The Meanings of the 22 Major Arcana Tarot Cards – The Magician:
Introduction to The Magician
The Magician is Key 1 of the Major Arcana in the Tarot deck. It is the card of focused energy and mastery of special knowledge. The Magician is most often associated with the planet Mercury and all communication.
In many Tarot decks, the Magician is depicted by a man with dark hair that stands before a table. On the table rests a cup that represents emotions and love, a knife to represent intellect and willpower, a pentacle to symbolize the financial and physical aspects of life, and a rod to represent spiritual matters. In his free right hand, he holds a white wand and there is a lemniscate, the symbol for infinity, atop the Magician’s head. His free left hand points to the ground to make the energy from above manifest itself on Earth through his sheer will alone.
The Magician is the Tarot card of Mercury, the planet of communications and mastery. He is the male counterpart to the High Priestess and her planet of the Moon. The Magician has the outward meanings suggesting manifestation of external abilities and talent, while the High Priestess contains meanings of the inner manifestation of these qualities.
The Magician represents the self-employed, people working in the medical fields, politicians, motivational speakers, online writers, applied scientists, engineers, agents, entrepreneurs and inventors and can be used as an adopted Tarot birth card. The Magician is the birth card for people born under the astrological sign of Gemini and Virgo and represents the number one. The Magician is one of the secondary birth cards for those with the primary birth cards of the Wheel of Fortune and the Sun as well. – See Tarot Birth Card Compatibility
The Magician Upright
The Magician appearing upright often means that it is time to apply knowledge gleaned from education and experience. All four elements are now free to be utilized. The Magician holds all of the tools of transformation in meanings involving mind and matter.
The Magician near the Wheel of Fortune in a Tarot spread means there will be a new direction in residence or profession. If the Wheel of Fortune (rx) is near the Magician, the change will be difficult but later embraced. The Magician near the Death card can take the meanings of events canceled or delayed.
If the Magician appears after the Star in a Tarot spread, it augers meanings of a happy and free beginning for the start of a new project or artistic endeavor. If the upright Magician appears before the upright Star in a Tarot spread, it means much confidence and hope for the future.
The Magician Reversed (RX)
The Magician reversed can have meanings involving weakness and indecision. Often it indicates a squandering of resources and talents. In some cases, the reversed Magician could be a sibling who is secretly the source of the trouble.
Whenever the reversed Magician (rx) appears before the High Priestess card, it denotes occult power improperly used. If the High Priestess is also reversed, the power will be false. If the reversed Magician (rx) appears before the Emperor card in a Tarot spread, it can denoted a problem with authority, but if the Emperor is also reversed, it can mean an overbearing father that feels free to dominate. If the reversed Magician (rx) is near the Hierophant card, it can mean difficulty with an authority figure involved in religion or formal education.
The Magician in Regards to Love, Sex and Relationships
The appearance of the Magician in a Tarot spread usually signifies meanings that a mental picture of what is desired in love and relationships magically can appear and a direct course of action can be set to follow. The Magician can sometimes mean a sudden sexual attraction from a formerly platonic friend. The Magician may also signify a thoroughly deliberate plan to catch the object of one’s desire, as in casting a love or glamor spell on another.
