“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!