The Fish That Is Pittsburgh
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Astrological Analysis |
You may recall the 1979 Warner Brothers’ movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. In the movie, Julius Erving, “Dr. J,” captains a rag-tag Pittsburgh NBA team. Mired in a long losing streak, the team’s consulting astrologer advises them to replace all the players except Dr. J, who happens to be born under the sign of Pisces. Naturally, all new players must also be born under the sign of Pisces in order to magically affect an astral synchronization that would assure a victorious season.
The film’s premise was sophomoric, of course; living in harmony with one’s astrology chart, however, is not. The city of Pittsburgh was born under the sign of Pisces, having been incorporated in Harrisburg on March 18th, 1816 at 1:48 PM. A rather complex set of images is revealed for this Pisces town of seeming contradictions. Approaching its 189th birthday, the chart for Pittsburgh portrays a fascinating yet paradoxical combination of traits with themes of passion vs. light-heartedness, creative openness vs. rigid status quo, and apathy and pride vs. low self-esteem.
The sign of Pisces, in general, is arguably the most complex of the twelve signs of the zodiac. The basic nature of this sign is fluidity and adaptability, reflective and dreamy, artistic and benevolent, with a preference not to seek center stage. To outsiders, this unambitious, go-with-the-flow nature may appear as listlessness and a lack of backbone and sense of direction. Piscean wisdom often seems unrealistic, living in a dream world, avoiding confrontation, and seeking escapism. Is the unpretentious basic nature of Pittsburgh reflective of an evolved city or a lazy, irresponsible one? Does its basic laissez-faire attitude represent an evolved, non-stuffy city, or one with little self-regard? These fundamental questions lie at the heart of this introspection. With this in mind, how does one right the course for this often-misdirected Fish? Basic sun-sign remedy advises the development of a sense of direction and responsibility rather than the tendency to seek the easy way out, and the focusing on the true essence of Pisces: optimism, self-reliance, and faith in the innate goodness of itself and mankind.
Surprisingly, Pittsburgh’s chart shows the city to be impatient, impulsive, and excessive to the point of imprudence. These proclivities have led to the city’s current budgetary crisis. Analysis confirms that the city has indeed over-extended itself and may have mortgaged its future for the cost of present-day development – a dangerous precedent. Pittsburgh’s chart is caught in a crossfire at present. The challenge to set ourselves on a sound fiduciary course has brought us to this crisis point, one that has been building since 2000. Concurrently, the chart speaks of new beginnings and promises an exciting future involving a high-tech facelift. The city is torn between its lack of solid resources and its need to stay “cutting edge.” Its collective hand is extended for financial help. State government and private investors are reluctant to bail out the city due to recent years ripe with over-development, a lack of long-term planning, and an irresponsible aversion to living within its means. These characteristics are all too descriptive of the undesirable side of the sign of Pisces.
We commonly utter such phrases as, “What goes around, comes around,” and “One day, it will catch up with you.” Astrology delivers the timetable for when those times are due. For Pittsburgh, those times arrived in 2004. The general theme of considerable financial stress will continue throughout 2005. Pittsburgh is attempting to free itself from dependence on outside sources with little success. The development of a sound financial plan is imperative. The financial crisis that culminated in November 2004 is going to subside during the first half of 2005. It will be tempting to relax during this time and fall prey to a false sense of security. However, we will be facing “the piper” by June, with a deadline of October 23rd of 2005.
Further analysis of Pittsburgh’s chart reveals a significant Scorpio flavor. This indicates that Pittsburgh is a very passionate city, one facing constant upheaval and “death and rebirth” cycles, yet with the innate ability to rise anew like the phoenix from the ashes. This was evidenced by the city’s delivery from the polluted ashes of the mid-twentieth century. Pittsburgh will always endure vital transformation and restructuring. Long periods of waiting for the “smoke to clear” will be common before new stages of growth become evident. This blue-collar city takes its labor force very seriously, representative of its stature as a national industrial leader. Further analysis indicates Pittsburgh’s trade unions are standing on shaky ground at present, lacking leadership and clear direction, with many suffering from erosion from within. Clear self-analysis and renewed dedication are required. This will continue throughout 2005 as resting on past laurels will continue to be the temptation.
On the other hand, Pittsburgh is an adaptable, resilient town, one that offers diverse lifestyles and opportunities. No longer seen as solely a manufacturing town, it has much to offer and must find a way to attract finer minds and noteworthy organizations. The planetary diagram reveals strong attributes, namely the optimism for “being up to the task,” an emphasis on educational and medical institutions, and cultural and recreational activities of great diversity. Autumn 2005 heralds a return to Pittsburgh for many former residents who are attracted to the thought of coming “home.” People are finding the “new” Pittsburgh more attractive due to a fresh sense of optimism and enthusiasm, as well as a wide variety of opportunities and interests. This will peak during the final month of 2005. Housing construction will experience a boom period. Alternative lifestyles will continue to grow at a rapid pace, with a new focus on Eastern thought, mysticism, non-traditional spiritual practices, and holistic methods of healing.
Pittsburgh will become more brave over the next few months, operating with a bolder sense of purpose. This renewed faith and strength will not be altogether unrealistic; the city has learned considerably from its past errors and will incorporate a new enthusiasm with forward thinking in an effort to create a Brave New World. Rightly so, as the keywords of the essence of Pisces are, “I believe.”
While the city’s revenue concerns will not be solved overnight, the future looks bright. The birth chart also lists a Moon in Sagittarius with a rising sign of Leo. This is an extremely positive combination for the three main elements of astrology. Translation: it is an optimistic city, a good-hearted city, a city with good people and faith in itself and in Life. All this adds up to a winner. Perhaps that’s the type of winner that finally found the court in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. By the way, the name of that team was The Pittsburgh Pisces. Maybe we’ll even get a new NBA team? After all, we already have the Rookies-of-the-Year in both baseball and football!
