Card I, Major ArcanaThe Magician tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedThe Magician in shortIn short
The Magician makes things happen. Everything he needs is on the table, one hand raised to the sky, the other pointing at the ground. Use what you already have, and mean it.
- Skill
- Will
- Action
Piece oneRoses and lilies
Red roses and white lilies climb both sides of the card. Waite says these wild flowers have become garden flowers, to show the culture of aspiration: wishes you tend until they bloom.
"Beneath are roses and lilies... changed into garden flowers, to show the culture of aspiration."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe flowers show what his skill is for. Wild flowers turned into a garden means wishes tended until they bloom. They match his clothes: red roses for the red mantle, white lilies for the white tunic. The four tools on the table do the work. The garden shows the result.
Piece twoAbove and below
He lifts a wand to the sky with his right hand and points at the ground with his left. Waite reads it as grace and light drawn from above and brought down here. He's the channel between them.
"...it shows the descent of grace, virtue and light, drawn from things above and derived to things below."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThis gesture is his job description. He takes power from above with the raised wand and sends it into the ground with the pointing finger. The sign over his head marks the upper end, the table of tools the lower. He stands between them as the line that joins the two.
Piece threeThe sign of life
Over his head floats a figure eight on its side, an endless cord. Waite calls it the sign of life and of the Holy Spirit. It has no start and no end.
"Above his head is the mysterious sign of the Holy Spirit, the sign of life, like an endless cord, forming the figure 8 in a horizontal position"Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe figure eight sits where a crown would sit. His power comes from life itself, a loop with no start and no end. It hangs right above the raised wand of his gesture. The roses and lilies around him grow from the same endless life.
Piece fourThe table
On the table: a cup, a sword, a pentacle and a wand, the four suits of the tarot. Waite says they're the elements of natural life, laid out like counters in a game. He moves them as he wants.
"On the table in front of the Magician are the symbols of the four Tarot suits, signifying the elements of natural life, which lie like counters before the adept, and he adapts them as he wills."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe table is where intention turns into work. The cup, sword, pentacle and wand are the four suits, laid out like counters, and he picks up whichever he needs. The line from sky to ground in his gesture ends here, on the wood, where things get made.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
Roses and lilies
Deep red roses and cream lilies, the same red and white he wears. The pair returns on the robes of the two ministers in The Hierophant, one in roses, one in lilies. In the Two of Wands a rose and a lily are set into the stone wall. The Ace of Pentacles turns them into a garden arch with a path running through.
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Above and below
Bright red over white: red for drive, white for a clean intention, both on one body. The Ace of Wands shows the same line from the other side. A hand comes out of a cloud holding a living wand, a gift sent down instead of drawn down. The Magician holds his wand himself and chooses where the power lands.
Also in -
The sign of life
Cream sign on gold, the gold filling the card like full noon. The same loop floats over the woman in Strength, where it crowns calm instead of skill. In the Two of Pentacles it comes down to earth: a green band looped around two coins as a young man juggles them by the sea.
Also in -
The table
Dark brown wood under a gold cup and a gold pentacle: brown is the workbench, gold is what skill makes of it. Each tool returns as an Ace, held out by a hand from a cloud. The Ace of Cups overflows with water, the Ace of Swords lifts a blade into a crown, the Ace of Pentacles offers a gold coin. On his table they sit ready.
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
The MagicianUpright
You have skill, will and the power to act. The tools, the knowledge and the energy are here, and it's time to start. Waite's list opens with skill, diplomacy, address and subtlety, and also names self-confidence and will.
Focus is the point. The Magician doesn't wait for luck. He gathers what he has and aims it. Waite's list has a darker side too, snares of enemies and loss: skill can trick people as easily as it builds. Use your talent openly, on something you believe in.
The MagicianReversed
The power gets scattered or misused. Waite gives disgrace and disquiet, and, oddly, the physician and the magus. You may doubt yourself, have the tools but no plan, or meet someone who uses charm to manipulate.
Check your intent. Fear might be holding you back, or you might be leaning on tricks. Pick one clear aim and be honest with yourself about it.
Yes or noYes.
A strong yes, especially if the outcome depends on your skill and effort. You have the tools. Use them now.
The Magician in your lifeIn your life
Love
Shape this relationship by acting. Say what you want. Watch for someone with lots of charm and little behind it.
Work
Good for starting a business, pitching an idea or showing what you can do. You have what you need. Organise it.
Money
Money comes from your own skill and work. Use a talent to earn, and keep the deal clear and honest.
Health
Will and focus can build a good habit. Waite's list also includes sickness and pain, so listen to your body. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Your inner life and your actions should match. Good for practice, ritual and focused intention.
Advice
Stop waiting. Use what you have, pick one aim, act.
As a person
Clever, skilled, confident, persuasive. A natural talker, sometimes too smooth.
Past, present, future
Past: a skill you learned or a start you made. Present: the tools are on the table, so use them. Future: a chance to build something with your own hands.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Number
- I
- Hebrew letter
- Beth
- Astrology
- Mercury
- Element
- Air
- Upright
- Skill
- Reversed
- Physician
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes, in most readings. It shows skill, will and the power to act. The warning: talent can be misused, through tricks or manipulation.
Taking the first step and making it happen. It can also point to a charmer; check there's substance behind the charm.
Yes, especially if the result depends on your skill and effort.
Waite calls it the sign of life and of the Holy Spirit, "like an endless cord, forming the figure 8 in a horizontal position".
Mercury, in the Golden Dawn system. Its Hebrew letter is Beth.
Waite calls The Magician the divine motive in you: your will, freed by joining with what is above.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Hebrew letter, sign and element: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 22 major cards