Faces of the Tarot
The miniseries where I demonstrate using Characters and Stories we are familiar with to connect with themes of the cards.
The Magician
The characters I associate with this card are:
Hiccup - How To Train Your Dragon
Tony Stark, Loki - Marvel Cinematic Universe
Sokka, and Azula - Avatar: TLA
Varrick - Avatar:LoK
Silco, Mel - Arcane
Mulan - Mulan
Odysseus - The Odyssey
I struggle with the Magician, I won't lie. Someone I feel like I understand this card, and other times I have about as good a grasp on it as I do water. While writing this I had a bit of a revelation and now I associate this card a bit with metis.
So on the one hand we have characters here who are inventor types: Hiccup, Tony and Sokka. They see a problem and they create something to help solve that problem. This creativeness is very practical, it provides solutions and channels through which one can take action. It requires resourcefulness, the ability to think outside the box and see things and think of things in a way that others do not. But they don't just think of solutions, they implement them, and not just that but they lead with them.
On the other hand we have the characters who are not inventors but still skillfully employ a very practical and quick-thinking creativity. Azula, Loki, Varrick, Mulan and Odysseus are able to think on their feet and turn a situation around, or to get the upper hand. They see opportunities to turn things to their advantage, and take them. The first three of these characters also fit the 'conman' type that is often mentioned in the reversed Magician.
Silco, Mel and Varrick in particular show another two sides of the Magician: manifestation, and power. Power here is not physical strength but influence, wealth, clever moves and resources, all of which allow them to pursue their goals through taking action.
Characters such as Tony, Varrick and Mel also display the confident charismatic aspect of the Magician, and all of these characters display the methodical planning towards a clear goal that the Magician can represent.
