New Moon Solar Eclipse in Pisces pt2

Polymorphic Pisces

At the end of the last article on this Eclipse I was making the point that Pisces and the planet Neptune (who is loosely conjoined with the Eclipse) share affinity and both tend to be slippery, mysterious and constantly changing or mutating. We will get into a common mytheme shared between the two a little later but first let'sfocus on Pisces.

Pisces is one of the mutable signs and as the name implies, it is willing or able to mutate, adapt and transform, something the fixed signs have much more difficulty with. Pisces, perhaps more than the others, is suited to mutation and transformation as it is the last sign of the zodiac and is considered to be the sum of all other signs before it and the stage of final transformation or repeating of the cycle back into Aries.

Vesica Pisces

Vesica Pisces

As a matter of fact, the two fish represented in the symbol of Pisces are actually none other than Aphrodite (the greek Venus) and Eros who, fleeing from the monsterous abomination Typhon, transformed into two fish and swam to safety.

Consider the Vesica Pisces, a shape created within the intersection two interlocking circles. Out of this form we get a fish symbol, sometimes known as the christian ithycus, commonly featured onbumper stickers or car decals. Typically it is described as sign of Jesus being "the fisher of men" and his miracle of loves and fishes. There is more to it than that, but I digress.

Ithycus

The deeper subtext here is that the shape of a Vesica Pisces is of a female's genitals and the fish alludes to the occasional odor of the same place. This fish is, as you may now see,  not strictly christian and also represents the fish whom Venus (and Eros) transformed into when they fled from Typhon. If the sexual subtext weren't already clear enough, Venus shares the root word for "venereal".

This tells us a couple of things:  First, Pisces and Venus have an affinity. Venus is said to be "Exalted" or best suited to the sign of Pisces, here, the love of Venus is unconditional and even Christ-like and willing to make sacrifices for another.

The second story we get it is that Pisces is deeply associated with transformation and mutation.

Proteus, the old man of the sea

All planets have multiple mythemes and stories nested within them.  You could call this "planetary polymorphics" and I can't think of another more polymorphic figure than Proteus, the old man of the sea.

Proteus is/was an ancient God of rivers and oceans and was associated with "elusive sea change", something most certainly resonant with many Piscean and Neptunian types who have an ability or need to change their appearance as well as being hard to pin down, slippery and changeable.

Proteus could tell the future for people but, being an avoidant guy, would flee from the task, by shape-shifting into another creature and escaping. Only those who would be able to catch him could claim his "lucky charms" of prophecy. Again, Pisces and Neptune can bless us with both intuitive and psychic power but also a vascilating and unstable temper that often runs from their responsibility to embrace their gifts, occasionally they run right into the arms of drug and alcohol which can themselves morph into many tentacled monstrosities.

Hercules wrestles with Proteus

Wrestling with Proteus

As intimated in the above, people with prominent Pisces and Neptune are often blessed/cursed with the Herculean task of wrestling our own inner Proteus. The gifts of prophecy and divine sight must be captured lest it flees back into the sea or morphs into a pleasing distraction or, worse, addiction.

This can be as prosaic as writing down your fantastical dreams first thing in the morning before they slip away and thereby increasing dream recall or perhaps just cementing that habit of creative writing you have been fantasizing about.

Or it may be wrestling an addiction which, like some sort of lovecraftian blasphemy, has stolen away your creative spark and inner light. Where Proteus ends and you begin may be something of mystery until you finally succeed in the task of mastery. 

Or perhaps a lover or relationship is shape shifting before your very eyes and fleeing all attempts at capture and proper identification. This quest may seem unending and having us wanting to give up hope perhaps with the feeling of being drained and hungover.

Change is stability

Neptune and Pisces are both keepers of spiritual stories and knowledge. An essential quality of spiritual life is the awareness of the inconstancy and impermanence of life, called Anicca in Buddhist philosophy.  Change is stability because change is the only thing that you can count and depend on. By raising our awareness of the constant change and transforming quality of nature we can come to a place of harmony within our own hearts and radiate out equanimity to others.

Pisces is sign of compassion and great sensitivity, so at this time of heightened Piscean energy and quality, many of us would serve themselves by taking on the herculean labor of wrestling our protean minds and illusions, face the polymorphic chaos of life and find true stability within.