hi. i’d like to hear your take on how the other archons represent or have moon symbolism to zhongli’s sun, if you don’t mind!
in genshin there’s a lot of lore scattered around and pieces waiting to be clicked together, and your post really makes ideas go off haha
sure, im not as read up on the other archons as I am with zhongli but there is still a lot to work with
In his trailers and cutscenes (e.i Xiao) we often see Venti with the moon
You can also look into his style of archonhood and how he does not directly guide his people but rather lets them do as they want and times guides them from behind the scenes
He is not overt and direct like the sun but more subtle like the moon
This is going to be true for most of the archons but there is the fact that Venti's image is based off someone else. Venti looks like the nameless bard but that is not his true form.
Venti is a reflection of someone else, much like moon reflects the sun's light
Mondstadt literally means moon city
To others he can be very bubbly and outgoing but when he is around the traveler his calm more reserved sides come out.
Venti has connections to the god of time, Istaroth, and time one key themes of moon symbolism as the cycles and phases of the moon have been used to track time, seasons and life itself. (Did you know the phases in the spiral abyss are based off the 3 moon sisters which is why there are 3 versions of a spiral abyss before it resets?)
First look at her design and her wish. She has a dark color palette, deep purples and reds and Inazuma, specifically Tenshukaku, in the background is covered in darkness
In her domain and her trailer it is rainy, dark and thunderous
Ei's constellation, Imperatrix Umbrosa, translates to Empress of Shadows
She was literally Makoto's shadow (kagemusha)
To go further, Ei lived in the shadows of Makoto's light. The story tells us that Makoto was better at guiding humanity and understood humans much better. Makoto was the archon, Makoto was the one who was adored. Ei was the moon to Makoto's sun.
However, you could even say since Makoto and Ei are twins rather than sun and moon symbolism you could attribute Makoto and Ei to the light and dark side of the moon. Because of the way the moon rotates, from earth we only see one side of the moon at all times. Hence, Makoto was the light side of the moon that was leading Inazuma while Ei was the darker side that was never seen.
Then Ei hiding away in the plane of Euthymia for hundreds of years while her puppet ruled means that Ei once more lived in the shadow (or subconscious) of another being
Originally Raiden wished for an eternal and neverending Inazuma. She wanted nation that would not suffer from the change of time. However change, and new beginnings are signaled by the onset of dawn. Each new day begins with the sun rising so by yearning for an "Eternal Inazuma" it was a nation that never saw a new day or was always stuck in night.
Even though the war is over and she can freely mingle with her people Ei is rather reserved and prefers to keep to herself
Nahida has very direct moon symbolism.
Nahida directly refers to herself as the moon in Act II of the Sumeru Archon Quest and throughout the entire questline as a whole.
Similar to all of the other archons, Nahida is trapped in the shadows of Rukkhadevata.
Nobody cared for Nahida because Rukkha's glory and wisdom outshone her in every way (plus she was locked up in jail) even Nahida herself believed Rukkha was more shining and brilliant than her.
She even says in Act II after learning the sages have been acting behind her back that "In the end, I'm just the Moon. The real Sun is long gone."
Nahida's abilities and symbols are dreams, sleep and illusions. All of which are all connected to the moon and the night.
Nahida's character design. She is very white, and pale like the face of the moon. She looks like just a younger version of Rukkhadevata.
Although, Nahida comes to understand that she does not have to be like Rukkha or any other archon to be a good archon-she still has a long way to go. She is still a "small light" in Sumeru and it will take some time before she can shine as brightly as Rukkhadevata once did
Her wish looks like a big old moon doesn't it?
Furina much like the others lives in the shadow of not only Focalors but indirectly Egeria
She is constantly trying to live up the glory of her predecessor (Egeria) but also the other archons.
Furina was forced to be in the spotlight. She shines brightly and strongly but that is not her own light. She is using the title as god and archon to be something she is not. In a sense, giving off light that isn't hers but merely reflecting the light of Focalors.
Just in basic symbolism, oceans, waves and tides are all usually connected to the moon, so the god of water is going to be connected to the moon.
Furina's "true" form her Ousia form which is dark and black in color while her "fake" form her Pneuma form is white and bright.
Furina had no real power and to save Fontaine true divinity and power had to come from the original source (Focalors and ultimately Neuvillette)
Her true self lived in the shadows of the "Hydro Archon". Her true identity was a mystery until the trial.
When Furina leaves the spotlight and the curtains close and the lights dim was she finally able to be herself.
For example even when Arlecchino ambushes Furina it occurs in the dead of night when she assumes nobody is watching her anymore and she's allowed to be free for just a moment.
Furina's power and authority came from "others". She acted like an archon so we believed she was an archon. Much like how the moon "looks" like it produces light but really the light comes from the sun.
Furina is haughty and gaudy as an archon but as a human she far more relaxed and easy going. She doesn't have the striking confidence and dominance of the sun but a more gentle and refreshing aura to her.
Furina’s true light and beauty is when she can be herself or on the stage as a performer when she is no longer trying to be something she is not she because far more special.
A big part of why most of the archons have moon symbolism is simply because they are 1) not the original archon or 2) derive a significant portion of their life, legacy and or goals from someone else. In their lives there was a person who was the center of their life -their "sun". Whether or not the knew the person depends but these archons either embodied or idolized their ideals and appearance. As in they derived their light from someone else. Zhongli avoids this cause he doesn’t have a “twin” and he’s an original archon.
Character development and story progression have changed these characters appear and their respective symbols but I think you can safely argue that most of the archons have more ties to the moon than the sun.
The only exception I really see is Zhongli (you could argue Venti too sometimes) and the Pyro Archon due to the connections between flames and the sun.
But the Tsaritsa, on the other hand is very likely to have lots of moon symbolism. The only time we see her palace is in the dark of night, she's always commanding the Fatui to carry out her plans in secret, cryo -> ice -> winter -> dark -> night -> moon, plus the moon is tied to themes of romance and love she is the goddess of love etc. We can do this all day.
Nonetheless, moon symbolism connects to a multitude of themes such as femininity, shadows, time, darkness, eternity and renewal, love and mystery, divinity and gentleness etc. Many of these concepts appear in our archons and their storylines.
So of the archons we know Zhongli is the most sun-orientated (masculinity, power, strength, passion, clarity and knowledge, life etc) so far. It’s not like sun and moon traits don’t overlap so you’ll definitely see these characters embody different ideals but in my mind most of the archons represent the moon.
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