Pisces Personality

Pisces Traits: Compassionate, intuitive, mystical, changeable, avoidant, introverted, sensitive, self-sacrificing, chaotic, addiction-prone, escapist, idealistic, talented, gullible, moody, creative, introspective, brilliant

The glyph for Pisces shows two fish swimming in opposite directions, and this is symbolic of the Pisces nature. Pisces is a sign pulled in two directions, always trying to balance.

Pisceans sometimes appear fickle or unreliable because they change their minds so frequently and what they wanted very much one day may repel them the next. Some appear to be drastically different people from one day to the next, and Pisceans have a tendency to make huge, life-altering changes on a whim. More consistent individuals find the Pisces personality aggravating, baffling or intriguing.

Need for Solitude

Pisceans are receptive to a wide variety of energies, both good and bad. They can catch the moods of others like viruses and pick up emotions by proximity, which is why they need more time alone than those of other signs. Pisces people go through alternating sociable and reclusive phases, retreating from the world when their craving for solitude kicks in.

Pisceans are very sensitive to environments and need to be cautious about where they choose to live and who they spend time with. They do best with friends and romantic partners who behave consistently and act as solid anchors in their lives.

Soft-Hearted and Self-Sacrificing

Unless the ascendant falls in a less sensitive sign, Pisceans tend to be kindhearted champions of the underdog, willing to do anything to help those who are physically or emotionally suffering. They also have natural healing abilities, which leads some of them into medicine, nursing or naturopathic fields.

Pisceans can endure almost anything if it will help someone else, and they will help any sick, vulnerable or stray being that needs them. Pisceans tend to be happiest if they are involved in charity or volunteer work of some sort. In their personal lives, they are inclined to take care of friends, relatives, animals and even strangers who come their way. Pisceans, being gullible, are often deceived or used by people who take advantage of their sympathetic natures.

Pisces people usually have a phobia of hurting the feelings of others, and will avoid doing or saying anything hurtful, even if it is warranted. They suffer intense guilt over small things, and are inclined to psychologically torture themselves over minor incidents.

Pisces people have a tendency to sacrifice their own needs to those of others and may become resentful or develop a martyr complex because of it. They need to take time out for themselves and attend to their own needs to prevent this from happening. This is a sign that frequently gets dumped on by others and usually doesn’t retaliate.

Addiction-Prone

Pisces is the zodiac sign most prone to addictions. The combination of an experimental and sensation seeking nature with the tendency to escape when things get rough can lead to substance abuse. Although Pisces people will care for others in extreme adversity, they have difficulty caring for themselves both psychologically or physically. They can easily lose track of the collective reality if they abuse substances, which exacerbates existing problems.

Oddly enough, Pisceans have a physical intolerance for drugs or alcohol, which saves them from the risk of addiction to these substances. However, addiction to cigarettes or food is also likely with this sign, and most Pisceans must watch their weight and fight against over-indulgence.

Brilliant and Creative

Pisceans are often brilliant in some way, with many displaying scientific or artistic genius. Many Pisceans are also good dancers and/or singers, and most have beautiful or unusual voices. Pisceans have vivid imaginations, which are both a source of creativity and a means of escape.

Changeable and Magnetic

Pisceans have certain intangible qualities that attract others and ensure that they usually have no shortage of interested partners. Many have eyes that change colour slightly with their moods, and most change their appearances significantly many times over the course of their lives. Some can even look quite different at various times of the day or week. Most Pisceans love costumes and disguises.

Highly Intuitive and Emotionally Intense

Pisceans can experience very dark psychic states as well as periods of intense joy. They can sink incredibly low and come bouncing back up with shocking speed. Their moods may fluctuate many times in a day.

Some Pisceans experience weird “trips” and bizarre dreams. Their dreams are often intuitive and in some cases prophetic. Some Pisceans have seen ghosts or had other psi experiences.

Peace-Loving and Idealistic

Pisces people can see the validity of two truths simultaneously, and so have difficulty in taking sides. They usually avoid conflict whenever possible and are inclined to act as peacemakers when others fight.

Pisceans are often taken advantage of, both monetarily and emotionally, because they are trusting, naïve and idealistic, unless the ascendant falls in a more cynical sign. A tough rising sign can protect the Piscean against exploitation.

Prone to Extremes

Pisces is a sign of extremes. For example, some Pisceans are impractical and irresponsible, squandering their money on silly things, while others are very financially cautious to the point of miserliness. Whether they gravitate to one extreme or the other will depend on other elements of the chart. Those with a preponderance of earth or water signs are more inclined to be cautious by nature, while those with many planets in air and fire signs are more likely to be careless with money and take serious physical and health risks as well. Some Pisceans oscillate between two extremes, never settling on one or the other nor finding a middle ground.

Another set of Piscean extremes is kindness and cruelty. Most Pisceans are extremely compassionate, but a few are capable of remarkable greed and cruelty, and their ability to read the emotions of others helps them use and abuse their victims.

Famous Pisces People

Drew Barrymore, Albert Einstein, Roger Daltry, John Steinbeck, Jackie Gleason, Elizabeth Taylor, Victor Hugo, Nicolous Copernicus, Frederic Chopin, George Washington, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sidney Poitier, Rex Harrison, Edward Albee, Samuel Barber, George Harrison, Rudolph Nureyev, Pope Pius XII, Pierre Renoir, Glenn Close, W. H. Auden, Harry Bellafonte, Alexander Graham Bell, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Luther Burbank, Michael Caine, Enrico Caruso, Edgar Cayce, Cyd Charisse, Billy Crystal, Wyatt Earp, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jean Harlow, Patricia Hearst, Victor Hugo, Henrik Ibsen, Jack Kerouac, Ring Lardner, Sybil Leek, Lee Marvin, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Glenn Miller, Liza Minelli, Ralph Nader, Anais Nin, Merle Oberon, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck, Jimmy Swaggart, Tommy Tune, John Updike, Gloria Vanderbilt, David Niven, Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Willis, Nat King Cole, Kurt Russell, Ted Kennedy, Fats Domino, Jerry Lewis, Ron Howard, Tony Randall, Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Cindy Crawford, Kato Kaelin, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Aidan Quinn, Rob Reiner, Dr. Seuss, Sharon Stone

Further Reading

To read profiles of other sun signs, visit the Main Astrology Page.

References:

• Bugler, Ashford, Chubb, & Zapp. (1992).The Complete Handbook of Astrology.
• Fenton, S. (1989). Rising Signs.
• Woolfolk, J.M. (1992). The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need.

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