The Southern Fish is a separate constellation to Pisces, lying much further to the South, though in ancient legend it is often referred to as the parent of the zodiacal pair. [1] The area in which it lies has an heavy emphasis upon constellations with watery imagery, the goat-fish (Capricorn), the whale (Cetus), the water-pourer (Aquarius), the fishes (Pisces), and the dolphin (Delphinus) all located nearby, obviously earmarking this region as one that related to the rainy season of the ancient year, by which many of its stars are associated with floods or troubles at sea. The Southern Fish is usually depicted on star maps at the feet of Aquarius, where it swallows up the water poured from his urn. The first century astrologer Manilius referred to it as the 'Southern Fish' because it "swims in the quarter of the wind after which it is named",[2] clearly influenced by the earlier writings of Aratus in the 3rd century BC, who said of it:
Below Aegoceros [Capricorn] before the blasts of the South wind swims a Fish, facing Cetus [the Whale], alone and apart from the former Fishes; and him men call the Southern Fish. [3]
Of its nature Manilius wrote:
whoever at this hour takes hold of life will spend his years about sea-shore and river-bank: he will capture fish as they swim poised in the hidden depths; he will cast his greedy eyes into the midst of the waters, craving to gather pellucid stones and, immersed himself, will bring them forth together with the homes of protective shell wherein they lurk. No peril is left for man to brave: profit is sought by shipwreck, and the diver who has plunged into the depths becomes, like the booty, the object of recovery. [4]
There is only one bright star of astrological note in this constellation, but it is an important, first magnitude star, the 17th brightest star in the sky and the most southerly star visible at 50°N. Fomalhaut, (from the Arabic Fum al Hut, 'the Fish's mouth'), is one of the four 'royal' stars associated with the cardinal directions and believed to have been used to mark the Equinoxes and Solstices in ancient astronomy. These are:
Aldebaran from Taurus - 'Guardian of the East', (once associated with the spring equinox).
Anatares from Scorpio - 'Watcher of the West', (once associated with the autumn equinox).
Regulus from Leo - Watcher of the North, (once associated with the summer solstice).
Formalhaut from the Southern Fish - 'watcher of the South', (once associated with the winter solstice).
Formalhaut is a reddish star to which Ptolemy attributes an influence similar to that of Venus and Mercury.[5] It is generally considered beneficial and associated with eminence, fortune, and power, but if afflicted it has the potential to portend significant disaster. It is often linked with a destiny towards occult or religious affairs and is said by Ebertin and Hoffman to offer success for scientists and writers.[6] Barbara Watters, however, considers it to be an indicator of congenital defects or inherited illness when in contact with any personal point and afflicted by malefics. She points out that Saturn was here, afflicted by Pluto and Uranus when the thalidomide babies were conceived or born. [7]
Formalhaut is best observed in September. It lies to the south of the constellation Aquarius and is noticeable for its brightness, but it is not visible to latitudes above 50°N.
The Sun crosses Formalhaut around 22nd February each year.
