You’re So Not a Pisces

It can be odd to see the reactions of people when you tell them what your “sign” is.

Most of the time they don’t really know, so they nod and smile and proclaim “that’s so you!” Others will emphatically tell you that it doesn’t make sense, which is unfortunate, because they’re usually saying they don’t know you at all.

I felt this deeply when I started looking into my sun sign: Pisces.

Shown as a pair of fish (or mermaids) swimming in opposite directions to show the fluid, adaptable nature of the sign. Pisces can be gullible and flaky, but for the most part is highly emotional and accepting. It is also the last sign of the zodiac, and therefore carries a little bit of each sign before it within its personality.

Pisces is also viewed as an incredibly feminine sign.

For years, I viewed myself as a “tomboy” and “a girl’s guy”. I was always wearing t-shirts and jeans instead of something more feminine. Listening to hard rock instead of female pop singers.

This was in the ‘00s, when to be “feminine” meant to have the effortlessness of Serena Van Der Woodsen and the male gaze-centric persona of one of the stars of The Girls Next Door. We had no idea how truly sexist the trends of the time were. Gone were the days of Kat Stratford and Daria as our icons. Feminine meant “sexy” because feminine energy and gaze wasn’t cool.

For those new to astrology, they don’t realize that when you’re reading your horoscope you should read both your sun and “rising sign” (also known as your “ascendant”). A rising sign tells you where the sun was when you were born. A “sun sign” is about a month long period where the sun is overall, but within a single day the earth will loop around the sun, changing signs every two hours within that period.

So your sun sign (Pisces for me) tells me who I am at my core. But your ascendant tells you how the world sees you. This is important because there are also 12 houses

This is whole sign astrology by the way. I won’t give a full lesson but you should definitely look into it and maybe check out Chani Nicholas who released an amazing app earlier this year.

My ascendant is in Taurus, and this is where I believe the confusion comes in for people who don’t agree that I’m a Pisces.

For years, people have pointed out to me that I am stubborn and a hard worker. Taurus rules the throat, so this can be a very loud sign. And it’s ruled by Venus, so Taurus has a very sensual, slow-and-steady vibe to it.

Taurus is also considered a very “masculine” sign. So maybe this is why, in addition to society’s influence, I eschewed the subtle, emotional, and feminine characteristics of Pisces for the sexier, louder, and hard working vibes of Taurus.

As I’ve become interested in astrology over the past ten years, I find myself remembering times when I wanted to be viewed as feminine and the world told me I was “wrong”.

If I wanted to show an emotion, it was immediately “too much”.

If I wanted to wear something flowy, it was “too girly” for me to pull off.

If I wanted to have fun and be silly, I was “probably just drunk”.

I’ve gotten comments like this for the majority of my life and I’m about to turn 34. As a kid this meant changing my behavior to fit in. It was always so odd to me that other young girls were “allowed” to be feminine, but I wasn’t. At least, according to the people my age around me.

The difference between hearing these comments as I was growing up and today is that now I simply do what I want.

I embrace all emotions and if it’s too much, then you probably won’t see me that much.

I wear the flowy dress.

If my having fun and being silly is “unnerving” for another adult, then why bother being around them? Why did I allow myself to absorb these comments and ultimately deprive myself of joy?

By studying my own chart today, I find inspiration. New ways to accept parts of myself I hadn’t considered before.

Astrology has been growing in recognition the last few years, particularly in 2020, as people looked for any reason to find a positive light at the end of the tunnel. The truth is, no sign is truly bad or good, right or wrong. They simply are.

Which means you, your chart, simply are.

And if we can learn to accept that about ourselves, embrace and celebrate it, then we can also learn to accept that in each other. And my goodness, what a more peaceful place we would be.