The Magician - Getting Resourceful

When I look at the Magician card, I am instantly filled with awe. I see a person who knows what he or she wants and is gathering the proper tools to go after it. This is a card of will power and of taking the first steps towards manifesting one's dreams. For our purposes, this person is taking the first steps towards becoming a teacher.

What the Magician tells us about becoming a great teacher:

Here we see the Magician with his tools: the wand, the pentacle, the cup, and the sword. Let's take a closer look and see what these tools have to teach us.

The wand - This item represents our passion and creativity. It is that divine spark in us that allows us to be dynamic in the classroom. Without the wand, we would all be standing in front of a classroom reading from a guidebook and making the kids copy information from the board day in and day out. The wand reminds us that we have the power to make our curriculum come to life for our students. We must be passionate about our subjects and find the ways to help out students become passionate about their learning.

The pentacle - This item represents the physical and material realm. We have to make our curriculum concrete for the students to truly grasp. We also need to make sure that our classrooms are a true haven for learning: provide the right books, tools, materials, and resources for the students to really engage in the learning process.

The cup -This item represents our emotions and our relationships. It's not enough to love our subjects, we have to love people and building strong relationships with them. Our students look to us for guidance and support, so it is up to us to model positive behaviors and interactions with others.

The sword -  This item represents the intellect and communication. We have to truly know our subject matter inside and out and to always keep current on the latest information. We also need the skills to communicate our subjects clearly to our students so that they can understand us.

So how does this apply to the teacher's journey? 

You might be a Magician if:

• You are taking college classes or professional development classes
• You are getting ready for the first day of school
• You are designing a unit

And once again, even if you have been teaching for years, the lessons of the Magician can still apply to you. The Magician is all about your will power and your desire to manifest a thriving learning community in your classroom, despite any obstacles that may pop up along the way.  You just need to gather your resources and remember that you have everything you need inside of you to become a great teacher!

How can the Magician Card help me on my journey? Take the card and meditate on the following:

1.  Remember that to be a great teacher, you must take the first steps to focus on your goals. You have the will and the drive, but you need to focus that energy to be successful. So get organized, start keeping a teacher planner, start planning your amazing units!
2. You need to be resourceful. It's not enough to have the desire to teach, you need to have: passion and creativity (wand), a strong hold on your subject matter (sword),  an inviting and caring personality (cup), and proper teaching materials (pentacles)
3. I like to think of the Fool as the initial seed of an idea and the Magician as the gardener. Look at the roses in the picture. Your students are seeds and it is your job to help them bloom to their fullest potential. So think about how you will achieve those results!

 What are the challenges this card presents?

This is solely my opinion on the potential negative aspects of the card. I see a lot of great things when I look at this card, but I also see the potential for arrogance and narcissism. Yes, we are the teachers imparting wisdom to our students, but we shouldn't assume that we know everything and that our students have little to teach us. We also shouldn't use the classroom as our own platform to spout off about our own personal opinions about politics and religion. Students are very impressionable and it isn't our place to place our views on them and to make them accept it as gospel. Instead, we should be teaching our students how to think for themselves.

Things to think about: 

This card is a great reminder of our personal power. When I look at this card, I get a boost in confidence in my abilities. Look how confident he looks holding that wand! We need to feel equally confident holding our chalk (or in these modern times, a dry erase marker)! So when you feel lost or as if you are flying by the seat of your pants, take some time to sit down with this card and get connected to his powerful, confident, and magical energy. Use this card to set clear goals, to get organized, and to believe in yourself. The magic you will create in your classroom will be worth the effort.

Until next time.

All my best,

Amy