HoF Study: 28 The Magician, 25 The Hero

The Hero and The Magician seem to inspire some widely held views.

First of all they are pretty androgynous, at least to me. The Hero seems slightly more male, but that may be because of the sword and the male figure in the background.

And if they aren't the same person I'd be willing to say they are twins or brother and sister.

They also seem to me more human than fey. I had these cards sorted into the border of faeryland pile...however the Magician is surrounded by fae....so perhaps she/he is a frequent traveler, or part fae.

And this leads me to another point for discussion.

Do you think there are mixed fae (and by that I mean part human part fae) in the set, and potentially, in the FO?

Do you like these cards?

And for the Magician, I wonder why the Marseille??? That really makes me grin, the Marseille being the deck of choice in faeryland. Wait till we tell Enrique!

I like the Hero & The Magician. I also like that you can't really tell whether they are male or female. Although the book does call the Magician a 'she'.

The hair styles are a little 80's and they remind me of the movie the Labrynth with Jennifer Connelly & David Bowie. It's always been one of my favorite movies so I think that is why I like these cards.

The Hero I especially like because it isn't a stereotypical depiction of a Hero as - masculine and strong. I think that this Hero has vulnerability. It shows that inner strength is just as important as outer strength and depicts the whole idea of what a real hero is. I like the Owl in the background. It also takes strength to show vulnerability too.

The Magician depicts the themes of illusions and faerie glamour so well - the Magician can appear however she wants and can make us believe what she wants because she knows how to create illusions. I love the cards flying around and the unicorn pegasus flying beside her. I think that appearances are deceptive with the Magician. I often think with the Magician that the message is that power is your hands, you can make your current situation into whatever you want it to be and I think that the image depicts that quite well - they way that she holds out the crystal ball, like you could reach into the card and grab it!

I agree both of these cards appear more human than fae.

I think the book might refer to both cards as females, but I view them as more androgynous beings. Labyrinth was definitely the first thing that came to mind when I saw these cards in the deck, especially the Hero with the owl. (But then, the Magician has that crystal ball too...)

For some reason, I never thought about them possibly not being fae. When I think of humans in the HOF, I think of the woman in the Temptation, the knight (?) in the Heartless Love card...and perhaps the Captive Man surrounded and entranced by the fae, and the young boy who appears in the Leaving and the Question. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about the Magician and the Hero that feels very otherworldy and not completely human to me. Perhaps half-fae? Or a fae really good at disguising themselves as human, able to pass between both realms easily?

They do look related, don't they! They look different enough in the face and hair for me to think they're probably not the same person, but they sure could be family! I think the Magician looks a little older than the Hero? Perhaps a little wiser and more a master of themselves? The Magician comes off to me as powerful and very in control.

I love the little fae hiding in the Magician's coat. And the little faery in the corner beneath the staff seems to be in awe.

The Hero is strong, on the outside and inside, but I'd say, probably still has a lot to learn. I'm not sure if I'm seeing it right, but on the hilt of the Hero's sword, when I turn the card over, the circular design looks a lot like the face of the owl in the card.

The Hero. I see this as a more male card in depiction but I am fully aware that often the hero is not male. Heroism I would say is a masculine trait because of the courage, daring, fiery charging in. In writing this i see that I am connect heroism with the fire element which is masculine. I see the term heroine in a different light that doesn't simply mean a "female hero" because female heroism has it's own nuance and female heroes act differently than male ones. (Okay off the tangent.)

The Hero is open in a reading to represent both the female or male person energy that comes to the rescue. The Fae that represent the need, urge, demands or dreams of being a hero. The hero is a noble, if not sometimes misguided, sentiment to solve problems, resolve crisis, or avenge a moral/political/legal wrong.

This is different to me than the Magician.

The Magician is clearly ambiguous and androgynous. I think it tends toward male again but not tied to a sex and think it was the intention of the artist. Here we have the power of illusion, the trickster, the con artist and the freaking Fae that will go and hide my deck from me. The power of the magician is not magic, that is the Sorcerer for me. But this is the illusion, the slight of hand, and yest a bit of mastery that it takes to controly the physical to deceive the mental.

Onyx.

Hmmm....I think of them both as male although either could be female also.

The Hero: The duality of the fae are present in this card because Hero can be positive or negative. Sometimes situations exist where stepping in and "playing the hero" is ill advised. Saving the day, having courage, being presented with situations where the seeker might "be a hero" are all possible too.

The Magician: Yes I too see the Sorcerer as having the "real" magic in this deck but the Magician has some too....the problem with him is its often all smoke and mirrors, mostly an illusion. The Magician says to me...watch out something may not be as it seems or don't get trapped into believing something that may not be true. He has a positive side of course which is to say...with a little magic you can pull this off...