TAROTThe Magician
Upright
You have all the skills you need for success.
Turn a dream into reality through inner thought, resources, and action.
Changing the world by putting ideas into practice, or changing oneself by receiving new thoughts and concepts.
Intuition
The Magician is part man, part animal, symbolizing the duality of mind and the physical world. He represents the elemental forces of intellect and will being applied to the natural world to create change.
There is a raven on the table, representing a messenger from the Gods and a route to breaking the confines of our environment through higher intellect.
Reversed
You have the skills you need, but are blocked by lack of confidence and self-doubt
Not trusting one’s own abilities.
Plans blocked by others or external hidden agendas.
Disorganized ideas and/or misuse of resources and tendency towards destruction rather than creation.
Astrologia
Quick-witted, and a strong communicator. Intellectual and always learning. A resourceful problem solver. Can be prone to overthinking or distracted by many ideas at once.
The Magician
The Magician represents a person’s thoughts and intellect, and how abstract ideas can be made real by transforming the physical world. This transformation does not happen by accident or magic; it requires will, training, and hard work.
The Magician can also represent ideas learned and communicated with others, causing inner transformation or initiation. It involves transitioning to a higher state of knowledge through learning.
The magic of the Magician is the power of the abstract intellect to change the world through the will of the self, aka ‘manifestation’.
The ‘Auroch God’
The Magician takes its inspiration from a very ancient archetype. Early pre-farming cultures revered the auroch: a powerful, now-extinct beast that reached six feet in height. This animal provided sustenance, but also posed a deadly threat as a powerful adversary.
Several ancient cultures worshipped horned male deities based on the auroch: the 'Auroch God' from Göbekli Tepe (the earliest temple-structure known to us), the Sumerian Bull of Heaven, the Celtic god Cernunnos, and others.
As farming took hold and aurochs were domesticated into less intimidating bovines, the Auroch God transformed into a less imposing entity, giving us the Greek god Pan. This archetype maintains some of his former glory in myth as an old god who tutors a younger, powerful deity: Apollo.
As a half-man, half-animal chimera, Pan forms a visual metaphor between raw nature and the human mind. The mind can control and transform nature to its will, but the raw animal of the elemental Auroch is also there. We think we are in control and rational until the moment the old-brain takes back control, and we fall into anger, fear, avarice and doubt.
Pan represents the teacher of our higher Self, Apollo. We see Pan speaking to Apollo’s messenger, the raven. Pan represents the old gods and the ancient knowledge of the Magician. Finally, he represents the duality of the archetypal Male Elemental God: intellect and animal, helper and trickster, protector and predator, day and night, Oak-King and Holly-King.
Description and Symbology
We see Pan standing in a forest clearing. Leaves blow around him in a cyclone, yet the center where he stands is perfectly still. The wind has weathered a rock into a table, and upon it, we see the four Suits of the Tarot:
- A Wand: Fire (passion, drive, and creativity).
- A Cup: Water (emotion, intuition, and relationships).
- A Sword: Air (intellect, reason, and communication).
- A Pentacle: Earth (material wealth, resources, and stability).
This symbolizes that the Magician has learned to master all the elements.
The Magician points both upward and downward, signifying a famous maxim from the Emerald Tablet, a Hermetic text translated from Greek to Arabic, then Latin, and finally English. The earliest English translation reads:
'That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.'
This is usually simplified to 'As above, so below.'
This broadly means that the rules governing the cosmos also govern our lives. However, the original text implies the connection works in both directions. To understand this older meaning, we must look to the principles of Hermeticism:
- The Principle of Astrology: The celestial planets in the heavens influence the lives of people below. That which is above is like that which is below.
- The Principle of Alchemy: The natural transformation of base metals into higher metals mirrors spiritual transformation.
- The Principle of Theurgy: Often overlooked, this dictates that the end goal of alchemy is not the creation of physical gold. Effecting material transformation in metals is the key to attaining spiritual transformation toward the divine; if you can do the first, the second will follow a similar process. This explains the reverse connection: man can elevate himself to the divine. This was a common belief among the ancients, seen in everything from the deification of Egyptian Pharaohs to mortals ascending to godhood (Heracles, Psyche, etc.).
The Magician knows this deepest truth: the gods are not that different from us, and perhaps we should take the time to enjoy this world rather than hurrying to the next. For this realization, some would call him the ultimate trickster.
We see Pan conversing with a raven. The raven is the messenger of Apollo, and Pan is known to be his tutor. In the same way, the Magician is the elemental tutor and father to our intellect. We learn about the outside world through him. We learn how to control it for mutual benefit, but taken too far, we risk misusing and destroying it, perhaps even angering the divine.
Magician Symbol
The Magician is represented by a glyph of the Auroch God.
Forest Clearing
The card is set in a forest clearing, signifying a world of plenty around us. This world of plenty will only become useful to us once we take the hard route of learning how to use it. Any shortcuts may lead to destruction, waste, and may anger the Divine, or kill the Divine within us.
Wind around the Magician
The air around the magician has been formed into a wind that scatters leaves but also shapes a rock into the Magician’s table. This wind, formed of air, represents the power of the intellect to manifest change upon the natural world.
The Magician as a Chimera
The Magician has the upper half of a man and the lower half of a beast. By realizing our rational self sits on an older irrational brain (and that ourselves and our environment part of the same whole), we gain complete control of ourselves and our world. This is the promise of the Magician’s way.
The Magician’s pose
The Magician points upwards to the heavens and the ground below, implying 'as above, so below'.
The Magician and the raven
The discussion between Pan and the raven appears to be light-hearted. The Magician has the power to manifest transformation, but also the sight to see the world the way it really is. As a God himself, Pan knows the difference between Gods and mortals is sometimes slight. Being closer to the Divine is a lofty aim, but sometimes it is time to sit back and enjoy the current world.
The ouroboros
At the base of the table, we see the symbol of the ouroboros; a snake eating its own tail. This represents eternity and the repeating cycle of the World Soul. Similar to the ouroboros, thought is infinite. We see this cycle again when we consider the green summer leaves of the forest at the top of the card against the fallen autumn leaves at the foot of the card. Life repeats as a cycle of birth, growth, and death.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
You will be central in making things happen. You already have everything you need to solve any problem. Embrace your positive assertiveness in finding solutions for relationship problems.
Beware of being open to deceit from others. You have everything you need to solve any problems, but others are setting you up for failure via trickery and lies.
There may be difficulty in resolving issues because of power imbalances.
You will be focussed on results, gaining mastery through training or experience. You are set up for success through having everything you need, and the skills to put into practice.
You are suffering from a lack of focus. You may be falling behind because of a lack of skills. You may be open to deception in the workplace.
Consider carefully if you are being held back in your progression, and rethink your future course if it looks likely.
You are entering a period of being very self-disciplined and goal driven.
Now is the time for making positive changes and even becoming your own personal trainer!
You are failing to stick to routines, and perhaps too focused on what others think.
This may be a time to rethink, because your current health plans are doomed to failure.
You will be finding enlightenment in the world around you.
A time to get out more, as you will find yourself there; nature is often a reflection of the soul, and you are now very open to it. Remember; animals are the original archetypes, and if you see any acting strangely or out of character, it may be a message.
You will find difficulty in connecting or making things happen spiritually, and will feel a disconnection.
Be careful of being pulled in to false beliefs and cults, as you are very open to deceit and falsehood right now.
Remember, spirituality has a wide meaning today; are you being pulled in by materialism, avarice, poor self-image or any one of the 'cults of identity'?
Expect a period of growth by properly deploying money for investment. Now is a perfect time to make future plans happen!
If you are feeling you don’t have enough to move forward, assess what you have. It is probably enough!
Beware of falling for cons and deceitful practices. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
You may be moving forward via unfocused planning or are out of your depth. Stop and think over your real targets and whether you truly expect to achieve them. If not, pause and rethink.
Yes, through making things happen.
No, through lack of confidence, self-doubt.
Reading the card
Although the Magician is traditionally viewed as a masculine archetype (the complement to the feminine High Priestess), intellect is, of course, universal, just as intuition is.
The Upright Card
The upright Magician is a powerful signifier of success, but he merely symbolizes that the seeker possesses the untapped potential, skills, and resources required. Even upright, there remains a requirement to act on those thoughts and resources. Intent must lead to action.
Cards that signify balance, or a lack thereof, act as significant modifiers to this energy. Self-confidence boosts the power of the Magician, while self-deception and doubt make success difficult.
The Reversal
A reversed Magician is not a message of failure. It signifies that the potential for success exists, but the path will be difficult. It points to a lack of focus, overconfidence, or indecision.
It may also suggest that success will arrive, but the plan will not take you where you want. You may be misusing resources, or reaching your destination might mean leaving behind people you value. Remember that the Magician is neither good nor bad. He gives you what you want, which may not be what you need.
Your plans might be successful, but dishonest or manipulative. The Magician represents the rational mind, but often lacks emotional depth to consider the impact on others.
Finally, a reversal can represent a lack of creativity and creeping stagnation. In this context, it tells you to step back and learn so you can try another approach later. Unreadiness today does not mean unreadiness tomorrow; the ouroboros keeps turning.
The Magician as a Trickster
As noted above, the Magician gives you what you want, but that may not be what you need. While the High Priestess's intuition can fail through self-delusion, the intellect can fail just as hard through overconfidence, ignoring the feelings of others, or manifesting a solution to the wrong problem. Balance is key.
Card Design Process
The choice of Pan as the Magician was seen as a surprise by some reviewers, as the Magician is often viewed as a noble character, which Pan is not.
Pan perfectly illustrates the relationship between the mind and nature, being physically half of each. He was the tutor of the young Apollo (a deity often associated with the Magician). Like Pan, the Magician lives 'in the moment' within a very physical reality.
Pan is much more lighthearted than the Magician in many other decks, laughing rather than serious. This was a conscious choice. In any task, playfulness, creativity, and adaptability are crucial factors in forming a successful plan.
This alternative was chosen to move the essence of the card away from the solemn rites of 19th-century occult societies toward an earlier, shamanistic view, depicting a character in tune with nature because he lives within it.
Final Words
This card represents resourcefulness and creation through intellect, ideas and resources. It suggests whether you have everything you need to succeed.
The Magician does not on its own tell you whether you will succeed, but is a good indication of whether you are ready to start.
The Magician does not on its own tell you whether you will succeed, but is a good indication of whether you are ready to start.
