I The Magician

Tarot of Origins by Lo Scarabeo

I The Magician
Description

I The Magician is an old man wrapped in furs. His face is wrinkled with blue lines, as are his hands, both of which are raised, palms out towards the querent. Between the index fingers of his open hands is the sun, still pink from rising. Both of his eyes are focused outward, locked on the querent, his mouth pursed in what might be the beginning of a smile, though the look might also be described as inscrutable.

Interpretation

The Magician is a hard card. Its more popular version, like most of the Rider-Waite deck, is heavily laden with symbolism. Toppi's version is just the opposite, with no decoration of any kind. Just the figure and the sun. So what does it mean? Certainly I The Magician is the start of things. While 0 The Fool is the first card, he symbolizes the nothingness that comes before, the nothingness that is everything, and trust me, if you were everything, you'd be crazy too. The I The Magician is the start of things, hence the rising sun.
One possible interpretation is that the magician is in fact causing the sun to rise. He is not only the beginning, but the cause of the beginning; the first cause, not just making the sun rise, but making the sun, which is the source of all life on earth, and must therefore be considered our physical beginning as well.
If I wanted to look really hard, and I'm not sure I do, I might take even a step further and say that all four elements are here represented by the sun (fire), the sky (air), the brown fur the magician is wrapped in (earth) and the blueness of his skin (water). I think that's stretching things a bit, but what are tarot cards for if not to stretch things?

Application

I drew this card yesterday, but didn't write about it until this evening. Yesterday I kept a sharp eye out for magician-like occurrences and didn't experience a one. So if I The Magician was an accurate card, and I believe it was, his presence was more subtle than I was capable of detecting. But perhaps that's part of the mystery; it took human beings a long time to realize that the sun was in fact our first cause, so perhaps the influence that I The Magician is having on me is as yet unrevealed.

Traditional Meanings

Aeclectic Tarot

ATA Tarot