Arcana



The Arcana are the different classes of Tarot Cards. They are a major thematic element of the Persona series. The Arcana are divided into the Major Arcana (22 unique cards) and the Minor Arcana (four suits of 14 cards each, not unlike those of traditional playing cards). The Minor Arcana appear in rare events in the Persona 2 duology, only in shuffle in Persona 3 and not at all in Persona 4 with the exception of Persona 4 Golden.

Major Arcana

 * 0. Fool Arcana (or Jester Arcana in Persona 4 Golden and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax)
 * I. Magician Arcana
 * II. Priestess Arcana
 * III. Empress Arcana
 * IV. Emperor Arcana
 * V. Hierophant Arcana
 * VI. Lovers Arcana
 * VII. Chariot Arcana
 * VIII. Strength Arcana/Justice Arcana†
 * IX. Hermit Arcana
 * X. Fortune Arcana
 * XI. Justice Arcana/Strength Arcana† (or Hunger Arcana in Persona 4 Golden)
 * XII. Hanged Man Arcana
 * XIII. Death Arcana
 * XIV. Temperance Arcana
 * XV. Devil Arcana
 * XVI. Tower Arcana
 * XVII. Star Arcana
 * XVIII. Moon Arcana
 * XIX. Sun Arcana
 * XX. Judgement Arcana (or Aeon Arcana in Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 Golden)
 * XXI. The World Arcana (or The Universe Arcana in Persona 3)

† In Persona and Persona 2, Strength and Justice Arcana are VIII and XI respectively, this is swapped in Persona 3 and subsequent installments.

Persona 2
Personas from the minor Arcana are featured in these games via persona mutation only. These personas cannot be summoned normally in Velvet Room nor their tarot cards ever exist. See list of Persona 2: Innocent Sin Personas and list of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Personas.

Persona 3 / FES

 * Cups - Which restores the party's health if drawn (amount depends on number)
 * Wands or Staves - Which grant bonus points if drawn (amount depends on number)
 * Pentacles or Coins - Which grants bonus Yen if drawn (amount depends on number)
 * Swords - Which grants the player a random weapon (power depends on number)

Persona 4 Golden
The Minor Arcana cards are featured in the remake for the PlayStation Vita of Persona 4. The Minor Arcana cards does the same effects as in Persona 3, Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable, except for the Swords Cards, which give the player Skill Cards instead of Weapons.

Inexistent Arcana
In the Persona 2 games, due to the way the contact system is built, all enemies are classified under an Arcana. However, some of those aren't present in the tarot deck, being more akin to races. However, the game does acknowledge them as such and refers to them by "Arcana". They are:
 * Reich (Nazi in the PlayStation release)
 * Machine
 * Leo
 * Aquarius
 * Scorpio
 * Taurus
 * Rumor
 * Human
 * Zombie (misspelled as Zonbie in Eternal Punishment)

Trivia

 * Persona 3 features thirteen main Persona users. Each represents one of the first 13 major Arcana:
 * 0. Fool : The Protagonist
 * 1. Magician : Junpei Iori
 * 2. Priestess : Fuuka Yamagishi
 * 3. Empress : Mitsuru Kirijo
 * 4. Emperor : Akihiko Sanada
 * 5. Hierophant : Shinjiro Aragaki
 * 6. Lovers : Yukari Takeba
 * 7. Chariot : Aigis
 * 8. Justice : Ken Amada
 * 9. Hermit : Jin Shirato
 * 10. Fortune : Takaya Sakaki
 * 11. Strength : Koromaru
 * 12. Hanged Man : Chidori Yoshino