#princessleia

Luke and Leia | Star Wars Nite

“She was very beautiful. Kind, but sad.” — Leia Organa

116 days until May The Fourth

The storyline of Star Wars follows the progression of the Seven Classical Planets...

[NB: Throughout I use Star Wars to refer exclusively to what was later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope.]

Here's how it plays out:

Before the movie even starts, the opening crawl tells us that The Moon (Princess Leia) is on a dangerous mission to reveal the secret (deliver the plans) of Darkness (the Death Star, a planet-killing space station that happens to be the size of a “small moon”).

The movie begins mid-action as The Moon (Princess), about to be captured by the Evil Empire, dispatches a distress call through her trusted agent Mercury (R2-D2), who escapes with his companion Venus (C-3PO) to a desert planet where they accidentally encounter The "New" Sun (Luke Skywalker) while searching for The "Old" Sun (Obi-Wan Kenobi), who makes contact with Mars (Chewbacca) in order to hire Jupiter (Han Solo) to pilot them on their quest to defeat Saturn (Darth Vader).

That's Star Wars in a nutshell, innit ?

Here's a character-by-character breakdown:

Princess Leia is The Moon, the wise and luminous one. Dressed in flowing white gowns that evoke moonbeams, her holographic projection further magnifies her iridescence. The Moon (Princess) is taken prisoner (the damsel in distress, New Moon, swallowed by Darkness) on the moon-sized battle station, until she's rescued and emerges as a leader of a coordinated counterattack (the warrior princess, Full Moon, overcoming Darkness).

2. R2-D2 is Mercury, the traveler and communicator. His slow-rolling chrome chassis evokes Mercury's light metallic surface and slight orbit, while his multi-coloured lights mirror the planet's unique prismatic shimmer. Mercury (Artoo) is closest to the The Moon (Princess), Venus (Threepio), and The Sun (Kenobi/Skywalker), and his mission to find The “Old” Sun (Obi-Wan Kenobi) sets in motion the entire chain of events that brings the heroes into alignment on their odyssey. On top of that, Artoo is an astromech droid that's purpose-built for servicing spacecraft, so he's specifically designed to travel.

C-3PO is Venus, the compassionate one, whose gold-plated figure evokes the copper glow of Venus. Although he's a mechanical being, he expresses great emotion (more than any of the humanoid characters) including affection and persistent concern for his counterpart Artoo, the Princess, and his new master Luke.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker are The Twin Suns: Because the fictional / mythical Tatooine has two suns, it's appropriate that the story include two Suns as twin heroes. (And of course the planet of the Twin Suns is a desert world.) • 4a. Obi-Wan Kenobi is The "Old" Sun, the aging master (Jedi Knight) near the end of his journey, hiding in the wilderness in order to watch over and protect The “New” Sun (Skywalker). The “Old” Sun (Kenobi) once had a master-apprentice relationship with his fallen pupil Saturn (Vader), which he later exploits in order to save the other heroes. He carries and preserves the ancient mystical teachings (the Jedi code), and develops a master-apprentice relationship with The “New” Sun (Skywalker) to whom he passes on that knowledge. • 4b. Luke Skywalker is The "New" Sun, the young novice (Jedi-in-waiting) at the beginning of his journey. He enters a master-apprentice relationship with the wise old hermit The “Old” Sun (Kenobi). He harbours a deep grudge after learning that Saturn (Vader) killed his father — which deepens when the Evil Empire murders his family, and further still when he witnesses Saturn (Vader) slay The “Old” Sun (Kenobi) before his very eyes. The “New” Sun (Skywalker) hatches the plan to rescue The Moon (Princess) from Darkness (the Death Star), and in the end he overcomes Saturn (Vader) with a little help from his friends Jupter (Solo) and Mars (Chewbacca), making the magic shot that defeats the bad guys and saves the day for the good guys.

Chewbacca is Mars, the warrior. I think this is self-explanatory. He's loyal, ferocious, courageous, and a skilled marksman — and his species (Wookie) is a renowned warrior race. Plus his brown fur could be likened to the rusty hue of the Martian surface.

Han Solo is Jupiter, the chief. He's bold, brave, outspoken, and exudes a godlike arrogance in his own self-determination — although in the end he abandons self-interest to serve a greater cause. Solo captains the vessel (the Millennium Falcon) that carries the heroes on their journey, and is called upon to provide them safe passage. He proves skilled at evading trouble, and when the heroes are eventually captured by Darkness (the Death Star) he boldly charges to their defence and aids in their escape. Although he feigns wanting to stay out of their fight, in the end he shows his true colours by returning to lend The “New” Sun (Luke) a helping hand against Saturn (Vader).

Darth Vader is Saturn, the ultimate villain. He is the fallen mater (Jedi Knight) who uses his mystical power for evil (the Dark Side). His pursuit of The Moon (Princess) kicks off the story before the beginning, and his crusade to destroy the good guys (Rebel Alliance) brings him into direct conflict with first The “Old” Sun (Kenobi) and then The “New” Sun (Skywalker).

More to say, have I, about the cosmological movements of the unfolding story, but I'll leave it here for the moment.

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#Dappertober # 15: Princess/General Leia! ✨🎖🤖