The Magician Tarot Card Meaning
Major Arcana card I · Skill, focus, and making things happen
The Magician: 1
Meaning
You already have the tools you need, and you know how to use them. You are good at turning an idea into something real, whether it is a plan, a project or a message.
Guidance
Pick one goal and give it your full focus for the next week. Use what you already have: your skills, your contacts and your time.
Shadow
Using your skill to impress people or to go around the truth. Also watch for spreading yourself over too many things and finishing none of them.
In Love
In love, you show care through your words and actions, and you know how to charm. Say what you truly mean, and do not play with the other person's feelings.
In Work and Career
At work, you are good at turning ideas into results and at picking up new skills fast. Jobs with problem solving, speaking, writing or building can suit you well.
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About The Magician
The Magician is card I of the 22 Major Arcana. Its main ideas are skill, focus, and making things happen. In tarot, the Major Arcana show the big themes of life, and The Magician is one of them.
If this is your birth card, it is a symbol to think about, not a rule or a prediction. Read the meaning, the guidance and the shadow side, and see which parts feel true for you.
How To Get The Magician As Your Birth Card
Your birth card comes from the digits of your birth date. Add every digit of the date (year, month and day). Here is how that leads to The Magician, for birth dates from 1900 to 2099.
- Tarot Birth Card method: no real birth date ends on The Magician with this method, because the digit totals of dates in this range never lead to it. You can still reach it with the Digital Root method or as a root card.
- Digital Root method: you get The Magician when your digits add up to 10, 19, 28, 37, 46.
- As a root card: The Magician also shows up next to your main card when that card is Wheel of Fortune (10), The Sun (19).
Do not want to do the math? Our free Arcana Calculator does it in a second and shows every step.
Quick Facts
| Card | The Magician |
| Number | I (1) |
| Group | Major Arcana |
| Main ideas | Skill, focus, and making things happen |
| Element | Air |
| Planet | Mercury |
These links follow the Rider-Waite-Smith order, where Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. The card picture is a scan of the original 1909 deck, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith.
More Cards
Read about the other Major Arcana cards:
The Magician FAQs
What does The Magician mean as a birth card?
You already have the tools you need, and you know how to use them. You are good at turning an idea into something real, whether it is a plan, a project or a message.
What number is The Magician in the Major Arcana?
The Magician is card I (1) in the Rider-Waite-Smith order of the 22 Major Arcana cards.
Which element and planet go with The Magician?
The Magician goes with the element Air and the planet Mercury. These links come from the tarot and astrology tradition and are symbolic.
How do I find out if The Magician is my birth card?
Use the free Arcana Calculator on our home page. Enter your birth date and it adds the digits for you, shows every step, and tells you which Major Arcana card is yours.