This week’s question comes from Crystal in Portland, OR:

I had a Pisces friend who was cheating with a guy at the office while she was married to a good friend of my husband and me (I don’t speak to her anymore because of it). My sister-in-law is a Pisces, and she was cheating on her husband, too. A couple of years ago, a woman was hitting on my husband. She was a Pisces. Pisces women cheat and lie. What’s up with this?

Pat’s response:

Crystal, I have to admit that I laughed when I read your question. One certainly would jump to that conclusion, given your experience. However, an empirical sample of three isn’t enough to brand all Pisces women with a scarlet letter.

What we can say about Pisces in general is that there can be a tendency toward situational ethics that drives other signs nuts, especially those that need firm rules and boundaries, like Capricorn and Leo. Neptune, the modern ruler of Pisces, is the planet of dreams, illusion, and delusion. Yes, there can be a certain amount of deception, but it’s usually not a deliberate intent to mislead or deceive.

Pisces often sees the bigger picture, which means they may have a different value system than society at large. This is not a gender-specific trait, and it can apply to Pisces, Rising Pisces, or anyone with strong Pisces or Neptunian influence in their chart. I recently met a man with Neptune on the Ascendant who told me a flat-out lie and was mortally offended when I called him on it. I truly believe he didn’t think he was lying.

That said, Pisces and people with strong Pisces in their charts can get away with lying like no other sign. They are so charming and sincere that you believe them without question. Anyone with this astrological “gift” who does want to cover up something will do so brilliantly. You probably don’t want that kind within a nautical mile of your husband.

Neith’s response:

I agree with Pat, Crystal. While your experience with Pisces women may suggest they are the sirens of the zodiac, there are plenty of others who say the same thing about Gemini, Scorpio, Leo, etc. It may have more to do with what’s going on in your chart to draw this type of situation to you.

Pisces people and those with a strong Neptune influence in their charts tend to be romantics and often more enamored with the idea of romance than the reality. There is a great deal of truth to them seeing life and love through rose-colored glasses.

Another factor to be considered with the Neptune-ruled is how easy it is to project expectations and illusions onto them. Behaviors they see as just being friendly can be misconstrued as flirting. Most people with a strong Pisces influence in their charts tend to be kind and sympathetic sorts and genuinely caring people. The caveat is this is often a less personal and more general expression of caring. Neptune is the higher octave of Venus and deals with compassion rather than passion, but it’s easy to confuse the two when the lovely Pisces lady you are talking to at a party is apparently hanging on your every word.

My recommendation if you find yourself falling for a Neptune type is to get a second opinion from a dispassionate third party. It’s a whole lot easier to see what’s going on from the outside looking in!

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