22/12/2003
The
Magician of the
World Spirit privately performs a ritual in his hut. On the wooden walls around him hang strange and mysterious images. The Magician is tanned and looks very exotic... His chest and feet are bare, his eyes fixed on the symbols of the four elements. He holds the Wand in his right hand, the Sword in his left. The Pentacle and Cup are floating in the air. Candles and incense burn around the protective circle in which he’s dancing. Flowers and food lie before him as offerings for the gods. A lemniscate lies on the floor before him too, as a reminder of the great and eternal forces he is working with... Faster and faster the Magician dances, elegantly putting his one foot before the other – intensely, almost hypnotically holding and building his energy... Behind the Magician, a landscape is visible: green grass, a palm tree, a blue sky with clouds. Although the Magician appears to be alone, he is not – everything points to the fact that the Magician recognises that he is part of nature, part of the rhythm of life...
(you can see him here)
The words that come to mind looking at this card are words like
energy,
power and
awareness, and a
deep connection with the world around you.
Today I’ve tried to be energetic and active, aware of the forces around me, seeing opportunities and actually grasping them...
23/12/2003, (a)
I tried dreaming of the Magician tonight, and it actually worked! I dreamt of an entry for a game and that entry was a wall full of masks: large ones, little ones, coloured ones, etc... I really had the feeling that had something to do with the Magician.
Later on, I dreamt of some people who were asking questions to the Magician, who in turn answered them in riddles.
Then I dreamt of a bunch of little children who were buying coloured letters in a shop, and in that shop, the Magician was the cashier. Very strange...
23/12/2003, (b)
You can immediately see that
le Ba(s)teleur from the
Tarot de Marseille is *not* a boring person. He’s dressed so colourfully and wears a very cool hat on his blond curls – a very mysterious hat it is... When you think of the hat almost forming the infinity sign, of the possibility of the four elements being represented and of the missing table leg, this card seems to be a lot about looking outside the box, about a quest, if you will, for knowledge and experience...
Our Bateleur has everything he needs to begin this quest, and he seems to be examining all his little tools... I see coins there, a little staff, two little cups and two knifes. That may very well be the four elements represented – who knows? In any case, the Bateleur seems to be very well aware of them.
He’s looking toward his right, toward his future, and is standing—he is all ready to go on his search for balance. For now, though, his balance does seem to be a little precarious (remember that the table *is* missing a leg).
When I look at this card, I think of
inventiveness,
originality and
initiative, and of an
awareness of your own abilities and talents. Today, I’ve tried to be
optimistic and aware of my potential - I’ve tried to make something good out of this day.
24/12/2003
The
Magician from the
Secret Tarots looks you straight in the eyes with a dark smile. He is cloaked – only his head and, strangely, his
left hand are visible. In that hand, he holds a sceptre, sign of authority and power...
When you look at the Magician, you get the feeling that he’s hiding something. Actually, he doesn't look very human; he looks “super-human”, “super-natural”... From his purple hair points a curling, dark orange ‘something’. I think it’s an antenna or a lightning rod, putting him directly in contact with higher forces...
Before him lie a Wand and a Sword, and a golden Cup and Pentacle... The Magician stands at the entrance of a cave, a sign of how deep the Magician is prepared to go, exploring his own Self. It also reminds me of primeval and ancient powers... Behind the Magician is a yellow sky – in this sky I see a phallic form (is this just me?). Together with the cave, symbol of the womb, this is a card filled with the energy of creation, of life...
(you can see him here)
When I look at this card I see
power,
creation and a certain
darkness. Hmm... today I’ve tried to be aware of my ability to create things and how those forces manifest themselves in my life.
27/12/2003
The
Magician in the
Tarot of Dürer doesn’t look like a Magician. He doesn’t look like the innocent Marseille Bateleur either... He’s rather chubby and looks relatively old, and it seems as if he’s shouting to someone. Perhaps he’s challenging someone to play with the dices he tosses in his hands? Dices are, of course, a gambling game and, as the wise Jmd wrote in another thread: they show the human skill of number manipulation... I wouldn’t trust this Bateleur much; I think he’s got a few tricks up your sleeve, or maybe behind that little cape of his... It looks like he wants to sell something from his... well, his drawer. In the drawer I see, amongst other things, shoes, a hammer (he probably used this to hang up the slippers that dangle from a nail) and little pots with glue. Or maybe it isn’t glue, but honey. Either way it fits: this guy looks very “sticky”, not very easy to get rid of, and he probably uses words “as sweet as honey”... That drawer should be pretty practical, actually, as I think he travels a lot. Maybe that’s why he needs all those spare-shoes... He’s also got a bag that contains scissors, a wooden spoon and a bottle (probably with beer, explains the beer belly). With both feet in reality, he’s standing on a large, flat rock... There’s a little cat between his legs, showing his playful, sneaky and cunning side. On the card is a Latin saying: “Nemo potest personam diu ferre”, meaning, “Nobody can wear a mask”.
(I found this link thanks to Mari!)
This ‘Magician’ will remind me to
see people for what they are. He will help me to be
dynamic,
convincing and
persistent. He will aid me to be
practical,
self-reliant and
sure of myself. He’ll tell me to stop dreaming or worrying, but
to stand with my two feet on the ground. He will teach me to occasionally show my
playful side, and will tell me
not to take things too seriously. But at the same time, he'll remember me not to be too pushy, medling or loud.