I – The Magus / The Magician
“the step to self-awareness”
symbols: higher will, self-realization, vitality
planet: Mercury
ritual: initiation
archetype: Hermes, Thoth, Loki/Enki in his function as trickster
path of Beth: Kether – Binah
The Magus represents the step from dependence (passivity) to self-awareness (action). All the outside forces which try to shape us into their image and keep us comfortable, bury the inner or true individual will under layers of confusion and disorientation. To awaken the Magus within oneself, the net of layers must be ripped off to see clearly, even if it is just for a moment. Only then we can reshape our routines and cycles to a better outcome. At the bottom of the card we can find the square layers of matter, routine, structure, and order. In the middle of these layers the skull of an ape can be detected. Obviously, the layers need to be dissolved and transcended to evolve within oneself. While the ape’s skull symbolizes the discarded shell, the meditating person in the middle represents the process of evolving. The ascending forces which are active in this archetype are shown twice – first in the chakras of the meditating person and second – and more obviously – in the rising serpents which are a direct reference to Mercury and the Kundalini.
Focus is the keyword of the Magus. While „0 – The Fool“ can never be constant, „I – The Magus“ concentrates his will through practical actions. The Fool is the archetype of the raw shape or initiation of an idea, while the Magus transcends this shape into a concrete form.
The entity itself holds his arms in an „as above, so below“-position while being the center of the elements within a pentagram. He, himself is the connector between any two realms/dimensions or ideas (= vertical balance). The symbol of Akasha or the egg is above his head and represents his activated crown chakra. The winged disk and the lotus are both a mercurial symbol and a depiction of the victorious Horus-child and of the unfolding idea.
The pentagram not only means that this archetype has learned to use his inner elements as a tool, but also that he is able to utilize them in an active, inventive way so that they can manifest (the way from will to physical manifestation – together with the Fool 0→1). While a mystic or a medium is driven by the forces, the Magus represents the active conductor. Instead of being a passive vessel of a current notion he is self aware and a force which examines and combines the elements of an idea. He balances his position on a very tiny point – not only a symbol for concentration but also for his airy/mercurial nature.
