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Body Symbols
Symbols on the body appear often in anime. And a particularly frequent placing of markings is on the forehead.
In some beliefs a third eye on the forehead is connected to enlightenment or insight. There is the Tantric belief in chakras or power points along the spinal center of the body.
From Taoism there is tan-t'ien. "A human being's life force consists of three energies (generative, vital, and spiritual). These energies are said to become impure
through attachment and craving. Spiritual growth corresponds to the purification of these three energies. This purification is said to occur at three different tan-t'ien (fields)
within the human body. The lower tan-t'ien is one inch below the navel. The middle tan-t'ien (also known as the Golden Palace) is centered at the solar plexus.
The upper tan-t'ien is centered between the eyebrows. The tan-t'ien are thought of as cauldrons within which the three energies are refined until they have acquired their original
purity. Within the tan-tien, there is also a transmutation of lower energy into higher energy (i.e. from generative to vital to spiritual energy)."*
In Franz's book on Individuation in Fairy Tales she talks about the symbol on the forehead or body as a sign the individual in the tale is marked by destiny. She says: "Most, or many,
mythological heroes have specific marks from their birth which show that they will be the carriers of a specific and unusual fate. Some have a moon on their foreheads, or a hidden mark
somewhere on their bodies, or they even have a disfiguration" (p. 16). This motif of a marking symbolizing fate from birth is also widely seen in anime, though the marking may not appear
until puberty in some cases, a time when their fate begins to be set in motion by a change in the world around them. Examples include the senshi from BSSM, Aya in Ayashi no Ceres,
and the warriors in Fushigi Yuugi.
Body markings such as scars, paint, or tattoos were used in many cultures for a variety of reasons. They might be ornamental, record a family history or name/s, give an air of foracity
in battle, or they might be totem markings.
Usually, when markings show up in anime they serve as a power point or indicator of supernatural abilities. In Sorcerer Hunters and Sorcerer on the Rocks, a marking on the forehead
is a symbol that the individual is a sorcerer and that symbol will sometimes glow when they use magic. The goddesses in AMG each have face markings to show their goddess level. Warriors
in Fushigi Yuugi are realized to be born celestial protectors of their miko by the body symbol they possess. The senshi in Sailor Moon each have a planetary symbol on their forehead
which glows when they power up and also serves to show they are a warrior or guardian born to a specific planet. In Shamanic Princess, Tiara to call upon the powers subject to her will
first call upon the ancient scriptures to appear and be written on her, and from these writings upon her skin, she will merge with the forces under contract to her. She also will use magic
from the eye symbol that can be made to appear on her palm. The sorceress from the first CCS movie also has a mark upon her forehead indicating her tie with magic. In Ayashi no
Ceres when Aya transforms into the tennyo Ceres, the symbol of the tennyo appears and glows on her forehead.
As in Sailor Moon and Fushigi Yuugi where the symbol was specific and held a meaning, Nataku in X has a forehead symbol of a lotus, which symbolizes the Chinese legend behind his name.
In some cases, like Helios in Sailor Moon, the symbol on the forehead
serves as a kind of enlightment symbol as he's a priest. Both the dreamwatchers in X also possess symbols upon their foreheads.
In the Escaflowne movie Van has the markings of a warrior upon his body. Shesta, one of Dilandau's men, has a kind of symbol on his forehead that is a dot with a line from it.
In some ways it is a kind of third eye. With it Shesta can see inside the caravan before the men attack.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! Marik's adopted older brother wants to prove his loyalty to Marik and his family, and do something to ease the boy's feelings of despair and loneliness over having to inherit the
legacy of tomb keeper for the pharoah and living his life shut away in the darkness. He thus gets a tattoo for the side of his face as a series of hieroglyphics on the same night that Marik undergoes
the ritual. In this instance it is a symbol of family and of loyalty, a bond.
Definition from: http://www.digiserve.com/mystic/Taoist/index.html