Major Arcana, Part 2

Sorry for the delay - some of my creative energy has been going towards a story that keeps spinning out of my head. It involves the protective figure, Shiisaa (also spelled Shisa), which looks like a lion or dog with a human face and teeth. Shiisaa, incidentally, is in the Hierophant Arcana in both Persona 3 and 4.

So, back to the Arcanas:

8 - Justice
My life - Missony Cardenas
Persona games - Ken Amada (3), Chihiro Fushimi (3), Nanako Dojima (4)
The Justice Arcana seems to be associated with youthful, quiet figures in the Persona games. It's true enough that Missony is a little younger than I am, and has quite a quiet demeanor. However, placing him as Justice almost seemed premature or weak... I guess because it was hard to tie him to the immaturity that Ken, Chihiro, and Nanako all represent. But turning to the original interpretations helps - Justice is about rationality, objectivity, and clear vision. Those terms tend to fit Missony very well.

9 - Hermit
My life - Tucker St. John
Persona games - Jin Shirato (3), Maya (Ms. Toriumi)(3), The Fox (4)
Tucker insists that the Hermit does not represent him well - he prefers Magician, or the Devil Arcana (which will wait until next time). However, Tucker does tend to withdraw from society more often than not, as the Fox has withdrawn to the shrine in town - his means of joining society tend to be limited to the online connections, just like Maya and Innocent Sin. Like Jin, he is very tech-savvy. He can be very intelligent, although he tends to focus on more trivial things. The Hermit warns that withdrawing completely from society can be dangerous, and that may be Tucker's case as well... if he doesn't grow up, he may stay in this house forever.

10 - Fortune
My life - Daniel Griffin (Griff)
Persona games - Takaya Sakaki (3), Keisuke Hiraga (3), Naoto Shirogane (4)
The wheel turns, and where do you go when you're the one sitting on it? Takaya went from trying to protect Tartarus to revelling in how its fall brought Nyx to the world. Keisuke had to decide what he wanted to do with his life - the side-project of artistic endeavor, or following in his father's footsteps. And Naoto had to come to terms with what she was and what she wasn't, deciding to live her life for herself rather than her ideal self. So how does Griff fit into this? Like Takaya, he can be very relaxed in manner, and very persuasive. Like Keisuke, he has many talents, but has not yet decided as to what fits him perfectly, and he has to deal with his father's shadow. Unlike Naoto, Griff is very content with what he is, but an interesting point is the fact that Naoto was a girl playing herself off as a guy; what kind of attractions did she have, if any? Did she like both sexes? Because Griff does, and that is one of many things that makes him unique.

11 - Strength
My life - Sherry Green
Persona games - Koromaru (3), Yuko Nishiwaki (3), Kou Ichijo/Daisuke Nagase (4)
All three or four characters in the games are tough cookies, for sure - Koromaru defeated a Shadow completely on his own before he was recruited to SEES, Yuko is athletic and a leader, and Kou and Daisuke both lead their respective sports teams. Through my time with Sherry, it seems like she has had a tough (possibly urban) upbringing, but she is much stronger because of it. If I needed someone's ass kicked, I would surely turn to her, not only because of her physical prowess (she may be short, but she is SOLID), but because she has weapons and she knows how to use them. Although she can have shortcomings (forgetful sometimes, talks to herself a lot), she is very much a rock or a pillar in our lab.

12 - Hanged Man
My life - Kozmo
Persona games - Chidori Yoshino (3), Maiko (3), Naoki Konishi (4)
Like Missony, this was rather a rushed decision for Kozmo's placement. I guess that the main motivation for connecting him as such is due to his inaction, which is what the other three characters share with him. Chidori is Strega's support system and healer, so she is much more of a passive player in their game. Maiko is only a child, so she is a passive observer in her parents' divorce, but becomes more active as time goes by. Naoki is dealing with the attention that came after his sister's death, and is having a hard time getting past it. Kozmo is, by far, the laziest cat I've seen, who tends to meow at you to let him out from the other side of the room. He even looks back at you when you see how much he's eating from the dish. There is also a connection of sacrifice to him - in the future, when Case and I leave here, we will have to leave Kozmo behind, because we would not want him to be separated from Ripley.

13 - Death
My life - My inner self
Persona games - Pharos (3), Ryoji Mochizuki (3), Hisano Kuroda (4)
No, I am not dying. Death, in these cases, are not so much about physical death, but the actual change that comes from within in the presence of death. Pharos is a being inside the Protagonist's mind (and body), Ryoji is a harbinger of the Fall of the world, and Hisano is a woman in mourning clothes after her husband's death. My inner self is a naysayer, one that imagines the worst possible scenarios, almost bringing me to tears - in fact, many of those scenarios tend to involve me or a loved one dying. I guess part of that is the unknown - what will happen to the one I love when he or she dies? Where will that soul go? And what will happen to me when I die? Is there a place beyond this? These are questions that my inner self tends to ask, especially when I'm trying to get to sleep. But even if the ideas and questions upset me, they are only part of a cycle of problems and solutions, and when I wake I might be provoked to do something about them.

14 - Temperance
My life - Nick Husher
Persona games - Andre Roland Jean Gerard (Bebe) (3), Eri Minami (4)
Both Bebe and Eri tend to be people trying to find balance in their situations. Nick may achieve that balance a lot in his life (it's harder to tell now, since I'm on the other side of the country), but it always shifts one way or another, so he has to find balance again. Like Bebe, he is very creative, and can get very excited about what he does; that's one of the things I find endearing about him. Like Eri, he can be very detached about the world and relationships, sometimes putting distance between himself and those who care about him. Still, he always manages to find balance again. One interesting note - Nick was against me moving out here to California, and he may have had a good reason to be. Trying to find my balance here, between social and solitude, between work and play, has been hard... I'm not even sure if I'll be able to.

Next time - All the rest, 15 - 21