The Magician
Keywords
Light: Will, Individuality, Skill, Innovation, Attention, Concentration, Focus
Shadow: Trickery, Manipulation, Deception, Illusion, Control, Inattention, Arrogance
Concepts/Archetypes: The Trickster, As Above; So Below
Numerology - 1
Keywords: Beginnings, Individuality, Will Power, Seed, Innovation
Other Cards Connected Numerically: The Aces. It could also be said that The Magician influences all other cards in the 11-21 sequence, as the number 1 resides in all of them. It is like, the power of 1 (The Magician) acting through the channel of the other digit and its corresponding single-digit tarot archetype. For example, The Hanged Man could be said like this: The power of The Magician works through the channel of The High Priestess to arrive at The Hanged Man.
Correspondences
Cosmic: Mercury
Chord: E Natural
Hebrew Letter-Word: Beth (house)
Element: Air
Archangel: Raphael (Kokabiel)
Minor Card With Similar Energy Signature: 8 of Pentacles
Meaning
The Magician may be thought of as many different things: a conductor, alchemist, chemist, wizard, healer. The Magician is a master of the elements and uses these in perfect combinations and arrangements to manifest their will. The proper command of energy requires a degree of skill and knowledge though, and part of this is in knowing what is truly desired vs. what is superficially wanted. You will know you are harnessing the energy available in the most effective way when it is, in a sense, inspired. For this reason, The Magician requires not brute force, but rather pure imagination to make things so.
“On the table in front of The Magician are the symbols of the four Tarot suits, signifying the elements of natural life, which lie like counters before the adept, and he adapts them as he wills.” - A.E. Waite
In A Reading, The Magician Could Be Saying…
You have all the tools you need to do the job.
Your attention is your super power, direct it accordingly.
Your will is the wand.
Channel your energy wisely.
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” - John Muir
The Symbols
Wand: Unlike the wands from the suit of wands, The Magician holds something that is more akin to a traditional magician’s wand. This one features two flame-like details on either end. These are likely yods, a Hebrew letter seen elsewhere in the deck, representing the spark of the divine. You will also notice similar wands in The Chariot and The World. Furthermore, their hand gesture points up toward heaven and down toward the ground. This expresses the axiom “as above; so below”. What exists at the level of the divine, expresses itself in nature too. The macrocosm is the microcosm.
Rose Garland: Roses frame The Magician. Red in colour, these roses represent desire, creativity and life force. They are connected to the solar aspect, symbolic of masculine or yang energy.
Lemniscate: Above The Magician’s head is the symbol for infinity (a lemniscate). You can find the same detail on Strength. Infinity expressed in this way symbolizes The Magician’s connection to limitless energy and endless power.
Belt: The Magician’s belt is shaped like a snake. It is designed similar to the ouroboros (a snake eating its own tail) and as such represents cycles, infinity (like the lemniscate) and transformation (shedding of skin).
Elements: Each of the 4 suits are depicted on The Magician’s table - wand, sword, cup and pentacle. This demonstrates The Magician’s influence over the elements and their influence over him.
Roses & Lilies: While the rose garland frames the scene, we see lilies joined with the roses in the garden below. Roses and lilies in tarot symbolize the union of opposites. They represent harmony and the divine marriage of solar (masculine) and lunar (feminine) forces.
Learn More
Revisiting The Pictorial Key: The Magician