An Interpretation: The Meaning of The Magician Tarot Card
This is my initial interpretation of The Magician Tarot card.
Tarot Deck: Universal Waite Tarot
Observations:
The Magician is holding a wand, symbolic of fire, intuition and urge–up to the sky or the heavens–and a vine of roses–symbolic of passion. He points his other hand down towards the ground, or underworld, symbolic of that which is outside of the mortal world, divination and duality. Is he pointing at the querent or the reader?
There is a halo with the lemniscate–the symbol of a figure eight–over his head, a metaphor for infinity. He is wearing a white gown with a red shawl/robe that is draped over his body. White and red are balanced colors–white symbolic of femininity and purity–red symbolic of masculinity and passion. Is the red robe made of the same red cloth from The Fool’s satchel/bag? The Magician is wearing a belt that is a purple snake–the Ouroboros–eating itself, symbolizing eternity; the snake is one.
He is standing in front of a table that has items representative of the four Suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Each item corresponds to an element and various perceptions:
Wands :: fire :: intuition and urge
Cups :: water :: emotion
Swords : air :: thought and intellect
Pentacles :: earth :: sensation, matter, material gain
There are carvings on the table border that appear to be Egyptian Hieroglyphics. I can only recognize one–an eagle. The background is yellow, denoting clarity, positivity and creativity. There is nothing else behind him; he is the focal point. His gazes straight at us.
White lilies, symbolic of purity, freedom and the soul as well–and a vine of red roses–also decorate the natural landscape.
The bright colors are masculinity and signify strength, creativity, intuition, truth and energy.
Possible Meanings in a Tarot Reading:
In a Tarot reading, The Magician is The Fool’s first mentor who offers him guidance after The Fool has embarked on his journey. It is evident that this is a time of new beginnings and self discovery for The Fool. The Magician has laid out all of the tools on the table-literally. But, we only see half of the table and part of the wand and sword, a subtle reminder that it is up to The Fool to seek what he desires. The Magician will lead you to believe that anything is possible. However, it’s key to remember that many events in life don’t just happen; you have to work towards a goal, whether it involves ambitions or relationships. There will always be events that you have no control over, but if you have the power to change the course of events, it is up to you to take the challenge and be strong.
There is a sense of balance in this card, and a sense of power. The Magician is staring directly at us, a gaze that looks convincing. But, it’s smart to remember that there is more than meets the eye.
Symbolism:
- Wand
- Vine of roses
- Hand pointing to the heavens
- Hand pointing to the underworld
- Lemniscate halo
- White gown
- Red shawl
- Ouroboros belt
- Table with items representative of the four Suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles
- Table border that appear to be Egyptian Hieroglyphics
- White lilies
- Yellow background
Image: Universal Waite Tarot © US Games Systems, Inc.
© 2009, aurarcana | A Tarot Blog. All rights reserved.
I’m having a bit of trouble with this card. Like you, I think there are lots of (or “endless”, as in the eternity symbol) possibilities. The tools are available, they are on the table, ready to be used.
The magician can, depending on his place in the draw, either be a helpful person (someone else – maybe you, the reader) or a force inside the querent that’s ready to use the tools and get to work on achieving something new (since it’s early in the journey).
But where do the tools come from? I’ve read the interpretation that they come out of the bag the Fool carries. Or did the Magician create them?
If you see popular “magic tricks”, they are about deceiving the audience with pretty words and “make believe” so that the audience will fall for his trick.
So in this (modern?) interpretation, this warns the seeker: if the Magician stands for another person, the seeker will want to reassure that the Magician has the best interest of the querent at heart. The Magician could also be a car salesman, telling you how nice, pretty, fast and in good condition a car is, making you enthousiastic about it so that you will buy it, even though the car is not all that great. Or, in a more traditional way, looking at the RW tarot – he spreads his arms to look impressing and says: “Look what I can do with all these tools on my table”, while he could have easily hidden something under his robe/shawl that he can use to trick the audience into believing his actions.
There are usually two sides to a card, so I’m not sure if it’s all nice and balanced with the Magician…
I agree with you spm: not everything is at peace with The Magician card. I wrote this post last night and left off at “The Magician is staring directly at us, a gaze that looks convincing” and didn’t point out the most obvious word convincing.
As I interpret these cards, I am discovering how I am coming up with meanings for what may be reversals.
- Nicole
His belt is an ouroboros and they can be seen through the original RW deck. They are cool, do a google image search and some great ones come up. Enjoy your journey! Sharyn/AJ
Hi Sharyn/AJ,
I looked them up:
via Wikipedia
Thank you for sharing the correct name. I signed up for your RSS feed.
And, I too, am finding this experience rewarding. It’s a time for self reflection and I am enjoying it.
- Nicole
I never noticed that belt. Thanks for noting the ouroboros… it’s very interesting. This one is the snake that shows in the World…. (well at least in some other decks).
Hi AJ,
Sharyn from Quirkeries further clarified the meaning of the ouroboros in the comment she left–fascinating, right?
- Nicole