- Joined
- Jan 6, 2025
- Messages
- 83
- Level up in
- 17 posts
- Reaction score
- 127
- Points
- 1,377
Recently been replaying Persona 5 Royal and I've found the way it treats tarot readings to be interesting to say the least. From what I know, Chihaya is the only social link in the series to be directly referencing it since 3 didn't have a fortuneteller but I haven't even played 4 so I guess someone can check me on that if there is one. The thing that kind of irks me is that the interpretations of the cards and profession itself are kind of flanderized.
I'm by no means a fortuneteller myself or an expert on the subject. I just own a deck and have an interest in its applications which is what led to the post you're reading now. The way that I understand tarot readings is that the cards themselves are metaphorical, none of them are meant to be taken at face value. What each one means specifically isn't really decided on either, there are established readings and interpretations you can follow for each one but nothing is set in stone. When you do a reading for someone or for yourself, you don't go off dates or anything concrete like that. The cards serve as a vehicle for self-reflection and exploring the subconscious feelings within someone. I haven't really read that much into the topic yet, just not sure where to start really but I feel like I know enough to recognize that something isn't quite right with the way Chihaya and by extension the writer(s) portray the practice.
She's in a story where fate is provably real and so she is an actual psychic on some level so that's not really an issue. It's her methodology that's off. Chihaya likely uses a star spread, a versatile 7 card formation on account of the model on the table. However, you're meant to flip a card and walk the client through its meaning and relation to them before revealing the next one. They come to you for guidance and the cards are the jumping off point for certain topics/advice. Talking about 7 cards one at a time could talk a while though so it makes sense the game skips over the first 6 and just shows you the last one. The issue is that the animation implies she hadn't said anything up until the last reveal which could just be a communication gap in the animation and writing teams but it's still there in the story. The tricky thing with that nitpick is that because tarot readings are inherently subjective and you just kinda do whatever works for you, this isn't technically incorrect but just a little impractical. The readings themselves aren't really emphasized that much past a certain point anyway so it doesn't ruin the link either it's just a thing that kinda bothers me a bit. That hint of things being slightly off does show up in other aspects of the game but I'm not exactly making a Persona 5 critique.
As for the readings themselves, I'm kinda iffy on them. Normally you don't just tell someone that they'll die in the near future or that their boyfriend will hospitalize them but she is trying to sell the holy stones so you could chalk it up to being part of the sell. However, with the subordinate trying to marry their childhood friend or empowering an entrepreneur, she still has the same approach of just answering a question with a yes or no when that's not really what the readings are for. I want to reiterate that I think her social link is fine, but it feels a little strange revisiting it after leaving its target demographic.
I could go on for even longer about similar cases in other media but I'm curious if anyone else has this particular pet peeve in their games.
I'm by no means a fortuneteller myself or an expert on the subject. I just own a deck and have an interest in its applications which is what led to the post you're reading now. The way that I understand tarot readings is that the cards themselves are metaphorical, none of them are meant to be taken at face value. What each one means specifically isn't really decided on either, there are established readings and interpretations you can follow for each one but nothing is set in stone. When you do a reading for someone or for yourself, you don't go off dates or anything concrete like that. The cards serve as a vehicle for self-reflection and exploring the subconscious feelings within someone. I haven't really read that much into the topic yet, just not sure where to start really but I feel like I know enough to recognize that something isn't quite right with the way Chihaya and by extension the writer(s) portray the practice.
She's in a story where fate is provably real and so she is an actual psychic on some level so that's not really an issue. It's her methodology that's off. Chihaya likely uses a star spread, a versatile 7 card formation on account of the model on the table. However, you're meant to flip a card and walk the client through its meaning and relation to them before revealing the next one. They come to you for guidance and the cards are the jumping off point for certain topics/advice. Talking about 7 cards one at a time could talk a while though so it makes sense the game skips over the first 6 and just shows you the last one. The issue is that the animation implies she hadn't said anything up until the last reveal which could just be a communication gap in the animation and writing teams but it's still there in the story. The tricky thing with that nitpick is that because tarot readings are inherently subjective and you just kinda do whatever works for you, this isn't technically incorrect but just a little impractical. The readings themselves aren't really emphasized that much past a certain point anyway so it doesn't ruin the link either it's just a thing that kinda bothers me a bit. That hint of things being slightly off does show up in other aspects of the game but I'm not exactly making a Persona 5 critique.
As for the readings themselves, I'm kinda iffy on them. Normally you don't just tell someone that they'll die in the near future or that their boyfriend will hospitalize them but she is trying to sell the holy stones so you could chalk it up to being part of the sell. However, with the subordinate trying to marry their childhood friend or empowering an entrepreneur, she still has the same approach of just answering a question with a yes or no when that's not really what the readings are for. I want to reiterate that I think her social link is fine, but it feels a little strange revisiting it after leaving its target demographic.
I could go on for even longer about similar cases in other media but I'm curious if anyone else has this particular pet peeve in their games.
