The Magician Card Meaning

magician

The Magician card indicates that you could benefit from re-evaluating yourself and your skill set. This may be a chance to reinvent yourself. Life has a way of becoming monotonous over time, as we become comfortable acting in autopilot mode. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves what we are capable of, to expand the boundaries of our comfort zone. Have you been wanting to try something new?

We have the power to shape our environment rather than simply allowing it to shape us. Between activity and passivity, the choice is yours. When your environment drives you into submission, the Magician card is a reminder that you have the power to rebel, even if it must be done quietly. In these circumstances, we need to remember who is number one. Even if we have forgotten how to think for ourselves, it is never too late to learn.

The Magician understands the nature of similarity and difference, knowing that opposites only represent two sides of the same phenomenon: a sliding scale. He sees the four elements as two intersecting planes and knows how to counterbalance energy to his advantage. He draws on his innate spiritual prowess to manifest his desires. For this, he relies on emotion to kickstart motion. This is a card of beginnings, as it represents the initial starting point that comes with having made a decision. As such, this is also a card of awakening. Representing the personal power of the individual, this card is usually seen as one of the most positive signs of the tarot deck.

Regarding romantic relationships, this card shows the awareness of personal needs and readiness to help satisfy the needs of a partner. In your social life, you are open to new experiences and meeting new people. Regarding professional life, you have defined your goals and are ready to start working towards them. The Magician is all about self-promotion and taking on new opportunities and responsibilities, no matter how difficult they may seem. The appearance of this card may indicate that you are ready to stop running on autopilot. You may have already made this decision. It is time to grab the reins and take conscious control of the direction of your life. It is time to set the wheels in motion.

And You May Ask Yourself:

  • What are your strengths, and how can you use them to achieve your desires?
  • You have everything you need; so, what is preventing you from taking action?
  • Remember the last time you felt your power as a spiritual being or the feeling of ‘magic’ in the air. You have felt this before, so what could you do to reconnect with your higher self?

Exercise Idea

Draw up your own magic spell involving the four (or five) elements. Begin by calling upon your greatest desires. Ask yourself why you need this, and be certain it does not involve violating others in any way (e.g., ‘love’ spells). What kind of spell will you cast?

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Surrealist
Surrealist Tarot
Diary
Diary of a Broken Soul
     
bifrost
bifrost Tarot
Langustl
Langustl Tarot
Rider-Waite
Rider-Waite

Different Versions of the Card

The Magician is basically the quintessential tarot card. When we look at the different versions on this site, we can see various aspects of this icon of the tarot deck. Every version of the Magician shows somebody using a set of four tools that represent four different elemental states, which are also suits in the tarot deck. The elements of fire, water, air, and earth respectively correspond to the suits of wands, cups, swords, and disks.

For this card, we immediately notice that Langustl is closely focused on the act of focusing itself. As usual, Langustl does not show the figure on the card, instead placing the reader in the position, essentially applying first-person perspective rather than the regular third-person.




Surrealist revisions this card as the Sorcerer, but the character, in this case a bizarre four-armed creature, is easily recognizable. Diary‘s version looks similar. The Rider-Waite and bifrost versions also look very similar. In each of these variations, we see a focused character performing some kind of magic act. In the old days of tarot, before occult influence, a magician would be performing magic tricks for a royal audience. Occult decks view this character more as an occult magician, using ritual magic to achieve results.

The Diary and bifrost versions provide insight about how this archetype gets the job done. In Diary of a Broken Soul, the Magician sacrifices of his own life force, knowing his own blood to be the most potent offering. In bifrost, the Magus is like an occult sage whose power of will influences the actions of others. He stands on the mountain mid-ritual, the act of sending out the force of his willpower. He symbolically manipulates the lemniscate, making his rainbow split in seven directions.

 

 

 

 

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