Jungian Tarot - The Magician

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The Son

'The Magician' is the celestial alchemist, the ultimate director

of the quest for Self. He is the author of Sun and Moon. He is at once

the potetial for all opposites and the means for their reconciliation.

As Mercurius he is the " Messenger of the Gods " .

The primary archetype associated with this card (each card

actually embodies myriad archetypes, a few of which are most

significant) is 'Animus', a Latin word meaning 'soul' chosen by Jung to

mean the female 'contrasexual component'. Jung stated that deep inside

of every woman there is a male figure, 'Animus', and that every man has

within himself a female figure, 'Anima' (Latin: spirit). These are real

personalities which inhabit the unconscious, and with which we interact

especially in dreams. Anima and Animus are our inner antagonists; they

are guides into the caverns of our own minds.

When a man talks about Animus he does so as an outsider. But to

a woman, this inner figure is very real. He is the epitome of male. He

is father, brother, husband, son. He is one whose characteristics

reflect the traditional male role throughout history, including demand

of respect, and a tendency to be quite argumentative.

In this, the assignment of this archetype to Magician/Mercury is

completely appropriate. Mercury was the creator of language, and Animus

loves to expound on things, can be very wordy, and does not like to

admit that he is ever wrong. Moreover, he may change his mind as quickly

as he may change the form in which he appears.

For a woman 'The Magician' is the most important card in the

deck. For a man the same may be said of 'The High Priestess'. These are

the essential cards of male and of female from which all other

archetypal figures derive. A woman's whole quest for self-discovery is

encapsulated in her relationship to 'The Magician', Animus.

Jung states that this very complex archetype can appear not just

as a single figure, but can be a group of some sort, such as a panel of

judges! 'Mercurius' is also the archetype of the Trickster. 'The

Magician' makes things up as he goes along, and will lie if it amuses

him to do so. Considerable discrimination is required here, and many of

the points which can be made about 'The Fool' can also be made about

this card.

(Last time I did a spread for myself - using the Lord of the Rings deck,

not this one - I got The Magician as my immediate future card! It was a

very powerful spread altogether, actually.)

--

fa

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