'The Magician' is the very conduit between the Universe and Humanity. He
has the ability to channel the power of the world through his actions
and being. This card is all about skill, concentration and creativity. A
time is upon you when you can achieve your goals with your own skill,
initiative and determination. Focus your energy and actions, trust the
message of 'The Magician', draw on the power of the universe and it will
aid your own creativity to achieve your desires. Commitment,
concentration and creativity ensure success.
Depictions of 'The Magician' vary from deck to deck but many
similarities are often maintained, such as the suggestion of
supernatural, magical powers and a mysterious atmosphere. Most
depictions of the Magician show him holding a wand, dating back as far
as Marseille Tarot, and include a table of significant objects referring
to the suits of Tarot. In the Rider-Waite deck 'The Magician' maintains
many original elements, but is enriched with further symbolism such as
the red roses and white lilies at his feet representing duality, his red
and white clothing symbolising purity and knowledge and the eternity
symbol, which is hinted at on the brim of the hat in Marseille Tarot,
but is here shown more obviously above the Magicians head.
While I was sketching ideas for my Magician I went on a short
post-Christmas break to York with my partner. In a Church there I was
struck by a stained glass window which had some striking similarities to
my preliminary sketches back home. At that point the only decision I
had made was that my Magician would be holding a flaming Chalice, all
other elements were still open to development. The window figure was
holding a chalice with snake emerging from it. I photographed the window, thinking it a
stroke of fate that I had stumbled across Something so similar to my
sketch, and decided to go with the timely suggestion made by fate and
incorporated some other elements from the window, including the deep
blue clothing and fair hair.
The Magician is one of my designs with
the most separate symbolic elements. His elemental study/studio is full
of objects symbolically referring to Tarot. Upon the Magicians
workbench are items representing the suits of Tarot; a wand, a pentangle
in the form of a wax seal stamp, the Magician holds the cup, and two
swords are displayed upon the wall. Other items within the scene also
have symbolic meaning, with the books representing knowledge and
learning, the quill and parchment expressing creativity and the
hourglass reminding us of our mortality. Within a glass cloche on the
very edge of the image sits a specimen of a Crow. The crow is a
recurring element in my series which I decided to include in this piece
for continuity and also to symbolise knowledge.
The chalice held by
the Magician burns with the flame of knowledge, but also represents his
powers of alchemy and the possibility of his skill and knowledge. Other
elements on his bench hint to alchemy, such as the glass bottle and
notes, but his experimentation is left deliberately mysterious to the
viewer.
As 'The Magician' is the card is numbered one it represents new
beginnings, I chose to express this through the hint of the new dawn
through the arched window, which frames the magician. His laboratory is
purposely humble and modest, with a flagstone floor and lime washed
walls, excess is of no concern to him, and would only serve as a
distraction from the real importance of his existence and purpose. His
eyes stare with a haunting knowledge and depth, hinting at his
relationship with the universe and the power it channels through him.
His headband is another recurring feature in the series, an ouroboros,
representing infinity and eternity.
I wanted to give the impression
that the viewer is looking into the magicians private, personal life and
space, and witnessing an important, seminal moment in his existence,
which is only being shared between him and the universe, we are simply
spying in on the scene of his skill, dedication and concentration come
to fruition.
