(Seiya Kou)
(Taiki Kou)
(Yaten Kou)
Welcome to The Mystic Planetarium, a section dedicated to clearing up all the referential naming, subtle or otherwise, somehow involving the planets (among other things) of our solar system. This document is divided into three different (essentially incorrectly named) sections, Astronomy and Astrology, the first one devoted to scientific fact (more or less), the second to magic and horoscopes topped with a dash of Alchemy.
Astronomy
astronomy: the science of the celestial bodies and of their magnitudes, motions and constitution.
General Astronomical References in Sailor Moon
With the sole exception of Sailor Moon, who is named for Earth's only satellite, each of the Sailor Soldiers are named for the planets of our solar system. Tuxedo Kamen is usually thought of as being the representative of the planet Earth - primarily because of Prince Endymion’s status as a member of Earth royalty during the time of the Silver Millenium - though there has never been any real information supporting or denying this theory (at least to my knowledge, anyway).
The ruler of the Moon Kingdom, Queen Serenity, and her daughter, Princess Serenity, are both named for a geographical location on the near side of the Moon known as Mare Serenitatis (the Sea of Serenity). For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a "mare" is a "sea" of hardened lava on the moon, found in basins that take the form of either irregular deep depressions or deep impact craters. Whatever. ^^;
Incidentally, the Sailor Moon manga refers to this site as having been the location where the royal palace of the Moon Kingdom stood during the time of the Silver Millenium. So, if you've ever wondered where you should start looking for evidence supporting the existence of the Moon Kingdom next time you're in the neighborhood, well, now you know. :)
By the way, though it's strictly a mythological reference, there just happens to be a location known as Endymion, also located on the near side of the moon, between Mare Frigoris and Mare Humboldtianum, not too terribly far away from Mare Serenitatis. Coincidence? I think so... ^^;
Rei Hino has two (abnormally intelligent) pet crows who always hang around with her down at Hikawa Jinja. I have no idea whether they have any official monikers whatsoever in the North American series, but in the original Japanese series, the two crows were named Phobos and Deimos. This is a dual reference, the astronomical one being that Phobos and Deimos are also the names of the two potato-shaped moons of the planet Mars. And Rei Hino just happens to be Sailor Mars...
Finally, in Sailor Moon Super S, while battling the forces of the Dead Moon Circus, the Sailor Soldiers meet up with four female warriors four female warriors (CereCere, PallaPalla, JunJun and VesVes) collectively known as the Amazoness Quartet. Eventually, the four of them mend their ways and become a force for good. In the anime, the members of the Amazoness Quartet simply become normal girls at the end of the storyline, but in the manga, they have a more interesting fate. Neo Queen Serenity charges them with protecting Chibi Usa by turning them into a Sailor Soldier sub-group known as the Asteroid Soldiers (who are basically overglorified personal bodyguards).
Since our Solar System only has nine planets (at least until scientists
get off their duffs and finally find that tenth one where the Black Moon
family comes from), Naoko Takeuchi started naming the four new Sailor Soldiers
after the first four asteroids that scientists discovered in the early
19th century (hence the name of the subgroup):
| Character | Name (J) | Name (NA) | Asteroid | Discovered |
| Sailor Ceres | CereCere | unknown | Ceres | 1801 |
| Sailor Pallas | PallaPalla | unknown | Pallas | 1802 |
| Sailor Juno | JunJun | unknown | Juno | 1804 |
| Sailor Vesta | VesVes | unknown | Vesta | 1807 |
On a more serious note in reference to the above joke, scientists did indeed find something floating around in space just beyond Saturn on November 1, 1977. Named Chiron, it was relegated to "minor planet" status. I have no idea why. In 1990, it was bonked down another notch, and is presently officially classified as a comet.
Shedding Some (Sailor Star) Light on the Subject
The show's fifth Japanese season, ‚Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, has introduced yet another Sailor Soldier sub-group known as the Sailor Star Lights, consisting of Sailor Star Fighter‚ Sailor Star Healer and Sailor Star Maker who are evidently Sailor Soldiers from outside our Solar System. I haven't warmed up to them at all yet, and probably never will, one reason being that their names, at first glance, anyway have no significance whatsoever, astrological, astronomical or otherwise (Boo!). As if this weren't enough, the Sailor Star Lights run around dressed like three leather-clad dominatrixes and end up looking more like a bunch of tramps than Sailor Soldiers. And besides, what self-respecting Sailor Soldier yells out the name of female reproductive organs during an attack? (Prepare to suffer the wrath of Sailor Star Maker's Star Gentle Uterus...!) Maybe the male kind? Yes, you read that right. The Star Lights are all male in their secret identities, but turn into females as Soldiers. Works better than a bucket of cold water... ^^;
The extremely informative - yet now unfortunately defunct ;_; - Sailor
Moon Executive Enemies by Ino Tsunehiro of the University
of Tokyo did, however, manage to find kind of astronomical symbolism
relating to the names of the Sailor Star Lights. The names of their alter
egos - collectively known as a pop band called The Three Lights
- when translated literally, apparently refer to the myriad sources of
light in the evening sky, specifically the star field light, the
atmospheric light and the night sky light..
| Character | Name (J) | Name (NA) | Literal Translation | Nature of Light | Intensity |
| Sailor Star Fighter | (Seiya Kou) |
unknown | "the star field light" | light originating from distant stars which cannot be seen by the human eye | 66×10-9 erg/cm2 s sr Å |
| Sailor Star Maker | (Taiki Kou) |
unknown | "the atmospheric light" | light reflecting off of molecules and atoms in the upper reaches of the atmosphere | 162×10-9 erg/cm2 s sr Å |
| Sailor Star Healer | (Yaten Kou) |
unknown | "the night sky light" | collective name for all the lights in the night sky | sum total of the star field light, atmospheric light and ecliptic light |
The kanji mean the following. For a more detailed breakdown, see The Pun Is The Highest Form Of Humor:
(sei) = star,
(ya) = field, (kou)
= light, (taiki)
= atmosphere, (ya)
= night, (ten)
= sky
The ecliptic light, by the way, is light originating from tiny
dust particles in the Solar System and has an intensity value of 156×10-9
erg/cm2 s sr
Å.
I think it might be a good idea to mention at this point that I have absolutely no clue whatsoever as to what those values in the intensity column mean. :) The units, however, are as follows:
Å = Angstroms (10Å = 10-9
m (meters)) 1 erg = 10-7 J (Joules)
s = seconds cm = centimeters
sr = steradians (solid angle unit;
1 sphere = 4 pi steradians = 12.57 steradians)
Judging by the all this crap, my best guess would be that the values refer to the intensity of the light energy striking a two-dimensional surface, taking into account both the light's wavelength and its incoming three-dimensional angle.
But that's just a guess. ^^; I suck to high heaven at Physics. :)
A World of Shadows and Darkness: Nemesis, the Black Moon
A synonym in the Japanese series for the Black Moon (where the Black Moon Family came from) was Nemesis. In the Sailor Moon Universe, it is definitely a planet, though no one seems to know just where the hell it is located. It's either the tenth one in our Solar System or one located at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy (The North American series rids itself of this problem by saying that the Dark Moon (or Nega Moon) is a planet in the Negaverse.) Usually, the former is considered to be the correct one.
Astronomically speaking, two very different celestial bodies bear the name of this darkest of planets:
1. First of all, Nemesis is the name of one of those ubiquitous
asteroids floating around out there in space between Mars and Jupiter.
This is the less interesting reference of the two.
2. The second Nemesis is a hypothetical celestial body, specifically
a dark star, either a brown dwarf or a black dwarf, an alleged companion
star to our Sun which is moving in an elliptical orbit around it. This
interesting theory, put forward by two scientists in 1985 by Daniel
P. Whitmore and John J. Matese, suggests that, sometime during
the 30 million or so years needed for it to make one complete orbit, Nemesis
passes through a hypothetical cloud of proto-comets (the precursors of
actual comets) located far away from our Sun known as the Oort Cloud.
This disturbance would result in a higher number of comets passing through
our Solar System a few thousand years later. This may all sound pretty
hard to swallow, but if this theory about Nemesis is correct, it might
explain why nature always "cleans house" by having mass extinctions every
30 million years or so, perhaps due tocomets shooting into the Earth, like
during that little incident involving the dinosaurs 65 million years ago
or so. An interesting an idea as this is, there doesn't seem to be any
concrete evidence as yet to support it. (Well, actually, contrary
to what I just said, the Hubble Space Telescope recently took a
picture of the Oort Cloud, proving that it does indeed exist. Can Nemesis
itself be far behind? Only time will tell if Takeuchi was right all along...
:)
If the Black Moon is based on anything from the real world, then my guess, like most other people's, would be that the origin comes from the second definition of Nemesis. The Black Moon was always said to have been a planet shrouded in darkness (which was one reason the inhabitants of Crystal Tokyo had no idea they were up to on their little mudball until they woke up one day to find a bunch of crystalline UFOs in their faces), just like a brown or black dwarf is, by its very nature. Still, even if this is the case, then the appellation "Black Moon" is a misnomer, as Nemesis is more of a "Black Sun" than anything else. Besides, Naoko Takeuchi is as astrology buff, so I wouldn’t put it past her...
The Daimon Homeworld System: Tau Ceti
Though I seriously doubt that there are any daimons roaming about this vast universe of ours just waiting to bring Master Pharaoh Ninety to Earth and utterly obliterate it (Why do aliens always pick on us, anyway?), I think it's interesting to note that the star their homeworld is said to revolve around, Tau Ceti, is very real indeed. Admittedly, I really don't know all that much about it, save for the fact that the star (Or is that "stars"? I'm not sure whether or not it's part of a binary system, i.e. one made up of two different stars) is essentially believed to be "sunlike" and is located approximately 3.67 parsecs - or 11.97 light years - away from Earth, which is pretty close by galactic standards. In essence, this means that Tau Ceti is one of our closest neighbors in the galaxy, as well as being a contender for a place which is capable of supporting life, though, if any exists there, it's hopefully not quite as malicious as Naoko Takeuchi’s made it out to be. :)
Incidentally, about thirty years ago in the 1960's, an astronomer by the name of Frank Drake, in an attempt to locate and contact extraterrestrial life, started a little something by the name of Project Ozma (sort of a forerunner of our present-day SETI Project (that's an abbreviation for Search for Extra Terrestiral Intelligence, by the way), named after the princess of the land of Oz from L. Frank Baum's books. The project itself basically consisted of aiming one of those giant radio receiver dishes at two likely candidates - in this case Tau Ceti and a second sunlike star by the name of Epsilon Erdani - and broadcasting away, with the hopes of receiving a return signal. None was ever received, though taking into consideration what's supposedly out there waiting for us, I'm kinda glad... ^^;
For more information on this and a whole bunch of other neat and way cool stuff you probably didn't about our Solar System and our universe (unless you happen to be some kind of expert on it or some kind of physicist), I recommend reading the essay Hypothetical Planets by Paul Schlyter, which is where most of this information comes from. Since the planets of our solar system are all rooted in mythology because of their names, it would be a very good idea to look under Mythology 101 to check for any other symbolically significant information. The Japanese names for the planets of our Solar System can be found under The Pun Is The Highest Form Of Humor.
Astrology
astrology: divination based on the supposed influence of the stars upon human events.
Astrological Coincidences: Birthdays, Signs and Ruler Planets
The first season of Sailor Moon gave us our initial glimpse of the character known as Nephrite, a general of the Dark Kingdom who used the so-called "power of the stars" to plan his moves and find his victims. Nephrite's beliefs (which are pretty much covered in the colorful speech he makes to Queen Beryl in the first episode he appears in as a villain) are basically identical to those of Earth's ancient astrologers, and it seems only fitting that the series, which already heavily draws on mythology and ancient beliefs, should incorporate numerous astrological elements as well.
Listed below in a little something I modestly call the Ultimate Sailor Moon Astrological Reference Chart are the planets associated with the different major characters of the series (the Sailor Soldiers, Tuxedo Kamen and the Sailor Star Lights), their Japanese and North American names, their birthdays, the astrological signs they were born under, the corresponding ruler planet (a planet or planets associated with each astrological sign) and, finally, their birthstones. The last column is a big problem, as there happen to be two kinds of birthstones: one associated with the month, the other with the astrological sign (and even then, there are problems...^^;) The one(s) for the month is (are) listed first, the one for the sign listed second, in square brackets. Sometimes, the two coincide, so, in those cases, only one birthstone is mentioned.
The Ultimate Sailor Moon
Astrological Reference Chart
| Planet | Character | Name (J) | Name (NA) | Birthday | Sign | Ruler Planet | Birthstone(s) |
| Moon | Sailor Moon | Usagi Tsukino | Serena | June 30 | Cancer | Moon | pearl [jade] |
| Earth (Sun) | Tuxedo Kamen | Mamoru Chiba | Darien Shields | August 3 | Leo | Sun | peridot, sardonyx [ruby] |
| Mercury | Sailor Mercury | Ami Mizuno | Amy Anderson | September 10 | Virgo | Mercury | sapphire [cornelian] |
| Mars | Sailor Mars | Rei Hino | Raye Hino | April 17 | Aries | Mars | diamond [amethyst] |
| Jupiter | Sailor Jupiter | Makoto Kino | Lita | December 5 | Sagittarius | Jupiter | turquoise |
| Venus | Sailor Venus | Minako Aino | Mina | October 22 | Libra | Venus | opal [diamond] |
| Moon | Sailor Chibi Moon | Chibi Usa | Rini | June 30 | Cancer | Moon | pearl [jade] |
| Pluto | Sailor Pluto | Setsuna Meiou | Celia | October 29 | Scorpio | Pluto (Mars) | opal [topaz] |
| Uranus | Sailor Uranus | Haruka Ten'ou | Corrine | January 27 | Aquarius | Uranus (Saturn) | garnet [sapphire] |
| Neptune | Sailor Neptune | Michiru Kaiou | Nerissa | March 6 | Pisces | Neptune (Jupiter) | aquamarine, bloodstone [coral] |
| Saturn | Sailor Saturn | Hotaru Tomoe | unknown | January 6 | Capricorn | Saturn | garnet [agate] |
| Kinmokusei (?) | Sailor Star Fighter | Kou Seiya | unknown | July 30 | Leo | Sun | peridot, sardonyx [ruby] |
| Kinmokusei (?) | Sailor Star Maker | Kou Taiki | unknown | May 30 | Gemini | Mercury | emerald [aquamarine] |
| Kinmokusei (?) | Sailor Star Healer | Kou Yaten | unknown | February 8 | Aquarius | uncertain | amethyst [sapphire] |
Usagi seems to have an inclination for falling in love with Leos. :) Mamoru Chiba is a Leo, and her para-replacement boyfriend in Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, Kou Seiya, is also a Leo.
Tuxedo Kamen, pain in the butt that he is, once again screws up the whole older of things since his ruler planet turns out to be the sun. Still, he isn't really to blame in this case, as astrology simply doesn't associate any month with the planet Earth (which makes sense, since all celestial bodies are supposed to be exerting their influence on practically everything that goes on on our little world). So, he simply got stuck with the leftovers, so to speak.
In light of this, you may want to consider Tuxedo Kamen as being the representative of the Sun, which may seem more fitting and symbolic when you factor in Sailor Moon, as the Sun and the Moon, the eternal opposites, have always been intimately connected with one another, much like in the case of Mamoru and Usagi, who are bound to one another by their romantic relationship. Besides, in Sailor Moon Super S, Tuxedo's Kamen so-called guardian is a winged horse named Pegasus (or Helios when in in human guise), after the ancient Greek god of the sun.
On the other hand, you may not give a damn, which is more likely. :) (Besides, as Ken Arromdee has also pointed out, the Moon revolves around the Earth.) :)
In case you're wondering, if you try making a column containing the elements associated with each month, you get a real mess. It's like that with the Western elements (earth, air, fire, water), anyway. The Asian system uses different elements (metal, earth, fire, wood, water), so maybe it works out better there. Oh, and the birthstones don't match the personal preferences in jewelry of the Sailor Soldiers.
Sexual Orientation and Astrology
Little if anything in Sailor Moon is done without good reason, and the sexual orientations - implied but never proven! :) - of two of the main characters, Haruka Ten'ou and Michiru Kaiou (Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, respectively) are no exception. In order to understand why, you'll need to know the following:
1. In astrology, the twelve signs of the zodiac are divided
into four different groups, corresponding to the elements earth,
air, fire and water, with earth and water being considered
feminine signs and fire and air masculine signs. Specifically,
Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are earth signs and thus
feminine, along with the water signs Cancer, Scorpio
and Pisces. That leaves us with the masculine signs,
which include the fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
and air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius).
2. The planet Uranus, at least according to Charles Carter,
who did a less than flattering report on the subject in his Encyclopedia
of Psychological Astrology (which should be ignored) is the
key to homosexuality, supposedly because one trait the planet rules over,
among other things, is eccentricity. Neptune is also indicative
of this, as, according to Carter, the planet rules over such characteristics
as secrets, deceptions and hidden things. This basically
means that Uranus and Neptune have come to be astrologically associated
with homosexuality. In addition, though it has no real association with
sexual orientation whatsoever, Aquarius (which happens to be ruled
over by Uranus) is sometimes associated with Ganymede (Zeus' male
lover. Geez, no wonder Hera was always so pissed off. ^^;) and Neptune,
who rules over the zodiacal sign Pisces, was known as the ancient
patron of homosexuals (okay...o_o).
What does this all mean? Well, think about it. In the Japanese series, Haruka Ten'ou (Sailor Uranus) is not only a full-fledged tomboy, she's evidently also a lesbian - the "butch" half, if you will - as we might expect considering she's associated with Uranus. Her sexuality is even reinforced because she's an Aquarius (a masculine sign), and, indeed, she usually dresses and acts like a boy, is sometimes mistaken for one, flirts with Usagi and her friends (The translators and the censors are going to have a field day with that one...:)) and even enjoys stereotypically "macho" things like race car driving.
Michiru Kaiou, however, is debatable. She denies being Haruka's girlfriend, though their intimate (not that kind) friendship might suggest otherwise. Whether she's telling the truth or not, Michiru also fits into this really weird pattern, as Neptune is also associated with homosexuality. Her attitude is unmistakably feminine - which would make her the "femme" half of the relationship - as per her sign, Pisces, though, come to think of it, her denial may just be a manifestation of that "secrets and deceptions" aspect... :)
By the way, you don't know how lucky we are that contemporary astrology no longer considers Mercury to be an androgynous (neutral) planet. Or else Ami might be gay, too. ^^;
I think this whole astrological sexual orientation determination thingee is best summed up by James R. Lewis in his indispensable book, The Astrology Encyclopedia. Here's the gist of it as it appears on page 280:
The treatment of homosexuality in astrology has tended to reflect
the social conditions and the attitude toward homosexuals at the time.
Ptolemy, the father of Western astrology, very matter-of-factly
mentions patterns that distinguish homosexuals from heterosexuals in his
classic work Tetrabiblos: If Venus (the ruler of
romantic relationships) and Jupiter precede the Sun in a
man's chart, and if the former two planets also aspect Mars
(the ruler of passion) then he will be sexually interested only in other
males. If, on the other hand, Mars and Venus are in masculine signs
in a woman's chart, she will be inclined to lesbianism. In another place,
Ptolemy notes that links between Mercury (corresponding to the Greek
Hermes) and Venus (Greek Aphrodite) indicates an attraction to young men.
This interpretation may have been suggested by the joining of the Greek
names of these two planets, which results in Hermaphroditos.
By way of contrast, astrologers who matured during a period of
time when society viewed homosexuality as a behavior disorder tend to attribute
interest in the same sex to certain afflictions in a horoscope.
Charles Carter, an important astrologer of the early twentieth century,
discussed homosexuality under the heading "Immorality (Sexual)" in his
Encyclopedia of Psychological Astrology. Carter saw the key
to homosexuality in Uranus (ruler of, among other things, eccentricity)
and Neptune (ruler of, among other characteristics, secrets, deception
, and hidden things. A native with a poorly aspected Uranus, particularly
when Venus was involved, was thought to be a prime candidate.
All this astrological garbage aside, Uranus has always been an exceptional and unusual planet. For one thing, it is the only planet in our Solar System named after a Greek god instead of a Roman one. For another, the planet is revolving on a lopsided axis, one with a nearly 90 degree tilt (82.1 to be exact), compared to our Earth's meager 23.45 degrees.
But I digress. :) I like Haruka and Michiru just the way they are. :)
Personality Traits and Other Qualities
With Uranus being the personification of heaven (or sometimes the god of the sky, take your pick), you might be wondering why Haruka Ten'ou (who's even referred to as the soldier of the sky) has such an uncharacteristic form of attack as a Sailor Soldier. One possible explanation is the fact that some astrologers believe that the planet Uranus, when interacting with specific planetary configurations (don't ask) is somehow responsible for earthquakes. And, boy, does Sailor Uranus ever rock your world when she does her World Shaking...
Well, while I'm at it, I might as well explain the others as well. Submarines are traditionally associated with Neptune (an obvious connection, but oh so weird), and Sailor Neptune has her Submarine Reflection. Likewise, death is commonly associated with Pluto (even more obvious), so it's only natural that Sailor Pluto has an attack like the Dead Scream...
While we're on the subject of astrology, I should point out that it's sometimes believed that whatever sign you're born under is a guidebook to your personality. If you're born under the sign of Virgo, for example, some of your traits supposedly include intelligence and practicality, and who fits this description better than Ami, who happens to be a Virgo? (In addition, some traditional associations of the planet Mercury happen to be study, libraries and mathematics, three things our favorite blue-haired genius excels at.). Cancers, on the other hand, are affectionate, caring, yet sometimes hypersensitive. And those of us who've seen Usagi cry know how little it takes to drive her to tears and how much she cares for Mamoru. Pushiness, quick-temperedness, (over)agressiveness and confidence, on the other hand, are trademarks of an Aries, the sign oh-so-conveniently shared by one Rei Hino. Even though I seriously doubt Naoko Takeuchi went this deep when she created the very unique personalities of the Sailor Soldiers, it still makes for some interesting speculation. For further information, check your local library.
Constellationally Speaking...
In the North American series (I'm not sure about the Japanese version in one case), the names of three different constellations surface under various contexts:
Sagittarius (November 23 to December
21): A constellation between Scorpio and Capricorn, the 9th sign of
the zodiac in astrology, usually pictured as a centaur archer.
Gemini (May 22 to June 21): A constellation
between Taurus and Cancer, the 3rd sign of the zodiac in astrology, usually
pictured as twins sitting together.
Leo (July 24 to August 23): A constellation
between Cancer and Virgo, the 5th sign of the zodiac in astrology, usually
pictured as a lion.
Neflite called on Sagittarius to locate his first victim, who turned out to be Katie Sandler (Rui Saionji).
Gemini appeared in the form of the two female nega monsters - the Gemini Warriors - who possessed the powers of Sailor Mercury (Mercury Bubbles Blast) and Sailor Mars (Mars Fire Ignite). Their original youma names were Castor and Pollux, after two stars (alpha and beta, respectively) in the constellation Gemini, which were themselves named after twin brothers from Greek mythology.
Leo the Lion was literally the constellation brought to life as a youma by Neflite in the episode where he masqueraded as Tuxedo Kamen.
For some weird reason, Neflite once called on the powers of Orpheus to find a victim (Mika Cassidy a.k.a. Mika Kayama). Problem is that Orpheus, while official sounding, is neither a sign of the zodiac nor a constellation (of which we presently have something like 60 to 80). I wonder who's to blame for this screwup? (The name, however, does match that of an asteroid.)
The magical unicorn Pegasus from Sailor Moon Super S - though his name is an obvious reference to the winged horse from Greek mythology - may owe his origin, at least in part, to the constellation of the same name.
Incidentally, right before Jadeite projected that illusion of himself over the Tokyo evening sky in order to challenge the Sailor Soldiers to a final showdown at Haneda Airport. Usagi was busy picking out existing constellations - among them Cygnus ("The Swan") - as well as making up some of her own, including one of Motoki Furuhata and Tuxedo Kamen.
Alchemy
alchemy: medieval chemistry chiefly concerned with efforts to turn base metals into gold.
Needless to say - the rules governing Chemistry, Physics and nature in general being what they are and all - alchemists never did find what they were looking for, though did discover several new chemical compounds and processes along the way. In order to keep whatever new substances they discovered during their experiments a secret, they began using "mystical" symbols to represent the various elements they used (such as metals), creating a unique language all their own. These signs are identical to those which stood for the various planets of our Solar System, so, in ancient times, the planets also became associated with various metals. (Actually, the reason for the correspondance in signs is due to something known as the Kolisko Effect, an ancient phenomenon as yet unexplained by modern science, which is way too complicated to explain here. Look it up if you're interested.
Listed in the table below are the planets associated with each of
the major characters in Sailor Moon, their Japanese and North
American names, the metal alchemically associated with their
planet and the common glyph shared by both the planet and the metal
(where applicable).
| Planet | Character | Name (J) | Name (NA) | Metal | Glyph |
| Sun | none | none | none | gold |  |
| Tuxedo Kamen | Mamoru Chiba | Darien Shields | |||
| Mercury | Sailor Mercury | Ami Mizuno | Amy Anderson | mercury |  |
| Venus | Sailor Venus | Minako Aino | Mina | copper |  |
| Earth | Tuxedo Kamen | Mamoru Chiba | Darien Shields | unknown |  |
| Moon | Sailor Moon | Usagi Tsukino | Serena | silver |  |
| Sailor Chibi Moon | Chibi Usa | Rini | |||
| Mars | Sailor Mars | Rei Hino | Raye Hino | iron |  |
| Jupiter | Sailor Jupiter | Makoto Kino | Lita | tin |  |
| Saturn | Sailor Saturn | Hotaru Tomoe | unknown | lead |  |
| Uranus | Sailor Uranus | Haruka Ten'ou | Corrine | unknown |  |
| Neptune | Sailor Neptune | Michiru Kaiou | Nerissa | unknown |  |
| Pluto | Sailor Pluto | Setsuna Meiou | Celia | unknown |  |
This table doesn't really have any major significance in relation to anything in the series, except perhaps in the case of Sailor Moon herself. Her "planet" is (alchemically) associated with the precious metal silver, and this relationship may just be how the Silver Millenium and, more importantly, the Imperium Silver Crystal got their names. If you associate Tuxedo Kamen with the Sun, then you can gleam a little more symbolism from all this, as he gains possession and wields the power of a mystical stone known as the Golden Crystal in the manga corresponding to Sailor Moon Super S. All this, however, is pure speculation as far as I know.
Actually, come to think of it, there may be one other thing: the symbol for the planet Mercury is often associated with medicine because of the two snakes intertwined on his staff, or, in more eloquent words, the "serpents twisted around the medical caduceus" (to quote James R. Lewis; again. :)). And Ami has always dreamed of becoming a doctor...
This page first appeared on December 22, 1997
This page was last modified on May 7, 1998
That bitchin' background graphic is a picture of the Spiral Malaxy M100, as seen through the eyes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Cool, huh? :)