Pisces

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Pisces (Template:Emoji presentation; /ˈpaɪsiːz/;Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:string utilities' not found. Ikhthyes, Latin for "fishes") is the twelfth and final astrological sign in the zodiac. It is a mutable sign. It spans 330° to 360° of celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area between about February 19 and March 20.Template:Efn In classical interpretations, the symbol of the fish is derived from the ichthyocentaurs, who aided Aphrodite when she was born from the sea.Template:Sfn

According to some tropical astrologers, the current astrological age is the Age of Pisces,^[1] while others maintain that currently it is the Age of Aquarius.

Background

See also: History of astrology

While the astrological sign Pisces per definition runs from ecliptic longitude 330° to 0°,Template:Sfn this position is now mostly covered by the constellation of Aquarius due to the precession from when the constellation and the sign coincided. Today, the First Point of Aries, or the vernal equinox, is in the Pisces constellation.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn There are no prominent stars in the constellation,Template:Sfn with the brightest stars being of only fourth magnitude.Template:Sfn One star in the constellation, Alpha Piscium, is also known as Alrescha, which comes from the Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:string utilities' not found., meaning "the well rope",Template:Sfn or "the cord".Template:Sfn The constellation, however, is different from the astronomical location where the sign occupies space. The constellations in earlier times were primarily used as markers to help determine what influence was in the sky. Nevertheless, the sign of Pisces remains in the 30-degree span of 330°–0°.

Ptolemy described Alpha Piscium as the point where the cords joining the two fish are knotted together.Template:Sfn The astrological symbol shows the two fishes captured by a string,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn typically by the mouth or the tails.Template:Sfn The fish are usually portrayed swimming in opposite directions; this represents the duality within the Piscean nature. They are ruled by the planet Jupiter (Neptune in modern astrology).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Although they appear as a pair, the name of the sign in all languages originally referred to only one fish with the exception of Greek,Template:Sfn Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Italian and Portuguese. Pisces is the mutable water sign of the zodiac.

Mythology

Divine associations with Pisces include Poseidon/Neptune, Aphrodite, Eros, Typhon, Vishnu Template:Sfn and the Sumerian goddess Inanna.

In early mythology

"Pisces" is the Latin word for "fishes".Template:Sfn It is one of the earliest zodiac signs on record, with the two fish appearing as far back as c. 2300 BC on an Egyptian coffin lid.Template:Sfn

According to one Greek myth, Pisces♓ represents the fish, sometimes represented by a shark, into which Aphrodite (also considered Venus)Template:Sfn and her son Eros (also considered Cupid)Template:Sfn transformed in order to escape the monster Typhon.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Typhon, the "father of all monsters", had been sent by Gaia to attack the gods, which led Pan to warn the others before himself changing into a goat-fish and jumping into the Euphrates.Template:Sfn A similar myth, one in which the fish "Pisces" carries Aphrodite and her son out of danger, is resounded in Manilius' five-volume poetic work Astronomica: "Venus ow'd her safety to their Shape."Template:Sfn Another myth is that an egg fell into the Euphrates River. It was then rolled to the shore by fish. Doves sat on the egg until it hatched, out from which came Aphrodite. As a sign of gratitude towards the fish, Aphrodite put the fish into the night sky.Template:Sfn Because of these myths, the Pisces constellation was also known as "Venus et Cupido", "Venus Syria cum Cupidine", "Venus cum Adone", "Dione" and "Veneris Mater",Template:Sfn the latter being the formal Latin term for mother.

The Greek myth on the origin of the sign of Pisces has been cited by English astrologer Richard James Morrison as an example of the fables that arose from the original astrological doctrine, and that the "original intent of [it] was afterwards corrupted both by poets and by priests."Template:Sfn

In modern mythology and religion

Purim, a Jewish holiday, falls at the full moon preceding the Passover, which was set by the full moon in Aries, which follows Pisces.Template:Sfn The story of the birth of Christ is said to be a result of the spring equinox entering into the Pisces, as the Savior of the World appeared as the Fisher of Men. This parallels the entering into the Age of Pisces.Template:Sfn

Astrological age

See also: Astrological age

An astrological age is a time period in astrology that parallels major changes in the development of Earth's inhabitants, particularly relating to culture, society and politics, and there are twelve astrological ages corresponding to the twelve zodiacal signs. Astrological ages occur because of a phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes, and one complete period of this precession is called a Great Year or Platonic YearTemplate:Sfn of about 25,920 years.

The age of Pisces began c. AD 1 and will end c. AD 2150.Template:Efn With the story of the birth of Christ coinciding with this date,Template:Sfn many Christian symbols for Christ use the astrological symbol for Pisces,Template:Sfn the fishes.Template:Sfn The figure Christ himself bears many of the temperaments and personality traits of a Pisces,Template:Sfn and is thus considered an archetype of the Piscean.Template:Sfn Moreover, the twelve apostles were called the "fishers of men", early Christians called themselves "little fishes", and a code word for Jesus was the Greek word for fish, "ΙΧΘΥΣ ICHTHYS".Template:Sfn With this, the start of the age, or the "Great Month of Pisces", is regarded as the beginning of the Christian religion.Template:Sfn Saint Peter is recognized as the apostle of the Piscean sign.Template:Sfn

In the arts

Venus exalted in Pisces is representative of divine love in the first canto of Dante's Purgatorio.Template:Sfn Pisces is the subject of Luca Della Robbia's 15th century Plate with the Month of February.Template:Sfn They are also the subject of one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetic works:Template:Sfn

And here fantastic fishes duskly float,
Using the calm for waters, while their fires
Throb out quick rhythms along the shallow air.
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning, A Drama of Exile

In popular culture

In the January 1970 edition of the Avengers (No. 72), the supervillain group Zodiac introduced the member "Pisces" whose abilities allowed him to live underwater, which included fins, scales and gills.Template:Sfn

In the 1979 sports fantasy film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, the fictitious basketball team the "Pittsburgh Pythons" turn to astrology after a continuous losing streak, and fill the roster with players born under the astrological sign of Pisces. They are reborn as the "Pittsburgh Pisces" and enter into a championship.Template:Sfn