How to Hook a Pisces
Discover the misconceptions and unlikely truths of the Zodiac’s mutable water sign.
Richard Burton as Marc Antony with Liz Taylor as Cleopatra
I’ll be the first to admit that, with my less-than-expert knowledge of astrology, descriptions of Pisces make the sign sound—to put it bluntly—insufferable. “Highly emotional, musical, and free-spirited,” calls to mind the imminent threat of a man in leather bracelets breaking out an acoustic guitar to nonconsensually serenade you with “Wonderwall.” As I’ve learned more about the field and encountered real Pisces out in the wild, I have been humbled, though, by their wisdom, incisiveness, and incomparable devotion to their loved ones. (In fact, my closest Pisces friend would be the first to roll her eyes at the aforementioned Mr. Wonderwall.)
As the “oldest” sign in the astrological calendar, Pisces are said to possess divine wisdom and an ongoing dialogue with the spiritual world. While the term “old soul” can be overused, Pisces have a highly-developed emotional intelligence that gives them a shrewd and even slightly tortured disposition from a young age. Ruled by Neptune, the planet of creativity and dreams, Pisces have their heads in the clouds and an admittedly tenuous anchor to the material realm. In tandem with the influence of Jupiter—the planet of philosophy and religion—they also have an innate desire to strip back trivialities in search of larger truths. It’s almost cruelly ironic: Pisces desire to escape reality in order to better understand it—which is precisely why they are so often misunderstood.
In order to demystify the stereotypes of the final sign of the zodiac, I consulted a few of my Pisces colleagues and friends to shed light on the misconceptions and unlikely truths of the enigmatic sign.
They Expect Loyalty
“The best way to win me over? Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty. And I mean loyalty in the deep sense. I don’t need daily interactions or tons of FaceTime at all times. They are the friends I know would fly halfway across the world to bail me out of jail, and I would do the same. If anyone spoke negatively about me to them, they would cut a bitch. They show up for the big important things in a present and truthful way that shows they really know me.” A.W.
Pisces feel deeply, and expect the same depth from others. Because Pisces tend to have one foot in the real world and one in a realm of emotional abstractions, they can have lofty and abstract ideas of friendship. They are here to listen to you for hours, feel your pain as though it were their own, and commiserate on anything from parking tickets to your greatest heartbreak.
But loyalty to a Pisces looks very different from that of a Gemini, Leo, or Libra, the types of friends whose love language tends to consist of constant communication or showing up on your doorstep at the drop of a hat. Because Pisces sometimes don’t orbit the same concrete reality as the rest of us, timing and consistency are not necessarily their priorities. Yes, they might fall off the face of the Earth to journal on their pile of unfolded laundry for three days straight, but they make up for it in bottomless compassion and tenured friendship. In the words of another Pisces, “We’re loyal to the bone.”
They Are Uninterested in Trivial Matters
“My biggest pet peeves? Performers, in a social way or even in public. It’s a red flag when people aren’t themselves or work hard to give something that isn’t them. Clout poisoning, group think, people who like to be seen in nightclubs, people who don’t think for themselves—not for me.” M.D.S.
Like their water sign neighbors, Cancer and Scorpio, Pisces are predominately introverted with a somewhat icy veneer in group situations. They have a sixth sense for disingenuous people and far prefer intimate soul-excavating conversation to trivial posturing.
“I hate name-dropping, being cool to be cool, hating on popular culture just to hate on it,” A.W. says. “When someone else is being surface-level to me, it sticks out like a sore thumb. If you can’t get real with me, how can I trust you?”
If you want to impress a Pisces, earn their trust with a display of genuine vulnerability. Did you grieve the loss of your imaginary friend as a child? What’s the most humiliating thing you’ve ever done for a crush? What’s the last work of art that made you swoon? Pisces will judge the person you’re pretending to be, but never the person you are. As M.D.S. explains, “I can be won over by anyone who embraces my quirks. Someone who wants to water me, and also is down with me doing the same. It’s always a sort of constant trust test—building foundations with people.”
They Are Die-Hard Romantics (Expect a Breakup Album—Or Five)
“Romantic relationships are very much à la Lana ‘when you know you know’—it hits me hard, and you gotta show me that you feel the same way. We both have to feel the tilt of the earth shift when we are together and express it out loud to each other regularly. I’m a sucker for love letters and long, complicated love stories where true love wins out in the end.” A.W.
When a Pisces falls, they fall hard. But with their penchant for living in a fantasy realm, it begs the question: are they really falling hard, or do they just want to fall hard? Either way, it’s nearly impossible not to get sucked into the fantasy of a relationship with a Pisces. Big emotions, grandiose gestures, days lost in bed together, pockets full of sea shells and random receipts you’ve kept as mementos of your unparalleled romance—the love story you are writing together is an earth-shattering epic.
As you might imagine, a breakup can be just as explosive. Look no further than Olivia Rodrigo to see how a Pisces reacts to the termination of a six-month relationship. The legendary Pisces Elizabeth Taylor was married no fewer than eight times—two of those times to Richard Burton. Sure, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but if you’re planning on a simple catch-and-release, be careful you don’t hook a Pisces.
They Can Be Victims of Their Own Contradictions
“We are described as dreamers, which I think is true, but we are ‘rose-colored glasses dreamers’ who are highly adaptable. I think Pisces can reconcile reality with the dream, and it sucks to confront and adapt to.” K.S.
As a mutable sign often consumed by their own imagination, Pisces often struggle to stay grounded. This manifests in varying degrees for each individual, but being constantly overwhelmed by the beauty of the world and all the myriad emotions it inspires can lead to some turbulence. Some Pisces may look for romance and commitment, but their “love of love” might have them shifting from one relationship to the next.
Their intense emotions make them incredibly compassionate and loving, but the “bigness” of these emotions also applies to anger, depression, and resentment. When their negative emotions are amplified, they can be blinded by their own self-pity, sometimes indulging in the misconception that no one feels emotions as intensely as they do (needless to say, this isn’t the case). For this reason, Pisces are full of contradictions: they are a well of empathy but can be totally myopic. They are both virtuous and petty.
As my friend C.P. explains, “They are a transitional sign. They mark the change from Winter to Spring. They are simultaneously the oldest and the youngest. They hate arrogance yet take their own art painfully seriously. They are incredibly wise and also have temper tantrums.” To love a Pisces is to accept these contradictions—tantrums, love letters, break-up songs, and all.
They Are Highly Intuitive
“We can read you to a T. Sometimes Pisces get blamed for manipulating the people around them because they can read people so well. I’d like to think that power can be used for good. We just want to reflect back the energy you want/need/crave (that is, if we choose to interact and build something for you).” A.W.
Like all water signs, Pisces have a heightened sense of intuition. They are carefully dialed-in to minute shifts in expression or tone, which makes them incredible emotional mirrors. Oftentimes they can clock your subtext even better than you can. While this trait can make some people feel seen and profoundly understood, it can make others feel overexposed and manipulated (especially if they have something to hide). Because they have such boundless empathy and wisdom, Pisces can sometimes fall into the trap of being someone else’s emotional crutch and need to enforce some hard boundaries.
As K.S. says, “Even though we are supposed to be the wisest sign of the Zodiac, Pisces are just trying to get through life like everyone else. The only difference is that the Universe is on our side to guide us to greatness.”
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