Pisces: Dreaming of Reality

When thinking about the parts of my personality that haven’t come from my parents or my experiences; looking at my astrological sign seemed like an interesting place to start. Each sign has certain distinct characteristics that make them special. Looking at the traits of a Pisces was a good way to find out where some of my idiosyncrasies originated. I was really surprised just how Piscean I am.

It is funny that most of the positive traits, the ones that are really special can also be very negative. Even the symbol of the fish swimming in opposite directions alludes to the constant contradiction of a Pisces. Fantasy vs Reality. Maybe it’s because, being the twelfth sign, Pisces has characteristics of all other signs.

For example, having great empathy is a wonderful trait. Caring for others’ feelings so deeply we practically experience them ourselves gives us great insight into the people around us. Empathy allows us to provide the support and sometimes healing they need. Conversely, we bear a heavy burden with the weight of those feelings. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. We also keep our feelings bottled so we don’t burden others.

Pisces are also emotional and sensitive. There is some value to those feelings and I really wouldn’t want to be without them but the downside of them is huge for me. Being overly sensitive and easily emotional has caused me many problems since childhood. I easily get my feelings hurt. The walls I surround myself with are thick.

Caring about what other people think has always been a problem. I don’t think there is anyone, anywhere that truly knows me. I would never share parts of me that I fear would make someone think less of me. Flashes of guilt from childhood forward for every cross word or bad decision I’ve made keeps me from opening up to the people in my life.

It’s a very confusing dynamic to live with so I can’t imagine looking in from the outside. You really need a scorecard for this part of being a Pisces

• We care about others and want to help them be happy.
• We are teased for being oversensitive and too emotional.
• We don’t feel supported by others the way we support them.
• Once our feelings are hurt, we build walls to protect our feelings from further damage.
• Since we don’t care for confrontation, we take a passive-aggressive approach.

Pisces also tend to fall in love easily when searching for ‘the one.’ A big problem we have is that we want the other person to be happy and we step back from our wants to put their interests first. Two things come from this. First, resentment builds and we start to pull away from our partners because they never put our needs before theirs. Second, our partners get bored with our constant willingness to give in and our lack of individuality. Pisces can be pushovers in life and that is a very bad trait.

Even one of the best qualities of a Pisces has a downside. Pisces can have a chameleon-like personality. They can find a weak area within a group and have the ability to be what the group needs. It’s so great to be able to fit in anywhere but this is only up to a point. If they need to be their true selves in a group, they don’t really know what that is and start to withdraw.

It seems like the personality of a Pisces is almost immature in nature. We seek approval from those around us for our decisions and even when sure of our choices, we can be swayed. We avoid confrontation and demure to louder voices. Rather than have a confrontation, we withdraw from the situation or person. Not returning phone calls, answering texts, or responding to emails are the ways Pisces deal with conflict.

Time alone is necessary for emotional and mental regeneration. Just being able to recharge our batteries without the constant bombardment of others' needs and emotions. Solitude gives us the ability to free our minds and let our creativity flow.

Even in writing this article I was so worried about how it would be received, I used a lot of we’s/ they’s to describe Pisces. I think this is a perfect example of avoiding a first-person declarative statement about me. It’s incredibly difficult to release the creative side of me when fear of rejection is so prevalent.

I am a Pisces, through and through. Here’s a scenario that describes me well. I may know the right answer but if someone gives another answer, I will not fight for my answer because I don’t want the other person to feel bad. When the right answer does come out, I respond with things like ‘you were close’ or something uplifting. When playing games, I prefer to see the other person’s excitement at winning than to win myself.

One of the identifying traits of Pisces I definitely have is pessimism. I can see the potential negativity from actions and that will cause me to never even start. I don’t really consider myself a pessimist, I am just conditioned to plan on the worst.

Laziness is sadly a trait I have that I never considered to be ruled by my astrological sign. I’m lazy in many ways. Waiting until the last minute to complete a project, or not completing it at all. I won’t even go into cooking, cleaning, and yardwork.

I think the moodiness and depression come from a culmination that is everything Pisces. The fear of disappointment, actual disappointment, too many emotions, and a lifetime of experiences create a perfect storm of moodiness.

Being considered gullible makes us easy prey for bullies and jokes at our expense. Trusting in the wrong things and people helps to make us emotional and closed off. Being laughed at and picked on makes us less likely to ever open up to others.

The good parts of being a Pisces are empathy, creativity, and a giving heart. The bad parts of being a Pisces are being too emotional, being easily swayed, and building walls to protect ourselves. The ugly parts of being a Pisces are being considered lazy, moody, and gullible.

At the end of the day, our sign does explain parts of our personality traits and yet we are still all so unique. I like to think that the opposite swimming fish show our constant change to become the best of ourselves.