He is the mediator and communicator of hidden knowledge, the healer, technologist, teacher, and contemplative—he is behind our insatiable human curiosity. He keeps his inner eye fixed on the blueprint for the self — “Image of God or “Diamond Body” we each have within us and he seeks to initiate us into a wiser, fuller way of being human. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 64)
Whenever a person manipulates hidden forces in his profession, whether those be psychological or physical, he is accessing the Magician. Shamans, artists, psychologists…all these professions express and utilize the energies of the Magician. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 65)
Technology is the Magician’s specialty as well.
The magician is the most introverted archetype of the four foundational archetypes. It can be the most difficult energy to understand since it requires more patience and subtlety of mind than the others.
Shaman as Magician
According to Robert Moore, there is no archetype of the shaman, it is just one of the many faces that the Magician wears. But Shamans are the best expressions of the magician archetype. Moore attributes a great deal of the psychospiritual traditions to shamanism.
Moore explains that the shaman held a great many responsibilities in his community, and was often sought for many different kinds of reasons outside of the realm of healing.
He communicated his ecstatic visions, and his diagnoses of the illnesses afflicting his fellows and their world, through poetry and song. Thus he was a healer, artist, and technician—the magician par excellence. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 71)
So when getting to know your inner magician, it will serve you greatly to think about the Shaman as an image for the expression of this archetype. The shaman has qualities of the other archetypes that make it the fullest expression of the magician. He is a magician because of “the problems he is willing to take on. He can care, which comes from the King; to fight which comes from the Warrior; and to value someone enough to fight for them, which is a gift from the Lover”(Moore and Gillet, 1993, p.71)
Magician vs Other Archetypes
Oftentimes, in the culture, the Magician is often mixed in with the other archetypes, so it can be confusing to distinguish between them. The most popular pairing is that between the Magician and the King. So we need to distinguish between their functions to understand who the Magician is alone. The King’s realm includes a political one, which is one that the Magician rarely enters. The king is concerned with the structuring of chaos while the Magician is constantly venturing a bit outside of the ordered world into the liminal world. The King is a more inclusive archetype, he mixes the other archetypes into a cohesive whole, while the Magician is way more introverted and isolated. According to Moore, “the clearest distinction can be made between the two in the context of sexual relations. The King is always in an intimate, erotic relationship with the Queen. The Magician, unlike the King, is rarely fully related to any feminine energy”. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 73)
Some common distinction that I’ve made between the magician and the other archetypes is the pursuit of knowledge that comes from the magician. If we are in tune with the magician, we are often overcome with a strong desire for knowledge and wisdom. The Magician archetype is intimately connected with the 6th chakra and the brain. Through the magician we gain the ability to analyze, think, and intuit truth.
Becoming a Quester
When a magician is constellated in a man, several things happen.
- First of all the man becomes a quester. He starts looking for a magus to guide him.
- Initiatory sacred geography — your whole life becomes structured according to the archetype of initiation.
- The third thing to happen is the search for a transformative space. this transformative space is the place where an initiation can be completed and a quester can be discharged from his quest.
The Process of Initiation
Activating the Magician archetype pushes a man to want to know more about himself and the unknown world. Such a man seeks a transformative space where he can discover truth and also grow as an individual. When the Magician constellated in me, I went through a long process of initiation to the spiritual world. I went in search of my soul, and the unknown forces within me.
Initiation is a humbling process where the older ego structures die to give rise to new wiser structures. The initiation process is often marked by a desire to understand more about the unconscious. When one goes inwards into themselves, they are presented with a variety of hidden forces influencing them and human beings in general. In learning more about these forces and meeting them with a desire to understand and master them, we begin to give way to the actualization of our potential.
The Magician’s Role
The magician is on intimate terms with death. He is the guide of souls; as the shaman, he is the rescuer of lost souls. He also knows the deep secret – hidden at the wellspring of all things — that out of death comes life, renewed, transformed, and triumphant.
The magician has an almost ominous energy to him. He faces death and is unafraid of it because of his understanding of the truth. Death can also be a figurative thing, as ego death is one of the most transformative experiences that the Magician helps induce.
Considering the challenges inherent in initiation processes for self-transformation, it is noteworthy that the Magician plays a pivotal role. This archetype serves as a guide, reminding individuals of fundamental truths and encouraging them to transcend their fears, thereby opening pathways to unexplored possibilities.
A central dynamic of the magician’s work in the world is his location, consecration, and stewardship of sacred space and time. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 105)
Moore explains that some places and times carry a transformative charge. The magician ventures into these charged places and times and shows us how to experience them in a regenerative way.
Moore talks about these places and times further as initiations:
The initiatory scenario is played out again and again throughout our lives, at different stages, from birth to death, and perhaps beyond. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 107)
Initiation into a richer, deeper, more mature way of being human always occurs in sacred space and time.
Sacred Space
Sacred space is the space where the spiritual energies are channeled and emphasized by the awareness of the individual. Moore mentions that there are 2 different types of sacred space – liminal and liminoid
- Liminal space is initially deconstructive. It dissolves our previous expectations as to ways of experiencing ourselves and our relationship to the world. It then offers us a new vision of ourselves and our relationships. We are regenerated, recreated almost from the bottom up, as new, more fully integrated, and mature people.
- Liminoid space may refresh us and recharge our batteries, but it will not transform us. This would be something more along the lines of a vacation.
Sacred space carries a charge of Libido. There is a channeling of archetypal energy, and it can be devastating to the Ego if not managed correctly. Encountering such energetic forces has the potential to induce transformation, encompassing both positive and negative dimensions. Many people who take psychedelics often feel like they are losing their minds and it can be dangerous to the psyche if not prepared for it.
Before it becomes healing — which it does only under optimal conditions, when stewarded by a magician — it makes a person crazy. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p.108)
Such craziness can only be labeled as crazy as it is completely outside of the common world understanding of what reality is. To see a person as crazy is to not understand what is going on with them and where their mind has shifted. The correct management of such situations is lent to us by the Magician.
A pertinent question that may arise is the need for an external magician. Is it imperative to find a physical guide or an actual shaman to navigate through transformative experiences? The essence of these expositions on inner archetypes lies in the assertion that the magician can be discovered within oneself.
As the saying goes – as above so below, as within so without. We can find the magician within us as we go into these worlds and learn to detach ourselves from our ego, an inner-knowing guide, showing us intuitively what we need to do.
But not only does the magician guide us through the transformative process, he also guides us to the sacred space. Jungian psychology supports this claim as there are many ways that the subconscious engages with the person to push him towards self-reflection and self-transformation. Many people believe that fulfillment can come from pleasure and it is why many people go in search of something else outside of themselves – an affair, joining the army, or getting involved with someone not good for them. But that search is a call from the magician to experience true transformation.
The Magician Within
Ultimately it is the Magician within, in the service of the Self, who guides all of our intitatory experiences. The Magician holds the keys to the gates at the boundaries of extraordinary space and time. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 147)
The Magician is the one who has access to the whole terrain of the human unconscious. The Magician contains all the keys to unlock the different doors within us. He can voyage within himself in a detached manner, without being affected by the energetic influences within him. Such a person understands the way the subconscious works and is not distracted by selfish entities. The Magician is within us and is the one who has exposed all knowledge of the unconscious to us. Moore does a great job of explaining who the magician is:
He wrestles with demons and power animals, and is on intimate terms with complexes; he uses his knowledge of these structures to keep himself free of them. With his mercurial agility, he can cross any particular unconscious boundary, and so it is he who keeps a man’s immortal soul free and aids other members of the human community in both personal and social liberation and transformation. (Moore and Gillet, 1993, p. 147)
Conclusion
In wrapping up our journey into the enigmatic realm of the Magician archetype, we find ourselves at the crossroads of self-discovery and profound transformation. The Magician, that mystical mediator of hidden wisdom, healer, and guide to the depths of our own psyche, beckons us to explore the intricate layers of our being.
From the vivid expressions of shamans to the nuanced distinctions compared to other archetypes, the Magician’s influence spans far and wide. Initiating the seekers among us, this archetype orchestrates a quest for truth and understanding, unveiling transformative spaces where the old gives way to the new. In navigating the mysteries of life’s cycles, the Magician, intimate with both literal and metaphorical deaths, emerges as a steadfast companion.
Sacred space, whether liminal or liminoid, serves as the canvas for the Magician’s artistry of regeneration and integration. Acknowledging the transformative charge of these spaces, the Magician, our trusted steward, extends an invitation to navigate with wisdom and discernment.
As we turn our gaze inward to the Magician within, we find not an elusive figure but a key-holder to the gates of extraordinary realms within ourselves. Wrestling with our inner demons and power animals, the Magician empowers us to navigate the complex structures of the unconscious, paving the way for personal and social liberation.
No longer a distant force, the Magician is an integral part of our own psyche, offering a formal alliance in service of the Self. Through this alliance, the Magician unveils the secrets of our unconscious, providing the tools for self-mastery and transformation. Thus, as we embark on the quest to embody the Magician archetype, we illuminate a path toward a wiser, fuller way of being human. So, fellow seekers, may your inner Magician guide you through the extraordinary spaces of your own existence.