disempowerment and receptiveness (water, Pluto soul rulership). I think you've captured both the upside as well as the downside quite well. Pisces energy on its own really seems to need others for reflection. I think otherwise, it's tempting to remain immersed in the unknown and the mystical (or the depressed, heavy energy that can form as well). Unity and separateness, the duality of Pisces. Creation arises from the aether and yet without anything tethering us to the outside world, we wouldn't have any reason to bring things into the world. I think in that regard it is similar to…