Alright, let me tell you about this one time, a while back, when I really got to grips with what The Magician tarot card means when it shows up reversed. It wasn’t pretty, but it was definitely a learning experience, one of those you don’t forget easily.
I was working on this personal project, something I was super hyped about. I thought I had all the skills, all the ideas, you know? Like I was going to pull this amazing thing out of thin air, just like the Magician himself. I was talking a big game, mostly to myself, convinced I was on the verge of something brilliant. I spent a lot of time imagining the success, less time on the actual nuts and bolts.
So, I started. Or at least, I thought I started. I’d dabble a bit here, tinker a bit there. Lots of flashy beginnings, but nothing was really taking shape. I’d jump from one aspect to another, feeling busy, but honestly, I was just creating a mess. It was like I had all these tools laid out, but I was either using them all wrong, or just juggling them for show. Frustration started to creep in, big time. Why wasn’t this working? I’m supposed to be good at this stuff!
I remember one evening, just staring at my scattered notes and half-finished bits, feeling completely stuck. I wasn’t doing formal tarot readings back then, not really, but the imagery was always in my head. And the reversed Magician just popped into my mind. It was like a lightbulb moment, but one of those harsh, fluorescent ones that shows up all the dust.
Seeing the Illusion
Suddenly, I saw it. I wasn’t being a magician; I was being a trickster, and the main person I was tricking was myself. All that supposed skill and potential? It was there, sure, but it was completely untapped, misused, scattered to the winds. I was all talk, no real, focused action. It felt like I was trying to manifest something through sheer willpower and a bit of hand-waving, rather than actual, disciplined effort.
So, what did I do? First, I had to stop. Just stop everything. I put the project on hold for a couple of days. It was hard, because my ego was screaming at me to just push through, to prove I wasn’t failing. But I knew that was the reversed Magician energy talking – trying to manipulate the situation, even my own feelings.
Then, I got brutally honest with myself. I made a list, a really simple one:
- What am I actually trying to achieve? (Not the grand vision, but the concrete goal.)
- What skills do I really have, and what am I just pretending to have, or hoping will magically appear?
- What are the actual, practical steps needed? Small steps. No more jumping ahead.
It was humbling, let me tell you. I realized I was missing some key knowledge for one part of the project, and for another, I just hadn’t put in the foundational work. I was trying to build the roof before the walls were even up. Classic illusionist trick, right? Looks impressive for a second, then it all comes crashing down.
I decided to tackle one thing. Just one small, manageable piece. I focused all my energy on that, learned what I needed to learn, did the work. It was slow. It wasn’t glamorous. There were no flashes of insight, no sudden bursts of genius. It was just steady, methodical effort. It was the opposite of how I’d been operating.
And slowly, very slowly, things started to actually happen. That one small piece got done. Properly done. Then I moved to the next. It wasn’t the dazzling display I had initially envisioned, but it was real. The experience taught me that true magic, the real Magician’s power, isn’t about the show; it’s about focused intention combined with genuine skill and consistent action. When it’s reversed, it’s a warning sign that you’re off track, probably caught up in your own smoke and mirrors. Seeing that, and then actually doing something to correct course – that’s a tough lesson, but a good one.