Mizuno Ami - Astrology and Mythology
| Ami and Her Sunsign Ami is a Virgo (Virgo - the Virgin - sixth sign of the zodiac), and fits the description of the stereotypical Virgo perfectly: hard-working, conscientious, and organized, with an analytical, logical, level-headed mind and a quiet, down-to-earth personality. Virgos are not automatically genii and in fact the Outer Senshi's zodiac signs - Aquarius, Pisces, Scorpio, and Capricorn - are better known for being the signs of genii, but Virgo's qualities of analytical thinking and hard work make them very likely to be mentally and academically strong. The Virgin signifies not chastity but purity of intent, so don't go thinking that Virgos don't get any bootie. :p I should know, considering my boyfriend is a Virgo. *ROFL* Urm, anyway! XD Moving on, XD Virgo is the sign of service to others, which ties in with Ami's dream to be a doctor. Virgo is an earth sign, which doesn't fit with Ami's water affinity, but then Takeuchi-san created the Inner Senshi with not only the Western zodiac's elements (fire, earth, air, water) but also traditional Eastern elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) in mind. The ruling planet of Virgo is Mercury, which is why Ami is Senshi of that planet, and her favorite precious stone, the sapphire, is the stone for Virgos. It might also interest you to note that the Japanese (along with the Koreans and Chinese) use a specific symbol to represent each day of the week, and the symbol used to represent Wednesday is the kanji for "mizu" ("water"), the first character in Ami's name. I mention this because the twelve zodiac signs all have a day they're associated with, and the sign of Virgo is associated with Wednesday. Ami's Mythology Hermes, the Greek herald god, god of cunning, intelligence, commerce, trickery/thievery, crossroads, communication, and invention, is the son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. Hermes learned to talk, invented the lyre, stole cattle belonging to his half-brother Apollo, and earned a place in Olympus with his cunning... all before he was two days old. It's natural that Ami and the sign of Virgo be linked to such a god. Although I don't think Takeuchi-san was thinking about this when she decided that Ami's future career goal was to become a doctor, Hermes is also connected with healing - he is typically portrayed as a beautiful nude youth with winged sandals, a shining helmet, and a staff with two white ribbons twined around it. The staff is called the caduceus, and it is that staff which is connected with healing. Asclepius, god of healing, adopted the staff as his symbol, except it had two serpents twined around it instead of two ribbons. Mythology Behind the Constellation Virgo There are two versions of the Virgo myth. The first is that a poor girl named Erigoni had a father who introduced wine to the people of her village. These people, being simple villagers who had never tasted the stuff before, got immediately drunk and in their inebriated state assumed that the wine must be poisonous in order to have such an effect on them. The angry villagers killed the poor man and buried him in someplace unknown, and Erigoni spent countless days searching for her father's burial place, helped only by her dog. She finally found her father, and when she died, both she and the dog were turned into constellations (Erigoni became Virgo) in honor of their undying devotion. The other myth is that as Themis, goddess of Divine Justice, is represented by the constellation Libra (The Scales [of Justice]), so is her daughter Astraea, goddess of innocence and purity, represented by Virgo (The Maiden). It is said that when Pandora's box was opened and all the evils were let loose upon the world, all the gods left the earth in despair and Astraea was the very last one to leave. It is believed she will return when Earth once again reaches the Golden Age that existed before Pandora's box. |