Tyldwick - Magician

BodhiSeed

What I notice in the Magician card:

Puppet Theater
Quilt-like wall covering
Knife, cup, disk, wand/stick
Two drawers in simple table

The puppet theater shows the entertaining and manipulative side of the Magician. He "pulls strings" to get the figures to perform as he would like. It is easy to get lost in the show and forget that someone else is behind the scenes doing the controlling. I wonder if there is a connection between the artist mannequin in the Fool and the puppets here, as they both can be manipulated.

The wall covering resembles a quilt. According to my friend (and quilter extraordinaire) AJ, two of the patterns used in it are the "flying geese" and the "Ohio star." I don't know how to sew a quilt, but I've watched others do it and know it takes a lot of skill. You must envision a design, figure out how to make the patterns, cut out all the many pieces, sew them together, then add batting and a back. Some of the intricately pieced ones are the pinnacles of creativity and craftsmanship. So here is the positive side of the Magician - envisioning an idea and holding the focus long enough to physically make it real.

On the table lie a wand, a coin/disk, a knife and a cup. Each represents the gifts we are all given to help us in creating what we desire. The wand is our passion and ambition; the coin our bodies, this earth and our finances; the knife is our intellect that allows us to learn, think logically and communicate; and the cup is our ability to make emotional connections as well as the relationships that encourage and support us.

All the tools and the puppet box lie on a simple table with two drawers. Nothing fancy here, but I do wonder what tricks or surprises the Magician might be hiding inside those drawers. :)

http://www.malpertuis.co.uk/2013/
 

Sulis Manoeuvre

I think you're right that the image here has a direct resonance with the Fool card. The pattern of the floor tiles in the Magician is the same as the 'motley' pattern on the wall in the Fool card, although it's orientated differently, to suggest that we're seeing the same thing from a different perspective. You can even look at the motley pattern in the Fool card (ignoring the foreground images) and imagine you're at ceiling level looking down at the floor, where it becomes the floor of the Magician card. You can do the same with the Magician card, ignoring the main objects and seeing it as if you're viewing it from ceiling level, where the motley pattern becomes the wall rather than the floor and the large quilt becomes instead a rug on the floor. It's as if it's the same room presented in different orientations. I can also see (especially if I focus my eyes to one side of it instead of looking at it directly) that the border of squares and diamonds around the edges of the quilt are echoed in the Fool card in a similar pattern of squares within diamonds around the central figure. Except that in the Fool card they appear more abstract and don't stand out so clearly, while in the Magician card (appropriately enough) the pattern is much more ordered.

The four magical tools have been laid out on the table top with great precision, everything in its right place. (Actually the pentacle looks to me like a slice of carrot, but that's probably just my warped imagination!)

Obviously in most decks the magician is presented as a human figure, while here he is a walloping absence. The only figures are contained within the small theatre tableaux, and the magician is not there on the tiny stage. And yet the whole scene seems to be filled with the magician's presence. He's the unseen hand making all the puppets move and dance. There is a great self-consciousness about this empty room, with that sense of hidden influence and unseen control.
 

Tyldwick

The only figures are contained within the small theatre tableaux, and the magician is not there on the tiny stage. And yet the whole scene seems to be filled with the magician's presence. He's the unseen hand making all the puppets move and dance. There is a great self-consciousness about this empty room, with that sense of hidden influence and unseen control.

You are on to something here, Sulis. Although, my personal interpretation is that there is no unseen magician behind the scenes: we are alone in this house with only the objects that have been left behind. The common thread is that all of these items must be moved with human hands. The tools have been provided; all that remains is to pick up what is needed and use it.

Among the Trumps in this deck the Magician stands in opposition to, for example, the Devil card with its candles removed and lovers chained down. But also to the Empress, whose wild beauty will continue to grow abundantly regardless of human intervention. Power is freely available here, but action is still required!