About the Magician
The Magician card shows a young man with curly dark hair, dressed in dark red and white, signifying the dark and the light – who seems to be facing a crossroads.
His left hand points upwards towards heaven, his right points down towards a flat rock containing objects that he needs to help him on his journey.
He has a cup, a wand, a sword and his bag of gold coins – his pentacles. All of which signify the suits of the minor arcana.
There is a barren looking landscape behind him, which is a continuation of the situation of The Fool card.
A Brief History
Here then is the god Hermes.
He is a guide for travellers, ruler of magic and divination and can bring unexpected good luck and changes in fortune.
However he is also a trickster, he is ambiguous, but he was trusted as a messenger of the gods – and guided souls down to the underworld. Hermes is the son of Zeus, king of the gods.
His mother was a nymph called Maia, also called Mother Night.
Hermes had equal amounts of spiritual light and primordial darkness in his genes.
Hermes was a naughty child, he stole a herd of cattle from his brother Apollo, the sun god, and to fool him he put on his sandals backwards so that Apollo was chasing in the wrong direction!
A trickster right from the start.
Hermes is also the master of the four elements and was often worshipped at crossroads where statues here erected in his honour.
The Magician Card Meaning
Upright meaning
Hidden skills and abilities, yet to be discovered
New opportunities
Self-knowledge
Reversed meaning:
Deceit
Manipulation
Underhand dealings
Basic Interpretation in a Reading
Have faith in yourself and your own abilities.
There will be opportunities for you and you may think that you don’t have the skills needed but if you look deep inside you will find new and surprising things about yourself.
There is always much to learn but don’t underestimate yourself.
Tarot Thoughts
This person looks like he is about to be very busy.
He has all the tools at his disposal and looks rather commanding.
Being a magician means that he is capable of anything and could be full of surprises. What magic is he about to perform?
Deep inside each of us there are hidden resources and strengths which will give us the path we need to take but sometimes this subconscious knowledge can be a little illusive. Answers can come in dreams, or in feelings or intuitively.
There is no such thing as coincidence though here.
The Magician also shows us that all is not always what it seems so look at all the find detail before taking action.
Remember that the Magician also has the potential to be a trickster – so don’t be the Magician!
We all have the ability to be shing stars or to use our skills and energies for the lesser good.
Each of us has our own power which needs to be used wisely in positive ways as we move forward on our journey.