A Mermaids Tale

Be More Mermaid.

What does that mean? To the impartial observer this may not make much sense, allow me to explain. I am a Pisces, the last sign of the Zodiac, one of the ethereal mermaids of our planet.

A Mermaid is strong-willed, she is willing to go to great lengths to achieve her goals, she is kind, beautiful, innocent, curious, introspective and wise. A mermaid challenges authority and makes her own decisions.

A mermaid is generous, she is willing to sacrifice herself so others will be happy. At least that's what I gather from folklore and fairy tales as portrayed by Hans Christian Anderson in 'The little Mermaid.'

I believe these characteristics are reflected in the Pisces zodiac sign, and if I were a mythical creature, I most definitely would be a mermaid.

In fact the constellation known as Pisces has been associated with many divine figures in history. The most obvious are Poseidon or Neptune God of the sea in Greek/Roman mythology. What isn’t widely known are the associations of Christ, Vishnu and the Sumerian goddess Inanna.

Pisces is Latin for ‘Fish’, and in Greek Mythology the pisces constellation represents the koi fish that saved Aphrodite and her son Eros from the sea monster Typhon.

As a reward, the two fishes were placed in the heavens to shine for all eternity. Venus, the Roman version of Aphrodite, is said to have an exalted position in Pisces, an affinity that echoes back to her gratitude for the fishes’ hospitality and help.

Pisces Characteristics:

Strengths: Compassionate, Artistic, Intuitive, Gentle, Wise & Musical

Weaknesses: Fearful, Overly-trusting, sad, Desire to escape reality, can play the victim or a martyr.

Pisces Likes: Being alone, Sleeping, Music, Romance, Visual media, swimming, spiritual themes.

Pisces Dislikes: dishonesty, Know-it-all's, being criticized, Cruelty of any kind, judgemental people.

I was born in the 12th house and coincidentally on the 12th of March. I was two weeks late to be born but I believe that was for good reason.

We Pisceans are known to be overly trusting and friendly, I am often found in the company of very different people. you will often find me surrounded by friends of all ages, races, occupations and personality types.

Pisceans are selfless, they are always willing to help others without expecting anything in return. You will always know a Pisces by the fact that they are so willing to help others. I recall giving a girl I met in a Starbucks the last £300 I had in my bank account just so she could pay her rent.

These kind of actions are definitely to my own detriment, like giving all your money to a complete stranger. In spite of what people may say, I believe in the karmic balance that the universe provides and when you are at one with it, it comes back to you full circle.

We are the warm and caring types of people and have often been told I have a strange type of calm, an inner peace as if I am one with the universe and have all the answers.

Pisces are known for their wisdom, if under the role of Uranus they can sometimes embody the role of the martyr for attention seeking. I am not proud to admit it but this was true when I was younger. In my defence, Pisces are never judgemental and are always forgiving. We are also known to be the most tolerant of the all the zodiac signs.

Well my strengths, come with the weaknesses mentioned above, perhaps we are wise beyond our years but we are always trying to escape reality. We are problem avoiders and hope that problems will sort themselves out. I can't speak for others but I am overly trusting because I like to see the best in people.

In spite of what people may say, I believe in the karmic balance that the universe provides and when you are at one with it it comes back to you full circle. I gave countless times, and I received a wonderful life in return.

Family & Home environment

Those born at the tail end of February and most of March until the 20th are known to be flexible. Like water they go with the flow, water can change its form, you can steam it or freeze it into different forms. Just like water we are able to adapt to any environment.

The Pisces symbol is a pair of fishes swimming in opposite directions like the ones I painted above. This represents the ying and yang, the duality that exists in Piscean personalities. You often find a split of the realist and the dreamer in a Piscean.

I often find that my moods vary greatly from day to day, most probably because I suffer from bipolar, but I have always felt a sense of struggle when it comes to communicating my sensitive nature to others.

I am mixed race, my mother is from Chester and my father is from Pakistan. I grew up in Pakistan, a place with a huge class divide, you will find an example of dire poverty and extreme wealth on the same street. I never felt at peace with the desensitised nature of the elite class. I always felt the need to escape.

When we came to Chester on our summer holidays to see my grandparents I felt so much happiness. I knew that Pakistan was draining my energy, Pisceans do not thrive in negative environments.

As a Piscean I found I was too empathetic and in some ways that can be a persons undoing as they are often taken advantage of. Its inevitable that water signs will be more emotional, they absorb energy off of others and it interferes with their own state. This is why they are often referred to as intuitive.

I found myself feeling like the lonely mermaid in Pakistan as I was British and suffered through racism at a very young age. Sadly, racism works both ways, no matter what your skin colour is, if you are seen as different you are treated differently.

I still remember being strangled in the courtyard by little girls I was in school with as they screamed "coconut head." this was a derogatory term for being white on the inside.

Being so sensitive has its downsides, like my fellow Pisceans I like to keep my emotional turmoil under wraps and hide away like a crab when things get too intense. This is why my best friends tend to be Cancers, the crabs of the zodiac. We are so similar, so caring in nature and indecisive souls seeking love, security and comfort.

Pisces are the artists of the Zodiac, the muses, the inspirers and believers in a utopic world. My bullied, tortured younger self is now my saviour, in my younger years I didn't have a good environment and suffered with epilepsy growing up so I know for a fact that I am deeply affected by my environment.

I worked my hardest to escape my reality, I didn't let anything interfere with that goal and moved to the UK when I was 17 and never looked back. I am very much a go with the flow type of person and I struggle to find happiness until I am at staring at a large body of water.

I found myself in St. Andrews, where there were three beaches and I spent a lot of time enjoying the ebb and flow of the waves and related it to my life. I like to paint water so I can always find a way to relax when I am not at the beach. I spent many birthdays at the beach even in the freezing cold!

Love & Relationships

People born under the Pisces sign have an intuitive understanding of the life cycle and in turn achieve the best relationships with other beings.

Pisces is ruled by Neptune, where there is Christ like compassion, ego-less, selfless, self-sacrificing love present. We Pisceans believe in the higher ideal of love, the kind of love that holds the universe together.

This sensitivity, compassion, empathy is like a sponge in us Pisceans, where we can reach the divine soul level of love in emotional intelligence in our relationships.

I found myself so accepting and tolerant that I put myself in a situation that I regretted. I fell in love with a man in Scotland who was a single father.

I gave my heart and soul to that man and his little girl and ended up in a violent relationship suffering from physical, psychological and emotional abuse. I found it so hard to leave even when I was being treated so badly.

Getting taken advantage of is quite common for us high functioning Pisces types who love taking on the role of the saviour, or the caregiver. I am very comfortable in the role of giving to my partner and taking care of all his needs.

This means that I often put what I need on the backburner, and that means I have often been burnt by men who take advantage of my good graces.

When it comes to love, I feel the exact same way as I do about life. You have to give more to receive more. Finding love doesn't happen overnight. Like everyone else, we live and we learn.

What defines me as a Pisces is my bounce back ability! I learned how to love myself. No matter how much I suffered, or was haunted by the past, I never gave up on love. This is symbolic of a Piscean nature

I realised that some are undeserving of my love the hard way. That childlike innocence, inherent optimism and compassionate spirit could not be crushed.

I have lived in 6 cities in 10 years and have found all I needed to do was come back t0 Chester, where my mother is from to find the love of my life.

Remember how I mentioned I was often day dreaming of escaping reality? Well, I never realised it but the perfect romantic match for a Pisces is a Capricorn.

Just like the loyal and devoted Pisces, once a Capricorn has decided they are committed they are grounded and loyal to a relationship for the long haul. They have an understanding of excellence; they like to wait and are picky with relationships so that they meet a person that meets the standard that they measure themselves against.

When I met my partner, I could see that he was reserved with his emotions for fear of being vulnerable or seen as weak. We Pisceans are very understanding, I was willing to bend and mould myself to meet his needs and he appreciated that.

Pisceans offer themselves to their partners emotional needs, they delicately like mermaids gently allow the Capricorn to feel comfortable. Pisces operate with a vulnerability, a sensitivity and delicateness.

The Capricorn feels the need to protect that delicateness and this in turn gives the Capricorn the ability to let their guard down and be more vulnerable. This kind of Sympatico relationship is a sextile and Pisces is the third sign from Capricorn giving them a beautiful style of communication.

Pisces’ ability to intuitively gage things, puts the Capricorn at ease because they don’t necessarily have to say things what other partners may need to hear them say. For instance, a Leo may require a lot of validation and the Capricorn will find this exhausting when they more inclined to show they love you through actions.

Pisceans know when to back off and I personally appreciate actions more than words, and he never fails to do truly thoughtful things for me which I love. Pisces are very affectionate and are careful to be mindful of their partners so that they are affectionate in a way that doesn’t invade their solitude.

The only downside is that we Pisceans live in the dream world, we have vivid imaginations and Capricorns are doers. Pisceans do not necessary monitor life in the time-bound world that Capricorns are very aware of. Even though this may seem like a flaw, it is the best thing about our match.

I feel so blessed to have met this beautiful soul, he is a wonderful man. He most definitely grounds me to reality and reminds of me deadlines, time constraints and priorities and responsibilities.

That was sorely needed in my life before we found each other. On the flip-side, he often says his life was void of any joy before we met. He calls me his ray of sunshine, I add poetry to his life and make him smile everyday.

He proposed last year, we cant wait for lockdown to end so we can have a big wedding, which will be the happiest day of our lives.

Career

The ruling planet for Pisces is Neptune, so Pisces are naturally more intuitive than others and have an artistic talent.

Given the above characteristic, it is important for Pisceans to choose a career out of passion, or restlessness could easily set in. My passion for art began when I was 14. I suffered with epilepsy which cause a chemical imbalance that turned into manic bipolar which was left undiagnosed for most of my adult life.

This was coupled with the fact that I was a victim of bullying and longed to escape. I found solace in my art and realised that life was better when I related to animals. Animals are genuine, loyal, noble creatures that washed over me with a wave of calm when I painted them.

My father wanted me to get a degree in business management instead of an art degree so my art took a back seat during my university years. Even though I earned my masters degree and secured a job in a bank I always felt like something was missing. I was deeply unhappy during these years.

It was not until I had a near death experience at the age of 28 that I was reminded of what really mattered. I was driving home late one night after working a night shift when my car skidded on the motorway and hit the central reservation. Before I know it the car started spinning. In those brief moments I knew I was not doing something worthwhile with my life.

If I died in that car, I would have had nothing to show for my life. The back of the car hit the railing on the hard shoulder, suffice to say the car was totalled. By some miracle I came out without a scratch. I was given a second chance and I was not going to waste it.

Soon after my accident I began creating Chase Art, my art business which embodies my life’s purpose – ‘To spread joy and love through the love of art.’

To me this is the very reason I believe with wholehearted conviction that I am a Pisces, and represent the zodiac sign in every aspect.

Be true to yourself, whichever star sign you may be and the rest all comes naturally.