Tenoh Haruka - Astrology and Mythology
| Haruka and Her Sunsign Haruka is an Aquarius (Aquarius - the Water-Bearer - eleventh sign of the zodiac), and fits the description of the stereotypical Aquarius quite well: mentally quick and bright, not of the norm, distant and cool, revolutionary, independent, unsettling, forward-thinking, stubborn, opinionated, and charismatic (Aquarians have what is called "distant glamour"). Aquarius is an air sign, which fits with Haruka's family name of "Tenoh" ("sky ruler"). Also, the name "Haruka" means "distant," which fits the Aquarian quality of distance in addition to the distant nature of the skies/heavens. The ruling planet of Aquarius is Uranus (before the planet Uranus was discovered, Saturn was considered the ruling planet of Aquarius), hence Haruka's designation as Sailor Uranus. Haruka's Mythology Ouranos is the Greek god of the sky, which makes for another connection to the name of "Tenoh." Also, "ouranos" is the Greek word for "sky" or "heaven," and Ouranos was really a "concept god" or "abstract god" in that he wasn't really a god with a personality, but rather a god who just personified the sky itself. Keeping that in mind, Ouranos (the Sky) was both son and husband to Gaea (the Earth) - back in ancient times, heaven and earth (Ouranos and Gaea) were locked in a close embrace. o.o;;; Through their union were born the Cyclopes, the Giants, and the Titans; the Titans fathered the more well-known Olympian gods such as Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hades, et cetera. At any rate, Cronus, the youngest Titan born to Gaea and Ouranos, was jealous of Ouranos's love for Gaea, and so he castrated Ouranos with a scythe. O_O! He then flung Ouranos's bleeding genitals into the sea, and Ouranos fled, prophesying that one of Cronus's sons would depose him just as he had deposed Ouranos. Ever since that time, heaven and earth have not been locked in an embrace but rather have been far apart from each other, separated by Cronus's action. As for the bleeding genitals floating in the ocean, they turned into foam on the sea's surface, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was born from this "special" sea-foam. o_o This myth is significant in that the castration of Ouranos has always linked him to androgyneity, one of Haruka's trademark qualities. Also, Ouranos has always been linked to homosexual love - mainly male homosexual love - because of the fact that Aphrodite being born from Ouranos's genitals was basically a metaphor for love being born from pure masculinity. The Ouranos-Aphrodite myth is one mythological connection to Haruka's homosexuality, as is the myth about the constellation Aquarius, which is written below. Mythology Behind the Constellation Aquarius Zeus fell in love with Ganymede, youngest son of King Tros of Troy and the most gorgeous youth that ever existed; this was Zeus's only affair with another male. Some say Zeus turned into a giant eagle and abducted Ganymede from Troy while others say that Zeus just sent a great eagle to fetch the youth for him, but whatever the case was, Zeus made Ganymede his lover and cupbearer to the Olympian gods. King Tros was upset over the abduction of his son, but was placated by a gift from Zeus of two immortal horses; these horses would later belong to Achilles, the main Greek hero of the Trojan War. Hera, Zeus's wife and queen of the gods, was naturally upset at Ganymede being cupbearer, since her husband's new boyfriend had basically replaced Hera and Zeus's own daughter Hebe, the goddess of youth, in this honored role. Therefore, to avoid Hera's wrath, Zeus turned Ganymede into the constellation of Aquarius, the Water-Bearer. As Ganymede (whose Roman name "Catamitus" gives us the word "catamite") and the myth behind him and the constellation Aquarius is the Greek archetype of homosexual love, this myth makes clear the connection of homosexuality to Aquarius and to Haruka. Obviously, this doesn't mean that all Aquarians are gay (that would be funny as hell, though! XD *rofl*). :p It just means that it makes sense for Takeuchi Naoko to have made Haruka an Aquarius, considering the mythology associated with that sign and that sign's ruling planet. |