What is Pisces in Western astrology?

Definition

Pisces is the twelfth and final sign of the Western zodiac, a thirty-degree band spanning 330 to 360 degrees of celestial longitude, traditionally classed as a mutable water sign ruled by Jupiter.

In plain words

Pisces is the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, spanning 330 to 360 degrees of celestial longitude in the tropical zodiac. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos groups it among the bicorporeal signs, which lie between the solid signs and the solstitial and equinoctial signs. Traditionally it is a mutable water sign ruled by Jupiter, while modern astrology adds Neptune as a sub-ruler.

Also asked as

• What does Pisces mean in Western astrology?
• What are Pisces's element, mode and ruler?
• Is Pisces a sign or a constellation?
• What are the traditional dignities in Pisces?

History

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, published in the Loeb Classical Library in 1940 and reproduced by Bill Thayer, explains that the bicorporeal signs, including Pisces, are so called because they lie between the solid signs and the solstitial and equinoctial signs and share the natural properties of both weather states.¹

In early astrology Pisces was under the care of the sea-god Neptune, and Chaucer called it the Exaltation of Venus; later it was assigned to Jupiter, whose House it was, according to Richard Hinckley Allen's Star Names.²

Allen reports that the Greeks linked the constellation to Venus, Cupid, and Typhon: the pair were said to have leapt into the Euphrates and became two fishes placed in the zodiac.²

Quick timeline

1. Early record — Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, published in the Loeb Classical Library in 1940 and reproduced by Bill Thayer, explains that the bicorporeal signs, including Pisces, are so called because they lie between the solid signs and the solstitial and equinoctial signs and share the natural properties of both weather states.¹
2. Classical framework — In early astrology Pisces was under the care of the sea-god Neptune, and Chaucer called it the Exaltation of Venus; later it was assigned to Jupiter, whose House it was, according to Richard Hinckley Allen's Star Names.²
3. Later transmission — Allen reports that the Greeks linked the constellation to Venus, Cupid, and Typhon: the pair were said to have leapt into the Euphrates and became two fishes placed in the zodiac.²
4. Modern usage — Ptolemy assigns Jupiter and Pisces together within the houses scheme: Jupiter, moderate and placed below Saturn's sphere, received Sagittarius and Pisces, which stand in triangular aspect to the luminaries, a harmonious and beneficent configuration.¹

What classical and modern sources say

Classical view

Ptolemy assigns Jupiter and Pisces together within the houses scheme: Jupiter, moderate and placed below Saturn's sphere, received Sagittarius and Pisces, which stand in triangular aspect to the luminaries, a harmonious and beneficent configuration.¹

In the exaltation scheme, Ptolemy states that Venus, as a moist nature, has her exaltation in Pisces and her depression in Virgo, while Mercury is depressed in Pisces.¹

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos also places Pisces among the windy and fecund signs assigned to Jupiter, so the sign joins Sagittarius in a shared triangular relationship with the luminaries.¹

Modern view

Modern astrology pairs Pisces with Neptune as a modern sub-ruler, linking the sign to imagination and the spiritual themes associated with that planet.⁶

In the modern twelfth-house system, Pisces is assigned the twelfth house of isolation, confinement, and retreat, with Jupiter and Neptune both invited to that house.⁶

Practitioners who work with the twelfth house can treat its retreat theme as a constructive growth practice, using quiet, reflective time to examine inner imagination. The Astrology Pisces reference frames this interior territory as a source of reflection rather than a fixed verdict about any person.⁶

The building blocks and rulership

Sign classification

Pisces is the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, bringing together traits of the eleven signs before it. It is mutable water, ruled by Jupiter in classical astrology, and it belongs to the Western sign wheel rather than to a star chart read alone.⁶

Formal categories

Its element, mode, and ruler are assigned within the sign system, and each of the twelve signs represents a thirty-degree slice of a 360-degree band of constellations circling the earth. Pisces' decans are divided into three ten-degree faces, so its categories are conventions of the system used.⁶

Ptolemy's grouping

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, published in the Loeb Classical Library in 1940 and reproduced by Bill Thayer, groups Pisces among the bicorporeal signs, which lie between the solid signs and the solstitial and equinoctial signs. Ptolemy assigns Jupiter to Sagittarius and Pisces in the houses scheme.¹

Later attributions

Allen's Star Names reports that Pisces was under the care of Neptune in early astrology and that later it was assigned to Jupiter. Modern astrology pairs Pisces with Neptune as a modern sub-ruler and assigns the twelfth house of isolation and retreat.²⁶

The astronomy

Pisces spans 330 to 360 degrees of celestial longitude, and the Sun transits this area between about February 19 and March 20 under the tropical zodiac. The constellation itself has no prominent stars.⁴

Each of the twelve zodiac signs represents a thirty-degree slice of a 360-degree band of constellations circling the earth, and Pisces' decans are divided into three ten-degree faces. Pisces, traditionally ruled by Jupiter, stands opposite Virgo, ruled by Mercury: the two signs sit 180 degrees apart.⁶¹

Because the sign is a fixed longitude band, its boundaries can be calculated from celestial longitude alone.⁴¹

Where astrologers differ

Pisces is defined here within a 360-degree zodiac context, where each sign is a thirty-degree slice of the band of constellations. The sign's astronomical boundaries are not the same as its constellation, since the sign is a fixed longitude band and the constellation is a star pattern with no prominent stars. Tropical and sidereal systems place sign boundaries differently, so the same longitude can fall in different signs depending on the system chosen. Astrologers who share the same formal definition often choose different interpretive language, planetary sub-rulers, or historical emphases, and the Astrology Pisces reference treats these as matters of convention rather than fixed facts.

Then and now

Then

Ptolemy assigns Jupiter and Pisces together within the houses scheme: Jupiter, moderate and placed below Saturn's sphere, received Sagittarius and Pisces, which stand in triangular aspect to the luminaries, a harmonious and beneficent configuration.¹

Now

Modern astrology pairs Pisces with Neptune as a modern sub-ruler, linking the sign to imagination and the spiritual themes associated with that planet.⁶

Worked out from the evidence

Reasoned from the cited facts, not stated outright by any one source.

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos places Pisces among the windy and fecund signs assigned to Jupiter, while Allen's Star Names records that the same sign was later given to Jupiter, so Jupiter's association with Pisces appears in both classical and later attributions.

Because the sign is a fixed longitude band of 330 to 360 degrees and the Sun crosses it each year, its boundaries can be computed from longitude alone, while its meanings depend on which interpretive system a reader adopts.

Not yet confirmed

• Whether the Egyptian and Ptolemaic term tables for Pisces were ever used together in a single practice remains unclear from the sources.
• How the early Neptune association and the modern Neptune sub-ruler relate to each other across centuries of practice is not settled by the sources.

Follow the parts of Pisces

Continue through Aquarius, Aries.

Questions people also ask

What kind of subject is Pisces?

Pisces is a sign of the Western zodiac, the twelfth and final one in the cycle. Its boundaries are a fixed band of celestial longitude, while the meanings attached to it are interpretive conventions.⁶⁴

Is Pisces a scientific claim?

Its longitude band can be calculated from defined inputs, such as celestial longitude of 330 to 360 degrees. The meanings assigned to that band belong to astrological interpretation, as Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos sets out in its classification of signs.⁴¹

Why do descriptions of Pisces differ?

Astrology Pisces reports that modern practice assigns Pisces the twelfth house of isolation and retreat, with Neptune as a modern sub-ruler. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos instead assigns Jupiter and Pisces together in the houses scheme, so the descriptions reflect different historical systems.⁶¹

Method and review

Every statement about Pisces was checked against the wording of its 6 sources (Ptolemy (LacusCurtius), Allen's Star Names, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia and Astrology.com), and its positions and boundaries were calculated with Astronomy Engine. How the Machine works.