The Magician
Major Arcana · number 1 · Il Bagatto
Upright
You have more tools in your hands than you think. The Magician is skill, diplomacy, the knack of saying the right thing at the right moment and turning an idea into something real. If the one asking is a man, Waite says this card may stand for him, that is, for you. But the same entry also lists sickness, pain, loss, disaster and the snares of enemies: skill attracts envy, and whoever sees you succeed may try to trip you up. It is not a sentence, it is a reminder: keep an eye on your health and on anyone who smiles at you too much. This is the moment to put yourself forward: an interview, a negotiation, a declaration you kept postponing. But the card also reminds you that cleverness must be used cleanly, because whoever plays too much with words ends up not being believed. Here is the advice: choose one goal only, pour your whole concentration into it, and do not scatter your talent over a thousand small things.
Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
Reversed
Reversed, the Magician speaks of disquiet and a mind spinning in circles. It is no accident that Waite names here the physician and the magus: on one side the one who truly heals, on the other the one who promises wonders. Perhaps these days you feel restless, as if you had lost control of the game, maybe afraid of looking bad. That is not a sentence but a warning: beware of anyone promising miracle solutions, in love as with money. And if you are the one forcing things, stop. The practical advice is to look after your head before your strategies: sleep, talk to a doctor if the nervousness lasts, and push the big decisions back by a week.