The phantasmagorical world of Howl's Moving Castle is one that's hard to look away from, especially because of the gorgeous hand-painted visualization by Hayao Miyazaki. The vibrant characters in the movie are the other wonderful aspect of the anime film: Sophie, Howl, Calcifer, and the others are arresting characters with nuance and depth.
With all the magic and enchantment in the Studio Ghibli movie, it is but obvious that the characters would get compared to the heavenly bodies to find comparisons between them and the astrological signs of the zodiac. Here's how the anime stars align.
Aries: Madam Suliman
The King's Royal Sorceress loved to be the foremost witch in the land, and she couldn't tolerate that Howl and the Witch of the Waste had gotten ahead of her and amassed huge amounts of power.
She may be villainous, but Madam Suliman was clever and didn't hesitate from throwing herself into challenging situations. The war and the King had put her in a tight spot, but the bold Aries-like sorceress got right to the heart of the problem and nipped it in the bud as well as she could.
Taurus: Lettie
Studio Ghibli movies are full of some of the best female characters. Soft and wholesome, Sophie's sister Lettie fit right into a bucolic environment that Taureans are so fond of. Working in a bakery, she was fond of the soothing aromas and fine flavors which came with her job.
Much like the earth sign, Lettie wasn't afraid of rolling up her sleeves and working hard. She was a reliable employee, and a dependable sister to Sophie as well.
Gemini: Honey
One would expect Sophie's mother to care a little more for her child who toiled away at her father's hat shop, but Honey had other things to worry about, like her vanity, her society commitments, and her new husbands. Much like a Gemini, she was a social butterfly, and could be two-faced like the twins too.
It was surprisingly easy for Madam Suliman to turn Honey against Sophie, and plant a magical spy worm in her home. Despite being under duress, she gave no signal to Sophie that she was putting her in danger.
Cancer: Markl
Cancers are magnets for new friends, especially because of their emotional intelligence, loyalty, commitment, and pleasant nature. Little Markl may have been young, but he exhibited all these qualities in droves.
He carried out Howl's business for him every day, and genuinely cared for the wizard when he was low. He even befriended old Sophie very quickly because of his trusting and intuitive personality, which is characteristic of the celestial crabs.
Leo: Wizard Howl
Howl Pendragon Jenkins was a sucker for attention, and he would do anything to stay in the limelight, just like a Leo. To keep himself handsome and attractive to women, he used various potions and spells, the absence of which put him in an amusing funk. Unsurprisingly, he had some of the best looks from the Studio Ghibli movies.
He was theatrical and dramatic like the zodiac sign, but the dapper wizard also loved passionately. His childlike heart was Sophie's from the very first moment, and his devotion to her was endearing.
Virgo: Sophie Hatter
Logical and practical, Sophie woke up every day, worked hard at the hat shop, and lived her life by a routine — until she met the very charming Howl. Even then, Sophie didn't sacrifice her Virgo-like traits of perfectionism and optimism.
After letting herself into Howl's castle, she got into action right away, cleaning, scrubbing, and setting eating schedules for the inhabitants of the magical home. When she got turned into an old woman, she calmly reasoned with herself and accepted her fate with grace, even appreciating the good that came out of being a senior citizen.
Libra: Blob Men
Libras work best with companions and mates, and although the Witch of the Waste's magical creations didn't have much of a personality, they definitely only worked well in groups. It was easy to evade the dangerous entities individually, but not when they were teamed up.
The Blob Men in Howl's Moving Castle were also always seen in finery and smart uniforms, which is a deeply Libran trait — they love everything beautiful, which includes their garb too.
Scorpio: Witch Of The Waste
Endlessly calculating and power-hungry, the awful Witch of the Waste was just like a Scorpio, striking Sophie with her terrible curse when she least expected it. On her worst days, she was a force of pure destruction, making her one of the best Ghibli villains.
However, Scorpios can also be transformative, which is something that the Witch displayed in the latter half of the movie. It was quite heartwarming to see the Witch show both sides of a Scorpio in just a couple of hours.
Sagittarius: The Castle
The Castle by itself was an important character in the movie, and its penchant for travel and doors that open to various geographical locations made it the most like a Sagittarius. The Castle was always in pursuit of knowledge, cleverly reinventing and remodeling itself to the changing needs of its inhabitants.
It was a space of abundance and generosity: traits that are associated with the enigmatic archers of the astrological zodiac.
Capricorn: Calcifer
If the Devil worked hard, his demon Calcifer worked even harder. The little fire demon was mighty when it had its fill of sacrifice, and working an entire moving Castle requires the rigor and resilience of the celestial sea goat.
Whether heating water, making it move across locations, opening the right doors, and keeping Howl alive, Calcifer was bound by duty, meticulous, but never malicious about Howl's heart. His metaphoric warmth was reserved for his favorite people, like typical Capricorns.
Aquarius: Heen
Adorable little Heen originally seemed like Howl in disguise, then Suliman's minion, but he was actually a little revolutionary in the body of a cute dog, very much like the moody but rebellious Aquarius. A lot smarter than most of the other characters in Howl's Moving Castle, it would be interesting to see him cast if there's a live-action movie.
He was free-spirited, and even though people thought they had authority over him, he picked whichever side he felt was right, making him just like the air sign.
Pisces: Turnip Head
Pisceans exist at the conjunction of fantasy and reality, which was the life of Turnip Head for a long time, at least until he was transformed back into Prince Justin upon Sophie's kiss.
Prince Justin was empathetic and compassionate to Sophie when she was lost and alone, and he helped her in every way possible. Hi kindness and gentleness shone through him even as a scarecrow when he hopped on a stick and couldn't speak, making him very similar to the astrological fish.