Thank you to “Calliope” and “Little Red Socks” who gave money through Ko-Fi in appreciation for the decans columns of Pisces to be completely free and open to the public, including horoscopes.
Pisces II begins when the Sun reaches 20° 00′ on February 28, 2023 at 3:57 pm EST. Austin Coppock called this decan The Net, and referenced the mythology of the net of the Hindu god Indra, which was woven and knotted with a diamond bead at each intersection point of the webbing; the fish, or his foes, about to be ensnared in the net would see the sunlight glitter off the diamonds and be entranced — it would encourage them to cease their struggles, not knowing if they were in a vast and beautiful palace, or entering a trap. T. Susan Chang associates this decan with the 9 of Cups — depicting a self-satisfied man with a collection of treasured goblets. He doesn’t know how thoroughly his own collection has him in its grip. His whole sense of self-worth is tied up in what he owns, and the loss of even part of his treasure is sure to bring trouble. Not all traps are visible, of course — and not all traps are wholly painful to be in. They lure us in with a mix of deception and enticement. Yet once inside, we’re stuck with the conditions that the trapper has chosen, whether for good or ill.
Traditional astrology associates this decan with the planet Jupiter as its administrator as well as its ruler — like a Prime Minister who had a turn as First Lord of the Navy once upon a time (you should definitely think Winston Churchill here, who was the first and last British prime minister to have held both roles). With Jupiter in Aries and thus inconjunct, though, we’d best look to Mars and the Moon (square from Gemini) as triplicity rulers to get a sense of how rough the next ten days might go. The answer is that things are being plotted and planned, but there’s no definitive course of action yet — but the knives are being sharpened, and imaginations are running fierce.
Meanwhile, Mars and Saturn are both well-placed to make mischief and cause trouble.
The Alexandrians assigned these ten days to Dolos, the dull and allegedly stupid spirit assigned to be the apprentice of the titan-god Prometheus. Once when the god was away from the workshop where he molded the animals and people from clay and breathed life into them, Dolos attempted to craft a perfect replica of his master’s statue — a goddess with the name of Truth. Prometheus was very angry when he came back and found that Dolos had imitated his work very nearly perfectly — but, on examining the two statues, he found that one of them had badly-made feet; the feet on the other statue were perfect. Accordingly, he named Dolos’ statue “Falsehood”, and breathed the gift of life into both of them and paired them as spirit-sisters. As a result, Truth and Falsehood move through the world, one on bad feet that hobble her and cause her much trouble, and bring her reprimands and mockery; and one has perfect ankles and moves gracefully and swiftly through the world.
If only Prometheus and Dolos had told us mortals which one of the divine sisters, Truth or Falsehood, had the bad feet!
The dodeks, or twelfth-parts of the sign, are assigned to Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Libra — the nurturing care that arises when we’re told a sad story turns to hot outrage when we discover we’ve been lied to. This is followed by a more careful analysis with dedicated research, followed finally by a more nuanced and balanced idea of what the truth actually is.
Planetary Positions
The Ascendant of this chart is in Leo, and the Sun is above the horizon, making this a day chart — but with its ruler inconjunct — although at least above the horizon. Likewise Venus is the ruler of Taurus, the sign of the midheaven, but she is also inconjunct in Aries — the three most helpful planets in the chart are very much out of alignment to do much to help anyone. Only Saturn of the day-sect planets is favorably placed — if you want strong enemies and rivals to get in one last parting jab. The Parthian Empire’s horse-mounted archers, contemporary with the Romans, were famous for the so-called Parthian Shot — a spine-twisting, backwards-shot while in retreat that often caught pursuers by surprise. The French l’esprit d’escalier, or “spirit of the stairway”, is the phrase or retort that comes to you too late to say it to the person whose remark has wounded you. Be on the lookout for these sorts of moments in your life, when your foes and rivals get in one last parting jab… or you find yourself bemoaning the chance to get in the last word. If you find yourself getting in the last word too often in the next ten days… be aware, you’re making lots of foes. Make sure you choose such battles wisely.
The South Node is approaching the end of its time in Scorpio I (The Jawbone), although the shift to Libra III (The Gyroscope) won’t occur until July 17, 2023. In this chart, it represents the byproduct of digestion, aka the feces, getting dumped into our conversations with our direct family and fellow householders. As the Ascendant reminds us to be cautious about always trying to get in the last word lest we make enemies, this is a reminder that the place where we’re most likely to make rivals is in our relationships with our own kin and housemates — that’s the place where the trials of winter’s last weeks are most likely to make trouble for ourselves, and where we risk turning an important relationship sour. However the Imum Coeli in the same house but Scorpio II (The Double Distiller) reminds us that the intensity of conversation and relationship at home is also the place where we find our greatest happiness in the next ten days — we have to seek that higher level of intimacy even in the heat of both passion and frustration, to get our weekly dosage of contentment. The difference between a wildfire and an alchemical furnace is largely based on focus and control — don’t flame out of control this week; do focus your fire on generating a distilled and purified condition at home.
The Lot of Fortune, representing our freedom of action and a possible source of windfalls and opportunity, is in the fifth house in this chart — which signifies both our hobbies and our children. Our greatest freedom of action comes in our relationship with the things that we do for fun — both our own entertainment, and for the development of our kids. In Sagittarius I (The Poisoned Arrow), there’s a sense of both quick risk-taking and activity connected to throwing or shooting. Ever had archery lessons? Gone to a bar with an axe-throwing booth? With Mars still in Gemini, you should be cautious with sharp things, but maybe even a game of bean-bags or horseshoes would satisfy. There’s definitely a temptation to get into a war of words on the Internet, but this is a good occasion to hold yourself back from typing a poison pen letter — no good will come of a “reply all” or a public letter.
We start getting into the three planets in the Anaretic Degrees, or nearly so. “Anaretic” is a fancy word in astrology that means last, also known as 29°. Currently, both Pluto and Saturn are in the Anaretic Degrees of their signs, and will be joined soon by Mars (March 23), and sooner by Mercury (March 13).The last degree of most signs are most commonly ruled by either Mars or Saturn, and often wind up delivering a “last backhand” or “sucker punch” before they leave their current sign for a new one. Mercury in some ways will be the easiest of these — their time in the anaretic degree of Pisces is a little less than thirteen hours. Yet in close company with the Sun and Neptune, they reveal, shine light on, and name some fantasies or illusions that cannot be allowed to continue. Mars’s time in Gemini will likely conclude the strategic and logistical maneuvering phases of the winter war between Russian and Ukrainian forces, and open the spring offensives. Saturn’s marks a shift from an effort to disentangle, a prominent theme of Aquarius III The Knot, to a move to the exits in Pisces I The Labyrinth— the themes of divorce and separation and disentanglement will be replaced with metaphors of seeking the center or finding a way out from a monstrous prison. Pluto’s will probably take the form of one last obvious power-grab by billionaires and oligarchs around the world, and by their servants and allies — The Throne claiming one last perk of power and privilege before the tide shifts.
We’re not at the point of these tides shifting yet, so it’s premature to say how they will manifest. However, we should be aware that several major issues are about to be thrown into a new tempo, one which may catch both people and institutions off-guard.
Neptune is a long way from the anaretic degree of Pisces — but he’s doing his slow back-and-forth between direct and retrograde in Pisces III until March 2025, when he makes his first entry to Aries since April 1861 — the month that US President Abraham Lincoln called up the first 75,000 militia troops to suppress the secession of the southern states over the question of slavery. America is hardly the world’s only powder-keg of bad opinions crossed with misinformation and fueled with too many passions —yet it’s hard not to pay attention to the idea that Neptune in Pisces III has often meant inflamed zealotry drained of sense — and Neptune’s entry to Aries I has coincided with the start of the official backlash.
One of the main bright spots in this chart is a favorable conjunction in process in Aries, the annual meeting of Jupiter and Venus — which perfects on March 2, 2023 from 12:21 am to 12:40 am EST. In this chart, their appearance in Aries II The Crown coincides with the ninth house, suggesting leadership shifts and management decisions in the tourism and travel industries, as well as in academic institutions, to favorably position themselves for a more volatile future.
Uranus occupies the degrees just before the midheaven in Taurus II The Lingam-Yoni — where he continues to create upheaval and demand both agency and autonomy right now, for workers and the working class. A number of US business news sites and magazines have noted, in perplexed tones, that several million workers are missing from the US work force… and yet failing to ask the obvious questions at the same time. Did they die? Are they now working under the table? Are they too sick with long COVID to return to their old jobs? Nobody seems to know… but no one is saying the quiet parts or asking the hard questions out loud, that maybe most working environments are simply too poisonous for people to want to be in them. A parallel situation seems to exist in Britain, where major parts of the economy seem to be ceasing to exist, and yet no one is willing to blame Brexit. Yet. The North Node is here, too, strongly urging people to accept a new kind of normalcy in which we go to work in long-abandoned offices and accept a pay-scale that no longer bears even a vague resemblance to the cost of living.
The Moon is past her monthly conjunction with Mars, in the Seventh Mansion of the Moon called The Forearm. A preferred haunt of priests, merchants, athletes, and farmers, it’s decidedly bourgeois in its decor and tastes, and yet a testimony to the idea that successful people receive the favor of God. However Calvinist this idea is in our modern conception, it has some roots in the ancient text called the Sentences of Sextus — and here the Moon reminds us that we get by with a little help from our friends. If you want to be more successful, it’s a good time for you to call on your friends and set up some support systems, to be there for one another in hard times.
Horoscopes by Rising Sign
Thank you to “Calliope” and “Little Red Socks” who made the Pisces II horoscopes open to a wider audience by generous contributions through Ko-Fi.
Leo: You’re likely to find yourself reacting to the straitened circumstances of other important people in your life over the next ten days — the restrictions they’re dealing with will affect your responsibilities, give you impetus to travel or to learn new skills, or to reorganize your professional commitments. It may even lead to a fight with someone you consider an important friend. Some of these upheavals may result in you minimizing or downplaying the importance of your daily routines, even as your schedule explodes. You have great freedom to pursue your own happiness in the next ten days — with the caveat that your bank account balance might look quite different if you ignore your obligations completely.
Virgo: Your financial situation is strongly tied to your daily routines and the most significant others in your life — business partner, spouse, or open rival — and how thoroughly you disentangle your schedule from routine expenses: For example, you might habitually visit the same coffee house with the same expensive croissant and latte. That’s not going to wreck your bank balance all by itself — unless the price has crept up over the last year and you haven’t been paying attention. New expectations are going to draw attention to these sorts of small leaks. The good news is that you and your significant others are likely to understand that you’re both on the same side here, and join forces to learn together; the bad news is that it may take a financial hit to a long-expected journey for you to understand what’s really in your wallet.
Libra: Once upon a time, my parents debated buying a two-person kayak. The salesperson said, “Let me put it this way… how well do you put up wallpaper together?” Something supposedly fun and enjoyable to do together, got compared to a difficult, high-stress task requiring deadlines, coordination and precision. In other words, it’s a favorable time for you and a significant partner in romance or business to make plans to do something big together —but don’t pin your hopes on permanent arrangements first. Take a trip together, or sign up for a common class, that sort of thing. Rushing off to town hall for a marriage license or moving in together or establishing the legal framework to a business might feel like the right thing, but a different kind of joint project will prevent an explosive imbalance in a new household order. The arguments about what to do and where to do it, are likely to help you deduce if you should draw closer together, or loosen the ties that currently bind. People already in these sorts of legally framed partnerships: you may feel like this horoscope isn’t about you, but it is — try to break away from your routine habits by operating in a new place or environment, but turn the pressure way down for a little while on your getaway.
Scorpio: A home, a house, a family of your own — fond dream, source of deep contentment… and also where all the fecal matter gets deposited by the high-speed air-rotor. You have more freedom to spend money on what makes you happy in the next ten days than usual — but let me stress that rushed purchases are unlikely to make you happy; do your research into a variety of products to find what suits you best. Your romantic partner experiences some upheaval at work, which may lead to challenges to your shared resources; a “wing and a prayer” will get you through the next ten days, but some communications about your allocations to household expenses are likely to get tense.
Sagittarius: There’s surprising autonomy in the next ten days, to pursue your passions and enjoy yourself… just don’t blow your fortune on impulsive decisions. However, there’s a tension between you and your partner over who and where you choose to have friends, and what that friendship looks like. Some of it is about who we share intimacy and trust with — some of it is difficult dialogue about problematic men (those two things can be the same). You have unexpected household tasks that necessarily fall to you to solve, but there are also favorable reconnections and exciting learning opportunities arising for you.
Capricorn: Daily routines keep you at your desk, and angrier, than usual. In the famous words of XKCD 386, “someone is wrong on the internet.” Sure… the person who is wrong may be a friend (or someone you thought was a friend), and sure, sometimes an argument can be relaxing fun if the debate is relatively unserious and casual. But fires are likely to be hotter than you imagine, and steam is invisible but leaves unpleasant burns. Before you hit “send” on anything in the next ten days, ask yourself, would I be happy if my boss or my significant other read this? Is this argument important enough to lose pay over it? Sure, self-censorship is a complex issue — but for the next ten days you should focus on maintaining the peace of your household and the journey your family is on together, first, even at the expense of saying something dangerously witty.
Aquarius: Your relationships to others are likely to be firmly on your mind in the next ten days — and specifically wondering why so many of these associations and affinities seem to be predicated on “what have you done for me lately?” You may find yourself thinking about cutting some of these connections permanently, or at least loosening the ties that bind. However you go about this, be aware that this attitude is a temptation based on how awful a few people have been to you recently, about serious matters, rather than a reflection on how others make you laugh, relax, and enjoy yourself. Take the time to check in with your spouse: who among my friends makes me happy? And then maybe pursue those relationship awhile, and revel in what enjoying yourself feels like, for a change.
Pisces: This season puts considerable light on yourself as a doer of chores, a bearer of assignments, and a burden-bearer. It will be tempting to throw everything down, refuse to do more, and demand an end to the pressure, a chance to just be alone for once. And this isn’t to say you shouldn’t take some time for yourself — you absolutely should, and untie yourself from that tangle of commitments. AT the same time, you should acknowledge that your own resources, which are time and energy, are slipping away from you on other people’s projects and programs; and that you need more time and agency to complete what’s important to you — and if you don’t, then it will cause contentions for your family and difficulty for your daily schedule, and impede your own self-development. Demand the freedom to choose some work for yourself that you actually enjoy.
Aries: The annual conjunction of Jupiter and Venus occurs in your home sign this year, in just a couple of days — bringing glee and joy and opportunity to your learning and travel opportunities, and favoring your writing skills and magic. However, the sextiles from Mars in your third house and Saturn in your eleventh promise a certain amount of envy or difficulty from friends or significant others about your good fortune — which may be connected to a surprise in your workplace. There’s a temptation to spend resources fast in celebration in response to this news, but hang on! The rest of March and April involves some household changes, some professional upsets, and some shifts in your long-range plans. Hold on to most of the windfall against a rainy day in the relatively near future.
Taurus: Your autonomy and leadership roles are under review — you hunger for more opportunities to take charge, but some of these won’t manifest for another six months; and then you might wish for more time on your own! That same time-frame weighs on a partner, who has both household chores and familial responsibilities that are likely to weigh heavily. Got some money burning a hole in your pocket? It feels sensible to just spend it on your friends and having a good time with them, but you should sit with yourself in love and care, and think about your own learning and journeys, and what you can reasonably afford to spare. Some harsh truths may come out of that, but you may have a better sense of your professional goals after those difficult dialogues.
Gemini: In the next ten days, you may find that you define yourself based on who you fight with, and who you pray for. Some of this is going to be related to what sorts of tasks at work you focus on; what sorts of learning outcomes you’re trying to achieve or what certifications you’re trying to complete; and what person or persons you’re trying to romance and form a relationship with. But at some level, healthy argument and necessary conflict is an essential part of the next ten days. It’s easy for you to make up fun reasons to enjoy time with a spouse or significant other, or to invent your dream job in your sleep — but it’s harder to see what responsibilities come with your plans to take charge: be sure you know what you have to give, in order to get. No throne is seized without consequences.
Cancer: It’s going to feel like these next ten days start off on the wrong foot, but gradually stabilize after a couple of days. You may find yourself arguing with yourself, out loud or in the privacy of your own head, about some truly bone-headed decisions some friends of yours have made, and you may resolve to stay clear of their drama. However, life has a funny way of pulling us in to other people’s problems: as a mediator, as an ally, as an enemy, as a guardian or guarantor of safe passage. You’re good at these roles, and you may be tempted to get out of your chair and intervene, especially if a partner urges you to the task. Yet be aware that lovely things are likely to come your way in the workplace: and if you’ve been offered the chance to sign up for classes, or to travel for work, you should absolutely plan to do that. Just be sure that you trust the person tasked with your routine labors to cover for you properly — OR, leave behind written instructions and expectations to cover your own bum.
Colophon
I have a Patreon account for those who want to support this column as it continues its third year. Those funds support artists, artisans and thinkers that I regard as contributing to the well-being of the world. You can also buy me a Ko-fi in $3 increments; any column I write after receiving a Ko-Fi donation will be open to the public). You can also schedule an appointment with me using Accuity Scheduling, for a natal or solar return consultation.
If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.
I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.
I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.
