History Main / MaleSunFemaleMoon

Perhaps, because of that, pairing a male character with a sun motif and a female character with a moon motif continues to be a common trope. A male character associated with the sun may be a fierce, strong yet warm-hearted fighter while a female character associated with the moon may be a beautiful ProperLady with an air of mysteriousness and an aloof demeanour. Since the sun is a fiery ball of energy and the moon controls the tides, leading to association with fire and water, characters of this sort may also have fire and water (or fire and ice) powers to set them apart from each other.

* Averted in ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium''. The moon is created from the flower of the white tree Telperion and the sun is created from the fruit of the golden tree Laurelin. Both Telperion and the moon are gendered as male (and the moon is 'piloted' by a male Maiar), while both Laurelin and the sun are gendered as female (and the sun is 'piloted' by a female Maiar).

In many cultures, since ancient times the sun has been associated with masculinity and the moon with femininity. The sun can be considered fierce, harsh, and blazing, traits usually seen as masculine, while the moon can be considered delicate, gentle, and beautiful, traits usually seen as feminine. Additionally, the moon goes through [[MenstruationTropes monthly cycles]], while the sun [[RagingStiffie rises every morning]]. Many ancient religions that worshipped the sun and moon personified them as gods and associated those traits with them.

This is not universal - in fact, throughout human culture as a whole there are more examples of female suns and male moons than the other way around. The sun can be considered light-giving, warm, and nurturing, traits seen as feminine, where the moon can be seen as cold and distant, traits often seen as masculine. However, some of the cultures which became most ''dominant'' (such as Greco-Roman mythology) followed the male sun / female moon pattern, which leads to them being strongly represented in Western media.

* Wikipedia has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_deity#Female_and_male page section for this trope]], which notes that female suns are ''more common'' than male suns.

* Myth/CelticMythology: Possibly subverted as the Irish pantheon is called the Tuatha De Dannan, or "Children of Daan," where the female Daan (or Danu) is considered the founder of the line (the Irish Celts were matri-linear, tracing their ancestry through female reletives). Daan, considered a mother-goddess, is frequently associated with the sun, which has also led to "Tuatha De Dannan" being translated as "Children of the Sun." The Irish god-hero Llew had as one of his sobriquets "Son of the Sun." Daan is also associated with the Welsh Don, who, while filling much the same ancestral role in Welsh mythology as Daan does in Irish mythology, is not usually associated with natural principals and whose intended gender was often uncertain (sometimes Don is said to be male, sometimes female). Daan only survives in Irish mythology as an ancestral figure; no myths about her, if they ever existed, survive.
* Myth/JapaneseMythology: Subverted in the Shinto pantheon, where Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun and Tsukuyomi is the god of the moon.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'': Solgaleo and Lunala, associated respectively with the sun and moon, are said to be the male and female evolutions of Cosmog. However, all three of them are genderless in-game.
** Elio (the male player) and Selene (the female player) are named after the sun and moon, respectively.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Night elves worship the moon goddess Elune, and have a matriarchal society. Meanwhile, blood elves have a strong association with the sun (although their actual religion is very rarely discussed) and are largely patriarchal. Enforcing the contrast, night elves only have female guards in their cities while blood elves only have male, unlike every other race which has a mix.

* ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': Subverted, as while not ascribed divinity, among the Elves and the Hobbits the Sun is referred to as "she" while the moon is referred to as "he."

* ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': Subverted, as hile not ascribed divinity, among the Elves and the Hobbits the Sun is referred to as "she" while the moon is referred to as "he."

* ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': While not ascribed divinity, among the Elves and the Hobbits the Sun is referred to as "she" while the moon is referred to as "he."

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': Ishir is a female moon goddess and Kai is a male sun god.

[[folder:Myths and Religion]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Video]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In earlier seasons, the moon was male just for some throw-away jokes. As the series gained its identity and moved past the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, the moon was given a female identity who showed up across various episodes, most prominently in [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS4E26TheLove "The Love"]]. It would revert back to male for one episode, [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS4E31TheNight "The Night"]], where the Moon narrated about the dreams of the citizens of Elmore (and annoyed them in the process for keeping them awake.)

-->''"And as all things have been and arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.''\\
''The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,''\\
''the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse."''

In many cultures, since ancient times the sun has been associated with masculinity and the moon with femininity. The sun can be considered fierce, harsh, and blazing, traits usually seen as masculine, while the moon can be considered delicate, gentle, and beautiful, traits usually seen as feminine. Many ancient religions that worshipped the sun and moon personified them as gods and associated those traits with them.

This is not universal - in fact, throughout human culture as a whole there are more examples of female suns and male moons than the other way around. The sun can be considered light-giving, warm, nurturing, traits seen as feminine, where the moon can be seen as cold and distant, traits often seen as masculine. However, some of the cultures which became most ''dominant'' (such as Greco-Roman mythology) followed the male sun / female moon pattern, which leads to them being strongly represented in Western media.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': The sun is male and the moon is female. However, sometimes the moon is shown as male.

* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'': The [[TheFaceOfTheSun sun]] and [[WeirdMoon moon]] are brother and sister {{Physical God}}s, respectively, who manifest in the sky above [[FlatWorld Manjulias]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e49fe8aa_fc2c_4f0b_bc2a_ebfde6861d6b.jpeg]]

Ever since ancient times, the sun has been associated with masculinity and the moon with femininity. The sun is considered fierce, harsh, and blazing, traits usually seen as masculine, while the moon is considered delicate, gentle, and beautiful, traits usually seen as feminine. Many ancient religions that worshipped the sun and moon personified them as gods and associated those traits with them.

* Wikipedia has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_deity#Female_and_male page section for this trope]].

* Myth/ClassicalMythology

* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'': The [[WeirdSun sun]] and [[WeirdMoon moon]] are brother and sister {{Physical God}}s, respectively, who manifest in the sky above [[FlatWorld Manjulias]].

-->''"And as all things have been and arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.''
-->''The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,''
-->''the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse."''

[[/folder]]

* In some [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Eastern Orthodox Christian]] icons of [[Literature/BookOfGenesis God creating the universe]], this is [[https://store.ancientfaith.com/creation-of-heavenly-bodies-large-icon/ inverted with a male moon and female sun]]. In other icons of the same event, [[https://www.uncutmountainsupply.com/icons/of-christ/the-creation-of-the-stars-11t08/ both the sun and moon are female]]. Most other icons depict them genderless.
* Also inverted in Myth/NorseMythology, with the sun goddess Sól/Sunna and the moon god Máni.

* In some [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Eastern Orthodox Christian]] icons of [[Literature/BookOfGenesis God creating the universe]], this is [[https://store.ancientfaith.com/creation-of-heavenly-bodies-large-icon/ inverted with a male moon and female sun]]. In other icons of the same event, [[https://www.uncutmountainsupply.com/icons/of-christ/the-creation-of-the-stars-11t08/ both the sun and moon are female]]. Most other icons depict them genderless.
* Also inverted in Myth/NorseMythology, with the sun goddess Sól/Sunna and the moon god Máni.

* In Greek mythology, Apollo is the god of the sun while his sister Artemis is the goddess of the moon. Originally Helios was the Titan and personification of the Sun, whilst his sister Selena was Titan of the Moon. Apollo was originally just God of light, however, over time it shifted to him becoming God of the Sun and thus his sister gained the Moon.