Usagi as The Will of Heaven
I’ve been thinking about Cosmos a lot lately. Sailor Cosmos symbolizes the feminine divine to me because of what she represents and implies for our heroine, Usagi. Her role transforms the hero narrative into one of divine power. While, Moon always uses phrases like cosmic, power, eternal and so on, at the introduction of Cosmos we get to see those traits personified bodily in her, not just as an extension of her wand power. I’ve written before on my tumblr about Cosmos and how I liken her to a Creation Goddess. While I’m social distancing because of Covid I’ve been thinking about her a lot more (mainly because I was planning on getting her as my second Sailor Moon tattoo at the end of March).
I consider Cosmos, and therefore Moon, as embodying the feminine divine because of the overall power of her crystal/starseed. In the Stars arc, we find out that Cosmos has Lambda power which the manga says is the power to restore everything to the static Cosmos. I’m curious as to the literal Japanese translation here, and looking forward to seeing if the Eternal Editions translates this differently. The reason for my curiosity is because lambda which is the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet is the symbol for a cosmological constant. It is used to describe the energy density of space, and the ever expanding dynamic energy of space. Aristotle, Ptolemy and eventually the early Christian church accepted the idea that there were fixed stars in the universe, meaning they accepted a static Cosmos. Static referring to things being unchanged, not expanding or growing. It wasn’t until after Copernicus discovered elliptical orbits and Newton theorized gravity that people began to realize the universe might actually be expanding. That it might be dynamic instead of static. While there were many objections to the idea of a static universe, philosopher Immanuel Kant perhaps surmised it best. He makes the argument that whether the universe had a finite starting point and fixed stars aka static Cosmos, or whether it was infinite aka dynamic was irrelevant because of time. So yeah, I’m really interested in how Eternal Editions will translate this phrase and what exactly it’s suppose to mean.
We see the now proven theory of time as cyclical in the oldest living religion in the world, Hinduism. And Hinduism heavily influenced the emergence of Shintoism and the other mythos that accompanies Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon universe. Pluto is the biggest example of time being cyclical but that’s an analysis for another time. In Sailor Moon, we see reincarnation many times. In Stars, we learn that the Galaxy Cauldron is where all things in the universe are born. We also learn that Queen Serenity gave her life and power to the cauldron so that Serenity and the entire Earth could have a giant redo (also a topic for another time). We see when Moon kills Dark Endymion that she is confident that no matter how many times they are reborn, they will one day meet each other again and they will have a chance to be happy.
So what does this all say about the nature of Usagi’s power? Usagi’s power is one of rebirth and hope. And as Cosmos, using Lambda power, it has evolved as the cosmic power that makes up the universe. Her power of rebirth is a power of creation. She has the ability to draw stars to her, and by stars I mean the senshi. As the Stars arc revealed to us, the senshi are all drawn together because of their great devotion and bond to each other and to Serenity. So literally, at the end of Stars it wasn’t Usagi’s power alone that made them be reborn together, but their combined will as stars/star seeds allowing them to draw each other close. So we can assume that Cosmos, who is Moon alone in the far distant future, may be fighting alone but there’s the hope that she will one day be rejoined by her senshi and lover.
Using this analysis of her as a Creation Goddess, I’d like to take it step further and assert that according to Asian mythologies she is also something much more significant. Those familiar with Asian religions, folklore and even movies and dramas have heard the phrase “Will of Heaven”. Sometimes this is translated as “fate” or “destiny” for non-Asian audiences. The Will of Heaven or Mandate of Heaven was used to ordain ancient Chinese kings. But it was also used more widely to imply that what is happening or whatever decisions are being made is the Will if Heaven and is divine fate. Japanese mythology, Kojiki, describes how the universe begins, and after it begins there is the formation of Heaven (not in the Christian sense). The formation of Heaven creates Light which is the Will of Heaven. From there, Kojiki describes the creation of gods and goddesses and the Earth/Islands of Japan itself.
Considering how deeply Naoko uses mythology in Sailor Moon, I would assert that Moon becomes/is the Light of Heaven and therefore the Will of Heaven. This works in the Sailor Moon Universe through many examples: when she kills Dark Endymion with the confidence that they will be born again, when she finds and rescue the senshi on Nemesis, when she as NQS grants Pluto eternal sleep but then also sends her back in time to be reincarnated with a new mission, when she is able to bring Saturn back from the Tao System and have her start life over during their timeline, when she is able to activate the Golden Crystal essentially making Mamoru her consort and activating her power to enhance her own, and in Stars when she throws herself into the Cauldron to release her power which makes it possible to push the ever-growing power of chaos back into being a smaller part of the universe. Her Will is what gives her crystal power and she can use the will of her senshi to enhance her power. That ability allows her to be the Messiah, the Queen, the Savior and the Creator. Her Will throughout the manga is what shapes the outcome of those around her and by Stars, the Universe itself. It’s an awesome power that demonstrates her eternal brilliance as an “immortal star” as Mamoru calls her.
Usagi’s transformation fro Ordinary Girl to Will of Heaven and Creation Goddess to Eternal Shining Star is bittersweet to me. While my childhood memories of Sailor Moon are deeply rooted in watching the 90s anime growing up, my love for Moon as an adult fan is sustained through the Stars arc in the Manga. I think her transformation is ultimately feminist and of the feminine divine. Anyways, that’s just what I’ve been thinking of the last few days as I social distance and eat too much because I can’t go anywhere.
Anywho, if you liked this please check out my tumblr post in Cosmos: https://endysgirl.tumblr.com/post/187799988033/sailor-cosmos-and-eternal-moon