The Magician

oraclearcane

OK. Let's move up to number 1, The Magician. Here's all the info from my notebook. I usually read the cards trying to focus in the querent's energy, so the Magician indicates to me someone active, who is in tune with the universe and mysticism. A person with great spiritual gifts, charisma, people are attracted to him/her because he/she exudes leadership qualities. It is a person who has an artful sense of timing and flexibility in all aspects of communication, musically inclined. Unless ill-dignified he represents the desire for honest communication. Great talents, intuition, psychic abilities. If ill-dignified could be someone who is a little bit of a cheat, someone who will use everything he can to get his way, even if that means lying,(mercury), cheating, etc.
I hope this might help. Love!
 

Vetch

Ok... very similar to the way I interpret him; but I don't see leadership qualities; I see craft. The Magician at his best is very good at doing what he does.
This is the show man, the movie star, the one on stage that we admire and adore. He has a big Ego, and that Ego shines. If it's a beautiful Ego, the better for the audience.
 

mystic mal

I met the perfect Magician when I moved to a cottage in the mystical area of Avebury Stone circle in Wiltshire UK.He lived at No.1 as is the Magicians card number.Darkcurly hair,looked like a Romany gypsy,his cottage was filled with herbs and wood carvings of owls and Gothic style chairs he had done.He had a gypsy caravan which he travelled around in for long periods of time,he played every instrument imaginable,he was a fire eater,tarot reader and a lovable rogue.The Magician can also be the Prince of thieves as well as travellers and yes he was light fingered too.He can lead you up the right path and lead you up the garden path as hes a prankster too but you cant resist his charm.
 

Vetch

Wow, that's him! :D

The Prince on Thieves...

I saw a picture of the New Vision's magician with a monkey behind his back.

What do you people think? Does your Magician have a monkey?
 

Teheuti

Roman number I is like the letter I (as in 'I am,' 'I have,' 'I want,' 'I do,' etc.). So I sometimes call this the "me, myself and I" card. Basically, the Magician says "I can do it all by myself. I have all the tools I need. Just watch."

Of course, the card is much more than this, but it's one facet I always consider as a possibility.

Mary
 

Skydancer

So if the Magician's emplements are on the table in front of him (earth, air, fire, water) then what is it that he is holding up in his hand? His athame??

*S*
 

Starling

What the magician holds.

It is his personal wand. Not the wand of the suits. They are all on the table.

The magician on the Smite-Waite deck looks very young to me. Barely adult. I never noticed that before. What about the other decks?
 

Skydancer

Oh! Thanks!!

Most magicians are young, I think. The only elders I can think of are kings (most but certainly not all), Hermit, Emperor most times, 9 of Cups. There's one in the 10 of pentacles usually. Hmmm .... you'd think someone who had learned to control the 'powers that be' would be a bit older in years. Maybe age doesn't count? Only what you have learned to do?? (and gender doesn't matter) -- so maybe no one wants to see an Elder Lady?!

*S*
 

Starling

Skydancer said:
Oh! Thanks!!

Most magicians are young, I think. The only elders I can think of are kings (most but certainly not all), Hermit, Emperor most times, 9 of Cups. There's one in the 10 of pentacles usually. Hmmm .... you'd think someone who had learned to control the 'powers that be' would be a bit older in years. Maybe age doesn't count? Only what you have learned to do?? (and gender doesn't matter) -- so maybe no one wants to see an Elder Lady?!

*S*

I was thinking that maybe the Magician doesn't really have all that much control. Maybe he is at the point where the Journeyman has passed his Master's exam, but not yet at the point where he is totally comfortable with what he is doing. Someone with a lot of book learning, but who has a lot of practical stuff to learn? Or like a doctor who is finished school and is now an intern? He is, after all, the number 1 in the Majors.

What do you think?
 

le fey

I sometimes like to think of the Majors as stages in the life cycle. The fool is the newborn - all potential, setting out on the life journey. Has certain strengths and potential abilities already (in the knapsack - traits that haven't been pulled out to be used yet) but is basically fully dependent on the universe to provide for its needs. Hasn't (hopefully) learned yet that you can't always trust in that.

So the Magician is the toddler - heavily focused on learning how to manipulate his environment. Cries are less primal, and more about getting a specific result. Learning to walk, to communicate, to control bodily functions, to get what they want and need instead of being entirely dependent on someone else to know to provide it. Saying "No! I can do it!" when someone tries to dress them. Learning they can stack up blocks to make something, and also have the power to kick the stack and send them flying across the room...

So no, not necessarily at the end point of having developed those skills, but very full of the realization that skills *can* be developed and that they have power in the world to make things go they way they want them to.