The Magician Tarot card is easily one of, if not the, most powerful and the most cryptic card in the Tarot. Its meaning goes far beyond just new beginnings (which it does signify), or Manifesting (which it also represents). If you’re a beginner Tarotist, learning to read The Magician can unlock mind-opening messages about yourself and your spiritual development. If you’re a seasoned Tarot reader, you might just be amazed by just how much the Magician has to offer you.

What is The Magician Tarot Card?

 The Magician (or Magus) is the first of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana, and it assumes the number ‘1’ because it resides between the archetypes at the edges of the psyche — the spiritual and the physical — at the point of creation. It is in this card that the potency of manifesting desire into reality becomes explicit. The Magus is often depicted as a youthful and assured figure ‘standing before a white table from which emanate eight magical tools, focus[ing] his willpower upon these emblems’, each one denoting ‘the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, represented symbolically by the four suits of the Tarot [Pentacles, Swords, Wands, Cups], or the four elements – the four basic resources – at our disposal to evolve the life which our soul desires’.

Symbolism of The Magician Tarot Card

 Figure: The Magician commonly has one hand pointing towards the heavens and one towards the earth. This action is traditionally interpreted as 'As above, so below', and represents the bridging of the spiritual world with the material by the Magician acting as a conduit for divine energy into the earthly plane.

 The Tools: a copy of the Magician’s table showing the four suits of the tarot deck. From the copy of ‘Forty Thieves’ as printed in the Sola-Busca deck, c1490.

Pentacles (Earth): Symbolizes the physical and material world, including wealth and career.

Swords (Air): Represents intellect, thought, and communication.

Wands (Fire): Stands for creativity, ambition, and action.

Cups (Water): Reflects emotions, relationships, and intuition.

 The infinity symbol ∞: Above the Magician’s head on the card is the infinity symbol (∞), representing the unlimited powers of the Magician, and the limitless possibilities available to you in your magician mode.

 The White Robe: The pure white of the Magician’s robe is balanced symbolically by the red cloak of action and power, the As-Above is mirrored in the As-Below.

Upright Meaning of The Magician Tarot Card

 Seeing The Magician upright in a reading means you have what you need to succeed. In the upright position, The Magician swaggers in like a God or Goddess, encouraging you to tap into your power and take some smashingly good action.

Key Interpretations of The Upright Magician:

Manifestation: The ability to turn your desires into reality through focused intention and action.

Skill and Resourcefulness: Having the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to achieve your goals.

Creativity: Using your creative abilities to bring new ideas to life.

Confidence: Trusting in your abilities and having the confidence to take decisive action.

Reversed Meaning of The Magician Tarot Card

 Upside down, this sign instantly means that you are not using your power to the fullest A reversed Magician means that you might be reluctant to use your full potential, or that you are unable to ‘manifest’ what you desire. It can also indicate a lack of faith, as well as a misuse of power and trickery.

Key Interpretations of The Reversed Magician:

Missed Opportunities: Failing to recognize or act on opportunities that are available to you.

Lack of Focus: Struggling to concentrate or feeling scattered in your efforts.

Manipulation: The potential for deception, either by yourself or others.

Insecurity: Doubting your abilities and lacking the confidence to move forward.

The Magician in Love and Relationships

 The Magician can signify a relationship with spellbinding potential, and when upright it can mean a lover that opens you up to an enriching experience. As a card of dual potentiality, the magician expresses the position that the relationship ‘is what we make it’ – and in this specific instance, the rewards are great.

 But if it appears upside down, The Magician can indicate a power imbalance in your relationship, some dishonesty in regard to expectations or feelings – or perhaps you or your partner is not fully invested or working towards the same goals.

The Magician in Career and Finance

 The Magician has positive connotations in a reading of work or finance, especially when it appears upright. You have what it takes to succeed in the jobs market and are unlikely to want or need anything other than to get up and go get it. Your skills and resources are abundant. Use your imagination.

 Reversed, The Magician indicates an absence of direction or drive in your job; warning against using shortcuts or shady dealings to make money.

The Spiritual Significance of The Magician

 The Magician is the card of spirituality par excellence, of the tension between the sacred and the profane, the conscious and the unconscious. It’s your assurance that your life is co-created by yourself, and that you’re the conduit for your own experience at every turn. 

 Whether appearing as The Magician in a spiritual context, it is telling you to galvanise your spiritual energy and attune what you do to your greater good; or whether appearing through the numerological traits of this number, it’s advising you to find the power within and use its energy to bring to fruition the innermost desires of your soul.

How to Work with The Magician Tarot Card

 Here’s how to draw on the spirit of The Magician:

### About the Author

With over 25 years of continuous practice in a variety of different transformational modalities, Lumari Vega is a certified teacher in philosophical inquiry, an integrative therapist, a registered yoga teacher, an energy medicine practitioner and a certified架体处理course instructor in the Alexander Technique. Her background includes working as an assistant director of mindful education at the Garrison Institute, overseeing the Whole Being Institute in Jackson Hole, where this article originally appeared last year, and working as a senior teacher at the Omega Institute. She now serves as Vice Dean of the Nihn Institute, where she has been on the faculty since 2008 and currently lives.

 Meditation: Take time to meditate on the symbolism and meaning of The Magician card in your life.

 Affirmations: ‘I am a powerful creator’ or ‘I manifest my desires with ease’ are good to make your mind-energy resonate with The Magician. 

 Journaling: List your areas of empowerment and disempowerment. Around which of these axis points would you like to utilise the energy of The Magician to bring your goals to fru

 Meditation: Imagine you are The Magician, conjuring up the things you need – like your skills, ideas, and support networks – to make the life you wish to live. 

Conclusion

 The Magician Tarot card image him in three parts: manifesting as the magician, creating as the alchemist and actualising as the commanding King. Whether The Magician is upright or reversed in a reading, that Tarot card is asking you, ‘What is your potential as a creator of your experience? What are the deliberate steps that create your experience?’ The Magician Tarot card demands that you see your potential and, once you do, qualifies what is possible because creative power is a meritocratic system. It requires an investment of energy in doing things that work, rather than just saying ‘pretty words about things that sound good’. It is not just intention that counts, but also action. All Tarot card images in this article are taken from The Sacred Coders Tarot created by Set Yetka.

 No matter what your goals or ambitions for reading Tarot – whether for individual growth, self-development or straightforward problem-solving – The Magician can always help you tune into the potential in you to create the options you conceivably can shape and choose from. Tune into this energy, and you just might discover that your options are truly infinite.