Major Arcana, Part 1

Recently, Case and his brother and I have been playing the Shin Megami Tensei games: Persona 3 and Persona 4. These games are RPGs on the PS2, which involves battling in dungeons and using social links to make your summoned beings stronger. These social links involve the Major Arcana of your standard Tarot deck. I'm not sure whether this a trademark of Persona games, or whether the other SMT games are the same.

At any rate, I decided to apply the Major Arcana to my own life, using figures from my daily life as the arcana, based on the characters/situations in the Persona games I've played.

0 - Fool
My life - Our Engagement
Persona games - SEES (3), the investigating group (4)
The Fool Arcana is introduced near the beginning of the games, being the core set of characters who start the journey. For me, the journey, with the subsequent interactions, began after Casey and I got engaged, and I moved out here. Each of the protagonists ended up moving to a new place in the beginning of each game. Also, the initial Fool group evolves into the Judgment group, which I'll discuss later.

1 - Magician
My life - Brandon Sanchez
Persona games - Junpei Iori (3), Kenji Tomochika (3), Yosuke Hanamura (4)
In general, the Magician tends to be somewhat immature, cracking jokes about life in general, while sometimes having vulnerabilities to work through. Brandon tends to joke around with me a lot, playing off my general gullibility/good nature, but in truth he's a nice guy, who sometimes comes to me with relationship questions. In life as well as in the game, the Magician is fun to have around, ready to laugh and be laughed at.

2 - Priestess
My life - Ripley
Persona games - Fuuka Yamagishi (3), Yukiko Amagi (4)
It's not unusual in Persona games that social links are not human. In Persona 3, Koromaru (although not a social link) was a dog with the Arcana of Strength. In Persona 4, the Fox was living in the local shrine, with the Hermit Arcana. Also, for me, cats tend to be just as much of my siblings as humans, since I was raised with them. I chose Ripley as Priestess because she represents a lot of the mysterious aspects of my life - she comes and goes as she pleases, and rarely makes a lot of noise. Both Fuuka and Yukiko are quiet figures in the games as well.

3 - Empress
My life - Courtney Miller
Persona games - Mitsuru Kirijo (3), Margaret (4)
Part of my choice for Courtney being of the Empress is the mother/sister figure that she holds. Mitsuru was the main leader for SEES in Persona 3, serving as a kind of mother and older sister. Margaret, Igor's assistant, is the older sister of Elizabeth, Igor's assistant in Persona 3. Courtney, although being ten months younger than me, already has a child and is living in her own home - she is very motherly, and has been that way for Casey and his brothers through most of their lives. I'd almost consider her more of an older sister than a younger one.

4 - Emperor
My life - Chip St. John
Persona games - Akihiko Sanada (3), Hidetoshi Odagiri (3), Kanji Tatsumi (4)
As Chip is the head of the family, it's only logical that he be of the Emperor Arcana. He's hard to get to know sometimes, usually making wisecracks. Like the rest of the family, he's very stubborn, but he is also fair. He is tough as nails, just like all the Emperor Arcana characters in the Persona games.

5 - Hierophant
My life - Ron Rodriguez
Persona games - Shinjiro Aragaki (3), The Old Couple (3), Metis (3), Ryotaro Dojima (4)
Ron has been my surrogate dad and advisor since I came west. If I could call anyone Senpai, it would be him. He represents knowledge and experience, as associated with Shinji (tough former member of SEES), the old couple (age and a bookstore), and Dojima (an uncle). Metis's connection to the Hierophant Arcana seems slim at least, more as a placeholder since Shinji was killed off in the main part of the game - although maybe having more knowledge about Aigis's inner desires. At any rate, Ron is my Senpai, who has taught me more about my job than maybe even my first employers.

6 - Lovers
My life - Casey St. John
Persona games - Yukari Takeba (3), Rise Kujikawa (4)
The Arcana says it all - Casey is my lover. And, as with the characters in the Persona games, he is my main source of both healing and support. When I'm feeling sick, he's always sympathetic, and does what he can to make me comfortable and help me get better. When I'm stressed out about my life, he offers as much support as he can. He is also at a crossroads - when I entered his life, his future was unclear, but now he has choices to make. Whatever decision he makes, I will be with him.

7 - Chariot
My life - Travis St. John
Persona games - Aigis (3), Kazushi Miyamoto (3), Chie Satonaka (4)
The Chariot Arcana in the Persona games reflects on a lot of the physical strengths of the characters - Aigis is a robot, with superhuman strength, Kaz is a star sports figure for school, and Chie is a tough girl who fights with her feet. All of these characters eventually have weaknesses that they have to deal with - growth of emotion, physical ailments, and friendship issues. Travis is a scrappy guy, whom I definitely wouldn't take on in a fight, but he has various issues with family. I can only hope that time will help him achieve more with what lies ahead of him.


Next time - Major Arcana 8-14.