Tarot Post – Magician

I – The Magician (Mercury ☿)

The Magician by G A Rosenberg

He wills to create

The magician lifts his wand

Energy flows through

Receiving the fire
and letting it flow through
using all the tools at hand
to create
on screen and off
according to my will
Soon something will exist
that wasn’t before
except in imagination
Letting manifestation happen
the more i open to it
the more if flows through
not so much a part of me
as coloured by my being
and by the power
that inspires.
–G A Rosenberg

The Fool falls and lands. Where before the Fool was whole with the potential to become everything, now polarization has happened. The Magician is male to the Priestess’ female and active to the Priestess’ passivity. One way of looking at the Major Arcana is the quest to reunify these two into a realized World / Universe at the end.
The Magician utilizes his will and channels spiritual energy into accomplishment. He uses all four elemental tools (The Wand, The Chalice, The Sword and The Disk) to aid in this.
Another way of saying this is that through his will uses the power of his spirt (wand, fire, spirit) his emotions (cup) and intellect and knowledge (Sword, remember that the Magician’s astrological attribute is Mercury which is connected to the mind) and his sexuality (pentacle) to effect changes in his environment.
Regarding the last, given that we manifest in the physical it could be said that the Magician’s most powerful tool is his staff (between his legs). This is also true of the Priestess also but until the Magician opens the way with his staff, it remains secret, then she becomes the Empress as her Nature becomes manifest.
For those who may be inclined to take the above statement too literally, remember that we each contain all the archetypes within us. Which means that we all have our own Magician, Priestess and Empress and all the others as well.
The Magician also represents the trickster archetype and teaches usually by tricking the student into learning what he or she needs to know. (Consider Merlin, Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan or Socrates in the Peaceful Warrior Books by Dan Millman.) In tricking others, tho it is quite possible that he will surprise himself with a lesson or two as well. One of his lessons is learning to discern whether his results are objective and tangible as opposed to subjective. Another is to use his powers in a way that is true to his authentic self as opposed to wasting his energies on whim.

Astrological Attribution: Mercury(☿) – Mercury’s energy is all about fast transmission and communication. It also relates to intellect and logic. In Greek mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, always in motion. Thus those who have a strong Mercury are likely to move swiftly from thing to thing to thing, going in, doing what they can and then move on to the next thing. Mercury also is related to the sensory impressions and the moment to moment intake of information.
 

Runic Correspondences – Mannaz(‘Mankind’)–
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Mannaz is the rune of thought and intellect. It has to do with using our energy for self-actualization through study and personal commitment. It encourages personal responsibility and that towards the rest of humankind and how we interact with the world.
Other Runes that have been connected with the Magician are Pa and Ansuz.

Path on the Tree of Life: Path 12 – Beth (‘House’) which links Kether (Crown) to Binah (Understanding) – If Path 11 involves manifestation than Path 12 involves the transmission of knowledge underlying manifestation. It is referred to as the intelligence of transparency.

When the Magician turns up in a reading it can mean that a time of great creativity and communication is at hand. We feel energized and can accomplish anything and that the things and people we need to help us will show up. Indeed quite often they will be caught up in our enthusiasm and be swept along. It is a time of inspiration and manifestation where we are able to impose our will on the world around us. The Magician tends to utilize and channel all in this process so when the reading refers to a relationship, it may be one where manipulation is present. A question that may come up when the Magician shows up in a reading is, “Who’s agenda is being followed? Who does the Magician represent in this situation?”
The Magician can also refer to a situation where we need greater focus and concentration. </h4?
 

When the Magician comes out reversed in a reading, it often means that we are blocked in some way. It is possible that we either don’t believe in what we are doing or that we don’t feel like we deserve the outcome that we are trying to manifest. The other cards in the reading may give an idea on what is blocking us. It may mean that we are repressing something that we need to take into account. This blockage may come from external sources as well. It may also mean that we are misusing our energies and imposing our will on others irrespective of what they may wish.