Tarot Card for the Day – The Three Faces of the Magus Cards

Lady Frieda Harris is the woman who painted the Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot Cards. And for many decades, the deck came with 3 Magus cards. The instructions said inside to pick one you liked and use that one.
But there was a hidden secret in offering three of them rather than just one. In the old decks, the magical sacred number was 21 for the Trump Cards. In reality there were really 22 because the Fool card counted as the zero. There has always been a sacred power around the numbers 21 and 22. The number 21 is a human number denoting exceptional understanding in our physical world. But the number 22 is a mastery number showing that the soul also has a number that represents the mastery that comes from a deeper soul understanding and integration.
If you add in the other two extra Magus cards you get 24. That allows the Trump cards to have one card that represents the Astrological sign and one card to represent the Ruling Planet of that sign.
We have 12 signs and 12 ruling planets in Astrology. In actuality there are a few overlaps. That was because in ancient times they could not see the outer planets and so the doubled up certain ones. Such as; Venus rules Taurus but Venus also rules Libra. Mercury rules Gemini but Mercury also rules Virgo.
There were others that overlapped and shared a ruling planet but with the invention of telescopes, they discovered Uranus and decided to give it to Aquarius. So, Aquarius actually has two ruling planets, Saturn (shared with Capricorn) and Uranus.
Neptune was discovered and given to Pisces but that gave it also two ruling planets, Jupiter (shared with Sagittarius) and Neptune.
And finally, Pluto was discovered in 1930 but only given to Scorpio in the 1960’s. So, it also has a dual planetary rulership, Mars (that it shared with Aries) and Pluto.
I point all this out because what Alister Crowley did was try to bring balance into the Tarot by making the deck, astrologically and numerologically correct, while honoring the magical symbolism within the ancient history of tarot but bringing it out of something hidden and secretive into a more linear and rational pattern.
In fact, that was also his agenda to balance out the right and left brained patterns within the human mind and psyche to create wholeness in the mind. He also wanted to create a tool that allowed mankind to explore both the light and the dark inside our soul, and show that one can be both and find a way to have a more full understanding of the scary realms of duality. He wanted to show that there were powerful tools in darkness and that the evolution of humanity was going to require us to find places where both are honored and finally understood.
Tarot was one tool he used to create doorways into the deeper domains that create the mystery of our existence.
Aleister Crowley was a playfully dark and mischievous personality when he was younger. And these cards were created during his “heyday” and at a time when he was at the height of his personal power and influence.
Whether you like or dislike Aleister Crowley, one cannot minimize the tremendous impact that is had on the spiritual communities and the evolution of spiritual tools to bring them out of the darkness and into the light.
In the ancient Tarot, the Magus card was represented by the planet Mercury. This card for Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris was the first of the Magus cards. It represented the Entrepreneur. It is the card that suggests that you need certain skills to go out into the work environment on your own and have your own business. Running your own business is harder than working for most corporations. There are exceptions to all rules but when you own your own business you have to wear many hats, the salesman’s hat, the accounting hat, the closer hat, the supply chain hat, etc. Most small business owners put in more hours in a day and really never have just a 9-5 job.
This care requires great verbal skills and sills that allow others to be drawn to you and your ideas.
To Lady Frieda Harris and Aleister Crowley there were three faces to communication. This card represents new business enterprises, new beginnings, and the willingness to embark in new directions. This card is ready, willing, and able to leap into new territories. It is a feeling that one wants to do something on our own. This card wants skills and dexterity around the areas of commerce and communication of one’s ideas and putting them out into the world. With this card the reminder is that details matter.
The second Magus card, I call the Bear/Dreamer card because the man appears in the card to be inside a bear. Bear is the direction of the West in the Native American Tradition. And the West is the direction of the night, dreams, intuition, and those things hidden in the watery depths. To work with this card, one needs to be willing to learn the communication skills with the self. Especially the deeper inner self. This card is connected to Neptune, and it reminds us that there are always voices inside our head and that some of those voices could be connected to guides, angels, intuitive knowing, and the deep subconscious. Communication with the outer world is one thing. But communication with the various voices inside is a completely different skill.
This is a card that asks us to look at our inner saboteur and to remember that the inner journey can be slower that the outer world. This card is a reminder that within, one might have some unresolved issues that now need to be addressed. When we are willing to go inside our core, we can discover who we really are and what is inside us. Such a path is never disappointing.
The third Magus card is called the Trickster and is ruled by Uranus. This is the third form of communication that each soul much learn to navigate. It is about learning how to have awareness when we are being lied too, manipulated, and are caught by the arts of subterfuge. This card is a reminder that there are always those that will use the fine art of deception to manipulate others to get what they want. But it also makes us look at the lies we tell ourselves. This card makes us look at what others are hiding and what we too might be hiding from. This card is the dark side of communication. It is important to be informed and educated about these types of communication otherwise you are a victim to them.
So, if you get the Entrepreneur card, it is time to uplevel your communication skills and be willing to learn what is necessary to create your own business.
If you get the Bear/Dreamer card, it is time to have a deeper conversation with the parts inside that are trying to get your attention. It is an indicator that the answers you seek are not outside yourself but inside.
And finally, the Trickster Magus makes you look at if you are being manipulated or deceived either by yourself or others. If you do not understand the nuances of communication intended to manipulate and control the minds and heart of others, you will often become the victim to them.

I hope you found this conversation informative, insightful, and revealing.

~Suzanne Wagner~