Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/431

Rh the month of Pisces was represented by two star groups, one called "the Terrace of the Granaries" or "the Doves," a name also given to the Pleiades. This group was figured as a kind of net with numerous meshes. For some unexplained reason the Pleiades seem to have been associated with this sign in the Orient. The other Peruvian asterism was called "Pichu," the Knot, by which name the month was also known, and it was represented by a net enclosing fishes. The connection between Pisces and the Pleiades is emphasised by the analogy in the idea of snaring as applied to both birds and fishes, and Tennyson, though probably unaware of it, expresses the idea in his reference to the Pleiades, when he likens them to "fire-flies tangled in a silver braid."

In the Hebrew zodiac Pisces represented the tribe of Simeon, and the Fishes were considered the national constellation of the Jews, as well as a tribal symbol.

Dr. Seiss considers that the Fishes symbolise "the Two-foldness of the Church," while Schiller thought the figure represented St. Matthias.

In astrology Pisces is the House of Jupiter and the Exaltation of Venus. Those born from Feb. 19th to March 20th are its natives. They are supposed to be short, thick-set, pale, and round shouldered, with characters phlegmatic and effeminate.

It governs the feet and reigns over Portugal, Spain, Egypt, Normandy, Calabria, etc.

It is a feminine sign and unfortunate. "No sign," says Burritt, "appears to have been considered of more malignant influence than Pisces. The astrological calendar describes the emblems of this constellation as indicative of violence and death. Both the Syrians and Egyptians abstained from eating fish, out of dread and abhorrence, and when the latter would represent anything as odious or express hatred by hieroglyphics, they painted a fish."

The 26th Hindu lunar station lay in this sign, and