The Magician is the second card of the Major Arcana; it is numbered I.
The classic interpretation: Originality. Creativity. Self-reliance. Skill. Imagination. Sleight of hand. Trickery. Guile.
Contemporary interpretation: The act of creation through willpower, desire and determination. A reminder that any act of creation begins in the mind (“out of thin air”)and is then carried out with the hands, using the tools before you.
The Magician is the only card in the Tarot deck that refers to the four suits of the Minor Arcana. The objects on the table are swords, wands, coins and cups, and the Magician is the master of them all. He is the Tarot in its entirety and he tells us that we, too, can learn to use these tools. After all, they were in the Fool’s pack, weren’t they? Or were they? Pick up the tools and use them, but choose wisely: remember the Magician can be a Trickster as well as a wise man.
