Pisces Zodiac Sign: Dates, Traits and Personality

The Pisces zodiac sign spans birthdays from February 19 to March 20, give or take a few hours at either end depending on the year. It is the twelfth and last sign, a mutable water sign ruled by Jupiter in the classical tradition and by Neptune in modern astrology. Pisces season closes out winter and ends at the March equinox, when the Sun starts the zodiac over again in Aries. The zodiac guide shows the whole cycle; here the fish get a page to themselves.

Fact	Pisces
Usual dates	February 19 to March 20
Sun enters Pisces, 2026	February 18, 10:52 a.m. ET
Sun leaves Pisces, 2026	March 20, 10:46 a.m. ET
Element	Water
Modality	Mutable
Ruler	Jupiter (classical), Neptune (modern)
Opposite sign	Virgo
Symbol	Two fish

Pisces dates and the 2026 edges

In 2026 Pisces season started a day ahead of the printed table. The Sun entered Pisces on February 18 at 10:52 a.m. EST, 15:52 UTC. A birth on February 18, 2026, before 10:52 a.m. Eastern is Aquarius; from 10:52 a.m. on, it is Pisces.

The clocks changed partway through the season, since daylight saving time began on March 8. So the end is given in EDT: the Sun left Pisces at the March equinox, March 20 at 10:46 a.m. EDT. A birth on March 20 before 10:46 a.m. Eastern is still Pisces, and one after it is Aries, so tables that give all of March 20 to Pisces miss the change that day. Those minutes come from the NovaOracles astronomy engine, stated in Eastern time. Other years and time zones shift these moments, so the zodiac sign dates tool is the quickest check for a birthday near the edge.

Water, mutable, with two rulers

Cancer and Scorpio come first among the water signs, and Pisces completes the group. Water is the element of feeling and empathy in the tradition. The mutable modality belongs to signs that close a season, and in Pisces it closes the whole zodiac, so tradition reads the sign as a place where boundaries soften and everything that came before is gathered in.

Jupiter, the planet of faith and generosity, ruled Pisces in classical astrology, and it also rules Sagittarius. After Neptune was found in 1846, modern astrologers made it Pisces' co-ruler and linked the sign to dreams, music, spirituality and the dissolving of limits. The opposite sign is Virgo. Virgo draws clear lines and fixes what is broken, Pisces blurs the lines and accepts what is, and the axis runs between service through skill and service through compassion. The symbol shows two fish tied by a cord and swimming in opposite directions, and the glyph ♓ draws them as two arcs joined by a line.

Pisces traits: empathy and its limits

Tradition describes Pisces as the most porous of the signs. The fish are said to pick up the moods of the people around them, to feel with others quickly, and to meet the world with imagination. Compassion comes easily, and so does a love of music, art and stories. A Pisces is often the person a stranger ends up confiding in on a long train ride.

The same openness has limits. When everything flows in, it is hard to hold boundaries, and tradition names escapism, drifting and avoiding hard conversations as the Pisces shadow. Saying yes to everyone can leave little room for oneself. The two fish pulling in different directions are sometimes read as that inner tug between the practical world and the dreaming one. Hold these ideas lightly and see what applies. Your sign rests only on the date and time of your birth.

Pisces in love and compatibility

In love, tradition sees Pisces as romantic, devoted and generous, ready to give a great deal to the person it loves. What the fish need back is gentleness and someone who will keep them grounded without mocking the dreams.

The other water signs are read as the natural match. Cancer and Pisces share tenderness and a love of home, and Scorpio and Pisces share depth and intuition. Virgo and Pisces is the opposite-sign pairing, practicality and imagination each supplying what the other lacks. For a reading of two specific people, the compatibility calculator compares both full charts.

Pisces at work

At work, the fish tend to thrive where imagination or care is the job. Tradition names music, film, the visual arts, counseling, nursing and charity work. A Pisces colleague often senses the mood of a team before anyone speaks and brings a creative angle to tired problems. Cold, purely numbers-driven workplaces with harsh deadlines wear the fish out.

The Sun in Pisces and the rest of your chart

A Pisces Sun is the start of the story. The Moon sign adds your emotional needs and the rising sign, which depends on your exact birth time and place, adds the face you show at first meeting. A Pisces with an Aries rising may come across as direct and fast before the softness shows. To see all three together, use the big three tool, and for the ascendant alone, the rising sign calculator.

Pisces follows Aquarius and closes the circle before Aries begins it again.