The Wisdom of Water

Lizanne Hanks Author

Pisces, as the final water sign exemplifies the wisdom of water. It represents the culmination of our emotional journey.

Water flows. It heals. It soothes. It softens.

Water also erodes. It dilutes. It dissolves. And of course, in certain conditions, water is violently destructive.

Water is unstoppable. Relentless in purpose, though its methods may be subtle and slow, water is un-phased by detours and delays. It willingly yields to obstacles, surrendering and shapeshifting to elude containment.

Pisces, as the final water sign exemplifies the wisdom of water. It represents the culmination of our emotional journey. It absorbs the experience and teachings of the other two signs: the unconditional attachment of parental love, typified by Cancer; and the passionate, redemptive extremes of erotic love which we associate with Scorpio.

The natural state of water is flow. When Pisces aligns with the current, it moves through the world with the languid grace of a serpentine stream. This is where we witness the splendour of Venus (exalted in Pisces), and the beneficence of Jupiter (traditional ruler): where beauty, creativity, compassion, love and faith are fathomless and sublime. 

But…

When the current is halted, stagnation sets in. Still waters become a breeding ground for bacteria, disease and decay. The final sign of the zodiac, must guard against emotional and spiritual stagnation. For, when caught or confined, Pisces becomes a cesspool of indecision, nostalgia, confusion, self-destruction and even deception.

The glyph for Pisces, is two fish swimming in opposite directions and I believe there is a message in this. Like all mutable (double-bodied) signs, Pisces symbolizes duality and contradiction. Falling at the end of Winter (in the North), Pisces season falls within the lean times - when food was scarce (for our ancestors) and energy reserves were near exhaustion. Pisces represents our struggle to maintain faith - in thought and deed - throughout the lean times, trusting that light, warmth and plenitude will return again with Spring.

So paradox is central to the message of this sign and it cuts to the heart of the Piscean dilemma. At some point, the fish must swim upstream to fulfill its destiny and spawn. It must resist the easy surrender of flow, and forsake the drift of comfort and complacency. For, it is the effort of straining against the current that builds strength and resiliency for the fish. It’s the struggle that leads to maturity and the continuity of its kind. Failing to make this journey leads to weakness and dissipation.

This is the cross that every Piscean placement must bear. And it’s not an easy one. In some unspeakable way, the fish must go against its very nature. It must prove itself, it must grapple with futility, and it must do it alone.

Avoidance, escapism, addiction, infantilism, delusional thinking and deception are signs that Pisces has chosen the path of least resistance. But, on the other side of the journey - at the Source - glory and transcendence await. The brave and intrepid swimmer grows wiry and wise. The fish who answers the call of destiny is rewarded with inner strength, unshakeable faith and the deepest, purest empathy. This is the redemptive power of Pisces.

Modern astrologers call Pisces a “transpersonal sign,” meaning it deals with collective energies more than personal or even interpersonal experience. Like the vast and timeless ocean itself, Pisces gives form to the mystical, imaginal, transpersonal dimension of the Collective Unconscious.

Mercury, ruler of mind and communication finds both his Fall and his Detriment in the sign of the fish. He is “out of his depth” here. Our human minds are but a drop in the vast ocean of cosmic consciousness. Pisces represents a way of knowing that is more profound and much more vast than mere intellect. This is the realm of fantasy, epic myth and spiritualism.

People like to make fun of Pisces. We mock their gentleness, sneer at their romanticism and roll our eyes at their visions. But I think it’s a mistake to underestimate the final sign of the zodiac. Perhaps the collective’s disdain for the dreaminess of Pisces points to something deeper; perhaps it belies our fear of the terrible unknown.

The sea has always held a mysterious fascination for humankind. Myths and stories of the ocean involve monsters and magical creatures, epic journeys, shipwrecks, pirates and paradisiacal pleasures. There’s something at once, seductive and terrifying about this great unknown, unknowable presence. Our lives literally depend on it, yet despite all our plunging and plunder, water remains a mystery….except to perhaps to Pisces.

Peace my friends,

Lizanne

Categories: Ancient Astrology, Astrology, Big Dreams, birth chart readings, Compassion, Divination, find your flow, Horoscopes, Jupiter, Mysticism, Nova Scotia Astrologer, Overwhelm, Pisces, Spirituality, Venus, Wisdom, zodiac signs, beauty, exaltation, rulership, water signs, feminine, yin, mutable sign, double bodied sign