The Magician is the card that follows the Fool in the Tarot, and it is truly the start of the tarot journey. While the Fool is about being open to new possibility and discovery without expectation, the Magician is about finding that inner intent for your journey. The card depicts a being using the four elements (symbolized by a wand, cup, sword & disc) to channel intent through his very being. It is a card of initiation, when you begin to bring yourself fully present for your life. The Magician teaches us to start taking responsibility for what we are creating in our lives.
In Vedic astrology, the Magician card corresponds to the planet Mercury. Mercury is the planet of the intellect and our ability to communicate. Mercury is also the two-spirited planet, able to walk between the worlds. It connects things, building bridges between masculine and feminine energies. It also connects sky and earth, as can be seen in the Magician's powerful hand gestures. The Magician helps to locate ourselves in time and space. It gives us the ability to manifest our intent, turning thoughts and ideas into action and physical reality.
In my understanding of Toltec shamanism, the Magician is the first card in the mastery of awareness. This mastery is about learning to become a compassionate witness of your own life, to stalk your own energy as if you are a jaguar seeking prey. Specifically, the Magician is the power of your word. We interpret our experience with words, so to a large degree how we experience life is determined by how we use our word. The Magician gives you the ability to speak your authentic truth with power, and from that point on you get to see all the ways in which you go against that truth in your life. Eventually you can change these self-sabotaging patterns. But before you can do that you must first become aware of them.
With the Magician card, begin to become aware of how you use your word. See to what degree you are ready to take responsibility for your experience, no longer playing the role of the victim. Notice when you speak against yourself, either outloud or with your thoughts. This card is a powerful point of initiation into the mastery of awareness. The more you can bring yourself fully present for the journey, the more you will benefit from it.
Find the Magician card from the deck of your choice and place it somewhere where you will notice it often. Invite the energy of the Magician into your life and see where it takes you.
Next: The Priestess
(c) 2004 by David Ray
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