Ceres, Celestial Legend, known in Japan as Ayashi no Ceres (妖しのセレス), is a 14-volume shōjomanga series by Yū Watase, the creator of the popular manga/anime series Fushigi Yūgi. There is also the anime with the same title, which runs in 24 episodes in length. The manga is published in English by Viz Communications.
Ayashi no Ceres was serialized from 1996 to 2000 in the bi_weekly Japanese manga magazine Shoujo Comic(Sho_Comi). The original Japanese title is Ayashi no Ceres _ Tenkū o_togizōshi, which the literal translation is "Bewitching Ceres _ Heavenly Fairy Tale". The original title was changed for North American release.
The name of the goddess comes from one in Roman mythology. However, this one is completely different and has nothing to do with the duties, powers, and rank of that goddess. The word for "cherry" in Latin, however, is ceresia, and as the cherry tree is symbolic of Japan, the name was chosen as a code for Sakura.
Story
The story revolves around a teenager girl named Aya and her twin brother Aki, members of a wealthy and powerful Mikage family.
When it's discovered that Ceres resides within Aya, her own family turns against her and she is left to try and find the hagoromo for the raging goddess within her.
AyashinoCeres follows Aya dealing with a possession-happy tennyo while running from her cruel family and into the arms of another.
Because the shocking premise and execution of AyashinoCeres deems it harder to market (and label) than its shoujo contemporaries, there's not a whole lot of merchandising to be done.