I am the Alchemy of Surrender
Dancing in the ocean of dreams
Symbol – Fish, Ruler – Neptune/Jupiter, Metal – Neptunium/Tin, House -12th, Element – Water, Modality – Mutable, Humor – Phlegmatic, Body – Feet, Polarity – Virgo, Quality – Feminine
The name Pisces comes from the Latin word for fish. The Pisces glyph ♓️ depicts two fish swimming in opposite directions, representing the duality between fantasy and reality.
In Greek mythology, Pisces is associated with the story of Aphrodite (Venus) and her son Eros (Cupid), who transformed into fish to escape the monster Typhon. This myth highlights Pisces’ themes of transformation.
Interestingly, the planet Venus is exalted in Pisces, in other words, it is in a position of strength.
Pisces is the twelfth sign of the zodiac; it presides over the twelfth house, the house of the subconscious, and is the fourth of the mutable signs. Mutable signs are flexible and adaptable. The mutable houses, called cadent houses, come at the end of each quadrant. Pisces starts at the end of the winter, just before Persephone’s return from the underworld.
Pisces is ruled by the planet Neptune, and like the god it is associated with the sea, the ebbing and flowing of the tides, mermaids and sirens. Pisceans are susceptible to oceanic mood swings. It is the sign of the artist, the mystic, the shaman and those entwined in other realms. The energy is yin and quintessentially feminine. Pisces is a water sign which correlates to the phlegmatic humor, cold and wet.
Pisces is a dreamer; it is intuitive, imaginative, spiritual, empathetic and compassionate. It is emotional and cries easily.
Neptune has problems with boundaries; we use the adjective nebulous (nebula, Latin – cloud) to mean cloudy or unclear. Pisces has problems with boundaries too.
Pisceans tend to feel vulnerable and victimised; they may have escapist tendencies leading to addictions such as reliance on drugs and alcohol.
Homeopath Luke Norland associates Neptune with Sankaran’s Aids/Leprosy miasms, “dissolving of form, self-sacrifice, no boundaries, addictions.”
Pisces governs the feet. It also rules the spiritual faculties of the individual, the pineal gland, and the spinal fluid. It rules the lymphatic system (alongside Cancer), the venous system and the immune system.
The pineal gland is said to be the point at which the soul enters and leaves the body, and it speaks to me of the remedy Hydrogen, unity, twixt two worlds, the coming into being, and the dissolving back into the great unmanifest.
The pathology of Pisces is often caused by their lack of boundaries; they easily absorb the negative vibrations around them, including contagious diseases. They are easily intoxicated.
The most common ailments are influenza, feet problems, varicose veins, immune and lymphatic disorders.
Ruled by Neptune, Pisces benefits from taking a bath and having a nap. Yoga and meditation are especially beneficial for Pisces.
The archetypal remedy picture of Pisces is Pulsatilla Nigricans. Pulsatilla is derived from the pasqueflower (Easter flower), also known as the windflower. Like the windflower, Pulsatilla is known for its changeability, from tears to laughter, and pains move around the body from left to right. These are all characteristic of Pisces.
Interestingly, the word Pasque derives from the French word for Easter (Pascha in Latin). Easter is also known as Passiontide, which is the annual memorial of the death and resurrection of Christ. Passiontide echoes the Jewish preparation for Passover.
The symbol of the fish signifies that you are a Christian. In the past, it was made in secret and known only amongst Christians to say that ‘I believe’, which is the axiom for Pisces.
The figure Christ himself bears many of the temperaments and personality traits of a Pisces and is thus considered an archetype of the astrological Piscean Age, which started two thousand years ago. We are now moving into the Age of Aquarius.
Pulsatilla soothes the more negative traits of Pisces, the feelings of vulnerability and victimisation, of being forsaken. Pulsatilla also works well for their physical ailments, colds for example that tend to produce lots of mucous. Pisces is a water sign after all (phlegmatic humor, cold and wet).
Stramonium also matches part of the Pisces picture, in particular the Neptunian traits such as addiction, mental fatigue and confusion. A badly aspected Neptune in the natal chart can indicate mental illness such as schizophrenia, so this predisposition is latent in the Pisces archetype.
In his writings about astrology and the periodic table, homeopath Luke Norland maps stages 13 to 18 of the periodic table to the mutable signs. He equates columns 13 and 17 to Pisces, which govern the phlegmatic realms.
To précis Norland, stage 13 belongs to the water element and can be remembered as the Alumina stage. This marks the start of the mutable phase, the nebulous world of Neptune and Pisces. It is also intriguing to see that another metal with ‘liquid’ potential resides at this point of the table, Gallium Metallicum. The water element has a strong keynote relating to loss of boundaries bringing in themes of the Aids miasm. The proving of Aqua Nova brings this forward most strongly in the delusion of being invisible, like the personality is completely wiped away, and no memory of the self remains.
The remedy Aqua Marina can also be associated with Pisces. Made from sea water, it is indicated for people who have an affinity with the ocean.
As an elixir, the gemstone Aquamarine, may also be helpful for all the water signs and Pisces specifically, as it is the birthstone for this sign. It possesses a variety of healing and metaphysical properties associated with tranquillity, serenity and clarity.
Co-ruled by Jupiter (alongside Sagittarius), whose metal is tin, Stannum Metallicum can also match the overall picture of Pisces.
To paraphrase homeopath Peter Morrell on tin:
Tin people are the theorisers; even when there is nothing to think about, they like to speculate, maybe gamble a little; a flutter on the horses is not beyond them; they also like travel and long journeys abroad. They often have a well-developed sense of humour. Tin types need to develop more action and less thought. Tin can be livened up a little with iron, made more artistic with silver or copper and deepened with lead. Chelidonium and other liver remedies are associated with tin.
Under Neptune’s rulership of Pisces, the actinide, Neptunium, may be indicated.
Luke Norland says, “The 12th house finds its parallel in the Actinide Series, where the focus is on transmutation and dissolving of form so that one can move beyond the trappings of materialism. Neptune, the dissolver of boundaries rules this transpersonal house. The spirituality, oneness and connection felt in the 12th house are also themes of the Hydrogen Series.”
Ferrum Phosphate is the designated tissue salt for Pisces. Ferrum phos reduces bleeding, inflammation and fever, and accelerates healing.
As with all the archetypes of the zodiac, the archetype of Pisces has the traits of many other remedies, especially in an acute state. The above is just an overview of potential possibilities to explore. As always, the full astrological chart and homeopathic case must be taken into account to provide the entire picture.