Pisces is the most mysterious and extraordinary of all the signs. It is the last one of the Zodiac and as such is said to contain the total experience of all of the other 11 signs. This is a bizarre astrological claim but then Pisceans do not operate in the same way that the rest of us do.
This accumulated experience is largely unconscious but the Piscean’s sensitivity and receptiveness allows them to access the collective unconscious in a way that seems incomprehensible to everyone else. Its equally unfathomable for the Piscean themselves as they don’t seem know how its done or whether to place any reliability on these sensations and perceptions. This is why many people with the sign strong live in a state of vagueness and confusion. There are just too many things that occur to them that are not explainable.
One man who typified this Piscean quality was the American mystic Edgar Cayce who was known as “The Sleeping Prophet.” While in a sleep state he could discuss history, geology, metaphysics, philosophy and medicine. He gave approximately 30,000 life-readings and medical diagnosis to people during his lifetime.
One of the most important rulerships of Pisces is of sleep and dreams.
In true Piscean fashion, Cayce had no idea how he did it. In fact, some of the metaphysical material that came through in his sleep was at first confusing and distressing to him in his waking state.
It must be said that Cayce was no ordinary Pisces, he had 4 planets in the sign including a close conjunction between Mercury, Venus and Saturn in the 8th house.
The 8th house is the most difficult house to interpret. It is traditionally the house of sex and death but its really more to do with depth experience. It is about the powerful unconscious motivations of mankind. To have such a strong conjunction in Pisces in the 8th house, indicates the ability to reach deep unconscious levels during sleep, to tap into the collective.
Cayce’s Sun is at the end of Pisces showing an even greater capacity to assimilate and collect the experience of all that has gone before. It is also in the 9th house, showing the reason for his incarnation. The 9th house is the place of higher learning, of understanding and wisdom. It is the house of religion and the need to explore the meaning of life. The Sun in Pisces here means that all of the collective impressions gained would be focused on the need to understand the nature of the Universe.
Pisceans are usually humble, compassionate creatures. Their acute sensitivity helps them empathise with others because they can feel what they are going through. They are generally not egotistical or arrogant because they recognise that their perceptions do not really come from themselves.
Throughout his life, Cayce claimed no special abilities and did not capitalize financially or otherwise on his gifts. Though Cayce was a devout Christian his readings never offered a set of beliefs. The underlying principle of the readings is the oneness of all life, acceptance of all people, and a compassion and understanding for every major religion in the world.
The real reason for Pisces having these intuitions and visions is because the sign is meant to be a healer. Cayce began giving readings in as a “psychic diagnostician ” and most of the requests for his services were health related.
The extent of his Piscean impact was shown by his Moon / Neptune conjunction. Neptune is the ruler of Pisces and the principle of penetration into the intangible, invisible realms. The Moon is the principle of receptivity so to have this conjunction at the very top of his chart shows how it would dominate his life and his career.
Cayce’s Moon / Neptune conjunction was in the stable Taurus which is probably just as well in order to give him some grounding but also to ensure that his sleep visions would be used for practical purposes.
Its also the case that the Moon will say something about our roots and our relationship with our parents. With the Moon in the Earth sign of Taurus, Edgar Cayce was born to uneducated farming parents.
It may seem odd that Saturn was such a strong part of Cayce’s Piscean 8th house conjunction. Saturn’s role in a chart is ultimately as a teacher. It will place obstructions and limitations on us in order to force us towards personal growth and to live our life in a constructive way. Its often the case, that people miss this planet’s purpose and only see it as a frustrating hindrance but ultimately no real growth can come without the suffering and self abnegation of Saturn.
For Edgar Cayce, this required a giving up of his conscious self, the thing that separated him from everything else, in order to be of service to mankind.
In an extraordinary symbolic episode, Cayce was pronounced dead ( 8th house ) from drowning ( Pisces ) but recovered in 1888 when Saturn was conjunct his Ascendant and square his Moon.
His first experience came in 1890 at the age of 13, with Saturn opposite it’s own position and the Mercury / Venus in Pisces in the 8th house. Under this transit he had a spiritual vision where a lady bathed in light told him to sleep with his head on his books, and then he would be able to remember what was in them. Up to this point he had struggled with his education, afterwards he showed signs of special abilities when he found that he could sleep on his school books and have photographic recall of every page.
Inevitably as it was conjunct his career point, the Midheaven at birth, it was Neptune’s transit that set him on his way in his peculiar vocation. It was square his Sun in 1901 when he gave his first psychic reading under hypnosis and realised that he could give accurate medical diagnoses and healing recommendations for himself and for other people.
The real watershed of his life however came when Pluto was square his Sun from 1910 – 14. At this stage Cayce was receiving a great deal of publicity, particularly as a result of a New York Times article.
In 1911, Cayce’s 2nd son Milton died barely six weeks old. Cayce was unable to save him but his wife Gertrude, weakened with grief, became ill with tuberculosis, was cured by following the recommendations in her husband’s readings for her.
An extraordinary thing about his family was that they all had an extremely strong Piscean emphasis.
Gertrude Cayce had the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in the sign in the house of Pisces, the 12th. She generally guided her husband’s readings which was very appropriate given that she had a T square based on her Pisces Sun and Mercury in opposition to Uranus which focused on Mars in Gemini. Her job was to communicate ( Mars in Gemini ) the unusual ( Uranus ) visions ( Sun in Pisces ).
Edgar Cayce’s first son Hugh was also deeply engaged in his father’s work and continued it after his death. He also wrote over 30 books about his father and his readings.
In a powerful reflection of the significant features of his father’s chart, Hugh had a conjunction of the Sun, Mercury and Saturn in Pisces in the 8th house. This conjunction was the apex of a T square showing that the main thrust of his life would be to continue his father’s work.
Even Milton, the baby that died had the Moon in Pisces.
This Moon was also connected to the 8th house but in a very different way. The Moon was in the 5th house of children in square to Pluto in the 8th house of death.
Sadly Capricorn research has a collection of 310 babies that tragically died in infancy. The most common house positions for these two planets are the Moon in the 5th with 132% and Pluto in the 8th with 139% of the expected frequency.
In such a short life there is no time for any of the planets to make significant new transits apart from the Moon but on the 17th May 1911 when Milton died, the Moon was opposite his 8th house Pluto.
Cayce’s 3rd son Edgar Evans has no birth time available. He was not a Pisces but there is no evidence of him being involved in the family work.
Edgar Cayce died in 1945 with Pluto conjunct his Ascendant and square his Moon. A few hours before dying, he roused from his sleep and said, “How much the world needs God today.”
Thanks to a powerful Piscean emphasis, Edgar Cayce enabled the world to have as much access to God as possible during his lifetime.
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As Edgar Cayce’s own readings on himself indicated, he was much more Uranian than Piscean–an extremist who tended to go to extremes in various aspects of his life, and could be very good, or at times, rather negative, but was rarely in between, balanced, or moderate. He tried hard to choose the good though, as he had high ideals and was an “older soul”. But he was far from being any kind of idealistic Piscean saint. Cayce’s wife, Gertrude (also a Pisces), was in many ways, rather un Piscean like btw.
I’ve studied the readings and Cayce’s life quite a bit, and came to the conclusion that Cayce had a fairly high accuracy rate as a psychic in most areas.
Related to another one of your topics, Cayce’s source indicated that “Jesus”, was born relatively close to Christmas time. There are 3 main readings that I know that deal with the subject. It’s a bit confusing, because in one earlier reading, it was for and during a life reading of a woman who had been a Jew during that time–and so it was from that perspective, and they said he was born in March (from her Jewish perspective then).
Then later, when asked by Tom Sugrue, the source answered his birth was at the time of what would be today called January 6th, and in another reading someone asked about the discrepancy of the two given dates and was told that calendars and reckonings have changed and the info was given relative to that. In a reading they stated not far from Christmas time (which Jan. 6th isn’t).
The looks that Cayce’s describe for Jesus (not typically Hebraic looking for the times), indicate that Leo Rising is likely. Also that his mother and his “Twin Soul” Mary, was an Aquarius Sun. Opposite Sun to Rising signs are fairly common in very close relationships. I share this same synastric inter aspect with my wife, whom also is my “Twin Soul”.
But time and time again, Cayce’s source tended to down play the roles of Signs, and emphasized time and time again, the importance of highlighted Planetary strengths, and occasionally Stellar indications (particularly Arcturus).
In my own work, observations, and intuitions, I’ve come to see Signs as most indicative of general outer life patterns, rather than deep character tendencies and the like as often ascribed. For example, very strong Virgo indications tend to indicate various life patterns like emphasis on diet, health/illness, jobs, etc in the life rather than having a certain Virgonian character or personality.
I’m much better described by Jupiter, which is in the 1st, conjunct the traditional ruler of the 4th (an Angle), very strongly aspected to key Planets and to the MC– than I am by Capricorn, of which I have Sun and Mercury in. But, there are and have been Capricorn patterns in my life.
Interestingly, this whole emphasis on Signs, is mostly a fairly recent and modern development. Many different ancient astrologers, for many centuries, much like Cayce’s source, put more emphasis on Planetary positions relative to the Ascendant and MC.
The only scientific study which have lent credence to astrology, was also based on Planetary positions relative to the Angles.
In my Jupitarian directness and sincerity (doubly emphasized by having a less than 1 degree of separation trine between Mercury and Jupiter), you’re focusing too much on Signs, which as in astrology in reality, is often more like a diffuse backdrop.
Thanks for your observations Justin. Its interesting that you say I focus too much on the signs, whereas most people who comment say I focus too much on aspects and not enough on signs.
My own view is that the last century has given the psychology of the signs overwhelming coverage, due to horoscope columns and that it has got out of balance.
My take on Edgar Cayce was based not so much on the fact that he was a Sun Pisces, but also on the fact that he had a Mercury / Venus / Saturn conjunction in that sign in the 8th house, together with a Moon / Neptune conjunction.
You may be right when you say that you see ” signs as most indicative of general outer life patterns, rather than deep character tendencies ” I didn’t know Cayce personally so could not comment on his character through first hand knowledge. The general pattern of his life and what is currently most known about him however fits the Pisces / 8th house narrative very well.
As for Jesus, well billions of people throughout history have all been convinced that he was born on Xmas Day. Surely they can’t all be wrong, can they ?
Regards
CC