The Arena. The place for warriors to display their strength and skill to the masses - to prove how much effort they've put into their training by testing themselves against one another. The arena is where Aries feels at home. His force of will empowering him, he smashes through all competition, so that he alone may raise his fist in glorious victory, as the throngs of onlookers praise his might.
But, hark! Who's that on the other side of the battlefield? He certainly seems well-mannered. Waitasec...Libra?! What are YOU doing here?
If Aries is The Warrior, then Libra is The Diplomat - certainly not someone you expect to pick a fight with you. After all, Libra is ruled by Venus, the love planet. Libra likes everything to be balanced and beautiful, functioning in harmony. Libra doesn't usually care about testing its might – it charms, it flirts, it jokes. It doesn't fight. Or does it?
Libra has little resonance with Mars, the planet that rules bloody, digitized strife as found in games like Street Fighter II, Fatal Fury, Soul Calibur, or the like. In fact, Libra is one of the detriments of Mars – it just doesn't understand fighting. And yet, Libran figures abound in these games. Why?
In order to assess what Libra is doing in Aries' realm, we have to examine the things that would drive a Libra to fight.
Justice Fixation
In almost every fighting game, there is at least one character associated with a law-enforcement unit, whose goal is to root out the corruption from the tournament by force. This denotes a bond with Saturn's energies, which point to a sense of duty, and an upholding of the rules which govern society.
Libra has a special connection with Saturn, as this is the place where Saturn is exalted. Libra makes the most efficient use of Saturn's energy by bringing its detached, nearly-mechanical attitude towards balance as the linchpin of society. And Libra's strict adherence to the harmony brought by law will push them to preserve it, and thereby root out any threat to the balance. Therefore, many of these Saturn-ruled fighters are likely to be Libran.
The first fighter that springs to mind is Chun Li.
Chun Li is, of course, the very first female fighting game character, initially featured in Capcom's genre-defining Street Fighter II. She is truly the one to set the archetype both as the female fighter and as the Saturn-ruled fighter.
Her Libran qualities are evident right from the get-go. Chun-Li (or "Chunners," as she prefers to be called) fights with feminine grace, and adds balance to an otherwise male-dominated setting. Chun Li is out to avenge her father's death at the hands of M. Bison, the power-hungry Capricorn figure who runs the criminal organization known as Shadowloo. Rather than seek vengeance on her own, Chun Li joins Interpol – she doesn't want to kill Bison, but to bring him to justice. This is the mark of a woman ruled by laws of society. To pursue revenge as a personal grudge and not as a function of the law would be in violation of Saturn's ways, and would threaten position in the world.
Other fighters echo these sentiments, but may actually have more do to with Capricorn, who is ruled by Saturn. Capricorn's methods are more methodical, structured, and can be afflicted with a devilish tinge. A few that spring to mind: Mortal Kombat's Sonia Blade, who has no problem issuing fatalities, and Fatal Fury's Kim Kap Hwan, whose enforcement of the popular view of morality borders on insane fanaticism. He'll go so far as to call out those who he considers to be evildoers in the opening animation before the fight, issuing a cry of "Aku wa yurusan!" ("Evil is unforgivable!") before busting out the Taekwondo fury. Kim seems to take a nigh-demonic joy in smashing the skulls of those he considers to be villainous. Not so Libran.
So, who else smacks of Libra? Certainly Ky Kiske, of Sammy's Guilty Gear series. A bland pretty-boy who fights with flourish, Ky is the leader of The Sacred Order of Holy Knights, which seems to be the singular law-enforcement agency operating in this post-apocalyptic setting. Like the others, Ky is obsessed with justice. But as he delves deeper into the dirty laundry behind his own agency, he discovers that what is considered "just" on the books may not be the TRUE justice – there are people pulling strings behind the scenes, and right under his nose, no less. This is Saturn's guidance, calling on the Libra to bring balance and order to the world. Libra is disgusted with any system that skews law to accommodate those that have money or power; might does not make right when dealing with exalted Saturn.
Ky Kiske
Social Dynamo
Libra is one of the two signs ruled by Venus, the planet of pleasure. While Taurus, the other Venus-ruled sign, is concerned primarily with physical pleasure and comfort, Libra thrives on the pleasures of harmony, curiosity, and societal connections. It is more aesthetically driven.
With Libra referring back to the planet of love, it's no wonder that a few of our Libra fighters seem to be following their hearts, or manipulating the hearts of others.
From the Fatal Fury series, we have Mai Shiranui, the large-chested, fan-wielding kunoichi who's been giving SNK fanboys stiffies with her digital funbags ever since the early 90's. Mai was designed to compete with Chun Li, and fills the same role as a Libran, balancing force. Like Chun Li, she was the only female playable character in the roster when introduced, and dressed with the same measure of brevity and elegance. Unlike Chun Li, however, Mai's motives are much more Venusian: the only reason she's fighting at all is because of her schoolgirl crush on Andy Bogard, the main character's brother. Mai seems concerned with little else; she never makes much of a fuss about wanting to be the strongest or with taking revenge on anyone. She fights because it's fun, and because she wants Andy to acknowledge her. Libra has the strongest resonance with the 7th House, the place where long-term partnerships (and relationships) are formed. To Mai, world-level martial arts tournaments are something she and Andy can do together!
Venus much, Mai?
Similarly, we have Elena from Street Fighter 3. A Capoeirista from Kenya, Elena seems to have no motive for participation other than to travel the world and meet new people. She experiences each fight as an amusement, each new opponent as a new friend.
Uh. I'll be your friend, Elena!
But there's also the badguy Libras, the ones that understand Venus as a weapon – seduction. Momo is from Capcom's Project Justice, the sequel to Rival Schools. In this series, the warriors are all high schoolers, each hailing from a different social strata of the educational environs. Momo is a tennis player who is secretly in league with the villains of the game. Fully aware of her charms, she employs them to lead Shoma, the hot-headed baseball player, to turn against his friends and do her dirty work. When Libra is spoken ill of, it's usually with regard to their laziness, and because they get others to take responsibility for their work. Momo personifies this, and does so intentionally, calculating the implications of her saccharine machinations. Why do all the fighting if someone else is willing to do so?
Traitorous whore!
There's also Kyosuke Kagami, from the same Rival Schools series, who allows himself to be manipulated by his brother because of family loyalty. In Chinese Astrology, Libra is represented by The Dog, mankind's faithful servant. Therefore, Libras can often end up on the other side of manipulation, because it would be socially unacceptable to deny their "master." Only when Kyosuke's devotion to justice kicks in does he decide to rally against his brother's designs and fight on his friends' side.
"I am Jack's Fallen Luminary"
Libra is the Fall of The Sun, the sign which makes the worst possible use of the energy of the ego, the conscious self. More to the point, Libra doesn't understand how to have an ego - it thinks that it does, but what it is really doing is building an identity based on who it interacts with in society. "I am this person's daughter. I am this person's lover. I am this person's subordinate. I must act accordingly." This robotic adherence to social obligations leaves many Libras without a true sense of self.
When they notice this, Libras will often try to compensate with a search for the self-belief that signs like Aries and Leo display so effortlessly.
One such Libra is Xianghua, from Namco's Soul Calibur games. Xianghua wields the eponymous sword, an ancient treasure handed down from her mother, which is the antithesis to the evil sword, Soul Edge.
Xianghua. And her sword. And her butt.
Xianghua seems as much motivated by Venus as she is by a Saturnine drive to balance. On one level, she is motivated by her attraction to the staff-wielding fighter named Kilik, who has a vendetta against Soul Edge. But the reason she embarked on this quest in the first place was due to orders from her King, orders to retrieve Soul Edge's power. While this is already in Saturn's realm, the King's influence ends up being overriden by a Saturn in Libra commitment to balance and order - Xianghua knows that no one must own the sword, that it must be destroyed in order for harmony to be restored.
For as much bluster as these actions seem to convey, Xianghua still defines herself by her connections. She is there on her King's orders. She is joining Kilik's quest. She does so wielding her mother's sword. And although she was the one to defeat the menace of Nightmare in Soul Calibur, she considers herself less skilled than Kilik, and strives to catch up to him. At the close of the third and most recent game, Soul Calibur III, Xianghua's ending has her struggling with the self-belief required to smash the evil blade out of existence once and for all.
The truth hurts, bitch.
As represented in the court cards of the Tarot, Libra is The Queen of Swords. Accordingly, Libra fighters tend to present an image of feminine elegance - even the guys. They also tend to have a penchant for edged weapons. Why?
The Tarot's Swords represent the Zodiac's Air, and are synonymous with truth. If Libran fighters are The Queen of Swords, then they are bound to the blade. Even Libra's Major Arcana card, Justice, holds a sword o' truth at the ready.
This is evident in the fighting styles of most of our Libras so far. Xianghua and Ky both wield swords. Kyosuke's strikes are never done with closed fists, but with palm strikes and chopping strikes, which are the "blades" of empty-hand fighting. As for Chun-Li...y'know that move where you mash the K button, causing her to launch a blinding barrage of kicks? Its Japanese name is "Hyaku Retsu Kyaku," or "One Hundred Tearing Kicks."
Incidentally, the super version of this move - which can be seen in the Street Fighter Alpha games, or the Marvel Versus series - is called "Sen Retsu Kyaku," or "One Thousand Tearing Kicks." I mention this because, well, I think it's pretty fuckin' sweet.
Mash K.
Another interesting note on swords – Libras tend to be the "foil" characters, who either end up being the polarizing second-banana to the main character, usually a strong-willed Aries-type. And of course, a foil is also a type of sword, used in fencing.
Specific examples:
- In Guilty Gear, Ky Kiske is the opposite of Sol-Badguy, an Aries-type anti-hero.
- In The King of Fighters, the foppish Benimaru Nikkaido is a foil to the hot-headed Kyo Kusanagi.
- In Rival Schools, the cool and collected Kyosuke Kagami is a foil to the quick-tempered Batsu Ichimonji.
- Rather than being opposites, Xianghua and Kilik are really pretty similar. An inversion of the prior examples, their foil is the cocky, nunchaku-using, Elvis-lookin' Karate-Pirate called Maxi.
- In some incarnations, Chun Li can be seen as a compliment to Guile and/or Charlie, the two military operatives who share in her dream of bringing down Shadowloo, and getting revenge against M. Bison. However, she is not dependent on either of them, and seems like a character comfortable with operating on her own. Out of all our little Libran fighters, Chunners seems to be the one who's done the best job of integrating her Aries shadow side.
The God of War grants you power...!!! (...somewhat grudgingly...)
Whether or not Mars likes it, all Libras make use of his gifts. (Cheer up, big guy. At least they aren't Cancers.) Since we're playing in Mars' world, let's take a look at some specific fighting types manifesting through these Libran blades.
Mars in Leo: A Libran fighter with Mars in Leo is going to create a beautiful spectacle in their fighting style. Leo's ample martial prowess, which takes pleasure in the glory of the battle, is funneled through Libra's need to create beauty and harmony. While Mars in Leo can have a lot of rough edges manifesting in other signs, Libra takes makes it pretty and entrancing – the fight becomes a choreographed performance. These qualities are evident in the graceful sword dance of Xianghua.
Mars in Scorpio: One thing I immediately noticed is that a lot of these fighters utilize electricity and lightning. With the way it snakes around, destroying from the inside out, Scorpio shares resonance with electricity. This is only heightened when we consider that Scorpionic energy is being conducted through metal – the blade of Libra. Ky, for example, literally uses a lightning sword. Benimaru and Kyosuke also utilize electricity in their signature attacks.
Mars in Sagittarius: Mai Shiranui does wield blades of a sort, as her fans are meant to cut. However, she primarily throws them – long-range attacks are very Sagittarian. Sagittarius is Mutable Fire, the purest incarnation of flame. Mai has a number of moves that involve the use of fire, including one called "Kagerou no Mai," where she is fully engulfed in flames. Sagittarian energy is also personified in the ultra-cartoony, way-too-cute-and-colorful attitude of a lot of Japan's media. This is the way Momo fights, leaving bright pink trails of cartoon hearts in the wake of each swing of her tennis racquet, as she lets out a squeal of a battlecry and throws her whole body into each attack.
Mars in Pisces: Pisces rules the feet, so fighters with Mars in Pisces like to kick things. Elena, our Capoeira gal, has a movelist that is entirely kick-based. Chun Li is primarily a kicker, too. However, Mars in Pisces means more than just planting a heel in someone's jaw. Pisces is a water sign – water can be collected in order to nurture and heal. Elena's third super art, which is simply called "Healing," allows her to regain a significant portion of her lifebar. Pisces is Mutable Water, and the final sign of the zodiac.
Having cycled through the rest of the wheel, Mars in Pisces understands how to take any shape and use it martially. In Chun-Li's first incarnation, she only had her Hyaku Retsu Kyaku (the K mash move,) and the Spinning Bird Kick. But as the Street Fighter series continued, Chun-Li adapted – soon, she had her own projectile move, the Kikouken, to compete with Ken and Ryu. She also gained an anti-air move, the Ten Shou Kyaku. These are attack structures which were present in other characters, but which Mars in Pisces copied and adapted to suit its needs.
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Though geared towards the martial, fighting games are still games. Air signs are curious and fun-loving by nature, and are drawn towards games of any stripe. Given the martial arts' reputation for providing a healthy life and internal harmony, it would make a good amount of sense to see Libras in the dojo – even if they're more involved cognitively than competitively. In the end, that drive to understand rather than to dominate may even make them superior fighters. And if it does, they will taunt the shit out of you after putting you down. Trust me, I know all about it.
Copyright Nerdcore Astrotypes, 2007.
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