What Does the Magician Tarot Card Mean [With a Reading]
The Magician is the “Ace of Aces”.
In the RWS deck both Magician & Empress have all 4 elements represented. The Magician has the element air through his sword on the table. It took me a while to figure out where “Air” was with the Empress. It’s the trees behind her. Anyone who farms will tell you that growing trees along the border of your fields protects them from the wind and crops being damaged by storms.
Which is why The Magician is the Ace of all aces, the ace of spirituality as much as of the classical elements.
Before we get too far into the details of what the Magician means in the Tarot I want to remind you not to rely too heavily on the meaning of just one card. The Tarot conveys guidance and meaning with the combination and position of the entire spread, not just a single card.
If you’d like to get a free handmade Tarot spread just take a few minutes to fill out your question details here on Tarot Guru. This is not just a few random cards but a compelte spread sent to you within an hour or two.
If it is upright, it means manifestation, power, and action. Conversely, if it is reversed, the meaning is manipulation, poor planning, and wasted talent on your part,. It could also mean that someone is deceiving you, or you are the victim of some sort of trickery. In most cases, it means that you are being lied to by someone close to you.
In the upright position, the Magician card is meant to deliver the tools and energy to you to make your dreams a reality. You will need to be clear about your intent on the matter, and take inspired action at the correct time. You must be fully committed to the task at hand, so you’ll need to minimize any distractions in order to receive the gifts to pursue your dreams.
If the Magician card is in the past, you have found success in your life through intelligence and skillful execution of your plans. If the Magician card is in the present, this symbolizes that your skills and knowledge are required to influence change. When it is in the future, it presents both risk and opportunity for you because the outcome isn’t yet certain in the matter.
When the Magician is part of a love spread, it generally means that you will get what you want from the relationship. If you’re asking for an answer on your relationship matter that is a “yes” or “no” answer, the Magician card is a “yes” answer. However, if you have a reversed Magician card on your love spread, it means that your lover is deceiving you. The Magician card appears in reverse position in other spreads if you are being taken advantage of by someone who plays a part in the answer that particular spread is delivering to you.
I love the Magician card because it really exemplifies the spiritual seeker who searches for answers to his or her co-creative powers.
The Magician card is one of the major arcana in Tarot — the cards that go from the number zero — 0 to 21 — represent the journey of the soul through life. They start with the fool who launches on his journey in a happy go-lucky way only to find himself facing the precipice of change / life and death — faith or fear — the choice of his ways. In sacred geometry, zero represents the Godhead, Usana or Hosana. In All-that-is, this intelligence celebrates his Self amidst all others, as One and goes out into the world to see what else there is outside of what he/she knows to be true. The young and eager soul carries a light load just as we do when we come into this life,followed by a dog; a familiar spirit /a loyal friend whom we will always find on our journey.
Skipping forward; The Magician comes next, a number one, symbolizing the “I AM”, and in a more human way, the smaller ego. The Hindu faith explains how the journey of the soul travels through the understanding of the smaller ego, the one we live with, (as opposed to the Higher Ego, which belongs to our Higher Self). Many western people believe the ego to be bad. (It is not the ego that is bad, but what the ego can do that can be quite nasty). In his ego, the Magician stands before a big table where all his tools are laid out before him. The Magician has gathered his tools, gifts and skills, knowing he has power to make manifest and co-create. Once we’ve faced our faith and fears (through the Fool), we look at what we have — our accumulated skills and gifts — to use to co-create and make manifest our intentions.
With one hand to the sky, and one hand toward the Earth, the Magician connects with the powers of faith he has experienced, bring through him the spiritual energies of life, and draws from the powers of Nature he has come to understand are his too.
The card shows there is no true manifestation to be considered without both Nature and Spirit, for we have both in our human make-up. We are beings of nature, and as such, we connect with all elements of nature. We are also spiritual souls, and we connect with the breath of life — the divine source of love — that runs through all that is. Connecting with both nature and spirit are necessary to manifest. The Magician learns to understands himself and his place in life as he learns about his connections to nature and his spiritual truths.
When the Magician appears in your spread, it is a reminder that you have what it takes to make your dreams come true. Or you must gather your tools and center yourself before launching yourself into your goals. Or there is someone beside you capable of helping you make things manifest… Or perhaps it’s asking you if something’s missing from the table — or that your self-confidence needs a boost because you can do it, as shown…. The reading of the card is subjective but the message is the same: gather your tools, skills and gifts, center yourself, be clear on your intentions and then get to work!
