But a Jape

“Except when there’s a solar eclipse, which is when the Sun and Moon really get down to smooching! It’s kinda scary, but you also can’t help but watch!”

– Earth, the creepiest planet

I find it amusing, in retrospect, how humanity has always characterized the sun and moon as roughly equivalent in status – whethers as lovers, siblings, or work colleagues – despite their vast size discrepancy on an actual, cosmic scale.

In this sense, I wonder whether it’s the lunar deities or solar deities who get the better deal in these arrangements. If godhood is a matter of responsibility, then both titles have almost the same level of prestige, but the solar deity probably has a much more intensive workload relative to their counterpart. Or maybe it’s the lunar gods who feel cheated – expecting their realm of authority to wield the same level of power as the sun, only to find out they’ve got a tiny, desolate rock instead.

Either way, if celestial bodies were sentient, I imagine the sun must find it rather insulting to be partnered with such a comparatively insignificant satellite. Or would they not even care what goes on in the Earth’s imagination anyway? I suppose it depends on how petty this hypothetically sentient sun is.

– James