Pisces (19 February - 20 March)
Symbolized by two fish perpetually chasing their tails, Pisces Writers are ruled by Neptune, AKA Poseidon, the god of spiked-seltzer waters, chlorine levels in heart-shaped swimming pools, and Rorschach-shaped ink stains on cable-knit sweaters.
Associated with the 12th House of the Zodiac, these writers embody subconscious motivations, psychology, and deep dreams.
Undoubtedly the Hufflepuff of the Zodiac, Pisces Writers draw inspiration from meeting new people and experiencing new places. Chuck Palahniuk’s (b. February 21, 1962) grotesquely satirical Fight Club was written while volunteering at hospice, John Steinbeck’s (b. February 27, 1902) Grapes of Wrath was based on tilling fields alongside migrant workers during the Great Depression, and Jack Kerouac’s (b. March 12, 1922) On the Road was born out of hitchhiking across the US.
Pisces Writers are prone to foot pains, perhaps from constantly negotiating the tightrope between fantasy and reality, and so, are likely to meander through passions in their youth.
Before Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s (b. March 6, 1927) 100 Years of Solitude popularized the genre of Magical Realism, the self-proclaimed “leftist” meandered early on, exploring law school before starting a successful career in journalism before quitting to explore his hidden passion.
Early-life indecision, wanderlust, and politics remain consistent themes in many Piscean stories. Along with Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius, Pisces is a Mutable Sign, meaning they wear many hats in the workplace, jumping from career to career until finding their true calling.
Like Marquez, Ralph Ellison’s (March 1, 1914) Invisible Man was a response to his disillusionment toward his local Marxist Party leaders. Before writing, Ellison was dissecting and rebuilding his mom’s radio, a passion for sound which led to playing trumpet in college, before dropping out to study sculpture.
This Piscean political tradition was already established by works of Victor Hugo’s (b. February 26, 1802) rebel-rousing Les Misérables, and W.E.B. Du Bois’s (b. February 23, 1868) call to peace, Souls of Black Folk.
Allegory is the standard weapon of choice for socially conscious Pisces. Steinbeck imbedded his common-man’s ecology into his stories, and Kerouac guided Counter-Culture Americans with his own brand of pidgin-Buddhism, and Dr. Suess (b. March 2, 1903) who went from creating propaganda for the U.S. Air Force to writing children’s books loaded with not-so-subtle themes of environmental protections, racial equality, anti-consumerism, and anti-authoritarianism.
As perhaps the most watery of water signs, Pisces Writers are intuitive to the point of prognostication. Too often it’s a dark vision in their crystal balls: whether in William Gibson’s (b. March 17, 1948) cyber-punk dystopia, Neuromancer, Lois Lowry’s (b. March 20, 1937) bittersweet futurism, The Giver, or Anthony Burgess’s (b. February 17, 1917) proto-punk rock opera, A Clockwork Orange.
As a negative yin sign, these writers prefer alone time to recharge their social batteries, despite always being the life of the party. As the Hufflepuff of the Zodiac, they absorb negativity like dehumidifiers, sometimes resorting to self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to cope.
Dreary as reality can be for them, Pisces Writers are ever the idealists, putting to paper their envisioned utopias. Naturally wise, and altruistic, they are bound to write moving stories, heavy with meaning. Given they can stop day-dreaming their youth away, resist self-medicating and partying, and set to work.
Notable Pisces Writers:
Anais Nin, b. 2/21/1903
Edward Gorey, b. 2/22/1925
John Updike, b. 3/18/1932
Philip Roth, b. 3/19/1933
Amy Tan, b. 2/19/1952
Jeffrey Eugenides, b. 3/8/1960
David Foster Wallace, b. 2/21/1962
Bret Easton Ellis, b. 3/7/1964
Khaled Hosseini, b. 3/4/1965
-Forest Oliver