Pisces sign appears on a postage cancel marking the monthly philatelic fair, which took place at Dizengof center, Tel aviv, in 6.3.2007. According to the Hebrew calendar March falls on the month of Adar whose sign is Pisces.
Why two fishes?
-Because they represent, according to Jewish tradition, the two months of Adar in a leap year.
Picture is courtesy of Moshe Rimer.
Pisces sign appears on an Indian Zodiac coin minted between 1605 and 1627 C.E. by Mughal ruler Jahangir. I don’t know if the influence is Hindi or Muslim (or both) since Jahangir was a Muslim, but the Indian zodiac looks like the western astrological wheel.
The Pisces sign in artist Judith Weinshall Liberman’s work titled: THE ZODIAC SERIES I, looks like the one which appears in the 6th century mosaic floor wheel of the zodiac excavated at the synagogue in Beit Alpha, Israel. In the original Beit Alpha mosaic floor wheel one had to bend his head in order to see the details (at least as it was captured by photography). I like Judith’s way of facilitating the viewing of the different zodiac signs, as well as her division of the signs, according to their color, to the four seasons. Pisces, as a Water Sign has a blue background.
All Rights Reserved to Judith Weinshall Liberman 2008
Charlotte R. Long wrote in her book The Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome (p. 295) that the 1st century C.E. Altar, found in Gabii in 1793 by Gavin Hamilton shows the twelve heads of the Roman gods in relation to the zodiac signs relieves that run along the side of the cylinder along with their symbols. Neptun rules Pisces and his symbol are the Dolphins (seen on the right, swimming one above the other).
Pisces sign and glyph appear on a humoristic 2007 Australian Zodiac stamp designed by
Mitch Vane along with the interpretation of two personality traits associated with this sign.
Pisces sign (without the connecting cord) appears on an Israeli lottery ticket along with the Hebrew words for Good luck. The word for luck in Hebrew is also the word for astrological sign.
We see Pisces sign on the left and Sagittarius, Virgo, Capricorn and Cancer on the right.
Picture of Pisces sign and Hebrew name on the Mosaic Zodiac Floor at Tzippori (Zippori), in the North of Israel, is courtesy of bdnegin from Flickr.
This floor belongs to a 6th century Synagogue. Beside the Hebrew name (dagim) of Pisces appears on the mosaic the Hebrew name (Adar) of the Jewish month connected to Pisces.
In contrast with most other appearances of Pisces a human being is holding two fishes in his hands. The fishes are held vertically so that each fish in an opposite direction, while in most other appearances the fishes are swimming in opposite directions, but horizontally. These changes are so drastic that I suspect that the prevalent interpretation of Helios that sits in the middle of this zodiac (and other Jewish zodiacs) is in place. IMHO the figure in the middle is the sun, alluding to the Patriarch Jacob (Israel) who is the sun in Joseph’s dream (Genesis 37) while the tribes (11 stars) of Israel are connected, in this dream, to the zodiac signs.
Pisces signs marble relief on the 12th century C.E. Sacra di San Michele (Saint Michael’s Abbey) - Porta dello zodiaco (zodiac door). Look at the middle of the two sides of the capital on the right. There's no connecting cord between the fishes, and they swin in the same direction, contrary to the usual depiction.
Picture is courtesy of “gattopollo” from Flickr
The Sacra di San Michele is located on the south side of the Val di Susa, Piedmont, Italy
Pisces sign appears (bottom left) on a marble capital along with the planet Jupiter and the Aries sign at the Palazzo Ducale (1309 to 1424) in Venice:
Picture is cropped from Wikimedia commons entry: Category:Capitals in the Doge's Palace (Venice) - 18 - uploaded by Giovanni Dall'OrtoThe Twelve important Indian Rivers are connected to the Zodiac Signs:
Ganges is connected to Aries; Reva river is connected to Taurus; Saraswati is connected to Gemini; Yamuna is connected to Cancer; Godavari is connected to Leo; Krishna is connected to Virgo; Kaveri is connected to Libra; Bhima River is connected to Scorpio; Radhya Saga is connected to Sagittarius; Tungabhadra is connected to Capricorn; Indus is connected to Aquarius; Pranahitha is connected to Pisces;
Pushkaram is a celebration near each of these twelve rivers which occurs once in every 12 years. Millions of people participate in each celebration, taking a dip in the river in order to purify their souls and bodies.
Pisces sign (constellation) with the connecting cord (stars) appears on a 14th century C.E. illustration from an Arabic manuscript , which is dedicated to astrology, astronomy and geomancy and which was compiled by Abd al Hasan Al Isfahani. This illustration answers quite impressively the question why does the traditinal Pisces sign appear mostly with the connecting cord.
I copied this image was from Wikimedia Commons, entry: Category: Kitab al-Bulhan; uploaded by: “Peacay”.
Pisces sign along with all the other zodiac signs appears clearly on the Farnese Atlas, which is kept at the Museo Archaeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy. Actually, it is one of 41 ancient Greek constellations, which are shown in relief. We can’t see the Pisces from this angle but one of the two fishes has a ribbon that goes from its tail to the head of Cetus constellation.
Image was copied from Wikipedia entry Farnese Atlas Uploaded by Gssq
Even though astrology/astronomy started in the Near East (Sumer, Babylon, Egypt) the signs of the zodiac as we use them today find their (more or less) complete explanation in the context of Greek mythology. An excellent website brings a few versions of the same basic story. Here's the story according to Roman author Hyginus (ca. 64 BC – AD 17) in his book Astronomica 2. 30:
Diognetus Erythraeus says that once Venus [Aphrodite] and her son Cupid [Eros] came in Syria to the river Euphrates. There Typhon, of whom we have already spoken, suddenly appeared. Venus and her son threw themselves into the river and there changed their forms to fishes, and by so doing this escaped danger.
And here’s a more detailed version of Roman Poet Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD), Metamorphoses 5. 139 ff (translated by Melville) Completed in 8 AD, (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.):
Typhoeus, issuing from earth’s lowest depths, struck terror in those heavenly hearts, and they all turned their backs and fled, until they found refuge in Aegyptus and the seven-mouthed Nilus . . . Typhoeus Terrigena (Earthborn) even there pursued them and the gods concealed themselves in spurious shapes; `And Juppiter [Zeus] became a ram’, she said, `lord of the herd, and so today great Ammon Libys’ [Zeus-Ammon] shown with curling horns. Delius [Apollon] hid as a raven, Semeleia [Dionysos] as a goat, Phoebe [Artemis] a cat, Saturnia [Hera] a snow-white cow, Venus [Aphrodite] a fish and Cyllenius [Hermes] an ibis.'
See also: Scorpio Sign Origin
Pisces sign (without the connecting cord) is one of the 12 zodiac signs, which appear on a Roman Mosaic Floor from the third century C.E. The Floor is exhibited at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.
To the best of my knowledge this is the only Roman Mosaic that contains both the zodiac signs and the hexagram.
Copyright: AntonioR [from Flickr] 2008
Pisces is Baden Powell's Zodiacal sign. This stamp belongs to series with Famous People and their astrological Signs issued by Fujeira in 15 March 1973.
Colum Hourihane from Princeton University edited the book (2006)
Time in the Medieval World
Occupations of the Months and Signs of the Zodiac in the Index of Christian Art
The book has 328 pages and 656 illustrations. It includes the most extensive list of zodiac signs, in sculptures, mosaics, leather, ivory, fresco, illustrations etc. It is an amazing scholarly achievement!
Colum Hourihane wrote about Pisces:
Pisces is represented by two fishes and is linked to the month of February… The two fishes nearly always swim in opposite directions and are often linked together by a cord from both of their mouths. They usually swim horizontally but can also be shown going vertically… Water is sometimes shown around them, but there can also be a blank undecorated area, and occasionally… the two are suspended above a lake. Occasionally they are mirror images of each other…
Pisces name and sign (without the connecting cord) appear on a postage stamp Issued by Bosnia Herzegovina in 2004
Pisces Sign constellation and and Glyph on a postage stamp issued by Greece in 2007
14th century Pisces sign on a marble floor in a unique design of intertwined fishes from Italy, Milan-Duomo (Cathedral), where at midday, a ray of sun hits the right zodiacal sign. The usual sign shows two fishes swimming in opposite directions with a connecting cord.
Picture is courtesy of mixedmediaexpressions.com from Flickr.
Pisces-sign (looks like a kid) and Pisces glyph appear on a 2008 Ukraine Zodiac Postage Stamp. Picture is courtesy of Dobush from Kfar Aza, Israel.
Picture of Pisces Sign sketch is courtesy of Scurzuzu from Flickr. It looks as if this Pisces is what’s left on the plate after dinner.
Zodiac glyphs on the 15th century Prague upper clock and on the bottom clock we see zodiac signs with the twelve apostles and with scenes of country life for each month. The equation between the signs and the twelve apostles seems to change from one interpreter to the other – here’s a version I found on the web-page of anglefire
Picture is courtesy of hugovk from Flickr.
Pisces sign in Palermo Sicily Cathedral as part of 1690 meridian line and solar calendar (heliometers). Picture is courtesy of maha-online from Flickr. Above there’s a small hole in the roof. on midsummer's day the light from the hole falls on Cancer and six months' later on Capricorn.
Pisces sign medallion on the floor of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. -picture is courtesy of Marjorie Lipan
Pisces sign appears (first from left, among all the other astrological signs) on the zodiac of Kilometer Zero in front of Saint George's Church in Bucharest, Romania. Sculptor Constantin Baraski created the statue in 1938.
I copied the picture from the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for Kilometer Zero, which copied it from the Romanian Wikipedia, where Lucian Amarandei uploaded it.
Kilometre Zero is a point from which distances between cities are measured.
This Pisces glyph illustration is courtesy of "Tlusa" from Wikipedia entry Pisces (astrology)
The glyph of Pisces is based on another symbol called The Vesica Pisces, which was embraced by Early-Christians and used frequently in Christian churches. In Latin it means "mouth of the fish". It looks like a human eye or a fish without a tail. Vesica Pisces is also known as Ichthys, Jesus Fish and Mandorla (almond in Italian).
You can draw it by intersecting two circles with the same radius like this:
This Illustration is courtesy of Jossifresco from Wikipedia entry Vesica Piscis
The following painting of Jesus within a Vesica Pisces (Zoom in) is copied from a medieval illuminated manuscript (c. 1220) kept today in the Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, Germany Cod. Bruchsal 1, Bl. 1v. Picture is courtesy of “AnonMoos” who uploaded it to Wikipedia entry Vesica Piscis.
Pisces, Aries and Taurus signs are seen on the zodiac ring of Prometheus sculpture, which was created in 1934 by Paul Manship (1885 - 1966) at the Rockefeller Center New York, which is one of the most famous sculptures in the world. Picture is courtesy of “peterjr1961”. Zoom in by clicking the “all sizes" command above the picture in Flickr.
Pisces appears here on a detail from a miniature zodiac, which is held today by the Vatican (Vaticanus graecus 1291).
The Picture is copied from Wikipedia entry: Byzantine art uploaded by “Javits2000”
Source: Ptolemy's Handy Tables
Dated from 813-820 C.E. (during the reign of Constantine V).
Center: Helios in his chariot identified by the Cross as Jesus.
12 naked female figures represent the hours.
12 dressed male figures (The Apostles) represent the twelve months.
Labels: month names in Greek
Zoom in by clicking the “All Sizes” command above this zodiac picture in Flickr.
The design of Merréll O'Brian's book cover shows that there is a connection between the zodiac and the six-pointed star. This is also the subject of my research
In this blog I emphasize the Christian zodiac.
Merréll O'Brian designed the Zodiac signs each on a separate Six pointed star on the cover of his book The Council of Twelve. He wrote to me that
The Son of EL whose star shown in the east and was calculated by the astrologers of Ba'al Hadad has a birth-chart in the shape of exactly a hexagram. It accounts of His birth on August 4th. He was a Leo. A Lion of the Tribe of Judah, specifically. You may find it on the Internet by searching for "Christ-star". I didn't name it. Please don't blame me.
Pisces name sign glyph and constellation appear on a Russian stamp issued on the 21st of April 2004.
Fish from early 3rd century C.E. appear on one of the most ancient Christian inscriptions found at the Vatican necropolis in Rome carrying the inscription: Ikhthus zōntōn ("fish of the living"); Tertullian (160–230 C.E.) referred to early Christians as pisciculi (“little fish”)
Picture is courtesy of Jastrow from Wikipedia (entry: Ichthys).
Pisces name sign and glyph on the wishing bridge at Jaffa, Israel
The founders of this bridge tell us that there’s an "ancient legend" telling that if you touch your Zodiac sign and make a wish while looking at the sea - your wish will come true. Can you believe that?
Picture is courtesy of “InfinitelyDigital” from Flickr
We live in the Age of Pisces, which started about 200 B.C.E. and is going to end soon.
Until recently, the Greek Hipparchus, was given the credit for discovering the procession of the equinoxes. This 25,920 cycle is the foundation for the Age of Pisces which by modern measurement puts each age as 2,160 years long… Schwaller de Lubicz showed that the Zodiac of Dendera in the Temple of Hathor (around 100 BC) was actually a time clock measurement that marked the procession of the equinoxes from the Age of Pisces back to the Age of Taurus which started in 4380 BC by his calculations. Schwaller estimated the Age of Pisces to begin near 60 B.C.E and the Age of Aquarius to begin at 2100 C.E.
Picture is courtesy of ”Bradipus” from Wikipedia (Image taken by Alex Lbh in April 2005 at the Temple of Denderah.
From Manly P. Hall’s The Secret Teachings Of All Ages, 1928, p. 55 (caption under the Tentyra drawing):
Pisces (Piscis) wall sculpture from Calella, Catalonia, Spain (50 kilometers north of Barcelona).
Picture is courtesy of ”gorgeoux” from Flickr.
Pisces astrological sign appears at the18th century Indian astronomical observatory in Delhi called Brihat Samrat Yantra.
Picture is courtesy of ”dizznan” from Flickr.
Pisces from Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, New York. sculptor Alfonso Ianelli (1888 - 1965) made this bronze relief medallion of Pisces along with the other signs on each of the twelve corners of the 1930s building.
Picture is courtesy of by “Michael_L” from Flickr
Pisces from an Art Gallery in the West Maui Mountains near Wailuku. Picture is courtesy of “theotherway” From Flickr.
Mnemonic From: Project Gutenberg An Alphabet Of Old Friends by Walter Crane
The Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins,
And next the Crab, the Lion shines,
The Virgin and the Scales.
The Scorpion, Archer, and the Goat,
The Man who holds the Watering Pot,
And Fish with glittering scales.
Pisces sign (with a connecting cord) picture is courtesy of Mary MacKay from North Carolina, USA, maryemackay@mac.com.
Mary wrote to me:
This photo was taken at the Fronteira Estate in Lisbon, Portugal. There are extensive gardens surrounding the historic mansion, and one area features azulejo (tile) images of the zodiac.
Pisces sign (with a connecting cord) Body Painting Picture is courtesy of “shia_redville” from Flickr.
John Kirk Robertson, D.D. wrote in his book The Aquarian Bible Of The Cosmic Christ (ISBN 0-9543605-1-6) that when you read in Hebrew Gad from left to right you get Dag, which means in Hebrew Fish or Pisces.
Diagram is courtesy of the author John Kirk Robertson, D.D.
John Kirk Robertson identifies:
1. Dan as Scorpio
2. Judah as Leo
3. Reuben as Aquarius
4. Ephraim (Manasseh) as Taurus
5. Asher as Virgo
6. Issachar as Capricorn
7. Simeon and Levy as Gemini
8. Naphtali as Cancer
9. Zebulon as Libra
10. Gad as Pisces
11. Benjamin as Aries
12. Joseph as Sagittarius
12. Joseph as Sagittarius
I found another source that contradicts the above mentioned identification, where Naphtali is identifies as pisces while, of course, all the other tribes have other identifications:
The standards of the tribes corresponded to the zodiacal signs of the constellations, so that in the east was the standard of Judah, with Issachar and Zebulun beside it, these three being opposite Aries, Taurus, and Gemini; in the south was the standard of Reuben, with Simeon and Gad, opposite Cancer, Leo, and Virgo; in the west was the standard of Ephraim, with Manasseh and Benjamin, opposite Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius; and in the north was the standard of Dan, with Asher and Naphtali, opposite Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces
From Yalkut Shimony, Exodus, 40:418 translated by Joseph Jacobs and Judah David Eisenstein Jewish Encyclopedia entry: zodiac
Yalkut Shimony is dated to the 13th century, but it contains sources that date to much earlier centuries. It is not clear when was written the paragraph quoted above.
Pisces and the other zodiacal signs surround the (Churchill?) sun above the entrance to Bracken House, London, UK. It reminds me of Stalin who was referred to as the Sun of the Nations. Which brings me to the idea that each one of us deserves to see his own portrait in the center of a zodiac as long as we live in a democracy…
Picture is courtesy of John Linwood from Flickr.
Pisces sign and glyph appear (bottom center) under the feet of Jupiter on 1539 drawing by German Northern Renaissance engraver Beham Sebald (1500-1550). Picture is courtesy of Yellow Lion from Wikimedia (entry Zodiac). Sebald was a pupil of Albrecht Durer in Nuremberg.
