Key 1 - The Manifestor

Traditional Title: The Magician

Mercury

The Manifestor archetype wields the will through conscious self-awareness.

Affirmation: I shape reality through intention and acts of conscious attention.

UPRIGHT: Intellect, Versatility, Ingenuity, Agility, Articulation​

REVERSE: Deceit, Manipulation, Miscommunication, Untapped Talents, Misuse of Power

RIDER-WAITE-SMITH DESCRIPTION

The Magician is the first spark of independence, or separation from source but intimately connected with source. The Magician represents the eternity of attainment in Spirit. The primary significance is union, as he works in harmony with the universe using embodying the principle of as above so below. This is the connection between sky and earth as well as outer world and inner consciousness. The Magician represents accomplishment, success, and the combination of skill and resources to complete projects, negotiate, and engage in relationships. The Magician’s right hand is up and holding a double-terminated wand, while his left hand is pointing down. With this right hand he is actively calling in the energy from above through the wand to be directed into creation. The cosmic force passes through him and is directed into the realms below to be manifested. His left-hand acts as a transparent channel for that power. The act of concentration is shown by his finger pointing directly at what he wants to create. The Magician has to have mastered himself enough to not block that flow of light in any way. The infinity symbol above the Magician’s head represents the power to manifest anything the heart desires. The primary color around the Magician is bright yellow representing the element of air as well as the radiant light of the spirit. The Magician wears two robes. His inner white robe represents purity, truth, and wisdom of the spirit, while his outer robe is red, and it represents passion, desire, and active use of will. The ouroboros or serpent encircling the Magician’s waist alludes to Hermes’ caduceus, representing secret knowledge and the unending cycle of life and death. It serves as a potent symbol of wisdom and eternal renewal.

The garden offers the Magician a private and sacred space in which to perform his magick. The garden is something that must be cultivated, it’s the ground of one’s being that must be purposely tilled and fertilized. It’s something we must consciously and actively tend to in order for it to thrive and be beautiful. This garden represents one’s life and the soil in which it grows is one’s subconscious mind. The flowers of this garden are red roses and white lilies. Red is often associated with passion and carnality, while white symbolizes Spirit and purity of intention. The red roses represent the desire to create what we want and to live a fulfilled life that’s aligned with our highest good. The roses represent the kinds of things that we want to experience with our five senses. The white lilies represent knowledge, it’s about grasping hidden truths and the higher principles or laws of the universe. Desire and the quest for knowledge are the two things that drive the Magician in his work. The altar represents the field of his attention and the sacred tools and symbols upon it— pentacle (earth), cup (water), sword (air), and wand (fire)—represent what he wants that energy to be flowing through into the three-dimensional world of physicality. The pentacle symbolizes our ability to wield all the powers of nature and direct them into form.  The cup symbolizes our ability to receive inspiration, to connect with our intuition, and to use our active imagination. The sword symbolizes our ability to access the higher mind and act with discernment. The wand is our ability to harness and steer our will and desires. A contemporary example would be a successful entrepreneur who has a high degree of skill and communicative abilities or a shaman. Other examples of a Magician in some kind of profession might include teaching, counseling, consulting, management, and various aspects of media.

SYMBOLS

Wand: The wand has two knobs indicating the polarity of electricity. It is Prometheus’ hollow wand, bringing fire from heaven. With great potency and power, he taps into the universal force, uniting mind and body to materialize his objectives.

Lemniscate (infinity sign): This figure-eight shape symbolizes eternity. This is a reference to the sephira Hod and the number of Mercury. The mobius strip-like flat surface that endlessly folds into itself symbolizes a balance point that harmonizes the opposites. The active masculine and the receptive feminine principles must work together.

Belt: This belt is a serpent that bites its own tail, also known as the ouroboros. This is symbolic of that eternal cycle of transformation and the tradition of alchemy, wholeness, eternity, and transmutation.

Altar: This is symbolic of the Magician’s ability to harness the power of both the spiritual and material realms to transform, transmute, and bring about change with the infinite tools at his disposal. He is fueled by creative purpose and able to achieve his desires through focused alchemy.

Tree of Life Correspondences

As card 1, the Magician signifies the principle of unity that underlies all numbers—it is the first manifestation of what was unmanifest. When the number 1 is multiplied by itself it always retains its unity. It is the active principle that when broken into fragments, gives rise to multiplicity. The number 1 signifies the One God and the oneness of mankind. The Tree of Life, which serves as a profound symbol of the entirety of creation, emanates from three “veils of nothingness.” These veils that underlie the manifest universe are known as ain (nothing), ain soph (nothing without limit), and ain soph aur (limitless light). It is from these veils of nothingness that Kether, the first sephira on the Tree of Life, emerges as a point of light without dimension. The second path on the Tree of Life commences at Kether (Crown) on the middle pillar, which is associated with Neptune and represents the divine source, or the Ultimate Reality principle. The path leads to Binah (Understanding) on the Pillar of Form, which is associated with Saturn and represents the slowing down of cosmic energy as it contracts unlimited potential into the structure of linear time and matter. The Magician is traditionally associated with the Hebrew letter beth, which has a numerical value of 2. This represents the feminine principle of God and signifies polarity and duplication. Since the number 2 contains the number 1 and gives rise to the number 3 through addition, “beth” represents the enclosure or containment of existence. The Magician transforms the ideal into reality. The power of manifestation draws upon a central Hermetic principle: “as above, so below.” The Magician archetype is about sharpening one’s attention, and aligning thought, word, and action with the energies transmitted from the higher plane—superconsciousness.

Platonic level (Metaphysical Principles):

Mercury is considered a neutral planet, with a nature that adapts to its position and to the planets with which it forms aspects. Its qualities vary accordingly; however, some astrologers note that when Mercury is isolated and without planetary interaction, it has a dry nature. Mercury symbolizes the faculties of intellect, describing how we perceive, learn, and then transmit concepts through verbal, written, and other communicative mediums. Mercury represents the principle of cognition—mental processes such as reasoning, acquiring knowledge, and exchanging ideas.

  • The processes of thought and communication. 
  • Our capacity for perception, insight, and the awareness of sensory input.
  • The ability to perceive, conceptualize, and articulate. 
  • To employ words and language. 
  • To acquire knowledge, analyze, comprehend, and teach. 
  • To move, transport, and exchange.
  • Commerce and trade.

Jungian level (Psychological Principles):

Positives

  • Subtle and strategic intellect and debate.
  • Eloquence and cultural refinement.
  • Curiosity and ingenuity.

Negatives

The negative expression of this archetype includes a one-sided point of view, detachment from human emotions, heightened nervous tension, and excessive verbal expression.

Mercury in an Astrological Chart

A major aspect involving Mercury and another planet often speaks to an individual’s mental processes or neural functioning and the manner in which they give and receive information.

Mythic level (Mythic Deities and Figures):

Greek God : Hermes

Hermes, the god of communication, commerce, and cunning, oversees the domains of intellect and adaptability. Known for his role as a messenger and his ability to traverse various realms, Hermes embodies the qualities of swift communication and the power to manifest ideas into reality. These characteristics align with The Manifestor archetype, which is centered on bringing concepts to life through skillful communication and strategic action.