Pisces is the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, symbolised by two fish swimming in opposite directions, tied together at the tail by a cord.
People born from February 19 to March 20 are Pisceans.
Pisces is a Water sign, which in astrology describes a more emotionally intuitive, empathetic temperament, and Mutable, meaning adaptable and comfortable adjusting to change. Modern astrology names Neptune as its ruler; traditional astrology assigns Jupiter.
Where the Symbol Comes From
The two fish trace back to a Greek myth involving Aphrodite and her son Eros, who were said to have transformed into fish and tied themselves together with a cord to avoid being separated while escaping the monster Typhon. The image of two things pulling in different directions yet bound together has stayed closely associated with the sign ever since.
What Pisces Is Like
In astrology, Pisces is associated with empathy and imagination — someone who absorbs the emotional tone of a room easily and often processes the world through feeling before logic. That same sensitivity has a less comfortable side. Boundaries can be hard for Pisces to hold, and a tendency to escape into daydream or avoidance can creep in when reality feels like too much.
Strengths: compassionate, imaginative, intuitive, adaptable, deeply empathetic.
Challenges: can be overly self-sacrificing, escapist, or prone to losing themselves in someone else's needs.
Pisces in Love
In relationships, Pisces tends to want emotional merging — a closeness that feels almost boundaryless, where a partner's feelings are felt as vividly as their own. That depth of empathy can make Pisces an extraordinarily caring, attuned partner. It can also make Pisces prone to losing their own needs in someone else's, or to romanticising a relationship's potential rather than seeing it plainly as it is.
Pisces in Friendship
Among friends, Pisces is often the one who notices when something's wrong before it's said out loud, and who offers comfort without being asked. That intuitive care makes Pisces a deeply valued friend, though it can also mean Pisces absorbs more of a friend's emotional weight than is sustainable, without setting the boundary that would protect them from it.
Compatibility
Pisces is often considered compatible with Cancer and Scorpio, which share its Water element and its emotional depth. Taurus and Capricorn are also traditionally associated with Pisces, bringing a grounded practicality that can complement its intuition. Compatibility in astrology, however, depends on much more than Sun signs alone.
What Makes Pisces Different
Pisces's opposite sign is Virgo — the two sit directly across the zodiac wheel from each other, and are traditionally read as a study in contrast: Pisces's focus on the intuitive and unbounded against Virgo's focus on the practical and precise. Pisces is also the only Mutable Water sign. Cancer, as Cardinal Water, initiates emotional connection, and Scorpio, as Fixed Water, holds it steady, while Pisces, as Mutable Water, dissolves boundaries and adapts to whatever emotional current it's in.
Famous Pisceans: George Washington, Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, Elizabeth Taylor, Rihanna.