The Mythology

Uranus is the God of space and air, and the starlit sky. His name means Heaven. Gaea gave him life, and took him as her husband. He fathered Saturn. He concealed his children in the earth's darkness, displeasing Gaea. In turn, she and Kronos (his youngest son) rebelled against him, giving Kronos rule of the Gods.

Blue and gold represent the element of air.

Haruka's birthday is January 27th. Her sign, Aquarius is ruled by Uranus. Blue is it's color (and the fuku of Sailor Uranus), and air is it's element. The Aquarius symbol is waves. It is the water pot constellation in Greece and Persia. Aquarius is represented by Amber, Haruka's favorite stone. It symbolizes protection and strength. It is also a symbol of solar attraction because of its color and electric properties. It means courage in China.

Miranda is the castle of Princess Uranus in the manga. Miranda is a moon of Uranus, coming from Shakespeare's "The Tempest". She is the second daughter of the magician, Prospero.

Usagi/Princess Serenity are based on the goddess Selene, the goddess of the moon, who has the power to purify. The powers of the moon are purity and enchantment. Selene's name comes from the Greek, meaning light, radiance and brightness. Selene has been pictured in a flowing white gown and a crown of gold, with long white hair and wings. Her parents were Hyperion and Theia, and her siblings were Helios and Eos. After Helios pulled his chariot of fire across the sky each night, it was Selene's job to ride her chariot across the heavens. She paused only to kiss the setting sun, Endymion, who was her lover.

Neo-queen Serenity is possibly based on the Moon Queen in the Chinese fairytale, who lived alone on the moon, only seeing her husband occasionally. This fits mythologicaly and explains the absence of the Princess' father. But both names can translate into Selenity, because the r and l are interchangeable in Japanese.

The color white is symbolic of the moon, Diana and the metal silver. The moon is a feminine symbol, also symbolizing the soul, eternity and immortality.

Usagi was born on June 30, making her sign Cancer, or Moon Child. These are ruled by the moon, and white and silver are their colors. Their metal is also silver. Cancer is latin for crab, so the crab's claw is the symbol. Cancer is represented by pearl, Usagi's favorite stone, and their birthstone. It is a symbol of long life, and for a period in history only the nobility were allowed to wear them. These are associated with love and purity.

The Moon Kingdom is located at the Sea of Serenity, which is a real place.

Venus was the goddess of love and beauty, and was pictured to have blue always and long golden hair. Minako is sort of a pun. In Japanese, the "Mi" and "ko" can be pronounced as "Bi" and "su", changing Minako into Binasu, which is a Japanese pronounciation of "Venus". Venus was worshipped by the Romans, and was like a mother to them. She was the Latin goddess of spring originally. April first is sacred to her. The rose was Venus' sacred flower, which can be seen on the henshin stick of Sailor Venus.

Aphrodite is the Greek counterpart to Venus. She was born from foam on the sea. Dione and Zeus were her parents according to Homer. She was married to Hephaestus, but wasn't faithful. She had many lovers, including Ares and Adonis. The swan, dove, hare, dolphin, lime and pomegranate are sacred to her. She was the most beautiful of the goddesses, but the most vein as well.

Metal is her element, which means her personality could be determined, confident, stubborn, success-driven and she might like luxury (but who doesn't?). Sailor Venus' powers are based on the element of metal (the Love-Me Chain).

Minako's sign is Libra, since her birthday is October 22. Libra is ruled by the planet Venus. Copper is its metal, and yellow is its color. The symbol for Libra is the scales, and it means scales or balance. Venus' symbol is a hand-mirror. Venus was the most vein of the gods, and mirrors were once made from copper. Her major shrine was in Cyprus, where copper is mined. This is copper's symbol in alchemy. Topaz is Minako's favorite stone (and guess what color it is...yellow!!!). It used to be worn as an amulet to bestow courage and cure sadness.

Magellan Castle is the castle of Princess Venus in the manga. Venus has no moons, so it is named after the spacecraft NASA sent to orbit the planet and study its surface.

Mercury, also known as Hermes, is God of commerce, science, thieves, shepherds, land travel and intelligent speech. He is the son of Zeus and Maia, a nymph. His name means 'merchant' in Latin, and the planet is known as the water planet in Japanese (which is why Ami's powers are associated with the element of water, a popular archetype and theme in Asian culture). Mercury is the most intelligent and scholarly of the Gods, like Ami is with the scouts. Mercury also invented the lyre (Aqua Rhapsody is derived from this fact), as well as the flute and panpipe.

Blue is associated with water, as well as intelligence, spirit, truth and loyalty. It also represents reflection and feminine qualities.

Ami's birthday falls on September 10th, making her a Virgo. Quicksilver is its metal, blue is its color, it bears the sapphire, and it is ruled by Mercury, as well as intellect and reason. Humanity, studiousness and scientificness are all qualities of a Virgo, which is the Greek word for 'virgin', it's symbol.

Mariner Castle is the castle of Princess Mercury in the manga. Since Mercury has no moons, the Mariner 10 (the first spacecraft to get information from Mercury) is its namesake.

Mars is the god of war, fertility, and the protection of herds and fields. The son of Juno, and the husband of Neriene, the lance, wold and woodpecker all symbolize him. In Greek myth, Ares was the god of war. He was born of Zeus and Hera, and fathered Aphrodite's son Cupid, whom had cheated on Hephaestus to be with him. Ares was the god of fire, war, and the future.

The element of fire represents inspiration, and possibly resurrection and birth. Confidence, decisiveness, exploring, warmth, emotion and dynamics are all derived from fire. It is represented by red.

April 17th: Rei's birthday makes her an Ares, which is ruled by Mars. Red is its color, iron its metal, and fire its element. It is symbolized by the horns of a ram. The spear and shield of Mars are its planetary symbol. In alchemy, this is the symbol for iron, the war metal.

Rei's bloodtype is AB; this means she is proud, discriminatory, or diplomatic. Rei fits all of these things.

Being a Shinto priestess, Rei firereads. Her deity was of the future and fire. Rei (Spirit) is one of the four important elements in Shinto. To remove evil, Rei will use the following chant: "Rin-Byo-To-Sha-Kai-Jin-Retsu-Zai-Zen". She will also say this while meditating in front of the fire. These are the nine magic syllables in Shinto. She also says "akuryou taisan", which means "evil spirit be gone", when she uses an attack with an ofuda. Archery is sometimes used in certain Shinto ceremonies; this could be the origin of her Flame Sniper attack, along with the reference to Ares. During one or two early episodes of the R season, Sailor Mars used an attack with a phoenix. The phoenix is an allegorical representation of Mars in the Chinese zodiac.

The castle of Princess Mars in the manga is PhobosDeimos. They are two moons of the planet Mars.

Jupiter is the Roman equivalent to Zeus in Greek mythology, the God of oaths and truths, peacekeeping and justice. He held rule over lightning and thunder. Upon the dethronement of his father, Saturn, he and his brothers, Neptune and Pluto, had to divide rule of their dominion. Jupiter inherited the heavens, and held supremacy of Mount Olympus, though it was supposedly common property along with earth.

The element of wood and its planet, Jupiter, govern birth and growth. Characteristics associated with wood are great confidence and morals, varied interests, selflessness, and personal growth.

Born on December 5th, Makoto is a Sagittarius. The sign has the color green, and the metal tin. The symbol is an arrow, which comes from it's name; Sagitta is Latin for arrow.

The castle of Princess Jupiter in the manga is Io Castle, which is one of Jupiter's major moons. In Greek mythology, Io, a priestess of Hera, had an affair with Zeus. Hera discovered this, and turned her into a cow. Argus, a many-eyed creature, was appointed to guard her, but Hermes killed him on Zeus's order. Io bore Zeus a child when returned to her human form.

Neptune is the God of the oceans, and king of the sea. He is son of Saturn, and brother to Jupiter and Pluto. Salacia was the wife of Neptune, Goddess of salt water. Poseidon is the Greek counterpart of Neptune. He lived in the sea in a golden palace.

The element of water rules Pisces, which is Michiru's zodiac sign, born on March 6. Green is it's color, and some characteristics are artisticness, musical inclination, intuitiveness, and sympathy. The birthstone of Pisces is aquamarine. Sailors once wore amulets made of aquamarine; they were believed to keep them safe from the sea.

Triton Castle is the castle of Princess Neptune in the manga. Triton is one of Neptunes moons. Triton was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite in Greek mythology.

Pluto, or Hades in the Greek, was God of the underworld. That's where Sailor Pluto's Dead Scream comes from. Her role at the time gate comes from Kronos/Cronus, who is Pluto's father. Kronos became associated with time due to the similarities between his name and 'chronos', which is the word for time. In the series, Sailor Pluto calls upon her father, Chronos, in order to use her power over time. Sailor Pluto's staff is a silver key, which is a symbol of temporal power, as well as knowledge of the afterlife, and unlocking the gates of the underworld.

Setsuna's birthday falls on October 29, making her sign Scorpio, which is ruled by Pluto, and is symbolized by the color black and the tail of the scorpion, Scorpius. Scorpius killed Orion, the hunter, and was therefore placed on the opposite side of the sky than him.

Garnet is Setsuna's favorite stone, and the one that adorns her orb. It is symbolic of truth and faith.

Charon Castle is the castle of Princess Pluto in the manga. Charon is a moon of the planet Pluto. In mythology, Charon was the ferryman who carried the souls of the dead across the River Styx. One had to pass through the River Styx to get to the afterlife in the underworld.

Saturn is also Saturnus, the sower. Kronos is his Greek counterpart. He was God of the harvest, and his reign was called the golden age; during his rule there was equal social rank. He was husband to Ops, the goddess of fertility. Saturnalia (December 17) was his sacred festival, which represented a going back to the golden age. It was said that when someone was about to die, Saturn could be seen with a scythe, or glaive.

Fireflies are said to be souls of the dead in a certain folk tradition. A popular song in Japan, "Hotaru no Hikari", is usually used to say goodbye. The firefly's light as an image of farewell could have been the inspiration for Hotaru's name. The firefly is a symbol for spiritual illumination, and they signify environmental conservation in Japan. In ancient Japan they were thought to have medicinal qualities (their ointment was thought to drive away the spirits of evil), and a ghostly significance. Sailor Saturn's appearance marks an ending to the present world as the senshi of silence.

Titan is the castle of Princess Saturn in the manga; it is one of Saturn's moons.

The symbol for Saturn is Saturn's scythe. Because it is heavy and dull, lead is Saturn's symbol in alchemy.

January 6 is Hotaru's birthday. Her sign is Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn, and has the symbol of goat's horns. Purple is one of the sign's colors , and lead its metal. Capricorn was a goat-headed sea monster in mythology.