All Arcana Locations in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (Unlock Requirements)

Arcana are the tarot cards Rose Belmont collects in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. Each one seals a defeated character’s power into her deck and gives her a spell or a traversal ability. About half arrive through the story. The rest sit behind relic hunts, mirror trials, upgrade thresholds, and cards that only work while another Arcana is equipped. The order you collect them in matters, because several cards are keys for the next one.

Quick answer: The deck is numbered 1 to 15. Cursed Flame (The Cursed) is available from the start. The Self comes last and needs The Warrior, The Whisperer, The Judge, and The Sage.

Every Arcana location and unlock condition

Use this as a checklist. The detailed routes follow below, grouped by what blocks each card.

Arcana	Area	Requirement
The Fallen	Paris Streets	Beat the first story boss
The Warrior	Paris Streets (Prison Tower)	Beat Joan on the tower roof
The Prophetess	Holy Innocents’ Cemetery	Beat Medusa in Serpents’ Lair
The Builder	Clock Tower	Beat Talos
The Occultist	Library	Beat Carmilla
The Zealot	Clock Tower	Beat Isaac (story boss)
The Artist	Main Hall	The Builder
The Brittle King	Notre-Dame (Chapel)	The Builder equipped
The Shadow	Notre-Dame	Paintbrush, The Artist, organ songs
The Miser	Catacombs of Paris	All 3 Eye relics equipped
The Whisperer	Any fast travel point	Ferryman’s Obol
The Temptress	Main Hall (Hall of Mirrors)	Clear 4 symbol mirrors
The Sage	Holy Innocents’ Cemetery	The Temptress
The Judge	Paris Streets (Palace of Justice)	12 HP and 12 Mana upgrades
The Self	Main Hall	Warrior, Whisperer, Judge, Sage

How absorbing an Arcana works

Every Arcana ends the same way. Once its boss, puzzle, or handoff is done, an orb appears and the game enters an absorption phase. Hold R1 until the absorption completes. You know it worked when the full tarot card fills the screen with prompts to equip it or continue, and the card’s spell shows up in your loadout. Spells, weapons, and relics can all be swapped at any time from the pause menu, which matters for the cards below that require a specific Arcana to be equipped.

Arcanas menu for Cursed Flame with a fire spell card, an upgrade description, and a Works of Mercy task list on the right. — The Arcanas screen shows Cursed Flame, a 30 MP fireball spell, with its upgrade and the Works of Mercy task of hitting 5/20 times with the spell.

Boss Arcana you get by progressing

Six cards are tied to boss fights in places the story pushes you toward anyway. Two of them, The Fallen and The Zealot, are mandatory story bosses.

Large pale-haired monster looms over an orange-braided heroine in a blue dress, with a dialogue box labeled The Fallen. — The Fallen, a hulking white-haired figure with red claws, confronts the heroine in a skull-lined green chamber before the boss fight.

The Fallen (Paris Streets)

The Fallen is yours automatically after you defeat the first story boss in Paris Streets, during the objective to stop the monster terrorizing the city. It unlocks Holy Cross, a returning cross projectile that comes back to Rose after a set distance or when it hits a wall. The card’s character is Leon, and it also carries the Arcane Whip ability.

The Warrior (Prison Tower, Paris Streets)

Head to the Prison Tower near the Burned District. Climb to the top right, ride the elevator to the Upper Tower, then go left into the Roof of the Tower and grapple up to the boss gate. Beating Joan grants The Warrior, which unlocks Infernal Pyre and the Holy Light parry ability.

The Prophetess (Holy Innocents’ Cemetery)

Find the Fountain of the Lost inside Holy Innocents’ Cemetery and jump into the water. It drops you into the flooded Serpents’ Lair. Keep descending to the boss door and defeat Medusa for The Prophetess and its spell, Petrifying Gaze.

The Prophetess Arcana — The Prophetess card appears once Medusa is beaten in Serpents' Lair. Shown at 03:17 in 100% Guides’s video. Image: KONAMI

The Builder (Clock Tower)

Go to the Eastern Access Shaft in the Clock Tower. Hit the switches with the fists to rotate the platforms upright, then wall jump over the lowest one and move right so a fist slams open the blocked passage. Drop through, clicking gears into place on the way down to the Foundry Apex, and continue to the bottom. Defeating Talos pops the “Talos Aversion” trophy and grants The Builder, with the Fist of Talos spell and the Smash ability for breaking blocks from the air.

The Builder Arcana — The Builder card, which later opens the way to The Artist and The Brittle King. Shown at 05:37 in 100% Guides’s video. Image: KONAMI

The Occultist (Library)

A path from the Clock Tower’s Eastern Access Shaft leads into the Library. Push right through the Forgotten Bridge and Rhetoric Shelves to the Planetarium, then climb the central shaft into the Observation Tower. Rotate the astrolabe mechanisms so the larger planets sit on top, which lets you make the longer jumps upward. At the top, go right to the boss room and defeat Carmilla for The Occultist and Blood Spikes.

The Occultist Arcana — The Library map, home to the Observation Tower climb and Carmilla's boss room. Shown at 06:45 in 100% Guides’s video. Image: KONAMI

Before leaving Carmilla’s room, pick up Brauner’s Paintbrush. It is the first step toward The Shadow.

The Zealot (Clock Tower)

On the route to the normal ending, you’ll face the story boss Isaac in the Clock Tower’s clock-face arena. Defeat him to absorb The Zealot and gain Chronomantic Dive, a diving attack that creates a green-flame cross and slows time briefly.

Arcana that need The Builder or The Artist equipped

Three cards chain off The Builder. Get Talos done first and these open up in sequence.

The Artist (Main Hall)

With The Builder in hand, go to the Grand Hall in the Main Hall and make your way to Brauner’s Atelier. Use The Builder’s power to break through and crack the sculpture inside. Brauner appears and hands over The Artist, which grants the Masterpiece spell and the Aerial Rush ability.

The Artist Arcana — The Artist card, needed to enter the Notre-Dame painting. Shown at 06:43 in 100% Guides’s video. Image: KONAMI

The Brittle King (Notre-Dame Chapel)

Put on The Builder, travel to the Chapel in Notre-Dame, and examine the radiant sword resting on its pedestal. Arthur is depicted on the card, which grants the Stained-Glass Shield spell.

The Shadow (Notre-Dame)

Collect Brauner’s Paintbrush in the Library, in the same room where you beat Carmilla. The item belonged to Brauner before Carmilla took it.

With The Artist equipped, use the Notre-Dame painting in the Main Hall to travel into Notre-Dame.

Find the Giant Organ and play all three songs on it. The altar boss becomes available once the melodies are done.

Defeat Death at the altar and absorb The Shadow. It grants Soul Harvest and the Double Jump ability.

Relic, item, and trial Arcana

These cards don’t sit behind a single boss door. They need collectibles, upgrade counts, or a run of optional challenges.

The Miser (Gate of Flesh, Catacombs of Paris)

Pick up the Thrilling Eye in Paris Streets, inside the Hospital.

Collect the Oozing Eye in the Catacombs of Paris, in the Circle of Greed.

Get the Trembling Eye in Holy Innocents’ Cemetery.

Equip all three Eye relics at once, filling every relic slot. They are key relics, so they only do anything together.

Go to the Gate of Flesh in the Catacombs of Paris. With the three eyes equipped it opens, and The Miser waits inside, granting Wheel of Chaos.

The Miser Arcana (Relic Collection & Gate of Flesh) — The Miser card waits behind the Gate of Flesh. Its room also holds the coin for The Whisperer. Shown at 15:27 in 100% Guides’s video. Image: KONAMI

The Whisperer (Ferryman)

Don’t leave The Miser’s room yet. Grab the Ferryman’s Obol from the treasure pile there, then hand it to the Ferryman at any fast travel point (Ferryman’s Wharf). He gives you The Whisperer, which unlocks Freezing Path.

The Temptress (Hall of Mirrors)

Four symbol mirrors are scattered across the castle. Crouch in front of each one to enter it and clear its obstacle challenge. With all four done, go to the Main Hall and enter the Hall of Mirrors through the red mirror where the Queen is. Navigate the gauntlet to the end and defeat Succubus for The Temptress and Life Drain. This one takes the longest of any card by a wide margin, so budget time for it.

The Temptress Arcana — The Temptress card with its equip prompt, which also opens the path to The Sage. Shown at 29:01 in 100% Guides’s video. Image: KONAMI

The Sage (Tomb of the Noble Queen)

Once you obtain The Temptress, revisit the Tomb of the Noble Queen at Holy Innocents’ Cemetery and talk to Queen Eleanor. She rewards you with The Sage, which comes with the teleportation spell Mirror Walk.

The Judge (Palace of Justice, Paris Streets)

This Arcana unlocks through upgrades rather than a boss fight. You must have 12 or more HP upgrades and 12 or more Mana upgrades. Next, reach the Palace of Justice in Paris Streets, ascend the giant scale tree, and set the heart on the scale. When the scale balances, absorb The Judge to gain Chains of Justice.

The Self: Room of the Four Virtues

The Self is the final card, and it requires four others in your deck before you start: The Warrior, The Whisperer, The Judge, and The Sage.

In the Main Hall, enter the chamber called Room of the Four Virtues. It contains four stained-glass windows, arranged around a large circular window at its center.

Equip The Warrior and interact with the leftmost window. Clear its challenge and ring the bell at the end.

Equip The Whisperer and do the same with the second window, ringing the bell when the trial ends.

Equip The Judge for the third window, then The Sage for the fourth, ringing the bell after each.

With all four windows lit, interact with the large circular window in the center. Defeat the Doppelganger that appears and absorb The Self, which grants Absolution.

Arcana numbers, characters, spells, and clue counts

Each card has a fixed number in the deck and a set number of clues that point to its whereabouts. Clues come from spirits, statues, and similar sources around Paris, and they fill in on the card as you find them. A card with a high clue count, like The Shadow, has more hints scattered around before you reach it.

Arcana (No.)	Character	Spell / ability	Clues
The Self (1)	Doppelganger	Absolution	2
The Fallen (2)	Leon	Holy Cross / Arcane Whip	2
The Warrior (3)	Joan	Infernal Pyre / Holy Light	2
The Prophetess (4)	Medusa	Petrifying Gaze	4
The Builder (5)	Talos	Fist of Talos / Smash	2
The Artist (6)	Brauner	Masterpiece / Aerial Rush	4
The Occultist (7)	Carmilla	Blood Spikes	5
The Shadow (8)	Death	Soul Harvest / Double Jump	6
The Miser (9)	Mammon	Wheel of Chaos	4
The Whisperer (10)	Ferryman	Freezing Path	1
The Zealot (11)	Isaac	Chronomantic Dive	1
The Temptress (12)	Succubus	Life Drain	1
The Brittle King (13)	Arthur	Stained-Glass Shield	1
The Judge (14)	Saint Louis	Chains of Justice	1
The Sage (15)	Eleanor	Mirror Walk	4

Cursed Flame, from The Cursed card, sits outside that numbered run and is in Rose’s kit from the start of the game.

Spell mana costs and attack power

Spell	Arcana	Mana cost	Attack power
Cursed Flame	The Cursed	30	25
Blood Spikes	The Occultist	50	35
Chronomantic Dive	The Zealot	50	55
Petrifying Gaze	The Prophetess	75	25
Infernal Pyre	The Warrior	80	40

Among these five, Chronomantic Dive has the highest attack power, and it shares the 50 mana cost with Blood Spikes. Petrifying Gaze and Cursed Flame sit level at 25 attack power, with Gaze costing more than twice as much mana. Its value comes from the petrify effect, not raw damage.

Arcana boss health and XP

Boss (Arcana)	Arena	Health	XP
Brauner (The Artist)	Main Hall, Brauner’s Atelier	4250	500
Carmilla (The Occultist)	Library, Observatory	4500	850
Death (The Shadow)	Notre-Dame, Choir	8444	1000
Doppelganger (The Self)	Notre-Dame, Gallery of the Four Virtues	8778	1000
Arthur (The Brittle King)	Notre-Dame, Chapel	11000	500

All five shrug off freeze, petrify, launches, slam downs, the Chronomantic Dive slow, the Freezing Path link, and the Infernal Pyre launch, so control spells won’t carry these fights. Damage-over-time effects are where they differ. Arthur is immune to both bleed and burn, and Death is immune to bleed, which takes Blood Spikes off the table for both. Brauner, Carmilla, and the Doppelganger instead ignore the root and stun from Chains of Justice. Arthur hits for 55 attack, the highest of the group, and beating him also drops the Excalibur weapon alongside Stained-Glass Shield.