Our next step in our tarot journey is the Magician, a card full of magick and manifestation—wonderful for writers to use with their projects!
Appearance
This card features a person standing before a table that holds the four tarot suits—wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. You can also look at these as the four elements: the wand representing fire, the cup representing water, the sword representing air, and the pentacle representing earth. The magician holds up a wand of their own, setting the cards, and the world itself, in motion.
Meaning
There’s a reason why the Fool is labeled as number 0 while the Magician is number 1. The Fool is the exposition, but the Magician is when the story actually starts.
Upright
- Manifestation
- Creation
- Ambition
- Power
Reverse
- Illusion
- Trickery
- Misguidance
How to use the Magician in writing
The Magician is a writer’s best friend. In a story, this card is when the gears are set in motion and sends the main character on their journey. The same can be said in real life with the writer being the main character. It’s ready to give you whatever you need to continue on your journey!
- Give a character something they need to finish a goal
- Let a character create something!
- Have a character’s wants and/or power go to their head
- Have a friend mislead a character (whether it’s an accident or on purpose is up to you)
- Give your character a miracle when the goal seems to be absolutely impossible
- Have a trusted ally cleverly betray a character
- Let your character have a moment of inspiration or motivation
- Let your characters enjoy a magic show!
- Example character types:
- Artist
- God/Goddess
- Magician (I mean, come on)
- Example settings
- Circus
- A new world
- An art studio
- A castle
Similar to the Fool, if you shuffle your deck and find the Magician, the cards above and below it can be used for a prompt!
That’s the Magician done! Do you know any other ways it can be used for writing? What are your personal interpretations of the card? Let me know in the comments!