EDUCATION | MOON MYTHS

When the Hou Yi shot down the nine suns, the sun god Dijun banished him. Dijun had expected Hou Yi merely to discipline, not to kill, his sons. In addition to the Hou Yi, Dijun also banished Hou Yi's goddess wife, Chang'e, to the earth below. The banishment suited Hou Yi because he was regarded as a hero on earth, but Hou Yi's wife was lonely for her sister goddesses and missed the luxuries of heaven. Chang'e was also angry at her husband for jeopardizing her social status. Therefore, although the Hou Yi and his wife loved each other deeply, they often quarreled. In order to keep their bodies in perfect condition, every three thousand years, gods must eat the peach of long life and drink the elixir of immortality from the Garden of the Western Paradise. Because he loved his wife very much, the Grand Hou Yi reluctantly set out on a journey to the Kunlun Mountains where the peaches of long life were grown by Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the Western Paradise. The Hou Yi was unsure of the road, and even less sure of how much strength he had left. When he lived in heaven, Hou Yi had always ridden in the empress's chariot or straddled the tails of sky dragons to reach the Western Paradise, but now that he lived on earth, he had to walk. He crossed burning deserts, forded cold streams, and trekked over high mountains for thousands of miles.

Finally, Hou Yi arrived at his destination and was greeted by Wang Mu. When Hou Yi told her that his wife wanted a dosage of the elixir of immortality, Wang Mu could only sigh. Unfortunately, she told Hou Yi, the gods and goddesses had just feasted on the last batch of peaches. The next peach crop would not ripen for another three thousand years. When Hou Yi continued to implore her, Wang Mu took one leftover, very imperfect dried-up peach, pounded some herbs and powders, and stirred them together into an elixir. Then the Queen Mother poured the precious liquid into a small vial. "This potion will take both of you to the heavens, but make sure you take it on a clear night, or you could be trapped halfway between earth and heaven," she warned. Carefully, the Hou Yi placed the vial in his leather pouch and knotted the bag tightly around his waist.

Again, Hou Yi trudged over the same high mountains, forded the same cold streams, and crossed the same burning deserts to return to his wife. When he lived in heaven, he had not cared about its comforts and luxuries. Because of his status there as a mortal who served the gods, Hou Yi, too, had been invited to sumptuous feasts and had eaten the peach of immortality. The magical potion had enhanced his already powerful body and made him invincible. Now on earth, however, he felt his power slipping day by day. Although Hou Yi did not resent his banishment to earth, he was beginning to resent his decaying mortal body. When at last the Hou Yi returned home and presented the precious elixir to his wife, Chang'e was delighted. She burned with the anticipation of returning to her sisters in the sky. The goddess begged him to take the medicine immediately, but her husband refused, remembering the warning he had been given by the Queen Mother. Hou Yi said, "I have undertaken a long journey to fulfill your deepest desire. We must be patient and wait for a clear night when the stars can guide us homeward."

Chang'e agreed with her husband's clear reasoning, but her desire to be reunited with her sisters was far stronger than her appreciation of his logic. When her husband left for his daily hunt, the goddess stared at the elixir. As the day and night wore on, Hou Yi did not return. As was often the case, Chang'e spent the lonely night waiting for her husband's return. The Hou Yi often stopped to chat with his neighbors to whom he gave generous portions of deer, rabbit, quail, pheasant, and duck from his hunt. Chang'e sighed. The goddess knew by its smell that the elixir was already diluted. The dosage was so weak, she reasoned, that the Hou Yi would probably never recover his full strength by drinking his portion, and she would probably never regain her full beauty by drinking hers. Furthermore, they might never even reach heaven. With these fears in mind, the goddess developed a plan. She would drink both of their portions so that she could return to heaven first, and beg the sun god to forgive her husband for his brashness in having shot down the nine suns. Then she and her sister goddesses could borrow some sky dragons to visit the Queen Mother of the Western Paradise. There, they would persuade her to mix up another dose of the elixir solely for the Hou Yi so he could join his wife in heaven. As she swallowed the elixir, Chang'e felt its bitterness burn her throat. Immediately, her body became lighter, and she felt dizzy. As she ran out into the night, her body floated upward to the stars. Unfortunately, the night was not clear. Chang'e wandered among the stars and lost her way. She finally came to rest, trapped in the cold moon. Hou Yi was just returning when he saw his wife drifting up to the sky. He called out to her and ran after her shadow, but she was too far away to hear him. Hou Yi was heartbroken and wept for days. No one could console the grieving hunter.

The gods took pity on the Hou Yi. Hou Yi had served the gods well and always did their bidding faithfully. Hou Yi never complained about the countless petty tasks assigned to him by the lesser gods of heaven. Therefore, once a year, the gods grant Hou Yi the right to ascend to the skies to be with his wife. On that one night, the harvest moon shines the brightest and fullest of the year, reflecting Hou Yi's love for Chang'e.

*This tale is assumed to have been brought to China from India.*

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he serves the Lady in the Moon, Chang'e or Heng-O, mixing the elixir that will take the Lady in the Moon back to her love.

One Night, Lady Heng-O found a small vial containing the Water of Life. She was seized with a great thirst and immediately drank the liquid. With the first sip, she began to whirl and spin about and then went flying up into the starry heavens, holding the vial in her hand. When Lady Heng-O reached the Moon, the water spilled and turned into a white jade rabbit, and the noble lady turned into a lowly frog. Now when you look at the full moon, you can see Lady Frog sitting at the feet of Moon Rabbit, waiting as he mixes and crushes moon herbs with his mortar and pestle. He is trying to make a magic potion that will return them to Earth, but has not yet succeeded.

Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto was the second of the "three noble children" born when Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the god who created the first land, Onogoro-shima, was cleansing himself of his sins while bathing himself after escaping the underworld and the clutches of his enraged dead wife, Izanami-no-Mikoto. Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto was born when he washed out of Izanagi-no-Mikoto's right eye. However, in an alternate story, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto was born from a mirror made of white copper in Izanagi-no-Mikoto's right hand. After climbing a celestial ladder, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto lived in the heavens, also known as Takamagahara, with his sister Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess.

Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto angered Amaterasu Omikami when he killed Uke Mochi, the goddess of food. Amaterasu Omikami once sent Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto to represent her at a feast presented by Uke Mochi. The goddess made the food by turning to the ocean and spitting out a fish, then facing the forest and game came out of her anus, and finally turned to a rice paddy and coughed up a bowl of rice. Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto was utterly disgusted by the fact that, although it looked exquisite, the meal was made in a disgusting manner, and so he killed her. When Amaterasu Omikami learned what happened, she was so angry that she refused to ever look at Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto again, forever moving to another part of the sky. This is the reason that day and night are never together.

Kaguya lived on the Moon with her father, the Moon god. She was a willful and disobedient child, so she was sent to live on Earth as punishment. There, she was cared for by a poor craftsman. He treated her as his own, and he was soon rewarded with great wealth. Five wealthy nobles asked for Kaguya's hand in marriage, and she sent each on a quest. They all failed, however, and Kaguya remained a maiden. Eventually, she was returned to her father in the Moon, where she tried to forget her sadness at leaving Earth by covering herself with a cloak of feathers.

**An alternative narrative has Kaguya marrying the Emperor, but still being taken back to her father. It is the Emperor's grief that lit the volcano of Mt. Fuji.
[Jeremy Roberts, Japanese Mythology A-Z]

There was a time, a long, long time ago, that only the stars were in the heavens. A woman and her two children--a boy (Dae-soon) and a girl Hae-soon), lived in a small house near the village. The woman's husband was dead. One day, as the mother was returning home with some rice cakes for her children, a hungry tiger approached and told her that he was hungry, so she gave him some rice cakes. He finished those and told her he wants more. The mother told the tiger that he had eaten all of the rice cakes intended for her children. The tiger became very interested when she mentioned her children. "How many?" he asks. The mother, realizing her mistake, tried to take it back by telling him that she made a mistake, but it was too late. The tiger killed the woman and went to her house.

When the children opened the door and saw the tiger, they ran out the back door and climbed to the top a very tall tree. When the tiger began to climb the tree, the brother and sister prayed to the gods to save them, and their prayers were answered. An iron chain descended from the skies, and the two siblings climbed up safely, living happily in the land of the gods. In time, Dae-soon was transformed into the Moon and Hae-soon into the Sun.

Astangi Mata was the mother of all that lived and grew on the Earth, but the sky was empty. She loved her children, the twins Chanda and Suraj, and decided to give them everlasting life as rulers of the heavens. Astangi Mata told Suraj, "You shall be the Raja of the Sky - ever-hot, nurturer of growing things," and Suraj twirled up into the sky. Then she turned to Chanda, saying, "You shall be the Moon - cool, ever-changing, new, and beautiful." And Chanda started her journey skyward. Too late, Astangi Mata reached out to embrace her daughter one last time, and she could but caress Chanda's cheek. The beautiful Moon bears her mother's hand-prints even to this time.

A monkey a fox and a hare were out walking. They encountered a beggar in very bad shape. He told them he had not eaten for days and was about to starve. Now it was a holy day, when the rich would fast and give food to the poor, so the three friends decided to hunt for some food for the beggar. The monkey found some mangoes and the fox returned with a bird's nest, which the beggar accepted gratefully. The hare, however could hunt nothing, since humans could not eat grass. Instead he offered himself as food. The hare lit a fire and jumped in. However, he found he did not burn. Instead the beggar revealed his true face as Indra, God of the Storm. Indra rewarded the hare's courage and self-sacrifice by placing him on the Moon, where people would see him and forever remember his story.

Once, a large herd of elephants lived in a jungle. Their king was a huge, majestic tusker. He looked after them with love and care. A severe drought hit the area. As there was no rain for a few years, all the rivers had dried up. Birds and animals died of thirst. The wild elephants suffered for want of water. Their king knew that if they did not get water soon, many of them would die of thirst. He had to find water as quickly as possible. He asked the elephants to go in different directions to look for water. One of them found a large lake full of water in another jungle far away. The king was happy. He ordered all the elephants to make their way to the lake. It was a beautiful lake. Close to it was a colony of rabbits. The elephants had to pass through this colony. Thousands of rabbits were trampled to death and thousands more were injured. The rabbits were in a panic. Their king called a meeting.

"A herd of wild elephants is passing through our colony," he said. "They have already killed or injured thousands of us. We have to take urgent steps to prevent more deaths. I want all of you to think of a way to save our race." The rabbits thought and thought. How could they stop the elephants? One little rabbit stood up. "Your Majesty," he said, "if you will send me as your messenger to the king of the elephants, I may be able to find a solution." "By all means, go as my messenger and see what you can do." The little rabbit hurried out.

He saw a group of elephants returning from the lake. Right in the middle was the king. To get near him was impossible. "I will be crushed to death,' thought the rabbit. So he climbed up a huge rock. "O, king of the elephants," he shouted, "hear me, please." The king heard his voice and turned towards him. "Well, who are you?" he asked. "I am a messenger," replied the rabbit. "A messenger? From whom?" "I am a messenger from the mighty Moon." "What is your business? Is there a message for me from the Moon?" "Yes, yes, your Majesty. But you must not be angry with me. Please remember that a messenger is never punished for what he has to say. He is only doing his duty." "Very well. Say what you have been sent to say. I shall not harm you." "Sir," said the little rabbit, "the Moon has this to say, ' You, the king of the elephants, have brought your herd to my holy lake and soiled its waters. You have killed thousands of rabbits on your way to the lake. You know that rabbits are under my special protection. Everyone knows that the king of the rabbits lives with me. I ask you not to kill any more rabbits. Otherwise something terrible will happen to you and your herd.'"

The king of the elephants was shocked. He looked at the little rabbit. "You are right," he said. "We may have killed many rabbits on our way to the lake. I shall see that you do not suffer anymore. I shall request the Moon to forgive me for my sins. Please tell me what I should do." "Come with me alone," replied the rabbit. "Come, I shall take you to the Moon." The little rabbit took the huge elephant to the lake. There they saw the Moon reflected in the still waters. "There, your Majesty, meet the Moon," said the little rabbit.

"Let me worship the divine Moon," said the elephant, and dipped his trunk into the water. At once the water was disturbed. The Moon seemed to move to and fro. The rabbit said, "Now the Moon is angrier than ever." "Why?" asked the king. "What have I done?" "You have touched the holy waters of the lake," replied the rabbit. The elephant bowed his head. "Please ask the Moon to forgive me. Never again will we touch the holy waters of this lake. Never again will we harm the rabbits that the Moon loves so much." And the king and his herd went away. Soon after, there was rain and the elephants lived happily. It never occurred to them that a little rabbit had fooled them.

As the moon, Soma became equated with the god Chandra, who originally was the moon deity. The moon was considered the cup which held the drink Soma for the gods, and one reason that the moon waxed and waned was due to this fact. When the moon waned, it was because the gods were drinking down all the Soma; as it waxed, the god was re-creating himself, only to be consumed again once the cup was again full. As the Vedic age ended and the Brahmans asserted themselves, the power of the gods no longer came from Soma but instead from sacrifices made by humans; Soma came more and more to be just a god of the moon. In later times, the waxing and waning of the moon was due to a curse put on Soma. Soma had twenty-seven wives (who correspond to the twenty-seven stations of the moon). They were all the daughters of Daksha. Daksha felt that Soma was paying too much attention to one of his daughters, thereby neglecting the rest. He cursed Soma to die a withering death. But Soma's wives intervened, and so the death became only periodic; during half the month, the moon slowly dies away, but is reborn and comes around again to full vigor.