Manga Tarot: The Sorceress

This card has to be one of my favorite. It's one of the pictures on the side of the box! She is surrounded with what looks to be like flames but not violent at all. Instead of the usual magician card in as the I card, she only has a sword in front of her.

Key color- red

Above her looks like the sun and superimposed on it is the japanese symbol for spring. Going back to the flames, flames are known to be dynamic and "uncontrollable", however, she seems to be able to completely manipulate them with mastery and skill. All traits of the typical magician.

tarotreader2007

**PEACE**

This is a gorgeous card. It is also one of my favorite cards in this deck. The sorceress' hands are reaching up, drawing inspiration from above, which is grounded through the downward pointing sword. The sword I believe symbolizes her intelligence and willpower.

The red in this card indicates her passionate nature, but she looks very composed and self-controlled. The lotus blossoms on her arms are interesting, perhaps signifying spiritual accomplishment.

The key phrase for this card is "Will and equilibrium are the basis of every action." The symmetrical design of this card certainly provides a strong sense of equilibrium.

The pieces of yellow cloth are coming from her. She seems to be the center point, at the moment of releasing her attact. She look confident in her habilities.

I see her as advanced but not yet a master of elementals. The background to me are not flames but red clouds, like the clouds you see when the sun sets. She inspired; she's surrounded by beauty. Balance is not only in the symmetry of the card but also in the sorceress. She has learned how to wield a sword and use magic, having a balance in both physical and magical ability. I see the sphere as drawing energies from the soul. The yellow cloth symbolizes emotions while the red symbolizes passions. Beginnings of something powerful, a drive, a force. On a side note, I think she could denote beauty and charisma, too.

I really like how here (as in a few other cards), the season symbol is very much integrated in the rest of the illustration.

It also reminded me of 'drawing down the moon', a wiccan ritual (and of the version of that in Neil Gaiman's Sandman).

She really seems to be connecting higher powers to the earth; a meaning I quite often miss in the depiction on other magician's cards.

Also, there is something quite phallic about the sword and it's hilt there in front of her - which seems fitting for a magician, because surely he/she can be (or appear as) male of female when she/he wants to.

The rest of the characters in the deck are wearing some form of kimono or armour, but she's wearing a revealing, flashy costume. She's very confident and a bit of an exhibitionist!

lilangel09 said:

...Balance is not only in the symmetry of the card but also in the sorceress. She has learned how to wield a sword and use magic, having a balance in both physical and magical ability. ... On a side note, I think she could denote beauty and charisma, too.

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I like those ideas a lot.

What comes to my mind as I look at this card is the flowing of power. Being a sorceress, it would certainly be willfully directed power. And with the sword, the idea of a tempered power also springs to my mind.

The symbol of spring... for beginnings and growth? Certainly these have possibility in the archetype that underlies this card.

The Sorceress. I'm not sure why, but this card doesn't really speak to me much. I just don't connect with it on the same kind of level as I do with most of the other cards in this deck. I suppose it just doesn't feel very deep?

LWB Key: Will; Will and equilibrium are the basis of every action.

Color: Primarily red, with some prominence of yellow. I definitely feel the fire here, that exertion of power though it doesn't feel like the directed kind, but more the presence of raw power or will. A lot of it also comes from or based on emotions (the yellow). There's emotional drive behind this will and power.

Glyph: Spring. The spark has begun, the fire has just started but have yet to truly mature into a shape or form. Again, raw power without real application yet.

Imagery: Here, the woman is calling her power, but I don't get the sense that she is applying it anywhere at all. Somehow, it feels more like an exhibition of her power and the satisfaction of that feeling as opposed to an actual productive use of it (at least not yet if the intention was there). Her showy stance, sensual clothing, and display of power tells me that she's very confident in every aspect and not just in her abilities.

She also strikes me as someone who strives to get her way. She looks a bit spoiled as well, someone who might have that hint of arrogance and over-confidence. That's not to say that it's necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, we need that extra dose of confidence and will in order to do something or to manipulate it- and she sure does look like she's a manipulator!

In Manga-verse, she reminds me of a young but talented apprentice in magic. She is strong-willed and even hot-tempered. She has learned quickly and knows she's capable, hence she's a little arrogant. She has a purpose for seeking the power of a Sorceress and would use this power to attain what she wants... but she still has a long way to go before she truly becomes a master (and I mean this in both abilities and wisdom). This is the type of heroine we'd see at the beginning of a manga before character development starts. In that sense, it's fitting as the first card/step The Fool's journey would start on.

This card is also one of my favorite ones in the deck.

At the moment, I'm drawn to both the sun above her head and the sword below as representing inspiration, new ideas. This card also manages to convey the idea of drawing it down to earth even though the illustration is relatively simple. That concept of as above, so below. Inspiration, then manifestation, putting the idea into action.

I like this a lot because prior to this, I've always seen the Magician as purely potential and confidence - never actualization. Even if it's just the first step that's manifested, that's still more than most decks' Magicians represent (again, to me).

The power of that really comes through in the colors and the sense of movement in the cloth all around her and her hair. I suppose there must be a wind. Movement of ideas? The card as a whole is a great combination of power and gentleness.

Two other things I love about this card are that the sleeves look like lotus blossoms (abundance, flow of prosperity); and that the artist didn't force the other suit symbols into the picture. It expresses everything beautifully just the way it is.

Mellifluous said:

At the moment, I'm drawn to both the sun above her head and the sword below as representing inspiration, new ideas.

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You know what... I completely didn't see that orb above as a sun at all until you and the others mentioned it, and I wonder why that is. I still don't know if I'll see it as a sun now, but it's definitely food for thought. Personally, I had seen it more like a concentrated ball of energy... created from her power/magic as opposed to drawing the sun down. Now I'm really wondering what that orb was intended to be!

Mellifluous said:

I like this a lot because prior to this, I've always seen the Magician as purely potential and confidence - never actualization. Even if it's just the first step that's manifested, that's still more than most decks' Magicians represent (again, to me).

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That's true. Most Magicians I've come across looked a lot more stationary than this sorceress. There's more action portrayed here, I think... and now that you mention it, I have to say I like this aspect of the card as well.

Mellifluous said:

and that the artist didn't force the other suit symbols into the picture. It expresses everything beautifully just the way it is.

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This got me thinking. Other suit symbols are missing in this card. While the essence of the card is still portrayed beautifully as you've said, I wonder if this limits the meaning often read into many Magicians as in the aspect where they're the jack of all trades but the master of none (yet)?

Have I mentioned I'm really loving this study group?