She was far too pretty to cringe in this way, but Peter
thought it his due, and he would answer condescendingly,
"It is good. Peter Pan has spoken."
Naturally, not every Pisces woman actually cringes under the commands of a Leo husband or lover, but most of them do have at least a healthy respect for the Lion and are not overly anxious to court his roar, including those girl Fish with the Moon or Mars in Aries. Yes, including even the female Whale-type Pisceans. Regarding the latter, it's not so much fear which motivates them to tread carefully, but the strong determination to avoid at all costs an exhausting scene - all that dramatic yelling and frigid pouting, by turns, which is the normal result when the Lion feels the sharp thorn of disrespect in his paw.
The typical (non-Whale type) Pisces woman who is involved with a Leo male intuitively knows she must submit to His Highness. She knows it, never mind what she says - and never mind the advice she gets from well-meaning friends to "stand up to him once and for all." Pisces is too wise in the ways of the human heart to use methods that could only alienate affection.
Consider Anna, the English schoolteacher who so successfully challenged the King of Siam. Perhaps she was a Fish with Mars-in-Aries, since she fought so hard to hold her own with the arrogant, yet warmly generous Leonine monarch.But little good that did her, on the surface of it, at least, in her repeated confrontations with His Leonine Majesty. Secretly, the King admired her spunkiness. Nonetheless, he remained in control of their relationship until the very end. One needs more than spunk to handle royalty. One needs to sense, as probable-Pisces Anna clearly did, the touching vulnerability peeking out from behind Leo's sometimes pathetic need to command. I always weep buckets at the end of the film (or book) when the dying Leo Monarch commands that Anna bow down to him in abject worship and respect, like one of his own subjects,even while his heart reaches out to her through his eyes. And she did bow. Yes,Anna was surely a Pisces, with Mars-in-Aries. She kept her dignity, but she understood how it was with the proud man she loved. She submitted.
The Lion is a great sentimentalist, an incurable romanticist. Only a Taurus Bull can be more sentimental, more romantic than Leo. And so the smitten Cat may initially be seduced into worshipful submission himself by the impact of the Pisces female's sheer femininity. But it's only a temporary capitulation.He'll never give up the throne permanently, nor willingly relinquish the golden scepter. That goes for the Shy Pussycat Leo types as well as the roaring Lions.They can be pushed - or led - just so far. Then they pounce.
It pays to keep in mind that Leo is a Fire Sign, Pisces a Water Sign, and as I point out in the chapter "The Elements," in the back section of this book, Fire secretly fears that Water can put it out. No matter how much Leo may attemptto lord it over the Pisces woman he loves, the inner trepidation that she may "dampen" his fiery enthusiasm remains, and it's just as true in reverse. The Water Sign Pisces senses it can be dehydrated by too much Fire. If the love between these two lasts, it will eventually settle into a feeling of respect which will be mutual, as with all Fire-Water combinations, since each knows the other can destroy his or her own essence. However, on an emotional level, place your bets on the Big Cat to remain the one in charge, on the surface anyway.
Seldom will this woman attempt to lead or push a man. She's more likely to persuade softly, insistently, with subtle flattery. If that doesn't work, she may resort to aloof silence suggestive of hidden hurt, which can drive the more openhearted Leo male into furies of frustration. She'd best stick with the subtle flattery,or there will be some fiery rages and watery tears.
A Lion tends to idealize his love partner beyond anything short of a goddess,then expects her to live up to his image. It's difficult for him to recognize his mate as a distinct and individual personality. Instead, he considers her a reflection of himself, glamourized as his ideal, sometimes causing her to despair of ever being able to remain on the pedestal where he placed her. What if he should notice her clay feet? Only a Scorpio or an Aries male can expect as much from a woman as a Leo.
Like all Fire Signs, Leo is dramatic and usually possesses the fortunate ability to express his feelings verbally with great flair and gusto. Pisces doesn't find it nearly so easy to express herself, and after trying repeatedly she may give up and take the path of least resistance - escape. Under continuous disapproval or severe emotional pressure, Pisces tends to simply disappear. Many a Lion has glanced around after an arrogant lecture to see if his trembling victim has been properly humbled and chastised - only to face an empty space where the Girl Fish had been sitting and cowering with a patient smile. Where did she go?
She went away. Far, far away.
I know a Leo in Ohio, whose bright, gentle Pisces wife finally could not bear one more Leonine lecture, so she regretfully and tearfully decided to leave (although she still loved him dearly) in the interest of self-survival. She was in New York and had started divorce proceedings hardly before he realized she was gone.
What distressed the Lion nearly as much as the loss of his pretty, admiring,feminine "subject" (whom he sincerely loved) was the humiliating realization that she hadn't sought his wise counsel nor asked his advice before taking such a serious step. It was impossible not to be touched by his very real agony. No one can be more pathetic than a wounded Lion whose adoring mate has deserted him, as he nurses his hurt pride, sad . . . lonely and truly broken-hearted . . . trying so desperately not to show it. He missed her more than he thought she guessed. He was wrong, of course. Being a Pisces, she knew the pain he'd suffer,and it caused her pain too the knowing. Typically, the Lion wasn't alone for long. His girl Fish was, after a respectable interval of time, replaced by a long line of female worshipers who sought his warm, protective shoulder and heart to lean against.
Somehow, though, his close friends could see it wasn't quite the same. His dainty, dark-haired Piscean wife contained the lovely Neptune blend of intelligence,wit, gentleness, and compassion, woven through with the golden threads of her honest admiration and respect for her Lion - an admiration and respect that kept overlooking his foibles until, finally, she could take no more.
Never mind all the fleeting romances afterward. I found myself still hoping his lost Fish would swim back into his arms again. You see how Leos are? They manage to get your sympathy, even when they don't deserve it. My earnest wish for the miracle of happiness for the lost and lonely Lion in this case, however,was granted in an unexpected way, not through reconciliation with his Neptune lady. Abracadabra - magic! He found another tiny, dainty, dark-haired woman with, strangely, an almost identical blend of wit, intelligence, gentleness,and compassion - also woven through with the golden threads of honest admiration and respect for his talents, character, and potential. No mere shadow of
his former love, but a vibrant and beautiful sunbeam herself, individually . . . she quietly, softly stole into his life . . . and finally into his heart... to heal all the old scars.
Let's hope he learned his lesson, for he's a warm and lovable Big Cat, with a smile that lights up your heart and simply bushels of both courage and creativity.He's earned, through deep sorrow, love's grace of a lasting peace and contentment and always a little spice of challenge too, without which Leos would really pine away! His new lady is clearly capable of providing all of that - and then some. As for his lively, yet tender, girl Fish of long, long ago... she also has floated into bright new waters, and is happily splashing around in rainbow streaked streams of a new promise for tomorrow.
Happy endings are so beautiful. We should all say a prayer that every sad Lion who has lost his Piscean mate through unthinking arrogance and pride is given by the wise stars an equally fortunate chance at acquiring humility... the lesson Pisces teaches so well - and Leo needs so much to learn. Or, let's hope that this chapter warns the Leo-Pisces lovers or mates reading it to open up their hearts in time . . . if it's still not too late for his Sun and her Neptune to begin singing their song in harmony.
One area where there may not be so much conflict between these two is sleeping. Those who study such matters claim the Nature lion sleeps seventeen hours out of each twenty-four. Nearly the same claim might be made for human Lions. As for Pisces, she isn't exactly the type to rise at dawn either. They both like their shut-eye. So the alarm clock will rarely be a cause of contention between them, especially when saying good morning is usually a tender prelude to lovemaking, as it frequently is with these two. Not just a prelude - but quite likely also an echoing chord of the same romantic music of the night before.
Pisces represents the eighth house of sex (among other things) to Leo, sothe Lion tends to find the Girl Fish unusually appealing at first sight. The vibration can also cause surrender almost at first sight; then later he may begin to wonder. The phrase "cold fish" did not creep into the language without reason.A fish in Nature is, after all, not a warm- or hot-blooded creature. This is not to say the Pisces woman is frigid - only that she may not quite match the passionate fervor of the Lion as consistently as the Lion would like - or demand. But Leo must mix sensuality with romance in sexual blending, and the Girl Fish will supply plenty of romance. She can bring to their intimate moments a mystical,transcendental quality.
Sexual jealousy is common between mates and lovers of this combination.The typical Pisces lady is a bit of a flirt, and a Lion, of course, roars mightily at the slightest hint that a rival may have an eye on the mate in his lair. She, however,will be expected to overlook any minor indiscretions of his, instigated by his vanity and his need for admiration.
Pisces females range from the outright promiscuous type - to the naive,trusting, and devoted wife, totally and forever faithful to one man. Neither is there any doubt that Leo males range from Casanova types who boast of several new sexual conquests per week - to the noble Leonine husband wife on a pedestal and remains as true and loyal as King Arthur himself. Which reminds m e . . . while King Arthur was being faithful, Guinevere was making eyes at Lancelot, wasn't she? I mean to say that the Lion and the Fish should both be very sure of the measure of their devotion before making any long-term commitments. Unfaithfulness will outrage the Lion and deeply hurt the Fish.
Yet, unlike Aries and Scorpio, anything less than literal adultery may be tolerated by these two. A Pisces woman and a Leo man will usually be able to cope with mild flirtations, whereas, for example, a Ram or an Eagle of either sex considers an intimate smile across the room as painful an act of disloyalty as actual physical infidelity.
Both Pisces and Leo are capable of treating love as a high spiritual exaltation or as an emotion to be degraded by casual affairs - because love itself is so important to each of them. How they react to its importance is often unpredictable.Piscean women can be nuns or prostitutes, swingers or sweet wives, almost too good to be true. Leo men run about the same gamut of possibilities. In summary, the subject of faithfulness is one the Lion and the Fish should clear up through honest discussion before they become deeply involved.
The Pisces female longs for and needs complete emotional fusion and a sense of mystical unity in the sexual consummation of love, together with a hint of mystery. The Leo man seeks more tangible fulfillment - warmth, affection,and passion. He needs sentimental verbal expression, both before and after lovemaking. Excessive spoken communication is not, however, always synonomous with a Neptune woman's idea of love's mystery . . . so the degree of harmony and happiness this man and woman reach together will depend a lot on the sign position of the Moon in each chart. If her Moon is in a Fire Sign, his in a Water Sign - or if both their Moons are in the same sign of any element,they'll probably understand and be able to fulfill one another's desires ideally.Otherwise, they'll need some patience and tolerance.
Both the Lion and the Fish need emotional (not necessarily geographical) freedom - great, fresh scoops of it. The more of this treasured gift they give generously to each other, the closer they'll come together. But freedom must always be accompanied by both trust and faithfulness - or it becomes merely escape on one side and terrible torture on the other. A search 'round the globe never fails to end where it began, for the world itself is round. Love travels in a circle too, if it's true love . . . which is, after all, the only kind you really miss when it goes away . . . and promises to return.
