(Thanks Alannah !)

http://www.templeilluminatus.com/photo/a-pensive-moment-by-jules-jo...

01 - The Magician / Existence (Even a Magician needs time in between acts)

Time....it's a funny thing, really. When you don't want it to pass...it does ! And when you wish it would go faster, it doesn't ! As the saying goes "Time waits for no man..."...but we can wait on time...just as the woman is on the lotus flower above. The Fool who has gotten a bit lost along her journey .

She is alone...figuring out her place in the universe...wondering about her EXISTENCE...
.."Why am I here? What should I do here? Can I even DO anything?" These thoughts plague her mind as she sits still in the night air and stares at the stars as if they have all the answers.
Then...it hits her....she has the power to form her own destiny...to use her environment around her to shape her Will. This is the calm before the storm for the Fool turned Magician. Before she can take the stage, she needed a performance to perform...and this quiet time helped her see she is important because it is she who can deliver a show worthy to be seen!

The Magician is not only about taking control of your destiny and shaping your world around you, it sometimes hints that before any of this can happen...you need a plan. You need to set your tools (the 4 elements) out on the table and study how to use them. A magician just doesn't wave his wand around and say "Hocus-Pocus" and then something magically happens ! NO ! A lot of preparation must go into the performance for it to flow smoothly for the audience.

In life, we might prepare ourselves the same way by reading up on philosophical views, poetry, the sciences, music, history, or anything else that feeds our minds with knowledge. Often we pause to reflect on what we read in order to digest the thoughts...and make them our own. Like the lady on the lotus flower...we become oblivious to the outside world during this contemplation...as if we are the only one left to understand the meaning of the written words in our hands. This is a good thing. What you are actually doing is making the view your own, twirling the thoughts around in your mind, looking for strengths and weakness before making a decision on what to do with the information...should I believe and keep this...or should I be wary and file it away?

For the Fool to become the Magician, she must put her childish things away and begin to take responsibility for her own actions, beliefs, loves, and her own destiny. Only then will the Magician be born...and her creations appear...and it all starts with knowledge from little books...and a wanting to learn!

-Eric MLT