How high's the water, Mama?

Here is my first written musing on the world of astrology. I’m going to start with the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces, the fish. It is my sun sign, and I feel it is best to start in my exploration of this age-old phenomenon here.

Perhaps it’s best to give you my back story about my interest in astrology and why I continue to find it fascinating and use it as a filter when observing life. I have always had some interest, if not utter fascination, with the unseen world, the world that exists that can’t be seen, however one may define that. I have always enjoyed repeating patterns, recognizing and enjoying them, whether it’s the repetition of a drumbeat, watching the ocean waves come in sets, or observing the golden ratio in plant life. Patterns and repetitions are everywhere in observable reality. So is it odd to think that the time and date of your birth can have a distinct effect on who you are? It’s a bold sell, and as someone who believes in free will, it’s a hard sell. However, being in touch with yourself enough to know that you are capable of both light and dark is where free will is obvious, and ultimately up to the individual to make that decision. Perhaps now I view the debate that your zodiac doesn’t determine who you are; it determines what questions you ask yourself. We have all most likely been in the situation where you feel completely hung up about something, and then someone else in the same situation is able to completely act like it’s no big deal, like the same questions or worries never even crossed that person’s mind.

I’ll take this as a lead-in on the Pisces. The Pisces is depicted as two fish swimming in opposite directions. The Pisces is a water sign, implying that this sign shares reactions similar to those found in water. Freeze over, ice melting, rushing river, or reflective pool are phrases that find easy placement for my feelings. In contrast, if you are a fire sign like a Leo, you might resonate more with phrases like hot to trot, slow burn, firestorm, or inner warmth. Perhaps if you shared both a water sign and a fire sign in strong placements in your chart, you may find yourself in a lot of steamy situations or find yourself in some hot water. I used water-based analogies to describe my feelings all the time, long before I studied the zodiac. The Pisces, as mentioned above, is the last sign of the zodiac; it is old and wise and quite possibly losing its mind. Perhaps one fish is swimming toward the physical world, and the other is pushing well into the spiritual world; they create a space between those two, which can be calm water or it can rage like a hurricane, it can be dark like the bottom of the ocean, or can reflect and redistribute light in a prismatic way near the surface.

There are many great descriptions already of Pisces, common words associated would be emotional, intuitive, and laid back. The fish has no natural defenses, no stinger or crab claw like its fellow water brethren. The fish is slippery, though, and while even the most aware fisherman may be able to pull a fish out of water with their bare hands, to pull two fish would be a grand feat indeed. Fish move quickly and will disappear quicker than the blink of an eye. They live completely in an aqueous environment; they can feel the vibrations in the water long before one can see anything. Because of this state, they often live by intuition alone or by what they can sense. They live in a world that is constantly humming at them. If you’ve known them to be slightly distracted or distant or off in their own world, it might as well be that they are.

Water is heavy and holds emotions; it can create patterns based on musical notes and harmony. For a deeper dive into this idea, take a look at cymatics, patterns created by sound being transferred into water and other liquid solutions. Snowflakes, as well, are formed into these wild patterns! And perhaps many Pisces, as well as Scorpios and Cancers, will be called snowflakes for their sensitive ways.

If you don’t know any Pisces, let’s look at some of my favorite performers who I find resonate with high amounts of Piscean-type attributes. I’m going to start with Johnny Cash. He famously made a comment about the quality of the water during his iconic set at Folsom Prison. Subtle, yes, but perhaps a fire sign might have mentioned the lack of heat, or an air sign the drafty insides, or the earth sign on the less than hospitable space. Johnny Cash chose water to make the connection with the people there. He tells a harrowing tale of water in Five Feet High and Rising about a family watching the water rise on their property, while the main characters refrain of “How high’s the water, mama?” never ceases to send a chill down my spine.

Kurt Cobain was also a Pisces who just despised being pigeonholed into categories and writing songs that pushed into concentrated emotional outbursts, like waves crashing, the ripples still being felt long after he’s been gone. The iconic photo of the baby in the swimming pool on the cover of Nevermind. The first album, named Bleach, a liquid that would kill life in an aqueous environment. In Utero, theres another reference to an aquatic state, or even From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. This man felt the weight of the water, and I do believe it was his duty to completely drain you.

My last example and my birthday twin is the incredibly undefinable Nina Simone. What a personality. She could do jazz, she could do blues and R&B, she could do avant-garde. She was never easy to define, and her iconoclastic nature made her forever hard to pin down, lubriciously smooth, and she had no problem swimming in the colder aspects of the human psyche. She is one of the most unique and enigmatic characters in music. It’s her foray into gospel on “Take Me to the Water” that struck me when I heard it long ago. The lyrics simple, the voice complex and nuanced to create an incredible feel that hits me like a cold river every time.

Well, I think that’s enough for now, I mean, I could probably go on for a while about the fishes. I muse on the symbolism of astrology because I find it to be a belief system that ultimately is up to the user to create. It is no more real than the individual allows for; it is user-oriented and takes the creative mind to fill in the gaps. Next month, I’ll tackle the very start of the zodiac, Aries, the Ram, a fire sign.

-Nate