Sign 12 of 12

Pisces (Meena)

मीन

330° to 360° of the sidereal zodiac

Pisces, Meena, is the twelfth and last sign, and its name means the fish. It is pictured as two fishes swimming in opposite directions, head to tail, and its faint stars end in the nakshatra Revati, where the zodiac closes and Aries begins again. The tradition reads Pisces as the sign of imagination, compassion, devotion, surrender and release, the end of the round that prepares the next. It is the sign of Venus' exaltation and of Mercury's fall. The Sun passes through it from mid-March to mid-April, and the Moon's passage through it and through Aquarius is Panchaka, which the panchang marks. In a chart the sign shapes how a planet in it acts, and its lord carries its affairs into the house where that lord stands. Below are the facts the site's own tables hold for Pisces: its lord, element and quality, the nakshatras within it, the planets whose dignity it decides, and what each graha is for a Pisces Lagna.

At a glance

Span
330° to 360°
Element
Water
Quality
Dual
Opposite sign
Virgo
Nakshatras
3 in whole or part

Lord, element and quality

Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, who also rules Sagittarius. Wherever Jupiter stands in a chart, it carries the affairs of the house Pisces falls in. It is a sign of the water element and of the dual quality. The twelve signs cycle through the qualities in order, movable, fixed and dual, so every fourth sign shares one: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are dual. The birth report describes the sign's theme as compassion, surrender and imagination.

The nakshatras in Pisces

Each sign holds two and a quarter nakshatras, nine quarters in all, since the twelve signs and the twenty-seven nakshatras share the same circle.

  • Purva Bhadrapada: 0°00′ Pisces to 3°20′ Pisces, pada 4, the rest of it lying in Aquarius.
  • Uttara Bhadrapada: 3°20′ Pisces to 16°40′ Pisces, all four padas.
  • Revati: 16°40′ Pisces to 30°00′ Pisces, all four padas.

Planets whose dignity Pisces decides

The site's table of dignities, which follows Parashara's ranges for the signs he divides by degree, gives these in Pisces:

  • Mercury: Mercury is in its fall (debilitated) throughout the sign.
  • Jupiter: Jupiter is in its own sign throughout the sign.
  • Venus: Venus is exalted throughout the sign.

For every other planet Pisces is the sign of a friend, a neutral or an enemy, as that planet counts Jupiter. The table: Sun — friend, Moon — neutral, Mars — friend and Saturn — neutral.

Pisces as the Lagna

When Pisces is rising at birth it is the first house, and each graha's nature for the chart follows from the houses it rules. The site takes this from Parashara's own list for each rising sign (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, ch. 34, tr. R. Santhanam), and goes by the chapter's general rules for a graha the verse does not name. For a Pisces Lagna:

  • Sun, lord of the 6th: inauspicious.
  • Moon, lord of the 5th: auspicious.
  • Mars, lord of the 2nd and 9th: auspicious.
  • Mercury, lord of the 4th and 7th: inauspicious.
  • Jupiter, lord of the 1st and 10th: auspicious.
  • Venus, lord of the 3rd and 8th: inauspicious.
  • Saturn, lord of the 11th and 12th: inauspicious.

No graha rules both an angle and a trine for a Pisces Lagna, so it has no Yogakaraka.

Rahu and Ketu are not classed by the verse: they act for the lord of the sign they occupy and the house they are in.

Varahamihira on each planet in Pisces

The Brihat Jataka gives a reading for a birth with each of the seven planets in each sign; the nodes are not given any. The site's birth report quotes these as they are paraphrased here. Varahamihira adds that a sign's effects come in full only when the planet, the sign and its lord are strong.

The Sun in Pisces. With the Sun in Pisces, Varahamihira describes wealth from trade in the produce of water and the sea, and the regard of women. (Brihat Jataka 18.4, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

The Moon in Pisces. With the Moon in Pisces, Varahamihira describes a handsome, learned and prosperous person, fond of the spouse and of fine clothes, who gets the better of enemies and may gain from trade in the produce of the sea, from others' means and from unexpected or hidden wealth. (Brihat Jataka 17.12, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Mars in Pisces. With Mars in Pisces, Varahamihira describes a fearless and widely known person who rises to high office, advising those in power, but who makes many enemies and has few children. (Brihat Jataka 18.7, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Mercury in Pisces. With Mercury in Pisces, Varahamihira describes a gift for making friends and for reading others' minds, and skill in practical handicrafts. (Brihat Jataka 18.11, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Jupiter in Pisces. With Jupiter in Pisces, Varahamihira describes high standing, as the head of a region, a minister or a commander, or else great wealth. (Brihat Jataka 18.13, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Venus in Pisces. With Venus in Pisces, Varahamihira describes a learned and wealthy person, liked by all and respected by those in power. (Brihat Jataka 18.16, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Saturn in Pisces. With Saturn in Pisces, Varahamihira describes a trusted servant of those in power who becomes a leading figure in the town, with good wealth, a good spouse and children, and a peaceful end of life. (Brihat Jataka 18.19, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Use the tools