I The Magician
Interpretation
Egon Schiele and Mars stand before the sun, encircled by its blaze. The young hero folds in on himself as if to shield his body from the heat of the sun’s rays. There is an aura of curiosity about him—wanting to hide, but also to be caught by a forbidden glance. His hands frame his head and jaw, hoping to coax out the astral ghosts of genius. If only he knew of the tools he possesses to manipulate matter and create his own reality in this mythical landscape.
The Magician is grounded by legs of stone, haunted by a shadow of previous lifetimes seated at his feet. His shadow plays at dice—having no morality, bias, or reason—illuminating his days with a touch of the divine.
This is a card of action and a reminder to acknowledge your inherent abilities to create outcomes by sheer force of will. You are more than capable of building a life on the material plane and possess the tools you need to do so in a way that only you can. Befriend ego as at times it is exactly what’s needed in order to take center stage and stand at your full height. Struggle in the limelight, knowing that any mishaps make you that much more approachable to others on the journey. Believe in the magic you possess and your ability to manifest your own mythical landscape.
Background
Egon Schiele will be coming up again and again as he perfectly captures our encounters with ego and it’s influence on our physical world. Our central figure is a self portrait from Schiele, dramatically capturing the struggle with will, identity, and influence as we take the next step on our path. The raw charcoal strokes of Schiele are melded to a marble Venus by Alexandros of Antioch (maybe). This interplay between the ego, the physical world, and the ultraworld are a concept I’ll visit again and again throughout this deck. One world and experience intersect with others, colliding, merging, and causing all sorts of mayhem.
The magician is seduced by the power of his mind, he is the embodiment of will to action but also of a blind narcism that imagines his own mind as the source of all things. Here his ego is constrained only by the meditative guidance of his super ego and the random will of luck, captured by the dice at his feet.
