I. The Magician

[sweeneyish]

I. The Magician 

 

 

A four armed Magician wields a wand, sword, pentacle, and cup on a stage in front of an audience. On a box representing the cosmos he dips his finger into the cup, which is filled with blood, while a look of intensity and focus crosses his face. He uses the objects with confidence and skill, while the concentration on his face seems to indicate that he is still on the journey to mastery. The background behind him seems to be both a wall and the nighttime sky, as we can see the shadows of the audience members across it. This brings to mind the liminal feeling of the Deviant Moon in general. We are neither outside nor inside, neither awake nor dreaming. 

 

The first thing that really strikes me about the Deviant Moon Magician is that he is performing in front of an audience. I always picture the RWS Magician (and many others) as perfecting their craft in a magical study, practicing alone. There’s something extremely interesting about the performative nature of this Magician. Is he performing magic tricks, or actual magic? And to what end? 

 

The moon in this image is in the waning crescent, more or less the opposite of the phase depicted in the Fool. 

 

Much like the Fool, there is something a little dangerous about this Magician. The blood, the way he holds the blade, and the intensity in his face make me think he is someone you would want to be careful around. The shadows of the audience are also a little freaky. According to Patrick’s Deviant Moon bible, the shadows are imagined. 

 

Keywords: mastery, craft, persistence, channeled energy, sacrifice, concentration, performance, creative power, accomplishment, overwhelm, dedication 

 

Strangely, the Magician (and the Fool, actually) rarely come up in my readings with any deck, either for myself or others. I wish I had more practice with them! I’ll be curious to hear what everyone thinks of this Magician. I’ll post a spread in a few days, similar to the one I just did for the fool.
 

[sweeneyish]

For fun, here's a spread I put together for the Magician: 

 

[Flaxen]

On 3/25/2022 at 3:00 PM, sweeneyish said:

The first thing that really strikes me about the Deviant Moon Magician is that he is performing in front of an audience. I always picture the RWS Magician (and many others) as perfecting their craft in a magical study, practicing alone. There’s something extremely interesting about the performative nature of this Magician. Is he performing magic tricks, or actual magic? And to what end? 

I like this element to this magician - he is a bit of a showman and there is more than a bit of an illusionist about him. I think he is both a serious magician in his own studies, and a showman who performs tricks for an audience in order to fund his studies. Hiding in plain sight in fact, if you knew what you were looking at. 
 

I love that spread too! 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Flaxen

[sweeneyish]

1 hour ago, Flaxen said:

like this element to this magician - he is a bit of a showman and there is more than a bit of an illusionist about him. I think he both a serious magician in his own studies, and a showman who performs tricks for an audience in order to fund his studies. Hiding in plain sight in fact, if you knew what you were looking at

I love this interpretation - Like he does outer performances to fund his really passion, which is his esoteric and secret magic. Super cool 🙌. 

[AnomalyTempest]

I hear Bullwinkle saying, "Nuthin up my sleeve!"

 

I see the Magician as master manipulator in general. Here I wonder if he is manipulating his objects or his audience. Is he distracting them from something else? If the Shadows are imagined, is he planning what he will allow others to see? Maybe I should look into why I see him as such a devious character. 😛

[sweeneyish]

1 hour ago, AnomalyTempest said:

I hear Bullwinkle saying, "Nuthin up my sleeve!"

 

I see the Magician as master manipulator in general. Here I wonder if he is manipulating his objects or his audience. Is he distracting them from something else? If the Shadows are imagined, is he planning what he will allow others to see? Maybe I should look into why I see him as such a devious character. 😛

Almost like a bit of a swindler - maybe those tools were stolen! 

[AnomalyTempest]

Well doing this reading, the 3 of Swords was one of the cards The liquid in the Magician's cup is the same color as the wound in the other card. Is it his blood? Did he bash someone with that wand of his? Stab them? Manipulating others for his gain or is it his own lifeblood he is sacrificing for his art? Great deeds require great sacrifice and no sacrifice is greater than blood.

[sweeneyish]

3 hours ago, AnomalyTempest said:

Well doing this reading, the 3 of Swords was one of the cards The liquid in the Magician's cup is the same color as the wound in the other card. Is it his blood? Did he bash someone with that wand of his? Stab them? Manipulating others for his gain or is it his own lifeblood he is sacrificing for his art? Great deeds require great sacrifice and no sacrifice is greater than blood.

 

I totally see it as his blood! He has literally put his sweat and blood into perfecting his talents. He’s an intense dude, to say the least.

[Initiatrix]

Why is the moon a waning crescent? And is it to do with the shadows of people?

[Raggydoll]

14 hours ago, Initiatrix said:

Why is the moon a waning crescent? And is it to do with the shadows of people?

It’s only a waning moon for folks in the northern hemisphere. It’s a waxing moon for Southern Hemisphere 😊 Sorry if that’s unhelpful, just wanted to point that out. I guess it does mean that it can indicate both an ending or a beginning, depending on one’s viewpoint. 
 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Raggydoll

[Initiatrix]

@Raggydoll that's interesting, because the different viewpoints don't fit into the idea of universality that is inherent to the idea of a tropical zodiac. It is very specific. Even in tarot cards, the direction of travel has different meanings depending on which school of thought.