The Major Arcana

*This page is for **The Major Arcana**, the sentient beings. For the item, see The Tarot Deck, for the first book, see The Arcana, for the sidestories, see The Arcana: Sidestories, and for the wiki homepage, see Grimoire of the Arcana.*

## DESCRIPTION

The **Major Arcana** are the sentient beings from the Tarot Deck that had physically shown themselves to their beneficiaries to assist them with decisions and to guide them to the right path. They're the *voices* the fortune tellers hear when they try to talk to them. In The Arcana, only three of them have appeared so far; **The Devil**, **The Magician**, and **The Hanged Man**.

## Arcana Information

### Upright

Oppression, addiction, obsession, dependency, excess, powerlessness, limitations

### Reversed

Independence, freedom, revelation, release, reclaiming power, reclaiming control

## Production Information

### Debut

The Arcana; V: The Hierophant (mentioned)
XV: The Devil

#### DESCRIPTION

Serving as The Arcana's main antagonist, **The Devil** is the fifteenth of the 22 **Major Arcana** in a tarot deck. He's first mentioned in *Chapter V: The Hierophant*, when Indirah Alnazar discusses that she, along with Kellan Xalvador, her brother, Sapphire Chauvera, and Xylon Lozano, were being hunted by his beneficiary, Lucio Damaris. He is the the *voice* Indirah and Kellan listen to when they draw the card of the same name. His realm is a red throne room with a heavy and suffocating atmosphere.

#### PERSONALITY

Since he's one of the Major Arcana, he is an *archetype*- being self-inflicted suffering and the toxic thoughts and behaviors of humanity that lead to the feeling of being trapped. As an individual, the Devil is manipulative and a charismatic tactician- he talks in riddles, giving away none of his real intentions in his offers. Like most of the characters, the Devil shares the same distaste for Lucio Damaris and isn't actually fond of or happy working with him. He plans for permanently merging the Arcana realm with Astraea (and maybe even Earth)- he wants to see what will happen in a world where the magic of the Arcana and the human magic lies. The motive behind his plan seems to be that of a "bored child's curiosity", as Indirah describes; the Devil wants the entertainment that chaos would bring.

#### APPEARANCE

The Devil appears as a humanoid goat with white fur, and his eyes and scleras are fully red. He has two pairs of black horns: one pair curls around his head, while the other curls upward. He has a black, vertical eye-like marking on his forehead. His claw-like hands are a black that fades into dark brown, and then into the white of the rest of his body. The Devil is clothed in a short red drapery that resembles a scarf, and a black and gold vestment similar to a liturgical stole. The form he takes, the goat-headed Devil, is the same as the image on the Devil card of Indirah's deck.

#### POWERS & ABILITIES

* **Shapeshifting**- All Major Arcana can shapeshift (except the Fool and **the Tower**), so the Devil can take the form anyone wants them to imagine taking.
	+ **Summoner Possessing**- He can possess the fortune teller who's trying to reach out and call for him, and turn their eyes into his eye color. He could overlap his and the fortune teller's voice since they possess their body.
	+ **Via Cards**- The Devil could communicate with the tarot card holder to *speak* to them using his *voice*, even if he's not explicitly saying words as a card; he creates various sounds in order to communicate with them whenever they use the cards, and manipulate the card's temperature.
* **Chain Binding**- Whenever someone makes a deal with the Devil, they become bound by invisible chains. The more deals with the Devil someone makes, the more corrupted they become, until they eventually become a demon, and these demons are then bound to his will with no escape.

#### TRIVIAS

* If the Devil hadn't been bonded to his own realm, he would take Lucio's heart instead, and Lucio would be a demon underling inferior to the Devil to would help carry his wishes.
	+ If Indirah fails to call out for **the Magician**'s help, the Devil would take Indirah's heart and she will be the demon underling, corrupting her.
* A running gag is that every one of the mains yell, "Fuck you, Goatman!" at one point. This is a reference to Buzzfeed: Unsolved's Shane Madej saying the exact same thing as an insult to the *Goatman* guarding the Old Alton Bridge, also known as The Goatman's Bridge.
* The color palette used on Lucio's combat outfit is based on the Devil's; red, white, black, and gold.

## Arcana Information

### Upright

Willpower, desire, being resourceful, skill, ability, concentration, manifestation

### Reversed

Manipulation, cunning, trickery, wasted talent, illusion, deception

## Production Information

### Debut

The Arcana; V: The Hierophant (mentioned)
VXII: The Star

#### DESCRIPTION

**The Magician** is the first of the 22 **Major Arcana** in a tarot deck. He is first mentioned in *Chapter V: The Hierophant*, wherein Indirah Alnazar describes him as her master- and herself as his apprentice. Indirah also mentions that besides **Kieran** and **Faeryn Xalvador**, the Magician has become her teacher and would be the reason why Indirah is the powerful mage she's become. He is the the *voice* Indirah and Kellan listen to when they draw the card of the same name. His realm is an island, depicted as a beach with bioluminescent waters.

#### PERSONALITY

Since he's one of the Major Arcana, he is an *archetype*- being smart and curious, also being versatile like a fox. The Magician is known to be very vague, especially with his words, which gets Indirah irritated whenever he talks to her. He doesn't talk like a "normal person" as he isn't a normal person in the first place. He talks in a rather brotherly voice that guides people in the right path, and he believes in the people who he gives help to. He can also be a little flirty and smug with people, almost having a "permanent smirk" on his face as Indirah describes it.

#### APPEARANCE

The Magician appears as a humanoid red fox with magenta eyes. He wears a white shirt with a purple and gold neckline hem under a red-violet drapery. The Magician is a shapeshifter and could take any form anyone wants to imagine him as. It's basic magical knowledge that the Magician only appears as a fox to the characters because Indirah was the one who drew the Magician as a fox on her deck, and it's only the tarot deck in the franchise.

#### POWERS & ABILITIES

* **Shapeshifting**- All Major Arcana can shapeshift (except the Fool and **the Tower**), so the Magician can take the form anyone wants them to imagine taking.
	+ **Summoner Possessing**- He can possess the fortune teller who's trying to reach out and call for him, and turn their eyes into his eye color. He could overlap his and the fortune teller's voice since they possess their body.
	+ **Via Cards**- The Magician could communicate with the tarot card holder to *speak* to them using his *voice*, even if he's not explicitly saying words as a card; he creates various sounds in order to communicate with them whenever they use the cards.

#### TRIVIAS

* According to **Austin Dy**, the Magician would most likely be in his early 20s if he's a human. All Major Arcana are immortal and were born the "age" they are today, which means if the Magician is human, he'd always be around 20 years old.
* Indirah Alnazar being sometimes annoyed by the Magician is Austin Dy's metaphor for **Kath** **Aguinaldo** being "weirded out" by the furry fandom (the furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics).
* The color palette used on Indirah's combat outfit is based on the Magician's; red-violet, orange, purple, and gold.
* In *Chapter VXII: The Star*, when Indirah says, "Sons of bitches think they're someone like Nicolaus Copernicus", she's actually just referring to the Magician even if she said she was referring to all the Major Arcana. This is supported by the fact that the Devil and the Fool- Kellan- don't talk the same way as the Magician does.

## Arcana Information

### Upright

Sacrifice, waiting, uncertainty, lack of direction, perspective, contemplation

### Reversed

Stalling, disinterest, stagnation, avoiding sacrifice, standstill, apathy

## Production Information

#### DESCRIPTION

**The Hanged Man** is the twelfth of the 22 **Major Arcana** in a tarot deck. He's first mentioned and seen in *Chapter XIX: The Sun*, when Kellan Xalvador mentions that the Hanged Man is calling out to Izaiah Alnazar when he was dying from the killing curse. The Hanged Man serves as the Patron Arcana for Izaiah, and him ultimately being his beneficiary. He is the the *voice* Indirah and Kellan listen to when they draw the card of the same name. His realm is a dark forest with a lantern hanging above a clearing.

#### PERSONALITY

Since he is one of the Major Arcana, he is an *archetype*, a form of pure and ancient energy in the human subconscious. His archetype is to be self-sacrificial. He is very calm and friendly; and also asks many questions, prompting people to make decisions for themselves. However, the Hanged Man does reveal large bits of information, including telling Izaiah the revelation that the Arcana insignia isn't what it's believed it's supposed to be.

#### APPEARANCE

The Hanged Man appears as a humanoid raven with brown eyes lined with red. As mentioned by Izaiah, he only wears a gray loincloth and red rope across his chest and biceps- done in *hojōjutsu* style. His wings are draped behind him, as if they were a cape instead of actual wings. The form he takes, the raven-headed Hanged Man, is the same as the image on the Hanged Man card of Indirah's deck.

#### POWERS & ABILITIES

* **Shapeshifting**- All Major Arcana can shapeshift (except the Fool and **the Tower**), so the Hanged Man can take the form anyone wants them to imagine taking.
	+ **Summoner Possessing**- He can possess the fortune teller who's trying to reach out and call for him, and turn their eyes into his eye color. He could overlap his and the fortune teller's voice since they possess their body.
	+ **Via Cards**- He could communicate with the tarot card holder to *speak* to them using his *voice*, even if he's not explicitly saying words as a card; he creates various sounds in order to communicate with them whenever they use the cards.

#### TRIVIAS

* Failing to know that the way the Hanged Man has been tied is known as *hojōjutsu*- a Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope- it became an inside joke among the readers, describing it as "kinky". It was only **Parker Trinh** who recognized the way the rope is tied as a form of *actual* torture.