I - The Magician
The first thing we notice about this card is the bolt of lightning touching, but not harming, the Magician's hand. He's wearing a green cloak, while four assistants in blue cloaks stand on the steps below him, two on the step right below him on either side, and two below them, and each of the is holding one of the four symbols of Tarot. There are five steps in total, each having some runic like writing on them (some symbols are obviously runic while others are a mystery). We can see the Magician's face, but his eyes are covered in shadow. We can not see the assistants faces, as they're turned to the side facing him and their heads covered by their hoods, but we can see their hands which are a cold blue. Behind the Magician are two boulder like pillars holding up a third horizontal pillar, much like one of the blocks of Stone Hedge. Right below the Magician on the same step as him is a short alter, with three visible legs and three skulls underneath. On top of the alter is floating fire with a circular snake eating its own tail inside. Two streams of green mist coming from either side seem to be pouring into the bottom of the fire, while a third stream is pouring into the bottom of the the alter coming from the right (the Magician's left). The Magician is holding his left hand right above the fire at heart level, with the top flame seeming to touch it. The Magician's right hand is raised above him with a light emanating from it, with the thinner part, or more condensed, of the lightning bolt touching his fingertips. In the background dark storm clouds are gathered, though it's not raining and the clouds actually seem to be a fog surrounding the site, as right above the Stone Hedge the sky seems dark but clear. Inside the pillars of the Stone Hedge there is a dark fog, darker than the one surrounding them, as if it's a gateway to another dimension or place. There is a light blue mist over dark barren ground in the foreground of the image.
The Magician is obvious the leader of the rite. His assistants, by their blue hands, seem inhuman, almost like ghouls summoned by the Magician of other purpose than to channel the the four elements of life (as Tarot is about the different aspects and journey through life) so he can concentrate on his task. The snake in the fire symbolizes the constant cycle of eating and being eaten, the constant and eternal struggle of survival to stay alive. Fire is a chemical action, a symbol of transferance and transformation. The skulls represent the three cycles of the spirit: life, death, and rebirth. The green mist is the spiritual energy of the world. The Magician is absorbing the the spirit energy of the world through the fire and eternal snake through his left hand (the receptive hand, attributed to taking in energy in Wicca and other pagan belief), and channeling it through his body and out his right (the emitting hand, attributed to sending out energy) in the form of lightning, the power of the gods. The Magicians eyes are darkened, keeping secret his intentions. Is it to become immortal? To gain the power over life and death? To summon something from the other side? And what's through the Stone Hedge? Is it the afterlife? What is behind that dark fog? Is he trying to summon a creature of darkness? One of life and death? To bring forth a vampire from the depths of hell perhaps? Whatever his task, one things for sure, it's complicated and require doing multiple things at once. The Magician seems to be powerful, creating the lightning and drawing in the the eternal flame, he's really deceiving us. Where he lacks the skill to preform this task alone, he is wise enough to gain assistance to do it anyway. Which bring me to the question: Are results the same when you take a shortcut to reach your goal? Will the Magician have full control over the power he's trying to summon? Will it be divided between the five of them, or be able overpower each other them? Should we trust this Magician? He seems wise and clever, but can he help us with our own journey?
This card brings up many questions dealing with power, cooperation, wisdom, the possibility of deceit, spirituality, death, and the unknown. We have taken the first step on our journey and are full of questions as how about to go it. There are many different ways our journey can end, some with us getting what we want, many not at all, and a few somewhere in between.