The Magician
I think a lot about magic. As someone who is spiritual, but not religious, I have always been drawn to magical thinking.
How I define magic
Maybe I watched too many Muppet movies as a kid, or maybe I just have a lot of identity privilege. Either way, I believe in magic as a force for positive transformation in the universe.
Positive transformation includes changing our minds through being open to lifelong learning. It includes the changes we bring to our communities by dismantling systems of oppression. Our bodies transform the elements every day by digesting our food and absorbing the nutrients within.
Is this positive transformation magic? Not in a traditional sense. But when we are intentional about making a positive change in our lives and the lives of others, that’s The Magician at work.
Who is The Magician?
The Magician is typically depicted as a person holding up a magic wand, summoning all of the Earthly elements from their table of magical ingredients. To me, The Magician represents all of the ways that we as humans have positive transformative power.
Here are some examples of The Magician cards by various artists of tarot decks I own and use myself:
The Magician cards from my collection of tarot decks, clockwise from top left: Rider-Waite Tarot, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith; Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle; The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans; The Gentle Tarot by Mari in the Sky; Rainbow Heart Tarot by Rachel Rosenkoetter; and The Reclaimed Tarot, ReClaim it! PDX, collage by Samantha Caruthers-Knight.
Transformation and magic
My Magician is the magic wand that transforms the elements (earth, air, fire, water) into a rainbow. It’s a prism that breaks the elements into light.
Representationally, the rainbow represents transformational justice for my queer friends. Practically, rainbows in the rainy Portland skies are a reminder that magic exists all around me.
In my sketchbook, I took some notes on the meaning of this card. I particularly like this quote:
“Dream big AND make it happen.”
When I was researching each card for my sketchbook, I used the book Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards by Michelle Tea as my primary reference tool. Her book is a feminist interpretation of the tarot, which is important because tarot can be gendered and patriarchal, depending on how you look at it. I recommend this interview with her on NPR’s Life Kit from 2022.
With that in mind, here is my sketch of The Magician card:
My sketch and notes on Card 1, The Magician.
Painting the elements
First, I re-drew my sketch on my iPad, then printed it onto my watercolor paper. I am using 100% cotton hot-pressed watercolor paper for this project.
Linework drawing and calligraphy for this illustration, made in Procreate, iPad, and Apple Pencil.
Here is a time-lapse video of my painting the elements of this card with my new Ecoline watercolor ink brush pens. I love these because the color is bright and vibrant, and it’s easier to make detailed drawings. It’s also easy to blend with water and a paintbrush, or a blender marker.
I am painting these illustrations with Ecoline liquid watercolor inks, by Royal Talens, in both liquid and brush pen formats.
Black ink conundrum
As a calligrapher, I have a LOT of black ink in my collection. I want the black backgrounds on my cards to look hand-painted, dark and moody, but with a touch of translucence. That means not using watercolor (too light) or gouache (too opaque). I tried oak gall ink, but it was too etherial. I wanted a deep space black.
I ended up selecting Dr. Ph. Martin “Black Star” Waterproof Matte India Ink. It’s a pigment-based ink, meaning it contains black pigment particles instead of dye, which is what makes it richly dark. It’s also water-based and water-soluble, and doesn’t leave gritty chunks of soot on the paper. It dries looking like black velvet. I hope it looks this good when I scan the painting!
My final illustration next to my sketch. I am really happy with how this turned out!
Next up: The Emperor
The next card in the Major Arcana I am illustrating is The Emperor, which is where my deck starts to get political. Let’s just say it involves a facist-fighting dragon. 🐉
What do you think of this card?
Leave me a comment below
I read every comment, and I love to hear from you!
Resources
Want to learn more about tarot? I highly recommend the book Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards by Michelle Tea.
