major arcana – Page 15 – Just the Tarot

The Magician Tarot Card

The meaning of The Magician card in the Tarot.

There are a couple of elements involved in this card because it really operates on two levels. The first, more mystical, level involves the ability to use your powers of imagination and concentration to make whatever you want to manifest on the material plane. This card indicates that the questioner is at a place in life where all of the elements are coming together for a successful new enterprise. The individual involved literally has the ability to visualize what he or she wants to happen and bring it into being. It’s a very strong card and shows that a lot of magic is operating in the questioners life.

A secondary meaning can be gleaned from the name of this card in the older Tarot decks: The Juggler. He isn’t simply The Magician in the mystical sense, he’s also The Magician in the sense of a magician’s stage show. He has the ability to juggle a half dozen balls in the air and dazzle you with illusions. In this sense it shows that the questioner not only has the ability to make a new project manifest, he also has the ability to promote it successfully and sell it to the people who can back him financially or emotionally

If this card shows up when you’re wondering if a new or different idea might work, there’s a very simple answer: GO FOR IT!

REVERSED: This is still a very powerful card but it comes with several warnings. Be very sure that any new project is in alignment with your Higher Self and you aren’t simply acting out of ego or greed.

If you’re dealing with someone else’s new project take a very careful look at it before you commit to backing it. Be sure that the magician you’re dealing with isn’t a con artist who’s shilling you for support but will never complete the project.

There is also a strong warning to stay alert and not miss new opportunities that are right under your nose.

If you have questions about this card or its meaning in one of your readings, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

A couple of additional thoughts about the Magician:

One of the issues that you need to think about when you’re dealing with this card is, “What is magic?”

We all know the magic of nature. Any kind of newborn is magical, from a baby to a kitten. The magic of love. The beautifully transient magic of a rainbow or a shooting star. A hidden waterfall in a silent forest.

But how does personal magic work? Aleister Crowley defined magic as, “”the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”, including both “mundane” acts of will as well as ritual magic.

In other words it’s using your will power to make something manifest in your life. You can view it as something as simple as lying in bed in the morning and contemplating how you’re going to make coffee manifest in your life. “I’m going to get out of bed. I’ll put water in the carafe, I’ll put the filter basket in the coffee maker, I’ll put the coffee in the basket, and I’ll press the on switch.”

Of course, we don’t go through that sequence of thinking. We just DO it because we already know how to do it.

Magic involves making something manifest in your life when you don’t know HOW to do it. But there is a basic pattern, a framework that you can use even if you don’t know exactly how to make it come about. You start by visualizing it. Try to get as clear a picture in your mind as you possibly can of what you want.

Then pour energy into it. You actually have to take some time – even a little time each day – to visualize what you want and imagine it coming into being. If you belong to a particular tradition such a Wicca or Neo-Paganism you may have rituals you’ll want to do at this point such as burning particular herbs or incense and gathering minerals and crystals for extra energy

Feel it. Visualizations don’t work if all they are is an idea. They need feelings, the deeper and stronger the better. While you’re visualizing what you want to come into being try to summon as much joy and happiness as you can. If you’re a more physical person you may want to dance or chant to enhance the emotional depth.

Wait and watch. Remember: this is something that you want but you DON’T KNOW how to make it happen. You’ve started at point A with, “This is what I want.” You’ve gone to point C with the visualization of it. All the intermediate steps to your goal that you might call Point B will be provided as you go along but you have to watch for the signs and omens for what you should do next. And that’s the magic of it: knock and the door will open and a pathway will appear.

One more quick thought before we move on from the Magician and that’s about the Magician reversed. In most of the New Agey Tarot definitions you’ll find that it’s defined along the lines of being out of harmony with the universe or a failure to concentrate on the task at hand or perhaps a caution that someone you’re dealing with is a con artist.

There’s also another meaning which isn’t much discussed anymore and that’s plain old Black Magic. Just as you can heal someone by intently pouring loving energy into them, so you can sicken someone by intently pouring hatred into them. It’s very real.

We think of Black Magic in terms of what see in the movies. An old woman sticking needles into a voodoo doll or a black robed man chanting incantations. Oddly, a much more common version of it is everyday prayer or mental obsession. I knew a woman who claimed to be a very devout Catholic who would regularly sit down, say her rosary, and pray for terrible things to happen to people who had offended her. She didn’t get that what she was doing was Black Magic. She was sending concentrated hate energy at the people she was, “praying about,” and her rosary was her ritual tool.

In the same sense, if we become obsessed with someone having hurt or offended us and we go through the day wishing them nothing but ill, we’re sending hate. It’s Black Magic, albeit on a very amateur, informal scale. So if you get the Magician reversed in a reading you’re doing don’t automatically assume that it’s about ego trips or missed opportunities. It may point to something more sinister going on.

“Just the Tarot,” by Dan Adair – a kindle ebook available on Amazon

The Fool in Tarot Readings

The Meaning of The Fool Card in the Tarot.

The Fool is numbered, “Zero,” and you can either consider it the beginning or the end of the Tarot deck. In my book, “Just the Tarot” I wrote this about The Fool:

“This is a card of pure, undifferentiated energy. It is Spirit before it enters into the material world. Christianity tends to refer to it as, “the Holy Spirit,” whereas Eastern religions may refer to it as, “Prana.” It is the underlying force that energizes the universe and some would go so far as to say that it is Love.”

And that’s really the essence of The Fool. It represents energy. Really, really good energy. And it’s also freshness and innocence.

Have you ever stepped outside on one of the first days of Spring and it’s all so beautiful that you just feel high? Like the world – and you – have been reborn and everything is fresh and shiny and full of possibilities. That’s the energy of The Fool.

We are now beginning to evolve a philosophy (and religions) that hold that the Earth herself is sacred and holy. For most of history, however, this wasn’t the case. The Earth plane was viewed as evil and dark or, at the least, neutral. Light, inspiration, spirituality came from outside the Earth into the Earth.

Many of the definitions you’ll find on The Fool are based upon that model. Spiritual energy is pouring into the Earth Plane from an outside source but it hasn’t really taken form yet. It’s just that sheer joyous ZAP flowing through your life and your spirit and your body. Whether you think it’s flowing down from the astral plane or up from Mother Earth, it’s there.

The Fool is also about endless possibilities. When The Fool appears in your reading you have all of power that you need to do anything that you want, but you may not have the slightest idea what it is that you want to do. Pick a card. Any card. You’ve got the juice to make it happen.

The Fool is also irreverent and doesn’t care even a little bit about being socially proper. To really get that you have to go back to medieval times and remember what The Fool was back then. The Fool was the court jester, the only one who was allowed to make fun of the King and Queen and even point out that the Emperor had no clothes. People with The Fool manifesting in their lives tend to laugh at conventions and norms and act silly when everyone else is being solemn and correct.

And people may laugh at The Fool, just as he laughs at them. The village idiot was often chosen as the court jester. To some, The Fool may appear simple minded in his boundless optimism and joy. Cynics and pessimists are very uncomfortable around The Fool’s energy.

REVERSED: When The Fool is reversed he shows another side of his nature which is fool-hardiness. He’s so high on what he’s feeling that he may be sloppy about details and make mistakes. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” and The Fool is definitely no angel.

My best advice when you get The Fool in your reading is . . . enjoy! You’ve got a wonderful force blowing through your life. Don’t worry. Be happy.

If you have questions about this card or its meaning in one of your readings, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Doing Your First Tarot Reading – Start Small

An online lesson in how to do a Tarot reading including an example reading.

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One of the things that I’d really recommend for your first reading is to start small. If you look through the sites on the internet you’ll find some monstrous huge patterns for laying out the cards. Lots and lots of details and sometimes dozens of cards. A beginner using one of those is sort of like deciding you’re going to write a computer program right after you figured out how to put a ringtone on your smartphone. Start off with some smaller layouts and get a feel for the cards before you get too complex.

I actually prefer smaller reading layouts and I do at least one a week just to check in and get a little perspective on where I’m at and where I’m going. Here’s a simple layout that takes just a little time to do but touches most of the important bases.

1 – Current conditions

2 – What needs to be done

3 – Factors working against the questioner

4 – The probable outcome

Now here’s an actual reading using this layout. This was done for a woman who was in her fifties, professed to be deeply religious, but was not a very happy camper.

1 – Current conditions – Ace of Cups Reversed

2 – What needs to be done – 7 of Wands Reversed

3 – Factors working against the questioner – Queen of Cups Reversed

4 – The probable outcome – 4 of Cups Reversed

Now, if you read my previous post – A Few Tips Before You Start Reading Tarot Cards – you’ll recognize a couple of factors immediately. First, all of the cards are reversed. This means that the questioner is in a very subjective state of mind and is probably not dealing realistically with what’s going on. Second, 3 out of 4 of the cards are cups, meaning that this reading is primarily about emotions.

If you’re using the definitions from my book, ““Just the Tarot,” (available on Amazon.com as an ebook for less than the cost of a can of beer – just saying) here’s what you find:

1 – Current conditions – Ace of Cups Reversed – It’s possible that the questioner thinks he or she is love but the other person views it as just a friendship. Another possibility is that there has been true love but it’s fading away.

2 – What needs to be done – 7 of Wands Reversed – There are just too many opponents or problems for the time being. Disengage from conflict and deal with what you can or you must.

3 – Factors working against the questioner – Queen of Cups Reversed – This may be a person who has a sour attitude toward love and affection. Perhaps a very materialistic person who prizes possessions over true affection.

4 – The probable outcome – 4 of Cups Reversed – The individual is letting go of old relationships and is starting over. Perhaps a new love interest or romance.

It doesn’t take long to conclude that this reading is about a romantic relationship and that something is rotten in a Scandinavian country. The Ace of Cups upright shows that love is blossoming but when it’s reversed it shows that love is dying. The Queen of Cups reversed in the position of opposing factors shows us that one of the people in the relationship – perhaps the questioner or perhaps her partner – has got a pretty bad attitude happening about love and romance. The 7 of Wands in the position of what needs to be done shows us that there are just too many problems in this relationship for it to have a good outcome. And the 4 of Cups reversed shows us that the questioner or her partner will probably come to that conclusion and just walk away and start over.

See how easy that was? You lay out the cards, you look for a pattern, and you put the story together. Now you try it . . .

A Few Tips Before You Start Reading Tarot Cards

An online lesson with a few tips a reader should know about doing Tarot readings.

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Here are a few little tips you should know about reading Tarot Cards that I cover in my book, “Just the Tarot, by Daniel Adair.” (Available on Amazon.com for less than the price of a bagel at your favorite coffee shop. Just saying.)

LOOK FOR LARGE NUMBERS OF THE SAME SUIT. The Tarot basically divides our world into four different elements that match the suits of the Minor Arcana. Wands equal ideas. Cups equal emotions. Swords equal personal power. Pentacles equal money and possessions.

So, if you’re doing a reading and you see that the majority of the cards are pentacles, you can assume that money and possessions are a very dominant part of the questioners life right now. A majority of wands might indicate someone who is an intellectual or is exploring a lot of new ideas. Cups would show that this is a very emotional time in the questioners life. Swords would show that a quest for power and position or power struggles are very present in the questioners life.

COMBINING THE SUITS – You can also find some clues in combinations of the suits. Suppose the reading has a majority of swords and cups: you might reasonably assume that there are some power struggles going on in the person’s romantic or emotional life.
A combination of wands and cups might indicate a person who takes a sort of
intellectual approach to romance. Pentacles and cups could show a person who pairs romance and materialism, like a trophy wife or husband. Pentacles and swords can show power struggles in the workplace, and so on.

REVERSED VERSUS UPRIGHT CARDS – If a majority of the cards are reversed you can assume that there is a lot going on in the questioners life that she isn’t dealing with on a conscious level. Look for denial, repression or factors that are hidden from the questioner. If the majority of the cards are upright you can assume that the questioner is fairly aware of what’s going on in his or her life and is dealing with it on a conscious level.

NUMBERS, NUMBERS, NUMBERS – There are schools of thought on the Tarot that assign meaning to the cards based on their numerological ranking. I’m not personally a big fan of numerology so I’m not going to mess with it here. If you’re curious or numerology floats your boat you can look it up on the internet.

MAJOR VERSUS MINOR – As I’ve said in previous posts, ALWAYS pay close attention to any cards from the Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana tend to show the little crap that we all put up with every day. The Major Arcana show life changing forces in the questioners reading. There’s even a method that some readers use where they REMOVE all of the Minor Arcana cards prior to the reading so that they concentrate on the major forces.

On to the next lesson!

What Are the Major Arcana of the Tarot?

A brief discussion of the major arcana of the Tarot, how they differ from the minor arcana, and how to integrate them into your Tarot readings.

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The Major Arcana are composed of 22 cards and are the original heart of the Tarot deck. They can be dated back to the 15th century where they emerged in Europe as the basis for card games. The symbolism of the cards is so complex that it’s difficult to believe that they were conceived merely as a game but any further clues as to their origin have been lost in time.

Theories about the Major Arcana abound and the occultists of the late Victorian era, such as A.E. Waite and Aleister Crowley, spun some whoppers. Based upon who you listen to the cards may have originated in ancient Egypt or perhaps Atlantis and Plato himself may or may not have been familiar with them.

There are also those who claim that the Major Arcana conceal a secret doctrine, a path to higher realms and knowledge that only a few can decipher. My personal experience with the cards is that those claims are nonsense. If there’s a path hidden in the Major Arcana it’s so overgrown that it would take a bulldozer to find it. Emphasis on the, “bull.”

So what are the cards of the Major Arcana? Modern psychologists, particularly Jungians, like to compare them to archetypal images, primordial representations buried in the unconscious of all humans. And they may be right but that leaves unanswered the questions of who composed them and for what purpose.

There are a few things about them that we can say with certainty. The Major Arcana represent . . . well, MAJOR forces in our lives. When we encounter the Major Arcana in a reading we know that some significant, life changing events are happening to the questioner. We’re talking about births, deaths, disasters, major karma coming home to roost, and profound spiritual renewal.

In some cases the questioner herself may be causing the appearance of the major force. In the card The Devil, for instance, we have a willful embrace of ignorance, cruelty, and mindless sexuality. The Hanged Man may show up when we choose to take a break from life and reassess our spirituality.

In other cases, the cards may appear because of events which are external to the questioner and over which he has no control. The Death card may appear frequently after the loss of a loved one. The Tower may pop up after a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a flood.

The best way that I can conceptualize the presence of a card from the Major Arcana in a reading is as a powerful wind blowing through your life. You can’t stop the wind. You can fight against it, you can give into it and let it blow you where it will, or you can hunker down and wait for it to pass. The one thing you can’t do is ignore it. When you see a card from the Major Arcana PAY ATTENTION!

On to the next lesson!