Saiyuki Tarot, Anybody?

[chomiji]

So smillaraaq and I were talking a little about Saiyuki and the tarot, and it's kind of fun matching up characters and events to cards. I'm thinking in terms of the classic Rider-Waite deck, which has events for the pip cards in the four suits.

For our four boys, at the simplest level, I'd go with the Knights of the four suits. The definitions re personality traits for these tend to be open enough that you can find things that match each of the guys, and they also work pretty well with something that kispexi2 put forth, which is that you can match Sanzo/Hakkai/Gojyo/Goku up with Spirit/Mind/Heart/Body. That matches well with the four Western elements used in the tarot: Fire/Air/Water/Earth, which are represented by Wands/Swords/Cups/Pentacles.

I would use the Knights not only for the guys' phase in life - young men - but also because of the questing element. They're in the mode of seeking: the solution to the Minus Wave, the sutras - of course, but also their own true selves. That goes very well with the intention of the Knight (or Prince) cards in the tarot. So we have:

Knight of Wands - Sanzo: fire, spirit or will - daring, insensitive, unconcerned with the small stuff, will tackle what others avoid, lacks inner peace, angers easily, has a chip on his shoulder. In many ways, Sanzo is the Knight of Wands reversed. This is true to some extent with all of them.

Knight of Swords - Hakkai: air, intellect - not as good a match in the traditional definitions of the Knight. But the Swords court cards in general have lots of Hakkai-type aspects: sorrow, firm resolve, speaking directly (which Hakkai does do, especially to Sanzo: he's the one to lay out the actual conflicts or choices before them), analyzing problems, accepting responsibility, verbal wit. In the same way that pick this card as a Significator for a young man in this stage of life who struck me as serious and brainy, but troubled, I'd use this one for Hakkai.

Knight of Cups - Gojyo: water, emotions - This is a solid match in many ways, but it's also funny and seemingly wrong in others: our brash, potty-mouthed kappa matched up with the sensitive romantic. But he is a sensitive romantic, even though he hasn't a clue how best to act on it most of the time. One of the sources I used for this says "brings flowers, but forgets to put gas in the car." That's our Gojyo, alright. Lacks self-restraint, has big ideas that come to nothing, helps others open up, appreciates beauty in all forms, exaggerates personal failings, sees below the surface, takes offense easily.

Knight of Pentacles - Goku: earth, body - Another pretty good match, as long as you don't get distracted and assume that "diligent" only means "does well at completing boring tasks assigned by others." Goku is very diligent in his pursuit of his own physical excellence and his devotion to Sanzo. Dogged in pursuit of a goal, can become dedicated to a task, never leaves a job half done, is hardheaded and obstinate, stands firm against opposition. No, he's not prudent - but in general, he doesn't need to be.

This is not the only time these guys would appear in the deck, though. For example, Sanzo has also got to be The Sun (see below).

More Thoughts

I've thought of a few others in passing ....

The Tower - Kami-sama's castle, falling - upheaval, crisis, revelation, seeing through illusions.

The Devil - Why, I do believe it's Ukoku, and the people he has in bondage ought to be GK and Hazel. Being obsessed, believing only in the physical, overindulging the senses, choosing to stay in the dark, lacking faith, seeing a cold world.

The Sun - Sanzo apotheosized/arisen (Sanzo as what he could become, and what Goku sees in him) - understanding, enlightenment, freedom, joy.

The Moon - this poses an interesting issue. This should be Koumyou, of course. But in Western tarot, the Moon as a card is deception, illusions, self-deceit. I guess we need to change our Tarot.

The World - I like Goku for this as far as meaning goes, but it could be Kanzeon, especially because the Rider-Waite description specifies that the person depicted in the World is actually a hermaphrodite, with "the scarf hiding the truth." Wholeness, achieving goals, healing, sharing, taking pleasure in life, fulfillment.

The Two of Cups - Gojyo and Hakkai sitting at Gojyo's little kitchen table, talking, smiling, each with a cup before him, and cards on the table. The time is "Be There," when they're really getting to know each other. Cementing a friendship, helping and being helped, bringing together opposites, recognizing a bond that is developing, accepting your preferences.

The Six of Swords - Gojyo carrying Goku and Hakkai away after the battle in Reload 7. Picking up the pieces, functioning but not much more, heading toward a more positive place, being uprooted, feeling depressed.

So what do you think? Any other ideas for cards? Want to counter my choices? The resource I was using for card meanings (in addition to what I know already) is right here. (And I found that someone had done an anime Saiyuki version here, but I don't think much of most of their choices ... .) Let's talk!

Comments

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

And Kami-sama's castle was a turning point in terms of revelation to the readers (and possibly to Sanzo) about the true nature of what's going on.

Of course, Houtou castle is the source of the minus wave and the resulting 'upheaval and crisis'.

Whee! This is fun! I know very, very little about Tarot but I do think it's a great way of opening up new avenues of thinking.

[chomiji]

I go through phases of Tarot geekdom, where I either just dig out one of my existing decks and books or go get a new deck or book, and then do lots of readings for a while, sometimes writing them down and then putting them away, so I can check them later and see if anything pans out. :-)

I just like the cards and the ideas of the symbolism. The Rider-Waite deck, which I prefer and am using here, is a relatively new deck that was laid out by a guy who'd studied a lot of European and Near East mysticism at the turn of the 20th century. It uses a lot of old symbols, but the presentation is modern-ish. Still, the images speak to me much more so than the older classical decks (like the Marseilles deck), which has puppet-like wood block figures for the 22 Major Arcana and playing-card-type layouts and figures for the 56 Minor Arcana.

Other decks that I have and sometimes use are the Haindl Tarot (which has a rather self-conscious "World Cultures" symbology, but I love the artwork) and the Palladini Tarot (a/k/a the Aquarian Tarot), which stylistically and chronologically dates to my teen years and feels noastalgic to me. Both are based on the Rider-Waite.

The thing to remember about tarot is that it can be used as a meditation tool on a number of levels. One of the ideas is that the Major Arcana represent the journey of the soul, through trials and tests and learning, starting out the journey as the naive, unknowing Fool (card 0) until ending up as the fulfilled, complete World (card 21).