Pisces

Saintly Pisces! Some of these Fish should be canonized, they are so far advanced along the road to spiritual enlightenment. (Others still seem to be waiting at the heavenly bus stop!)

Now, there are two sorts of Pisceans; this last sign of the zodiac is ruled by two planets Jocular, jaunty Jupiter, and nebulous, nectarine Neptune. The Jupiter-ruled Pisceans are very akin to Sagittarians, because they share the same ruler. But Juplterian Pisceans aren't so prone to the flights of fancy shown by Sagittarians. Their ruler represents wealth and good fortune, and the Jupiterian Pish will always have an eye on these things. In fact, Pisces brings out these Jupiterian qualities beautifully, making the Fish full of fun and clever at bringing in the boodle. Negatively, there will be a tendency towards over-expansion, whether in girth, mirth, or wheeling and dealing. But these Jupiterian Pish do burst with bounteous bonhomie, and can be gloriously generous and marvellously magnanimous.

Because of the saintly side of this sign, Pisceans can be very devout and pious. (It depends on the Fish whether that will make you awed or bored.) If they are ruled by Jupiter, they will accept the faith or religion they have been brought up in. A Neptunian Piscean, however, will be more unusual, even mystical, and may find Eastern religions especially attractive.

This is a profoundly psychic sign., and the Piscean should use this ability positively to live a better life. Many Fish become fascinated by black magic and the occult, like Scorpios, because they are seduced by secrecy. But, generally, Pisceans have an inspiration that can draw them wholeheartedly into the realms of the positive supernatural and mystical. They are also intensely interested in spiritualism, because it helps them to get in touch with that unseen lot they feel so much a part of.

Neptunian Pisceans waft along on clouds, day-dreaming away to their heart's content. They really aren't part of this world at all! (This isn't the same as Aquarians, who are futuristic, and one step ahead of everyone else. Pisceans are unworldly in a filigree, fantasial way.) These Fish will appear magical and mystical, and they can be profoundly artistic and unworldly sometimes to the point of being gullible or geniuses. Lord Byron had powerful Piscean placings, and Mozart and Chopin both had the Sun in this sign, as does Rudolph Nureyev, who brought a whole new concept to ballet. (And to tights. Pisceans love to leave something to the imagination.)

What you must remember about Neptune is that this planet gives an illusory image to everything it encounters. Neptune represents something that can never be captured or held on to. Think of an intangible will-o'-the-wisp, or a piece of thistledown floating through the air that always eludes you, and you have the perfect picture of Pisceans.

They can bring this quality into their everyday lives, imbuing them with illusion, and smothering them in strange sea mists. You will think you're looking at one thing, then the shadows shift and you discover you're seeing something quite different.

Everything that Neptune does is intensified in an ethereal way, so Neptunian Pisceans will be hypersensitive, and as fragile as a butterfly's wing. They can feel neurotically nauseated by anything ugly, whether it's society, sights, sounds or situations. Some Fishy folk can't stand the slightest facial flaw, let alone anything else. (Better talk to them with your head hidden) Yet such is their spiritual self-awareness, that often they will devote their lives to the very vocations which you'd think they couldn't bear. For example, they might join the prison service (but not behind bars), look after the old and infirm, and the mentally and physically handicapped. These positive Pisceans force themselves to face up to their phobias, and bring some good out of them. (Other PisceaJis will only want the erotic, exotic, seductive and sumptuous side of life, and none of the unpleasant parts.)

I can hear you saying That sounds like Libra!', and you'd be right. Neptune is said to be the higher octave of Venus, a sort of top C of the zodiac. It's like a dog whistle, which has a notes too high for humans lo hear. And this is what Neptunian natives are like they're listening to a highpitched tone that the rest of us can't catch. Equally, Jupiter is said to be the higher octave of Mercury, and Jupiterian folk can understand all the deeper things of life that a Mercury ruled person skims over. Between them. Mercury and Jupiter rule the four Mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. (Interesting, isn't it?)

Neptune is a fantastically fantasial figure. On a positive level, its influence means that Neptunians can be wonderful writers, divine dancers and profound poets. (And incurable romantics.) But negatively, they can be monstrously Machiavellian, playing one person off against another. Some of them make Lucretia Borgia look like Little Bo Peep: they can be malicious and malevolent, vicious and venomous, treacherous and two-faced. (They have a wonderful way of believing their own fibs and fables.) And this is how we get the symbol of Pisces, which is a fish swimming in different directions. Pisceans are either way up at the top of the tree or at rock bottom; either the nurse helping the drug addict or the addict himself.

Fish are vulnerable, and can be victims of the unknown, murky depths of their imaginations and subconscious minds. They are either inspired, or they're the dregs of the earth, who rely on society to look after them.

There's no getting away from it. This sign is a mystery, but not in a Scorpionic way. Rather, it's unworldly, in a delicious, delectable, gossamer-like way. There is a floaty, flimsy veil hiding what is really going on in the Piscean's life. The Fish can inhabit a very weird world, and the worst thing Pisceans can do is to drift along on an aimless sea, when their phobias, fetishes and fixations may well get the better of them. They are very impressionable indeed, and negative Pisceans will be plagued by psychosomatic problems that they have brought on themselves. Positive Pisceans can direct that abundant artistry, that magnificent mysticism, into a brilliant conclusion. Or they can live such serene and spiritual lives that nothing else matters, because their tremendous inner peace brings them total fulfillment.

Think of your Fishy friends, and you'll realize that something strange sets them apart from everyone else. You can't put your finger on it, but you know it's there. Remember those sea mists. One minute the view is as clear as a bell, the next you're sinking into a ferocious fog! It's a magical, mystical mystery.