Seekers on Unique Paths

1 - THE MAGICIAN

Evolved from the ancient Greek word mago meaning great, the Persian title magoi, describes mystical teachers, wise men and astrologers. Early Bibles in Latin elevate three magi to king status. From Latin, magi, forms the basis in English, for magician. In Tarot, The Magician pulses with creativity and surges forth as an initiator, which bears a one. His appearance introduces the dynamic power of your will. An ability to materialize objects from thin air suggests he holds either Divine power or the wand of a charlatan. Like the Biblical magi, The Magician follows higher powers, which direct his force outwardly as theory, practice and results. Early decks echo with confusing evolution of The Magician, portraying him as a crafty entertainer. Occultist Eliphas Levi noted that this archaic juggler hid the shape of infinity within folds of his floppy hat. Further affecting modern imagery by describing arm positions, Levi gives voice to The Magician: “Above, immensity: Below, immensity still! Immensity equals immensity” Epitomizing Yang, he speaks with confidence and overt mental skill.

The Magician yields potent cerebral impact in a spread because it shares energy with the mental planet Mercury. His powers influence both logical and emotional levels of the human mind. The portrayal of The Magician introduces the symbol of infinity to designate infinite power. Although, this power comes from outside his body, it is perpetually under control. By manipulating those basic elements of life, he shows us that from the mundane, magnificence will often emerge. If The Magician remembers that willpower and resolve are at his command, he will never become truly powerless. He can be temporarily subdued if he loses material possessions or other earthly symbols of power but his confidence is an invincible force.

The color scheme on this card influenced many other decks. These colors honor the Santeria deity Shango, a powerful magician commanding lightning and fire. Exposure to Caribbean beliefs during childhood in Kingston influenced Pamela Smith, who chose these colors. Being a port, many Caribbean religions thrive in Kingston. Implying a balance of positive and negative, he wears white symbolizing purity and red showing desire. This color scheme, which recurs throughout Tarot, symbolically starts with this card and suggests positive and negative traits merging. In the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin the Magician served his king in a positive way, while employing forces of evil. Like Merlin, The Magician unifies positive and negative, refusing to waste effort striving be all-good. He creates and destroys. His power is that he realizes what must occur and understands the reasons for all his actions. Then he does what is required. The appearance of The Magician in a spread encourages you to employ his approach to your life and empowers you with courage and decisiveness. The beauty of decisiveness is that when those who possess this trait make a poor choice, they have the ability to change their decision to create a more favorable outcome. If this card emerges in a reading, it shows you have both the desire and ability to create new choices.

Pablo Picasso said, “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” Although creative and destructive power has always been present, this card offers a wand of confidence needed to transform energy into positive force. Decide what you want to accomplish and then materialize excellence. With your new abilities of transformation, change wishes into reality, visions into realizations and ambitions into actions. If a past setback prevents you from moving on, you can make it disappear, as easily as The Magician causes rabbits to vanish into his top hat. All limitations are self-imposed. External expressions of this power are abundant and diverse. This card might imply you are a conduit for higher power but the most common effect of The Magician is confidence. Awareness that personal action dictates individual destiny inspires true confidence. Go forward by setting your mind to whatever goal you desire and work the magic of un-swerving confidence, as the future falls into place at your command. Ultimately, the message of The Magician is straightforward: Life is under your control! Life is moving forward! Life is what you create!