The Major Arcana, According to Castlevania
Playing The Arcana while binge-watching Castlevania has made me want to arrange Castlevania characters according to the Major Arcana. This is just my interpretation, so make of it what you will.
The Fool: Soma Cruz. I was going to put Soma at the Wheel of Fortune, but I think this is a better place for him. He is a seemingly normal, naive kid who is thrust into the adventure of a lifetime. He stands in a liminal space, at the boundary between light and darkness during an eclipse. He has the potential to be either good or evil, to become Dracula or to champion the fight against him.
The Magician: Juste Belmont. Sypha could easily go here too, but Juste is quite a skilled sorcerer. His magical abilities really set him apart from any other Belmont and, though he doesn’t quite equal Richter and Julius in terms of raw power, his magic definitely gives him an edge.
The High Priestess: Sypha Belnades. She doesn’t quite have the composure you’d expect from the High Priestess, but with her magical powers, intuition, and extensive knowledge of the arcane, she fits. She is also creative and strong-willed.
The Hierophant: Genya Arikado. Okay, maybe this is cheating, but Alucard’s role in the story does change as it goes along. By the time we reach AoS, he’s lived 600 years. He is powerful, wise, and righteous, but stuck obsolete ways of thinking (because... y’know.. he’s six hundred years old.)
The Empress: Shanoa. I have not played OoE so I can’t say much about her, but I know that in raw power she is second only to Soma, and Alucard’s equal. She is also the only woman to have her own game (in the main timeline), making her the Queen of Castlevania.
The Emperor: Richter Belmont. He’s likely the most powerful Belmont, unless Julius surpasses him. He also temporarily falls under the control of Shaft and becomes Lord of the Castle. Either way, he fits.
The Lovers: Mathias and Elizabeta/Dracula and Lisa. There’s a lot of love relationships implicit in the series, but this one has the most direct impact over the plot and the characters involved. Dracula seems to genuinely love his wife, in Lament, Symphony, and the Netflix series.
The Chariot: Trevor Belmont. Trevor’s character arc in the animated series centers around him making the active decision to take control over his own life. He fights back against Dracula for the good of Wallachia, instead of just letting life pass him by in an apathetic stupor.
Justice: Leon Belmont. I almost put him at The Sun, but what really defines Leon is his desire for justice, not just for Sara but for everyone Dracula might hurt. “The Belmont Clan will hunt the night!”
The Hermit: Alucard. Who else but the man who shut himself in a box for three hundred years? He almost shuts himself back into it after Symphony. Even when he’s around people, he tends to keep his distance. Between being immortal and in mourning, Alucard is desperately lonely, but he seems to like it that way.
The Wheel of Fortune: This one’s kind of a wild card. I’m not sure if there’s really a character who exemplifies it. I’d probably put Jonathan and Charlotte here, but I haven’t played PoR, so I don’t know much about them. It’s either them or John and Eric. Or Grant! Grant is underrated and deserves love!
Strength: Simon Belmont. This man manages to kill Dracula not once, but TWICE, and the second time was while a curse was slowly killing him! He has more determination and willpower than even the average Belmont.
The Hanged Man: Hector. I’m going off of intuition on this one, since I haven’t played Curse of Darkness, but from what I know of Hector from Netflix, his story is one of tragedy and transformation no matter which way you spin it. In the game, he seeks to atone for his past and join the side of good.
Temperance: Isaac (Netflix) is something of a dark, cynical choice for this card. And yet, he fits, because it is his ultimate ambition to bring the world to a state of balance and peace, albeit through twisted means. He engages in brutal self-flagellation to calm his mind and achieve spiritual discipline. He is not the healthiest interpretation of Temperance, but embodies it nonetheless.
The Devil: Dracula. Well, duh, right? Even if an actual devil exists in the (main) ’Vania-verse, Dracula still may as well be it.
The Tower: Those twins from season 3. Bolt from the blue, true destruction. I will not elaborate, I will only say that my heart has been taken out and impaled on a stake, and I don’t know how long it will take for me to recover.
The Star: Maria. She is just a little ray of light in the dark world of Castlevania, always optimistic while still being fearless, determined, and competent. She also has enough confidence to take on Castlevania by herself and even says “Well, perhaps we’ll meet again... if you live that long” to Alucard’s face.
The Moon: Carmilla. The Moon can represent the allure of the dark side and the temptation of vampirism, as well as madness and deception. What defines Carmilla (and that bitch-who-shall-not-be-named) for me is her deceptive nature. It’s why I hate her so much. She promises you fulfillment of your forbidden passions and then destroys you. It’s a dark interpretation of the Moon, but it works.
The Sun: Christopher and Soleil Belmont. Christopher is SUPER underrated and forgotten by almost everyone (although he’s a legend in-universe), which is sad because he literally defeated Dracula twice! Just like Simon! And, Soleil was the first heroic character to become possessed by evil! You thought that trend started with IGA? No! Soleil is the first Belmont to be fought as a boss. They deserve some love.
Judgement: Julius Belmont. Dracula’s day of reckoning has come. Again. Fighting Julius Belmont is the last test that Soma must past before confronting Chaos. Julius stands at the final threshold and offers Soma the opportunity for personal atonement and redemption.
The World: Castlevania itself, the central point of the entire series and the driving force behind it. It is the battleground on which the forces of good and evil come to a head, and no man can say who will emerge victorious.
