1. The Magician
© Photography by Soulchology | The Magician - Radiant Wise Spirit Tarot by Lo Scarabeo
i.The Nutshell
Upright
The Magician appears when you have the right tools and you know how to use them. Ruled by Mercury, the planet of sharp minds and even sharper tongues, he's the deck's Harry Potter, someone who knows he can turn an idea or plan into something amazing. But don’t be fooled by the confident posture and neatly arranged tools. The Magician’s magic only works if intention and action are on speaking terms. Otherwise, you’re just a very enthusiastic Hogwarts student hoping no one notices you don’t know what half the stuff does.
The Magician reminds us that our unconscious will can often override conscious intention, and unexamined habits can keep us stuck. Awareness is the first step to change. As Jungian analyst Marie-Louise von Franz wrote, “Becoming conscious of something presupposes a choice”. Identifying your core values in various areas of your life in ACT allows you to align your actions with what truly matters to you. The four tools belonging to Magician are his wand, cup, pentacle, and sword, representing energy, emotion, behaviour, and thought. Whilst energy, feelings, and thoughts are subtle and interior, behaviour is tangible and external. Taking the heavy and often unwanted thoughts, energy and emotions such as rumination, anger, grief and anxiety, and then using them to move toward what you value to create the life you intend, is nothing short of modern-day alchemy, and this is what the Magician is about.
Keywords: Willpower, manifestation, inspired action, resources, focus, resourcefulness, aligned behaviour
Translation: You already have what you need within yourself. Become aware, clarify your values, and commit to behaving in alignment with them - that’s where real magic happens.
Reversed
Now we’re entering illusion, manipulation, or the classic ‘talk a big game delivered with a shrug.’ Either you’re bluffing your way through something, or someone else is, and it’s time to call the Magician out for using sleight of hand when integrity would have been better. Reversed, this card also hints at self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or malignant behavioural patterns. Your tools are present, but either you’re ignoring them, misusing them, or allowing unconscious programming to drive your actions.
This is a call to reconnect with awareness by noticing where your behaviours aren’t aligned with your values. Energy, feelings, and thoughts may be swirling inside you, but without conscious action, nothing materialises. The Magician reversed warns against letting unexamined habits, fears, or social pressures sabotage your potential. Realignment with your values, through conscious choice and committed behaviour, is the path back to the true magic of you.
Keywords: Deception, under-utilised skills, scattered energy, trickery, misaligned behaviour, self-doubt
Translation: Your unconscious is running the show so become aware, clarify your values, and choose actions that align with them. That’s the real power you’ve been shelving.
ii. Illus-traits
A quick glance at The Magician’s symbolic traits in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck - what's hidden in plain sight?
Infinity Symbol – Limitless potential, but only when consciously focused.
One Hand Up, One Down – Channeling higher power into grounded action.
Tools on the Table – Mastery of all suits. Nothing missing, just waiting to be used.
Red and White Robes – Passion balanced by purity. Will and intention in partnership.
Garden of Flowers – Manifestation in bloom. What you tend to, grows.
iii. Influences
Planetary
The Magician represents Mercury and rules communication, learning, and mental agility. This card shows how ideas can be formed, planned, and expressed. Mars adds energy to put plans into action and move swiftly. The combination of Mercury and Mars reflects both mental skill and practical drive.
Natal House(s)
The Magician corresponds to the Third House, ruled by Mercury, which oversees thinking, communication, locality, short trips, and daily mental routines. The Sixth House shows how these skills are applied through daily work, routine, service and refinement of craft. The First House, ruled by Mars, contributes initiative, assertiveness, and the courage to act on ideas.
Astrological Sign(s)
Gemini, ruled by Mercury, provides curiosity and adaptability. Virgo, also ruled by Mercury, contributes careful planning, precision, and skill in practical application. Aries, ruled by Mars, supports initiative, decisiveness, and direct action. Together these signs reflect mental acuity combined with the drive to implement ideas.
Numerologically
One represents beginnings, willpower, and independence. The Magician mirrors the number one in initiating action, manifesting ideas, and exercising personal autonomy. It reminds us that the resources needed are already present and encourages self-reliance in creating change. Walk the pass less travelled, assert your independence, be innovative and commit to yourself in the face of others’ opinions.
Element(s)
The Magician embodies all four elements. Air represents thought, ideas, and communication. Fire represents action and energy. Water represents emotion and intuition. Earth represents material outcomes. So the Magician here emphasises converting thought and insight into practical results through conscious action.
iv. A Day in the Life of The Magician
Well That Escalated Quickly
You attempt to attract rent money with a singing bowl but end up messaging your ex for a small loan and wanting to pull your bottom lip over your head and swallow. You start the day with the intention to make progress, but your energy is scattered. You switch between mental tabs, draft messages you never send, and doubt your ability to use the tools in front of you.
Adjusting the Knobs
You talk yourself into buying a domain name at 1:11am for a business you’ll abandon next month, and adopt a fake-it-’til-you-make-it approach in a project pitch using words you just learned from a TikTok. Action begins, but it’s inconsistent. Ideas are shared before being refined, and commitments are made without fully assessing your abilities. Your energy and tools are moving, but results remain unpredictable.
Writing the TED Talk
You pause to reassess and revisit your priorities. Conversations become strategic, tasks are broken into manageable steps, and your flow starts to align with your intentions. You connect the dots, deliver with grounded self assurance, and translate ideas into action. Tools, time, and communication work in sync. Your results reflect your perspective, commitment, and deliberate effort.
v. Working with these Energies
Balancing Inspired Action with Actual Follow-Through
The Magician isn’t here to wait for a sign because he is the sign. Singing Alanis Morissette, he’s got one hand in the ethers and the other rummaging through his pocket of potential. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. And when the Magician isn’t feeling all that magical? You can feel all talk and no manifestation, like buying seven journals just to sniff, or using your talent to manipulate outcomes instead of matching them with your values.
1. Get clear, then get going
– When was the last time you backed your big idea with actual effort?
– Are you calling it divine timing when it’s actually procrastination dressed in spiritual bypassing?
– Where in your life are you poised to start something but need to commit?
2. Claim your tools and use them responsibly
– What’s in your metaphorical toolbox and are you actually using it or just admiring it on the shelf?
– Have you been casting spells with a dead battery or worse, someone else’s vision?
– How can you take one intentional action this week to embody what you say you want?
3. Work with Mercury’s brains and Mars’ initiation
– Where is your mind racing ahead of your energy, or vice versa?
– Are you moving with precision, or just fast?
– What would it look like to combine the mental clarity of Mercury with the strategic action of Mars?
4. Recalibrate your intentions
– When have you recently chosen to act on your intuitive intelligence?
– Are you wanting to influence or inspire?
– How would the Magician remind you to align your motives before hitting send?
5. Start something meaningful
– Pick one idea and make a small move on it this week
– How does it feel to do rather than just think about doing?
– Can you commit to creative momentum without knowing the outcome?
vi. Building Skills
Presence, Perception, and the Power of Intention
The Magician reminds you that your power lies in focused presence, i.e. knowing where your attention goes and how that shapes your reality. Presence involves seeing things clearly before acting.
Consider this: Sit quietly with your eyes closed. Without counting or using any cues, estimate when you think one full minute has passed. When you feel the moment has arrived, open your eyes and check your watch.
Were you early? Late? Surprised?
Notice what this tells you about your internal pacing. Do you tend to rush through moments or stretch them out? How does your perception of time affect your energy, choices, or how in control you feel?
The Magician card teaches that personal power is about attunement. Mastery begins when you slow down enough to notice where you actually are instead of where you think you should be.
Practice presence. The tools are already in your hands.
vii. Embodiment
Tarot is a language, but it’s also a felt experience. Embodiment is how you move it from the page into your body, your senses, your real life. This presence over performance. Before you try and memorise what The Magician means, feel its meaning.
Smell: If The Magician were a scent, what would it be? Spiced incense? Fresh ink?
Body: Where do you feel it when you think about focus, willpower, or manifestation; your hands, your spine, your head?
Soundtrack: What song feels like The Magician’s energy right now?
Action: What could you do today that feels intentional, aligned, or like turning a spark into something real?
Nature cue: Step outside. What around you reflects Magician energy? Heavy weather? A tool lying in the grass? A clear horizon?
Notice what shifts: The goal is to feel awake and present with direction.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at The Magician card in your own deck if possible. Take a moment to observe without overthinking.
What stands out to you most?
How does this card feel in your body or mood: focused, energised, intense, inspired?
If this card literally spoke to you what would it say?
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to reflect on what The Magician means to you personally
When have you stepped into your power and surprised yourself?
Where do you talk about doing but haven’t yet started doing?
What would it mean to trust that you already have what you need to begin?
Applied insight with a three-card reading using The Magician as your anchor:
What power or resource am I not using?
What intention needs to be made clear?
What action will align me with that intention?
Pull cards. Note your feelings. Don’t rush the answers and let them unfold.
Write three words that personally relate to your current situation:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.