i feel like you always have rlly good and interesting takes on immortal desires, so idk if you have any, but if you do i’d love to hear any thoughts you have on astoria’s character because she’s highkey my favorite side character in id
Hey there, mysterious traveler. First of all, thank you for the compliment. Second of all, I do very much have thoughts on Astoria.
One of things I found interesting about Astoria was how the writer's positioning her as the head of the Venandi positions her as the archetypal "female predator," but the nature of the story being a teen drama and her existence as a non-romanceable option means they can't really sexualize her, resulting in Astoria being vampire, but not a vamp. This does not happen very often in vampire media, especially for female vampires that occupy an antagonistic role. Especially for non-white women. Rather, Astoria's vampirism seems to tie more to perverting the concept of motherhood and the idea of women as innately nurturing beings.
Nadia Saleh's essay "La Petit Mort: Female Vampirism, the Abject, and Sexuality" does much better at explaining the connecting line between the "Mother of all Evil" trope, womanhood, and vampirism so that is the required reading of today. In any case, I wonder if Astoria was meant to be writer's flirtation with the archaic mother. Her power in both human society (school principle) and as a coven leader is based around her ability to control children (be they metaphorically hers or someone else'). She's described as being "fiercely protective of her own," something that is amusingly never said about Lewyn. Frankly, the line gave me heavy "at least Cersi loves her children" energy when I first read it, so it was an immediate red flag. I also can't say this for sure, but I wonder if the decision to make one of Cas' sprites Asian (or vice versa make Astoria Asian) was because the team behind ID wanted it to be possible for Cas to look like they could be her biological child.
Despite all this, it's worth remembering that Astoria's "motherhood" explicitly comes from killing people, children as mostly shown considering the young age of the newer Venandi, and then claiming them as her own. In the view of archaic mother, protectiveness is not necessarily equated to a momma bear love, rather the love of a young mother rabbit who consumes her child if she feels territorial enough. A need for control with the perception that a child may not be the property of a mother (that goes to the father in patriarchal societies), but they are under her control and it's the few bits of power women are often given. A female vampire, however, can take the role of both father and mother as you only need one vampire to turn a human. The decision to turn humans as an entire coven is canonically quite recent, so there is a chance there was a time where Astoria was turning her members by herself as their sole creator-parent, though she still needed permission by the elders and Lewyn to do so (if you desire, you can so gently bleed into a fridge horror commentary on reproductive autonomy). Regardless of the fact that the covens now turn their members as a group, Astoria is still in position to consider members of her coven as "hers," property in which she can do whatever with. The visual image of Astoria stealing away the last thing that actively connects Cas to their non-vampiric life is...well, it's quite visceral the more you think about it. When the story lampshades the idea of Astoria possibly taking the grimoire for "Cas' own good," she shoots that down. The reality is that the boundaries of what Astoria considers hers and what Cas considers theirs remain blurred; what is Cas' might as well become hers because they are hers, so the grimoire is hers to do what she pleases with and Cas is not worth considering in it.
Oh, on the topic of Astoria being Asian (specifically Chinese if her chosen surnames of Yao and Zhang are anything to go by), it's worth bringing up that the Victorians loved themselves some Orientalism, and a lot of gothic stories take advantage of that. Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' features the titular...well Dracula, a visibly foreign Eastern European who's interest in England belies plans to spread his vampirism in a sort of "reverse colonization." Nosferatu stowaways in a coffin on a ship, surrounding by rats like an immigrant plague. To be gothic is to be othered, whether it's on account of race/ethnicity, class, gender, or sexuality. All who have been designated improper to Victorian ideals, which is what makes them a source of fascination to begin with. The Venandi's willingness to wear this on their sleeves is all the more sharply contrasted to Clements, headed by the whitest man in the room.
While anything that the Venandi say about the Clements should be taken with a grain of salt, calling them "human wannabes" is both not that far off, but also wildly incorrect at the same time. The refrain from hunting, sipping from bagged blood, meditation; it's not really about the sanctity of human life so much as it's just not very dignified to go tracking down your food in the middle of the woods, gleefully reveling in bloodlust. It's too base. A little too animalistic. Lewyn's canon fascination with human logic, I think, speaks to this desire to distance himself from that more unbecoming aspect of being a vampire. It's clear he doesn't really value human life so much as he seems disgusted/or annoyed by the "uncivilized" way that Astoria and the Venandi conduct themselves. He thinks it would be best if vampires were just a little more like humans. Actually, that's the wrong conclusion. Objectively speaking, vampires would be better than humans if they had all the stuff they already did have, just without the insatiable need to sink their teeth into things like rabid dogs. If only they could be a bit neater. A bit more rational. A little less magical.
Before we start anything here, I would like to say that I am not a professional tarot card reader. I am just a Persona fan who, like MC, had parents who went through a spiritual phase (my highly religious father used to be in a fucking coven; weirdest lore drop I've ever received about that man). So, for the purposes of being ethical here, I wouldn't recommend taking this as a complete lesson on any form of divination. Technically speaking, I'm not even supposed to be doing this for religious reasons, but I fear my years of smarmy teenage esotericism will never truly escape me.
For anyone who is not semi-familiar with the concept of tarot like Cas and MC are, the basic background is that tarot is a form of cartomancy, a style of divination that utilizes playing cards as a medium for divining (also known as future telling). Compared to other divination practices, it's remarkably recent, really only kicking off in the 14th century. A tarot deck, unlike a standard 52-deck of French suited, are traditionally composed of 78 cards. These 78 are then divided into two sections: the major Arcana and the minor Arcana. The major Arcana, which most with a passing knowledge of tarot may already be familiar with, are composed of 22 cards numbered from 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World). We can get into the minor Arcana later, but the purpose of the major Arcana within the eyes of occultists is that these cards are meant to serve as metaphors for one’s personal journey through life into their enlightenment. This is where the “Fool’s Journey” serves as a narrative conceptualization of this.
The type of reading in question that Cas and MC conduct is known as a "Past/Present/Future" spread, or you could alternatively interpret it as a "Problem/Advice/Outcome" spread. The goal of this type of reading is to use the tarot to reflect on past experiences, current circumstances, and future potential as a means of offering a clearer insight into one’s life in order to take proper direction towards their goals. To begin this type of reading, you usually asks a singular question you seek the answer to. While Cas and MC don't really establish one verbally before their reading, the one that is lingers over the scene is whether Cas should risk his chance at discovering a new aspect of themselves (his cultural history as a witch) by fighting back against them as a coven, or take the chance of exploring this new avenue with the knowledge that it could destroy the life they’ve built for themselves? This question, however, is very long and arguably not even the real question Cas is struggling with. The actual question seems to be a matter of identity: where should Cas’ sense of self lie? Within the covens or their ancestral roots? Now that the question is clear and the shuffling is done, the reading can commence.
PAST: The Four of Wands (Reversed)
Within the major Arcana, the first card in the numbered series is not the Fool, which is represented by 0. The first card is actually the Magician, labeled quite clearly as 1. This card is symbolic of initiation as well as a transparent sense of knowledge that becomes available to all once it is put into motion. There is a lot of things to say about the Magician (sort like how he isn’t even really a magician, rather a street performer), but the important thing for our purposes is the image on the card itself.
See, the most well-known tarot deck (of which there are many) is the Rider Waite deck, originally published in 1909. It’s considered, perhaps, the default set for beginners, and many of its card art, while simple, is packed with as much visual symbology as possible. Within the Magician’s card, he stands in the center of a garden of flowers, often thought to be Roses of Sharon and Lilies of the Valley. Clutched within his left hand is the wand (or in some translations the baton), pointing up at the roses. The Magician also points downwards as well, the power acquired by him moving through his body to bring it below. So, it is often said “As above, as below,” which states everything that occurs in a higher plane of existence also occurs on a lower plane and vice versa. Before the Magician lies a table, on which is a cup, a sword, a pentacle, and a secondary baton/wand.
“Hey, OP. Um…what the fuck does this have to do with anything?”
Okay, so I’m well aware I just gave a lot of information to you in a very short amount of time, but I promise this has a purpose. Namely, this is part where I explain what the minor Arcana is. The minor Arcana is the other 56 cards that make up the tarot deck that Buzzfeed doesn’t talk about because it’s not as interesting. In the way that the major Arcana are meant to signify highly influential moments of one’s life, the minor Arcana are a lot smaller and narrower in their vision. They are separated into four suits: the wands, the cups, the swords, and the pentacles. Noticeably, these are the tools of the Magician with each minor Arcana representing a physical element (fire, water, air, earth) as well as a power/or ability (will, spirituality, reason, material matters) that Magician not only uses, but also has complete mastery over.
The first card drawn represents Cas’ past: The Four of Wands drawn in reversed. Drawing a card in reverse (also known as low polarity) basically means that when you flip the card over, it lies upside down from the perspective of the reader, not the client. This is why when one is incorporating reversals in a reading, it’s important to remember to flip the card horizontally, not vertically. Pulling a card in reverse is often seen as a “negative thing," but all it really communicates is that the energy associated with the card is or will be struggling to properly manifest. This could be for many reasons: it’s not fully developed/in its early stages, it’s present but unable to be expressed, it’s being internalized, etc. There are countless reasons aside from the cards telling you you’re doomed.
(Pretend the card is upside down for me, alright?)
The Four of Wands is visually represented by an image of two happy people, likely a couple, dancing and celebrating among a garden of roses and grapes, symbolizing abundance and the cultivation of desire. They hold the bundles in their hands, a visual show that they managed to grasp these very things. The four wands arrange themselves in a manner resembling a wedding arch, the connection between family and this card becoming even more pronounced, particularly with large castle and smaller group of people lingering in the background.
The wands are a slightly hardball suit of cards to read, at least in my experience as a complete amateur. The wand is seen as the main tool of the Magician for channeling, and it’s directly tied to a type of spiritual consciousness (the will). This spark of creative divinity is often matched to things like the ego and one’s personal energy well; it’s these aspects of yourself that you utilize in your drive to manifest your goals and desires. The lower polarities of the wand suit, in contrast, can point to things like a lack of direction, a trend towards impulsivity, an unstable ego, and so on. The number four tends to commonly be seen on cards meant to represent stability and security. As such, the most bare bones interpretation of the Four of Wands can be seen as the stability of the inner will. Where your ego feels safe within your journey of realizing your fullest potential. The Four of Wands is not an action-oriented card. Rather, it seems more like a pause or breath: a brief moment of meditation. If the Ace of Wands is the initial spark, and the two/three of wands is where you put your steps into action, then the four of wands is meant to be your break for celebration after you’ve reached your initial milestone. It’s a card that demands rest, preferably in a space of peace and sanctuary.
Drawing this card in reverse, as MC points out, is likely a reflect of Cas’ familial instability growing up. Growing up under the foster care system, Cas experienced a state of continual movement, much like MC. Unlike MC however, who had the semi-stable presence of Terri in their life, Cas was not as fortunate. It wasn’t just environment that shifted constantly, but Cas’ own family changed with new rules and personalities to contend with. It’s worth noting that the only foster parent Cas brings up, of which they had to have had quite a few with the rate they were being bounced between homes, is the one that seems to have seared themselves into Cas’ mind for all of the wrong reasons.
I don’t entirely agree with MC’s assertion that this card is not something Cas needs to worry about because “it’s in the past,” or at least I’m not too keen on the phrasing. The entire point of a past reading is that it comes with the knowledge that your past currently affects/or informs the present form of who you are. In regards to the state of Cas’ identity problem, the Four of Wands Reversed shows why Cas is even struggling with this question in the first place. The space that one calls home and the relationships children create in their formative years are crucial to a proper development of the self, and Cas says it best when they state “home is a loose concept in my experience.” Cas never knew their biological parents, got stuck with a strange alien book that holds more questions than answers, and was raised by strangers who likely did not look like them and did not establish themselves as caregivers enough to mitigate this seeming contradiction. There’s a particular post I can't find but still sticks in my head about Cas, almost unconsciously, mimicking a form of Denise they wished actually existed. This constructed sub-personality that’s used to recreate an element of their past with MC where the cool alternative student actually liked the new kid, and it wasn’t actually a cruel joke all along. In fact, Cas seems to be made up of sub-personalities that are entirely dependent on how others perceive them rather than how they perceive themselves. And when they perceive themselves, it’s clear all they see is that kid from senior year more often than not. The loose foundation on which they’ve built their ego has carried through into modern day.
I do wonder, however, if the Four of Wands Reversed may not be only referring to Cas’ upbringing as a human, but also their transition into being a vampire. It’s possible to read this type of card as an unwillingness to move on from the state of temporary rest and celebration it demanded once, but has now concluded. Cas has managed to find a sanctuary in becoming a vampire and joining the Venandi, but it’s also worth noting that the coven structure is a highly restrictive space in of itself. It’s easy to draw connection to the found family nature of these covens and the mixed households that foster care often creates, and to say that Lewyn and Astoria are abusive would be an understatement. It’s not just the covens though. Of the trio, Cas explicitly states a desire to stay within Crimson Beech, or at least they seem to have no real interest in leaving the town even with an excuse to do so. Cas has been roleplaying their teenage years for the better part of thirty years at least. Maybe this is a signal to Cas that it may be time to grow up and move onto the next stage of their journey. Who knows?
PRESENT: The Lovers (Upright)
The present card is the “big advice” card. In interpreting it, you narrow down what exactly is going on at the current moment. What steps can be taken to mend or end the damage brought on by the past. Basically, this is the “we know all of my trauma, what do you want me to do about now?”
The Lovers Arcana is about…well…love. On a basic level, this is a direct reference to the fact that Cas, as MC states, has managed to find their soulmate (or soulmates depending on the route taken). The angel in the middle of the Lovers, Adam and Ish’shah (soon to become Eve), is Raphael, the archangel associated with healing who, in Paradise Lost, is sent down to warn the two mortals of the temptation that lies ahead of them. The card itself is associated with the twin sign of Gemini, whose cosmic purpose lies in seeking out and fully understanding the shadow aspect of one’s self in tandem with its brighter counterpart, ideally coming to a more rounded sense of being. The Lovers card also serves as a metaphor for the marriage of the subconscious mind, where Adam represents the logical and Eve represents the intuitive. In this, Raphael stands in as the divine direction, the super-conscious that guides the two. In its high polarity (upright) state, it represents union, choice, and connections. In its low polarity, it implies discord and disharmony.
In sharp contrast to the instability of their past, the Lovers implies that Cas is in the process of healing the fragmented sense of identity they've acquired, likely through their connections to others. One recent example is Cas’ relationship to their sense of humanity, which they have often tried to deny or hide away as a result of associating it with a period of time in their life where they were at their more vulnerable. It's only through their connection to a human (MC) and another vampire who does everything in their power to reaffirm the humanity they themselves struggle to maintain (Gabe) that Cas gradually begins connecting to this side of their identity again. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that forming and protecting the family that Cas acquires over the years is their divine directive in a way, implying that the answers to their identity problems lie in these very relationships they’ve built and will continue building. A bridge between communities could be ideal here, but with the witches posing a threat to the covens, it seems this direction has been muddled. Still, the fact that the card appears upright implies that there might not be as much disharmony between these two identities (vampire and witch) as Cas seems to think there is on the surface. In fact, the card could be implying that Cas already knows the answer to their question, or at least is in harmony already. Simply put, Cas might be overthinking things again, creating discord that is not actually there and allowing the opportunity to capitalize on the benefits of this energy pass by. In any case, I would say that the answer to Cas’ concerns is not separation/isolation (which they have already experienced more than enough of), but rather through the connections they have formed and can go onto to form. It’s here they will find a more cohesive form of self.
FUTURE: The Sun (Upright)
The final card to read is the future. In my opinion, it’s debatable whether a card can really tell you the future per say, or simply give a perspective on one possible path that’s in accordance to the advice presented in the present card. After all, the future is varied and the only surefire thing in life is the unchecked chaos of the human will. Also, taxes.
Seeing two or three major Arcana appear in a three-card spread like this is usually the universe trying to signal that something really drastic is probably going to happen to you. I remember once watching an older woman draw, in quick succession, the major Arcanas of Judgement, Death, and the Tower before witnessing the most genuine look of terror befall her. In fact, despite the Sun’s…well…sunny disposition, I actually feel it has quite a lot in common with those aforementioned Death and Tower cards.
When received in high polarity, the Sun represents an awakening of the self from where it was previously dormant. It can also be seen as the moment one becomes truly adept at something. The most immediate thing that comes to mind is the awakening of Cas’ powers as a witch. The Sun speak to a large shift in both outlook and self as well, to the point that the person in question may be completely unrecognizable compared to the where they originally came from or who they once were. In Cas’ case, I think this implies that their brighter and more cognizant future where they have formed and embrace a stronger sense of who they are will be a rapid departure from the wound formed in their childhood reflecting in the Four of Wands Reversed. After all, the Cas of now is remarkably different in a lot of ways from the Cas that MC meets in the hallway in book one, much less the Cas decades prior. When the card is in low polarity, it’s also associated with ego-centrism and a child-like willfulness. Cas’ past child-like desire to run away from themselves and others, to shut themselves off in moments of being overwhelmed, was also reflective of a type of stubbornness that no doubt stunted their growth. While it’s clear that Cas is still in the process of managing this aspect of themselves, the fact that the card is not reversed in its appearance could be a sign that this part of them may be dealt with.
The birth of a child is also an aspect that a high polarity within the Sun covers, as represented in the card art. If this interpretation is sound, this birth is likely metaphorical; a rebirth of Cas perhaps, and the signal of a new beginning.
Alright, so what’s the point of anything then?
The TLDR goes as followed:
(Past) Four of Wands Reversed – A representation of a call towards a sense of security and identity that was not allotted to Cas in their childhood. This has led to a weaken sense of self that Cas has had to spend a vast major of their time attempting to develop, often through somewhat simple and superficial personas that only represented a small aspect of who they are. There’s a lack of closure that has yet to be discarded.
(Present) The Lovers Upright – Cas has formed connections and relationships that have helped them heal and given them that sense of security missing from their past as well as a more stable sense of self. In the wake of a blossoming identity crisis, it is these relationships which will be the bedrock of Cas’ self-discovery. While they should be mindful of their future, they must remember not to fragment themselves again like they have in the past. A dialectical marriage should be the preferred manner to self-analysis.
(Future) The Sun Upright – Through old and new connections formed in the present, Cas will be rewarded with a greater understanding of themselves and totality of who they are. This version of themselves will likely be much different from the version of them in the past, and thus it is important that they cannot return to that place of isolation and posturing. With two major Arcana to focus on, the past is no longer the most influential period of their life, nor is it the core of who they are. It’s time to behave as such.
Aka, Cas doesn't have to choose, they shouldn't be worrying so much, and this is about their journey at the end of the day.
I need you to know that your Lewyn posts give me life 😆 All your meta really, I just have a one-track mind.
Ha, thank you. I talk a lot of shit, but I actually quite like Astoria and Lewyn, and I'm just glad that the writers finally got the chance to utilize them and their antagonistic potential without having to split time with other factions they don't seem find all too interesting.
This leans a bit more headcanon based, but there's something quite electric about a character that practices self-denial for all the wrong reasons, especially in the cultural context of asceticism often being seen as a higher value. I'm not a Christian, but Paul had a point (something I will never say in public ever again). There can often be a vainglory aspect in abstinence, especially when the violence done upon yourself is not out of real humility, but the appeal of feeling more righteous and holier than those around you. I'm sure the only God Lewyn would actually believe in at this point is himself, but he does still understands the power of shame; perhaps because he still feels slivers of it day to day (just a bit, not too much). Not the guilt kind, but a more control oriented one; the type you get when you're reduced down to the most bare functional version of yourself and you go "Oh, what the hell was that? I'm better than this, so why can't I behave like it?" So intimately aware of such a concept...Well, you'd be a fool to not weaponize it against others, particularly if it's the smallest bits of control you can get. How upright and civilized his Merciful children are; so modest, graceful, and above all else deferential. The most perfect lambs a shepherd can have, especially the angel he managed to steal away.
There's something that bugs me about the fact that the vampires ended up learning about the ley-lines from a random group of colonial era witches, and I think it partially has to do with the way the story keeps alluding to the Muhhekunneuw (i.e. the Mohican), but also simultaneously sidestepping the uncomfortable elephant in the room that both the vampires and colonialist humans built Crimson Beech upon land that was not originally theirs. There's something unnerving about the fact they are only ever mentioned in casual passing, with the vampires "trading" with the Mohicans for land so that they don't have to be framed as aggressors within the lens of that particular history. It's odd that there's almost no real emphasis on the fact that they...well...fucking lived there and would have probably known about the ley-lines in some capacity prior to even the Children of Gaia. Why was it not them who informed the vampires on what the ley-lines were? Granted the indigenous American cultures do have a long history of being very particular about who they share their spiritual and religious matters with, but it really does feel like the writers kind of don't want to go there so the say, which is made even more jarring considering Gabe's "canonical" model seems to be the one that's labelled as indigenous within the game files. Clearly, they had some thoughts on indigenous Americans to make one of the possible models for their main love interests Native American, unless it's simply a fun Twilight Easter egg.
Now, this can be for many reasons, many of which could be well-meaning. Perhaps they were scared of the unfortunate implications, or (speaking of) in a post-Twilight world, they're very much aware of the problem of linking real-life indigenous groups with their vampire nonsense. If this is the case, however, that's still on them because they didn't need to name a real indigenous group (plus the problem with Twilight wasn't necessarily the fact that the Quileute were named directly, but the fact that Mrs. Meyers depicted them as highly abusive sk*nwalkers with barely any of their actual culture represented. I digress). I don't know. The topic is constantly lingering in the background like a ghost to me, and I don't like the fact that the story seems willing to keep these people (who are still here and their culture still maintained) as spirits almost isolated from Crimson Beech's past.
