The Magician tarot card is the first card of the Major Arcana and the first in the series of events through the hero’s journey. In the Magician tarot card lies all potential of things at their beginning: skills, willpower, and resourcefulness and the ability to manifest them in practice.
When the Magician shows up in a tarot reading, he is signaling the impulse of creation. The card encourages you to gather all your personal resources and take action. This will ultimately lead to new opportunities along the way and bring you closer to reaching your goals.
The Magician visual depiction and symbolism
A young man with an infinity symbol above his head stands behind a table. A wand in his right hand raised above his head while his left-hand is pointing towards the earth. Four objects lay on the table— a wand, a cup, a sword, and a pentacle.
- The eight-figure halo is a symbol of eternal life and infinity
- The four objects represent the suits of the Minor Arcana
- The position of his hands represents the connection between spirit and matter.
The Magician character is surrounded by a vine of red roses and white lilies. The background of the image is yellow. The colors of his attire match the colors of the plants, and he wears a serpent around his waist.
- The white tunic and lilies represent purity and abstract thought
- The red robe and roses desire and passion.
- The serpent is another symbol of eternity
- The yellow in the background gives the Magician tarot card optimism, enlightenment, clarity
The Magician Keywords
Keywords are summarizations of the Tarot card meanings. They are also excellent means to memorize them, so before we jump into the cards’ deeper connotations, let’s take a look at them here.
Upright Keywords: Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action
Reversed Keywords: Manipulation, poor planning, untapped talents
Now that the visual components and keywords are clear let’s progress into the Magician’s meanings in love, relationships, career, money, health, and spirituality.
The Magician Upright meaning
The Magician tarot card meaning in the upright position denotes skill, resourcefulness, determination, and the ability to influence and inspire. At its best, this card represents inspiring willpower, which is sparked by the impulse of creation.
Love and Relationship
The Magician is a smooth and charming personality when it comes to seduction. He can sweep you off your feet. He doesn’t sit and wait but takes action to get what he wants. That’s why he is telling you to get out, be confident, and be the one who takes the initiative. If you have been single, welcome the Magician as a reminder that there is nothing to lose when asking someone out. You might get rejected, but you will feel better that you at least gave it a chance.
For those in a relationship, the Magician is a sign of playfulness coming back into your relationship. This is an excellent opportunity to break your daily routines of an established relationship and spark it with a little imagination. Switch up your Saturday movie night into something more exciting, like going to an amusement park or some new sport that you can do together. Whatever it is, this new thing has the potential to turn into something that will bring you closer together.
Money and Career
The Magician usually a very sought-after card in career readings because it is the willpower card—the key attribute of every entrepreneur or a career person who wants to succeed. The Magician is signaling that you have all the resources to take action now. The Magician can inspire, and he tells you that you have what it takes to beat your competition and push forward through challenges to reach your goals.
For those looking for a job, the Magician is a sign of opportunities and job offers. If you have a job, the Magician is an omen of promotion or an assignment to new interesting responsibilities due to your effort and skill in previous projects.
In money-related inquiries, the Magician wants to remind you that money flows in both directions. On the one hand, he is confident that you possess the know-how to increase your daily income if needed. Then, on the other hand, he is worried that a false sense of security can make you careless with money. Keep this in mind when you have Magician on your spread.
Health and Spirituality
The Magician is a sound card also in health-related matters. Associated with both mental and physical resourcefulness, the Magician gives you good prospects for well-being in both areas. However, take notice that he calls you to be resourceful, so you need to look for improvements and not just wait for them to happen. Take advantage of the help available, and you will see progress.
In spiritual interpretations, the Magician calls you to connect to your intuition and embrace your own power. Our inner wisdom often knows what is in our best interest, so we just need to stop and listen to it. Perhaps this is an excellent time to be giving a try to meditation and mindfulness.
The Magician Yes or No Upright
The Magician is a festive card and is encouraging you to trust your skillset. Therefore, if you happen to ask a question from the Tarot that results in a yes or no, The Magician is a definite yes.
The Magician Reversed meaning
In the reverse position, the Magician takes an adverse turn. The Magician appearing reversed implies that there are significant risks that someone is being deceptive, so you should be cautious. All his charm turns out to be just a face for something completely different – a deceiver, cheater, or a fraud. Be aware of illusions that are designed to manipulate you.
Love and Relationship
In love and relationship tarot reading, the Magician appearing reversed calls you to evaluate if you or your partner are being honest to each other and yourselves. It tells you that you need to be more open about your needs and desires to one another. Take it as a reminder that manipulation and dishonesty won’t go far in the long run.
Suppose you are single, the Magician reversed intimates that you may be becoming cynical about love. Your confidence and hopes of finding love are at a low. Don’t lose hope. Take the advice from the upright Magician and take action with enthusiasm. Eventually, by staying lively and active, you will get rewarded with love.
Money and Career
In money and career readings, the Magician appearing in the reversed position doesn’t necessarily mean negative things. It might be implying that you are not using the skillset you have to its full potential. It seems like you have plenty of untapped talent in your reserves, and it is preventing you from reaching your goals. The Magician reversed is a wake-up call to trust yourself and move ahead with your plans.
If this doesn’t resonate, the Magician reversed can also be a sign of poor planning. So make sure you put enough effort into doing background work whatever project you take. Let him also remind you to be cautious about the people you trade with. Especially in business, people aren’t always what they pretend to be.
When it comes to finances, the Magician represents illusion, inexperience, and incompetence. Make sure you do the background work before you commit yourself financially to something. If you are currently having money problems, the Magician reversed calls you to take a proactive approach and seek solutions rather than waiting for them to disappear.
Health and Spirituality
In health-related readings, the Magician reversed is generally a well-meaning card. It calls you to take a proactive stance if you are having problems. You need to have faith but also seek professional help to take a turn for the better.
In a spiritual context, the Magician reversed tells that you are spiritually more potent than you think. Your abilities are not being used to their full potential. He also calls you to take a look and evaluate your current spiritual path. Do you see it working, or could it be the wrong one for you? If it doesn’t feel right, you should be bold, explore new directions, and leave behind things that don’t work.
The Magician Yes or No Reversed
The Magician reversed in Yes, or No related inquiries implies that there are significant risks, so you should be cautious. Therefore it is leaning towards NO.
The Magician important Combinations
When combined with other tarot cards, the Magician sometimes adds a bit of illusion and sometimes a bit of inspiration. He could be telling that something isn’t as it seems or inspires you to gather all your skills and take action.
The Tower and the Magician
There is no doubt that the tower brings profound change into our lives no matter what the reading is about. The sudden and destructive change can sometimes cause us to react emotionally and blind us from the situation’s real causality. The Magician enters in to remind us that not everything is always as it seems.
The other way I read this combination is that the Magician is here to inspire. He is telling you to get up, readjust, and get your game back on. You have all the skills to get through this.
Temperance and the Magician
Temperance reminds us to seek balance and emotional control. It is a sign that our present moment is in balance. The Magician is a person who inspires, so I feel that this combination tells me that there will be someone to rock that balance positively. There is a lot of inspiration in the air, and you are about to engage in something new. Alternatively, it could mean that you need to gain confidence and use your skills to reach your potential, which will eventually bring you in balance.
The Lovers and the Magician
The Lovers is a card of union, harmony, and choices. It is easy to understand that a tarot reading takes a turn towards feelings when this card appears. I would see the combination with Magician encouraging the seeker to take the lead role in search of real love. Instead of waiting, trust in your charisma and talk to people who attract you.
The Hierophant and the Magician
This is a combination of two men who like to stand before a crowd. The Hierophant is an educator who loves to teach. Then again, the Magician is more of a performer who amuses and inspires. I would take notice of this and put weight on their similarities. Having them side by side is telling us something about being the focal point of attention and adapt it to the context of the seeker’s issue. It could be that they are taking the lead role in too many things; love, career, friendships.
The Hermit and the Magician
The Hermit is most comfortable in his inner world and therefore retreats into solitude to find peace. As we know, the Magician is a very different kind of man. He gets joy in front of crowds and places where he can inspire people with his words. Perhaps the other card is telling the other about something. Maybe the other is overdoing it, and the way to gain balance is either be more outgoing or take a step back.
The Magician – Element, Astrology and other associations
Here are the usual associations with the Magician tarot card.
- Element: Air
- Planet: Mercury
- Astrological sign: Aries
- Key dates: Spring
The Magician as Personality types
The Magician is someone skillful, creative, and quick-minded. He has exceptional reasoning, original initiatives, and intellectual interest in how the universe works. They are curious to find out everything about you. Therefore it is easy to feel special in the company of the Magician. They are also great communicators, so it’s easy to find them in front of a crowd.
The people with Magician’s personality are also equipped with a lot of willpower. They are entrepreneurial type people who can excite people behind their ideas. They use their quick wit and smooth words to persuade people to believe in their vision.
The negative aspects of their personality are that they can be egoistic. More interested in getting attention with their smooth talk rather than providing any valuable insight. They can also be deceptive. We all know the type of person who puts a lot of effort to appear something more than they really are. Some might even have low concentration and dishonest intent.
The Magician as feelings
The Magician is a creative who doesn’t keep their ideas just in his head. He takes action to manifest his thoughts into reality. He uses words to get everyone excited and behind his vision to make things happen. He is confident, and he can inspire.
As far as feelings, the Magician doesn’t provide intense sentiments. You can view the Magician as the inspiration you feel to put an idea into action. Or it can be the feeling of confidence that you have knowing that you have all the required skills.