Councillor (Arcana)
| Councillor | |
| 顧問官 | |
Graphic from Persona 5 Royal | |
| Other Name(s) | Le Consultant |
| Number | 1 |
| Deck | Grand Etteilla |
| Follows | Faith |
The Councillor is an Arcana in Persona 5 Royal. It is an additional card not present in the original Persona 5's deck. Both it and the Magician Arcana share the number I1, although the Councillor card features an Arabic numeral 1 rather than Roman numeral I.
Profile
Unlike the other Major Arcana, the Councillor Arcana is not a traditional Arcana in most tarot decks. It originates from the Grand Etteilla deck, created by French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette as the first tarot deck intended for cartomancy. In this deck, the card is numbered 1 and named Le Chaos, featuring thick clouds parting to reveal the sun, meant to represent the very beginning of the creation of the universe (the primordial Chaos).[1] Alliette claimed that his deck was a restoration of the original form of tarot, and that the Chaos card, while "originally" the first card, was eventually corrupted into the fifth card (Jupiter, the Pope, or the Swordsman) due to ignorance.[1] The upright label is printed as Etteilla (the pseudonym of Alliette) and the reversed label as Questionnant (a person asking questions, i.e. the cartomancer's querent).
According to the interpretation of Simon-François Blocquel (writing under the pseudonym "Julia Orsini"), synonyms for the upright meaning of Etteilla include "God. Almighty. Eternal. Most High. Unique. Supreme being. The Spirit of God. The consulting man. Chaos. Thought. Meditation. Contemplation. Reflection." and synonyms for the reversed meaning of Questionnant are "Philosopher. Philosophical. Philosophically. Philosophize. Wise. Wisdom. Wisely."[2]
Producer Kazuhisa Wada explained that Maruki's arcana was taken from the Etteilla deck, chosen apparently under the mistaken belief that the card name was "Consultant", and that it represented "Ideal" and "Wisdom", making it fitting for Maruki's character.[3] This description appears to reference the card in the modern version of the deck published by B.P. Grimaud since 1977,[4] which omits the actual arcana titles on the cards (e.g. Le Chaos), and only featuring the card's significance, upright and reversed meanings in both French and English. In this case, the card's significance is labeled Consultant/Man Consultant. While the modern meaning of the term (and its Japanese loanword as used by Wada, コンサルタント) is a person who is being consulted, which would indeed fit Maruki's role as school counselor, the original meaning of consultant in 18th-century French was a person who is seeking consultation from another person. In this context, it refers to the person having their fortune read, the same as Questionnant. (It is also of the masculine gender, hence the English on the card specifying "man consultant"; compare the 7th card, Repos/Rest, being labeled Consultante/Lady Consultant, to indicate a female querent.) Due to this misunderstanding, the card's title in-game, which is also in French to match the styles based on the Tarot de Marseilles, reads Le Consultant, and the card was titled Councillor (see #Nomenclature section).
The Spanish tarot deck El Gran Tarot Esoterico, originally created in 1976 by Basque occultist Maritxu Guller, also features a card titled "El Consultante" (The Consultant) as its version of the Magician Arcana.[5] While it also is numbered I (as is usual for the Magician) and the title does refer to the male querent, it bears little similarity to Etteilla's Le Chaos in either appearance or meaning. Given this and Atlus's confirmation that they derived the Councillor Arcana from the Grand Etteilla deck, this card is likely unrelated to the Councillor.
Characters
List of Personas
Persona 5 Royal
| Name | Level |
|---|---|
| Kushi Mitama | 12 |
| Nigi Mitama | 22 |
| Decarabia | 32 |
| Ananta | 44 |
| Yatagarasu | 57 |
| Seiryu | 62 |
| Dionysus | 71 |
| Vohu Manah | 80 |
Game Appearances
Persona 5 Royal
The Councillor Arcana is added to Royal as one of two new Arcana, the other being Faith. Its corresponding Confidant is Takuto Maruki. When alongside the other Arcana it is ordered last, following Faith. Similar to Faith, some Personas from the original Persona 5 had their Arcanas changed to Councillor to accommodate for the new Arcana. Vohu Manah was also added as the ultimate Persona of the Arcana.
Trivia
This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)
- Despite being the Personas of Dr. Maruki, who is the Councillor Confidant, Azathoth and Adam Kadmon do not actually have any Arcana associated with them. There is none visible on the status screen, and internally they are classified as "Other" alongside most non-Shadow enemies.
- End of spoilers.
Nomenclature
The name of the Arcana tends to conflate "counselor" (a person who provides counsel) with "councillor" (a member of a council). The French name in-game is also directly translated from English to mean a member of a council, despite the card's graphic bearing the French name Le Consultant.
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 English
|
Councillor | |
 Japanese
|
顧問官 Komonkan | Councillor; advisor |
 Simplified Chinese
|
顾问官 Gùwèn-guān | Councillor; advisor |
 French
|
L'Édile | The Councillor. |
 German
|
Berater | Consultant |
 Italian
|
Consigliere | Counselor; also Councillor |
 Korean
|
고문관顧問官 Gomun-gwan | Councillor; advisor |
 Peninsular Spanish
|
Consejero | Counselor; also Councillor |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Manière de se récréer avec le jeu de cartes nommées tarots (1785), Etteilla (Jean-Baptiste Alliette). French. Vol. 2 pp. 9-10.
- ↑ Le Grand Etteilla ou l'Art de tirer les cartes et de dire la Bonne Aventure (1838), Julia Orsini (Simon-François Blocquel). French. p. 154.
- ↑ "丸喜のアルカナ「顧問官」の設定には、かすみとはまた別の元ネタタがありまして、シナリオ担当がエテイヤ版という最古のタロットといわれるものをアイデアにしたものです。その「1」のカードが表すものが理想と知恵を意味するらしくて、カードとしても "コンサルタント" だったかなかな、丸喜のキャラクター性に近かったので採用しました。アラビア数字の「1」としたのもそういう理由ですね。" Translation: "Maruki's Arcana “The Councillor” is originally based on a different Tarot deck from Kasumi's. The scenario director took the idea from the Etteilla version, which is said to be the oldest Tarot deck. The “1” card in that Tarot deck represents Ideals and Wisdom, and I think the card itself was called “Consultant”, which was close to Maruki's character, so we decided to use it. That is also why we chose to use the Arabic numeral “1.”" Interview in Persona 5 Royal Official Complete Guide (2019). Published by Kadokawa Shoten. Japanese. p.689. ISBN-13: 978-4049128871.
- ↑ Steve Phillips, Grand Etteilla / Tarots Egyptiens (Grimaud). Retrieved September 30, 2026. Website.
- ↑ El Gran Tarot Esoterico, Libro de instrucciones escrito. (1976), Maritxu Guller. Published by Fournier. Spanish. ISBN-13: 9788485074075.