The Magician as Female
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| Sophie-David |
05 May 2005 |
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Last night I began studying Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey in to Christian Hermiticism. I have purchased the Tarot de Marseille par Kris Hadar as a companion to this book (and vica versa). As I studied the Magician, Le Basteleur, I was reminded of Helvetica's inspired thread [thread=38826]The Origin of the World: a theory of creation in the Tarot de Marseille[/thread], in which she discusses the use of feminine imagery in le Basteleur and masculine imagery in la Papesse. One thinks of the l'Imperatrice or Empress as the creatrix, she who brings the work of Basteleur and Papesse into manifestation.
But in a powerful night of dreaming I saw this imagery:
As the whale submerged I saw some women dancing in the sea to the left (east). Most of them had young children or babies in arms or in strollers, but some were still pregnant. I knew them as friends, but also somehow that we were related as family. The sea was shallow where they were, so they able to dance in the water without swimming. They recognized us and came to greet us with joy. In considering the dream later, as I woke into a trance, I asked who the fathers were - the answer was that the women had fathered their own children. I believe that in one aspect this last statement refers to the inherent power within each of us to achieve the union of active and receptive by which creative work is manifest or birthed. Additionally, it is only within a woman that conception actually happens, the sperm is donated by a man into the woman's inner environment and becomes hers. It is within her own body only that this vital magic occurs, she sustains the conditions in which the two elements combine - there is a sense that even at this point they both belong to her.
This morning I was considering the implicit power of the dancing women further. I saw the women who were carrying or had recently birthed children as potent magicians, skilled weavers of life, adepts in the four elements by which all comes into being. So I thought about decks which image Major Arcanum #1 as a female mage. The one I am most familiar with is one of my all-time favourite cards, the Magician from the Blue Moon Tarot, a woman who has just delivered her child. The Goddess Tarot visualizes Isis as Magic. The Lover's Path characteristically presents a duality for the card, picturing Merlin and Vivianne together.
Are there other decks which present the Magician as female?
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| Fulgour |
05 May 2005 |
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+/- Aleph = Magician (male/female)
- Mem = Death (female)
+ Shin = World (male)
NOTE: Aleph-Mem-Shin are one and the same.
The Unity of the Triad is the basis of the idea.
BIG NOTE: THIS IS NOT KABBALAH
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| Fudugazi |
05 May 2005 |
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Fulgour, the World is not male. Just look at the classic representations of the World card. That's where the kabbalistic correlation that Tarot is sometimes shoehorned into falls down...
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| Sophie-David |
05 May 2005 |
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Thank you everyone for you contributions. Its like coming to the well and being able to draw up all the inspiration and refreshment one could want!
Now this is really neat, Dreamer, the very first post and its so very close in spirit to the dream, the Magician as a mermaid. I had never seen this image before.
The Buckland Romani's magician is a woman (the same woman as appears in Strength and the World also)
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/buckland-romani/ (bottom card is the Magician)
That is a gorgeous card, she reminds me of Galadriel. Melanie Gordon's underlying concepts of self-development through the sacred feminine sound fascinating. This is another deck I was not aware of.
+/- Aleph = Magician (male/female)
- Mem = Death (female)
+ Shin = World (male)
NOTE: Aleph-Mem-Shin are one and the same.
The Unity of the Triad is the basis of the idea.
BIG NOTE: THIS IS NOT KABBALAH Fulgour, please elaborate, if its not Kabbalah, what system is it? :confused:
The magician appears androgynous in the Cosmic tarot. (Looks like a woman to me, except for the facial hair.) http://norbertlosche.claremc.co.uk/NLcosmictarot.html
Thank you again, this response is quite wonderful. :)
Cheers
David
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| DarkElectric |
05 May 2005 |
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The magician in the Celtic Dragon tarot is also female :)
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| Fulgour |
05 May 2005 |
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+/- Aleph = Magician (male/female)
- Mem = Death (female)
+ Shin = World (male)
NOTE: Aleph-Mem-Shin are one and the same.
The Unity of the Triad is the basis of the idea.
BIG NOTE: THIS IS NOT KABBALAH Aleph (+/-) is the Action
Mem (-) is the Reaction
Shin (+) is the Completion
Aleph must remain Aleph, and so can only
transmit a negative, keeping its positive.
Mem passively receives and transmits the
negative, a double negative, thus producing
the final positive... Shin, the triple single. :)
Aleph emits Mem and so becomes Shin.
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| Mesara |
05 May 2005 |
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At a recent tarot gathering I mentioned that I would like to see more female magicians in upcoming decks. I was nearly laughted out of the room. :(
"A female Magician? Pa-leese.." was the general response.
Shows what they know.. :P
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| Fudugazi |
05 May 2005 |
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How sad, Mesara :(
Sophie-David, I have been quite enthralled by this thread - and by your dream. I don't have anything to contribute in terms of decks with female magicians, but one thing I like about the DruidCraft is its philosophy that the Magician is both male and female. Though the Magician there is a man - a Druid - he is supposed to have integrated animus and anima to such an extent that he can be a true Magician. The book explains that these parts of him are then represented in the High Priest and High Priestess. I was very struck by that idea - and looking at the Magician, I see a certain feminity in him - and the aura around him seems feminine, somehow (am I seeing things?). I wish the creators had been even bolder and included an alternative female Magician with a masculine aura to her!
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| Moongold |
05 May 2005 |
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The Magician in the Goddess deck is Isis.
She is a wonderful figure of course and for over 3000 years was worshipped in Egypt as the Great Mother Goddess of the Universe. She had magical powers as well and raised Osiris from the dead.
The Isis and Osiris myth is central to Egyptian mythology and preceded the Mary/Christ story.
You would find immense reward in seeking Isis out, Sophie-David. :)
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| Fudugazi |
05 May 2005 |
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The Magician in the Goddess deck is Isis Wow, that's a bold choice, given Isis's 225-year old association with the Papess! (of course that can't compare with 3000 years of history and myth ;)) Moongold, I have been resisting buying the Ancient Egyptian with GREAT DIFFICULTY, given I have ended my job and must take care of the pennies. You really don't make it easy for me ;)
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| Moongold |
05 May 2005 |
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OOps - I missed the last bit of your initial post, David. Sorry! You know Isis already.
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| Sophie-David |
06 May 2005 |
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The magician in the Celtic Dragon tarot is also female :) I finally found her image here. She reminds me of a High Priestess. This is another deck that I didn't know about.:)
At a recent tarot gathering I mentioned that I would like to see more female magicians in upcoming decks. I was nearly laughted out of the room.
"A female Magician? Pa-leese.." was the general response.
Shows what they know.. I wouldn't want to see male Magicians done away with,;) but it can be valuable to look at things in a different way from the conventional - having options is healthy to growth.
Sophie-David, I have been quite enthralled by this thread - and by your dream. I don't have anything to contribute in terms of decks with female magicians, but one thing I like about the DruidCraft is its philosophy that the Magician is both male and female. Though the Magician there is a man - a Druid - he is supposed to have integrated animus and anima to such an extent that he can be a true Magician. The book explains that these parts of him are then represented in the High Priest and High Priestess. I was very struck by that idea - and looking at the Magician, I see a certain feminity in him - and the aura around him seems feminine, somehow (am I seeing things?). I wish the creators had been even bolder and included an alternative female Magician with a masculine aura to her! Oh, that is an interesting perspective, the Druidcraft Magician as the joining of High Priest and High Priestess. Yes, I agree, his head is masculine but his body seems somehow feminine. Incidentally the High Priestess looks small and delicate but extremely potent - you might want to cross the street from her on a dark night!;) I'm not really comfortable sharing the whole dream at the moment, but it was a celebration of the integrative process over the last year, showing how far I had come. It also looked forward with encouragement as I begin the process of writing my book on the Inner Beloved. The women dancing in the ocean had achieved integration through their creative work, their children, manifesting spirit in flesh. I've been on leave this week, so I guess this was an opportune time for a "big dream". :)
You would find immense reward in seeking Isis out, Sophie-David. Thank you for the reminder, I do need to study Isis in further depth. I have been approaching Isis from the rather Victorian perspective of H. Rider Haggard and the four books in the She series. I feel they are pretty much mandatory reading for my project. But I do need to purchase Jean Huston's book, The Passion of Isis and Osiris: A Union of Two Souls, for further depth.
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| psychic sue |
07 May 2005 |
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OMG the Buckland Romany! I have to own this deck. I am counting the days till next pay day (21 to go).
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. My Great Grandmother was a romany gypsy and this deck spoke to me as soon as I saw it. I can't wait.
Sue x
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The The Magician as Female thread was originally posted on 05 May 2005 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.
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