Creativity, self development, self help

Image via WikipediaThe Magician is the card of creation, and you can use this technique any time you need to. Or simply take the Magician out of the deck and meditate on him whenever you need fresh inspiration.

Occasionally, you may feel that you need to conduct an inner journey to consult the Magician in person. When you do, you can ask him for whatever you need in your life. However, you must also be prepared to make some changes in your life. The Magician will ask you to do something; promise only what you know you can deliver. That is, if the Magician asks you to stop smoking, don’t promise to do it if you know that you’re not ready to give up cigarettes.

An important warning: never make an inner journey to visit one of the archetypes without the assistance of your inner guide. The guide will mediate between you and the immense power of the archetype. You should also ask your guide’s advice before you agree to do anything the archetype asks you to do. Again, don’t make any agreements you’re not prepared to keep. The universe must be kept in balance. If you receive a gift from the archetype, you must give something in return. If you don’t keep your part of the bargain, then the archetype will take something from your life, and it may not be something that you were willing to give.

The Magician is a powerful archetype. When you meditate on the Magician, or when he appears in your readings, your life will change.

Image via WikipediaSymbols: Male figure, red robe, white cloak, lemniscate, magic wand in right hand, snake belt, left hand pointing down to the ground, golden sky, rose covered canopy over the figure, table with carvings, pentacle, cup, sword and wand on the table, garden with roses and lilies in front of the figure.

The Magician represents earthly power drawn from spiritual sources. As the first card of the deck after the unnumbered card of the Fool, he is the human soul endowed with a physical body and everything it needs to create a heaven on earth. He Magician wields a magic wands, showing that he has the power to transform. On his table, lie the tools of his trade, the four elements: earth, air, fire and water.

What does the Magician say to you? Remember that although he is an archetype his is you; you are the magician in your own life. Everything the Magician can do, you can do too. You have the power to transform your own reality.

You’re the Magician in your business. You develop and grow your business. You transform your ideas into products and money. The best way to get to know the Magician is via meditation. Take an inner journey, and get to know the Magician as he lives in you.

Here’s a small meditation to get you started. Think of a problem that you’re facing, right at the moment. The problem may be a large one, or it may be a relatively small one. Perhaps one of your best workers has just quit, or you need a new supplier, or you’re having a cash flow problem. Whatever your needs, the Magician can help.

Take the Magician out of the deck. Put it on the desk in front of you. Now, with the deck face up, select two to three cards which depict your problem. They can be from any part of the deck: major arcana, minor arcana, or the court cards. For a cash flow problem, you could select the 5 and 6 of Pentacles, for example. Place the cards you’ve chosen in a line under the Magician.

Just look at the layout for a few moments. Now close your eyes, and breathe deeply and slowly. Imagine your grounding cord running deep into the earth. Relax your body, starting at your feet, and working right up to the muscles in your scalp. Relax all your muscles, letting all the tension in them drain away into the earth, through your grounding cord. You’re feeling lighter, less tense, and much more relaxed.

Open your eyes and look at the cards again. Just look at them in a relaxed manner. Turn off your inner dialogue by replacing it with an affirmation. Say silently, or aloud: I am the Magician; I have the power to transform.

Repeat your affirmation—you can create your own, or use the one above, at least ten times.

Now select three more cards. Choose cards which show the situation as you would like it to be. For example, for the cash flow situation, you might choose the Ace of Pentacles, the Ace of Cups, and the 10 of Pentacles. Choose the cards which you think best represent your situation when the problem is completely resolved. Place these cards underneath the line of ‘problem’ cards.

Look at the spread you’ve created. Remember that you are the Magician, you have the power to transform the situation. Close your eyes and imagine how you will feel when the problem is resolved. Will you be relieved? Will you be happy? How will you feel? Feel those emotions now, and give thanks that the situation has resolved itself so well.

You can replace the cards in the deck, or you can leave the cards out so that you can look at them occasionally.

Go about your normal activities. You will find that the situation will transform itself, exactly as you imagined that it would. However, the resolution will rarely occur in a way that you could predict. The way the resolution occurs is usually unexpected.

Image via WikipediaThe Fool can be a useful card to develop attributes that you don’t already have. If you’re unwilling to take business risks, even when you know you should, meditate on the Fool. Visualize yourself at the top of a cliff, and then imagine yourself stepping off into space. You will realize that you can fly.

Because of the flying aspect of the Fool—he’s about to launch himself into space—this card has a lot of shamanic energy. It’s the medieval trickster and joker of myth. The con man, who plays the old shell game. How many Fools have you known in your life? If I were doing a reading to learn more about a new client or business contact and the Fool came up, I’d be wary.

If the Fool came up in a reading where you wanted everything to go calmly and straightforwardly, take care to dampen down the Fool energy. Match the card with Justice, or the Hermit, and meditate on the cards in tandem. You want the energy and the enthusiasm of the fool, but you want that energy to glow, rather than to spark.

You can use the Fool whenever you want inspiration, or when you want the courage to take risks; whenever you want the feeling that you’re just starting out in life.’    Look at the small dog, he’s important. He represents the Fool’s instincts. He shows that the Fool is not in touch with his intuition. If this card comes up in a reading for you regularly, as yourself how you’re stifling your instincts. What are you refusing to look at, to see?

If the Fool comes up in a reading in combination with the High Priestess and the Moon, it would be obvious that there was a lot that was being hidden from the querent, whether the querent was you, or someone that you were reading for. The combination could indicate industrial espionage. The querent should look at all her security procedures carefully. Perhaps it would be a good idea not to travel alone. Any threats made against the querent should be taken seriously.

However, in general the Fool is a cheerful card, showing a lot of youthful energy.

Image via WikipediaSymbols
Young man, the sun, yellow, orange, white, small dog, brightly colored clothing, laurel wreath, cap, feather, bag, staff/ wand, white rose, yellow boots, cliff, mountains.

The card
Here’s Jack setting off to the markets, to buy a cow for his mother and coming back with a handful of beans; here’s Parsifal setting off for magical Camelot; here’s a band new soul entering the world. This card is bright, humorous, and cheerful. We feel the warmth of the sun, and hear the barking of the small dog. The rose gives off a wonderful fragrance. We’re full of the energy of youth.

Look at the card for a moment, and try to identify the emotions it arouses in you. Remember that this is subjective; whatever you feel is right, there is no wrong answer. Do you feel hopeful and enthusiastic? We’re all the Fool, each morning of our lives, as we get up ready to face a new day and have no idea what that day will bring. We never see the chasm yawning at our feet. The Tarot is a way for us to see the result of our careless steps in advance, however, sometimes it’s better to take a leap of faith, and just step off the cliff.

The Fool is likely to appear in your readings whenever you’re starting something new—like a new business. It can indicate the start of an entirely new cycle in your life, or it can indicate the end of an old one. Whenever the Fool appears, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a fool to be starting your new business, or whatever new project you’re involved in. That depends on the surrounding cards. If the surrounding cards are uniformly negative in context—if the Fool is surrounded by a lot of Swords, or The Tower, or The Moon, it would mean that your new business  was in serious trouble. You should find out what is causing the problems and work to rectify it with all speed.

Sometimes it’s not possible to avoid problems however.

All the major arcana cards are archetypal in nature. They indicate that the situation is largely out of our control.

The Fool can also be very literal. For example, one morning I was rushing to leave the house. I picked up a big stack of magazines to take out to the recycling bin. I stepped off the back step, but my foot hit the step and I slipped. I found myself lying on the concrete.

My two dogs gathered around me in concern. You could see the shocked expression on their faces: they were as surprised as I was. I thought I’d broken my ankle, but it was only a sprain.

I thought the accident had some significance, so to find out what it was, I asked the cards. I drew a card, and it was—the Fool. I had to laugh. It was a clear expression of what had happened: I was too busy thinking about everything I had to do that day to pay attention, so I stepped off the cliff.

All the elements of the card were there: the step, I was carrying something heavy, the dogs, the bright sunlight—a tub of geraniums growing beside the step.

So cards which indicate accidents, the Fool, the Tower, the 10 of Swords, can often be literal: take care, because you might be about to slip on a cosmic banana peel.

Sprained ankles notwithstanding, I enjoy receiving the Fool in my readings. The card is similar in spirit to the Joker in the ordinary pack of playing cards; you can use the card to stand in for other cards.