“Our great symbol for the Goddess is the moon, whose three aspects reflect the three stages in women’s lives and whose cycles of waxing and waning coincide with women’s menstrual cycles.” – Carol P. Christ
People wonder who the ultimate and most powerful chick superhero (or villain) is. They can make cases for Wonder Women, Batgirl, Cat Woman, Jean Grey, and so many others. As I was falling asleep last night, I was imagining what my own personal superpower is, if I already have one. On that note, what would any women’s natural superpower be? Obviously, the power of the moon! This wasn’t a Sailor Moon induced thought, it was based on the realization that throughout time and history, the moon has symbolically always represented women.
Women’s bodies are controlled by the moon.
So the lunar month is approximately 28 days. And a women’s… you know… time of the month (how discreet am I?) is approximately 28 days. Coincidence? Probably. It’s been chalked up to humans being evolved enough to adjust their cycle to something they could easily track it with, like the waxing and waning of the moon. But… still pretty freaking cool! So if – hypothetically – the moon controls my body in such a natural and ancient way… what other cool things does the moon do for me?
The Moon is the Goddess and Queen!
The moon is ultimately a very feminine celestial body. It represents the zodiac cancer, which is Sailor Moon’s (and my personal) zodiac. This zodiac is associated with mother-like qualities such as being nurturing, emotional and intuitive. The moon also represents the ancient Goddess of cunning folk and pagan peoples, who worshiped it as a divine being. The ultimate female being, a Goddess! And we all know that Sailor Moon is the leader of the pack. The moon, despite not being a planet, is the most powerful of all the scouts symbols. She’s also the rightful Queen of the Earth – Sailor Moon is destined to become “Sovereign of the Earth”! Nothing says Goddess like ruling over everyone with a fluffy fist.
She’s a flawed character whose interests are not necessarily feminine.
Something else that always struck me about Sailor Moon’s character was her obsession with over-eating fast food and sweets, being a big crybaby, her chronic tardiness, and her love comic books. Sure, it’s funny to think about – but this is a pretty non-feminine and irresponsible sounding character type for the leader of the Sailor Scouts. She’s an ironic superhero who didn’t necessarily want this job. She’s not necessarily a girly girl – she just does what she loves, and some might say her interests are rampant among men as well. But despite her lazy, comic book and hamburger loving ways, she steps up and completely owns it as Sailor Moon.
All of the scouts are symbolic astrological God and Goddess representations.
The scouts all have their own symbolic personalities. When they transform or summon their power, you can often see their astrological symbol (representative of their planet) near them. These symbols have meaning that can be traced back to ancient Greece and oddly enough, corresponds pretty well with the character’s behavior.
- Sailor Moon : Selene, Goddess of the Moon : Zodiac Cancer
- Sailor Mercury : Hermes, God of Science (and other things) : Zodiac Virgo
- Sailor Mars : Ares, God of War : Zodiac Aries
- Sailor Jupiter : Zeus, God of Thunder : Zodiac Sagittarius
- Sailor Venus : Aphrodite, Goddess of Love : Zodiac Libra
It’s really easy to see how the characters from Sailor Moon possess the qualities of their patron deity, zodiac, and planet. I only went over the Inner Senshi, but the symbolism extends to the Outer Senshi and some of the other characters as well. Hands down, Sailor Moon is the best chick super hero, laced with ancient feminine symbolism, and a bad ass to boot. In the name of the moon, I will punish you!
Please leave a comment telling me who YOU think the ideal female superhero is!
Sailor Moon was my absolute favorite thing when I was a kid/tween. I remember stumbling upon a mini anime meeting in the public library with my mom when I was VERY young (second grade maybe), and looking at all of the beautiful manga drawings and being blown away. My dad took me to the comic book store, and I started collecting the SM comics. My sister and I had EVERY. SINGLE. ONE (except for number 4! DAMN YOU, ELUSIVE #4!)
I went as Sailor Moon for Halloween and my sister went as Mini Moon, and our big group of friends each had their own senshi when we played. We had posters, dolls, plushies, and I even had an awesome Luna P motion sensor that I can’t find anymore. :-(
Sailor Moon was a HUGE defining part of my childhood. It was more of an experience to me, than a comic or a show. And it fit perfectly with my obsession for Greek mythology, since, like you said, each senshi’s symbols and personality are linked to Greek myth and astronomy. (Naoko Takeuchi really did her homework! Even Sailor Mars’ pet crows Phobos and Deimos, are the moons of Mars, and the true names of the Amazon Quartet girls are the 4 biggest asteroids in the galaxy–Vesta, Pallas, Ceres, and Juno).
To this day, Sailor Moon remains my absolute favorite female superhero. Her goofy, clumsiness, her crazy love of food, and her genuine emotions are so relatable to me.
<3!
I need to see this Halloween picture!!!
LOL! It’s the only one we don’t have any pictures of! :-( The film got lost somehow when we moved to a different house. I think my sister still has her chibi moon wig in our attic though!
I definitely grew up on Sailor Moon, and when I grew up and discovered all the symbolism and mythology present I fell in love even more! It’s such an amazing series and I think it’s truly timeless. Great post :)
I’m still saddened that no Sailor Scout is associated with the astrological sign (and my personal astrological sign) Taurus. I think the closest one might’ve been Sailor Star Maker? 5/30
Astrologically it looks like Taurus is also ruled by Venus, so that’s something! :) Actually though, Sailor Star Maker is pretty epic…
Ahhh so true! I’ll be dressing up as Sailor Moon for Halloween this year. I’ll be sure to send you some piccies ^_^
xo
-Ali
What I love most about Sailor Moon is that there’s something for everyone to relate to. Are you the bookish girl? Meet Ami. The rough and tough tomboy? Say hello to Makoto and Haruka. Maybe you’re more of the girly girl (Minako). Or love music (Michiru). Or the girl with the ‘tude (Rei). Or like cars, or chocolate, or science, or athletics, or fashion, or kitties, or are bad at math, or…and…it goes on and on. The senshi are such a varied group of girls and women; all stunning examples of women that you can relate to because there’s not just one ideal. I always related most to Ami, because I’m a bookish Virgo (we share the same birthday, Sept. 10!) and looked up to/wanted to be Makoto, because she’s a badass and a super-duper cook, and Setsuna, because she’s so graceful and I’d kill for her green hair.
It’s so true! And they are also REAL women with flaws (thought not physically, curse you anime for always drawing the most slender shaped women haha!) Rei’s temper is a good and a bad thing, and she captures that bitchy drama queen perfect. Ami is so shy it’s crippling, preventing her from even going on dates. Usagi is an idiot! She messes up so much stuff just by being a clumsy cry baby! They’re believable and real, and I love it!