Alchemical Study Group - I The Magician

Kenny

I have a quote from Rami that might fit this card, though I was also thinking about The Fool (and will cross post it there too).

You are the master alchemist,
Through your loving,
Existence and non-existence merge.
All opposites unite.
All that is profane
Becomes sacred again.
 

Kenny

Check page 118 of Alchemical Psychology for more information but Mercury 'is in this sentence, the doer, the action and the object.' He is unique in the fact that he has three separate roles to play in alchemy. It is quite interesting.

Alchemical Psychology p.119 said:
Should he spy a pocket of inactivity, he can be counted on to stir things up by creating the necessary tension needed to bring conflict as well as resolution. ...He is a shape-shifter, a divine thief and above all else, a spirit of the highest order.

Alchemical Psychology p.119 said:
Mercury delights us with surprise and upsets us with shocking news. If we do not understand his divine function, we will be the butt of his jokes. Understanding that he serves to awaken us to connections we would never have otherwise made is the secret to using his gifts well.
 

sapienza

Thanks for sharing that Kenny. I particularly like the second quote.
 

Kenny

(Cross posted from Your Readings as I think it's an reasonable introduction to I The Magician)

I The Magician is one of those cards which I have recently discovered a new way of looking at the card. I would argue that I The Magician is, next to The Fool, the most powerful card in the trumps; if not the entire deck. I The Magician can be related to The Thrice Great Hermes or Mercury (okay I'm using Alchemical terms here so you might want to check out the Alchemical Tarot Study Group thread dealing with I The Magician).

Mercury managed to learn, understand, and control the powerful Calderus (the staff with the two snakes wrapped around it). He is understood to be the most powerful magician there is--so there is your link to the power and strength.

Now I'm going to turn him on his head by introducing another side to him, the trickster. If you are currently settled then Mercury comes in to unsettle you--this is not a XVI Tower or XIII Death event--I rather think it's something a bit more subtle, an minor argument, feeling ill, reading a thought provoking article, meeting up with an old friend, making a new friend. Once unsettled you'll start learning and growing, and it is in this learning and growth that the second part of Mercury's power are visible.