Pisces tattoo ideas, meaning and designs
Pisces runs from February 19 to March 20. The symbol is two fish tied together and swimming in opposite directions, which is the whole idea.
- Western dates: February 19 to March 20.
- Symbol: two fish tied by a cord, swimming in opposite directions.
- Glyph: two facing curves joined by a horizontal bar.
- Element water, ruled by Neptune in modern astrology and by Jupiter in the traditional system.
- Brightest star: Alpherg, magnitude 3.6, so the constellation is faint.
- Fomalhaut, magnitude 1.2, is often linked with the fish but belongs to Piscis Austrinus, a separate constellation.
- DatesFeb 19 to March 20
- Element and planetWater, Neptune or Jupiter
- Glyph size2 to 5 cm
- Studio cost$90 to $900
The glyph is two curves facing away from each other joined by a horizontal bar. That bar is the cord, and it is the part people leave out when they draw the sign from memory. Without it the mark reads as two brackets, so keep it crossing both curves rather than floating between them.
The two fish version is one of the better zodiac images to tattoo, because the circular composition of two fish head to tail fits a shoulder, a hip or a thigh without any forcing. Koi are a common substitute and they carry a separate meaning from a different tradition, which some people like and some find muddled.
What people want from a Pisces tattoo
The traits attached to Pisces are empathy, imagination, a soft boundary between self and everyone else, and a tendency to escape. The two fish carry all of that in one image, which is why this sign gets asked for as a picture more often than as a glyph. The cord matters: two fish without it are just fish.
Water is the obvious companion and it is worth using sparingly. A full wave behind two fish gives an artist a lot to draw and gives the ink a lot to do, and after fifteen years the fish can disappear into the background. Keep the water suggested and let the fish hold the piece.
The glyph, the two fish and the real sky
Draw the bar. The glyph is two curves opening away from each other with a horizontal line through both, and that line is the cord that ties the fish together. Many small versions on wrists have a floating bar that touches neither curve, which is an easy thing to check on the stencil and impossible to fix later without a cover up.
The constellation is faint and spread out. Alpherg, the brightest, is magnitude 3.6, and the recognizable feature is the Circlet, a small ring of stars marking one fish's head, with two long chains running out to a corner point. Fomalhaut, the bright star people associate with fish, sits in Piscis Austrinus and is not part of Pisces at all.
Ways people build it
- Glyph alone with a clear crossing bar, 2 to 4 cm, wrist or ankle
- Two fish in a circular arrangement, 10 to 20 cm, shoulder, hip or thigh
- The Circlet with the two star chains, 15 cm or more, spine or ribs
- Two koi in Japanese style, 20 cm and up, upper arm or back
- Glyph set inside a thin circle, minimalist, 5 to 8 cm
Size, placement and pain
The glyph takes a shop minimum of $90 to $150 and sits on the inner wrist at about 4 out of 10 for pain, behind the ear at 5, or the back of the arm at 3. Two fish in a circle want 10 to 20 cm and a rounded surface, which makes the shoulder, the hip and the outer thigh the natural choices.
The hip is worth calling out. It takes a circular composition beautifully and it hurts, around 7 out of 10 near the bone, with a healing period that clothing waistbands make harder than most spots. The constellation is long and thin, so the spine, ribs or forearm suit it at 15 cm or more.
Styles that suit it, and how it ages
Japanese influenced work handles two fish better than any other style, since the tradition has centuries of practice at drawing them. Fine line suits the glyph. Watercolor is popular on this sign and it is the least durable choice, with pale washes usually wanting a touch up between year eight and year twelve.
Scales and fins are what age. Scales under 2 mm merge into grey, and fin rays drawn as many thin parallel lines close up the same way. Ask for fewer, larger scales and for fins suggested with three or four strokes rather than twelve. Then take the design to a licensed artist who will size the detail to the spot you have chosen.
12 Pisces tattoo designs, with the prompt behind each one
Every design below came out of AI Tattoo Lab. Tap one to load its prompt into the generator, then change a word and make it yours.
The Pisces constellation as a tall column of stars, fine line, no shading
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The Pisces glyph inside a lace medallion with scrolls and pearls
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Two fish swimming opposite ways in solid black with negative space scales
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A pair of fish leaping over a cresting wave, old school color
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A single fish in close detail with realistic scales, black and grey
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The Pisces glyph built from geometric lines inside a thin circle
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A crescent moon above two small fish, dotwork stippling only
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Two fish drawn in one continuous single line forming an oval
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A fish breaking the water beside a compass rose, vintage engraving
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An ornate fish holding a pearl framed by a lotus, neo traditional
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Two small fish swimming through scattered stars, watercolor splashes
Use this promptDescribe an idea of your own and get four designs back in about 20 seconds.
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Questions people ask
What are the Pisces dates?
February 19 to March 20 in the common western system, with the boundaries moving by roughly a day between years. Anyone born on the edge can have an astrologer check their birth time before choosing a sign. For a tattoo it only matters if you are having the date inked alongside the symbol.
Is Fomalhaut part of Pisces?
No, and it is a common mix up. Fomalhaut is magnitude 1.2 and bright enough to spot easily, but it belongs to Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, which is a separate constellation. Pisces itself is faint, with Alpherg topping out at magnitude 3.6, so no single star anchors the pattern.
Why are the two Pisces fish tied together?
The cord belongs to the symbol. The two fish swim in opposite directions while still attached, which is the image astrologers use for a mind pulled two ways. Leaving the cord out changes the design into two fish, and plenty of artists will ask before drawing it that way.
Can I use koi for a Pisces tattoo?
Plenty of people do. Koi come from a Japanese tradition with their own meanings around perseverance and going upstream, so the piece ends up carrying two sets of symbolism. Some people like that. If you want it to read clearly as the sign, keep the cord and the opposite directions.
What does a Pisces tattoo cost?
A glyph is a shop minimum, $90 to $150 in most of the United States. Two fish in fine line at 10 to 15 cm run $250 to $450. A dotwork constellation is $250 to $400, and two detailed koi in Japanese style at 20 cm or more can reach $600 to $900.