Month: November 2020

Doctor Who and the Major Arcana: The Magician

Last week, I launched a new series at the intersection of two of my favourite things: tarot cards and Doctor Who. Each week we’ll explore another major arcana card by pairing it with a quote from Doctor Who that plays on the essence of it. This week we look at card 1 of the major arcana, the Magician.

Last time, I said that Doctor Who *is* the Fool, a hero on a quest for knowledge and understanding. But, I could also easily argue that they are the Magician: the one who takes action, the one who manifests. The Magician is about resourcefulness, originality, and self-confidence; with his lightning rod pointed skyward and fingers rooting him to the earth, he aligns spirit and matter to manifest his desires.

Christopher Eccleston, the Ninth Doctor, said, “This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!” The Doctor knows themselves, their capabilities and their skills and they use them to take control. They are not so worried about what came before or what will come next; they are focused on what they’re doing in this very instant. That’s what the Magician compels you to do: channel your energy, align spirit and matter, and make things happen!

What do you think? It’s hard to argue against the Doctor as the Magician, the one who makes things happen. They’re a magician in more senses than one! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Next week, we’ll continue looking at #22DoctorWhoTarotQuotes with The High Priestess.

Doctor Who and the Major Arcana: The Fool

In honour of Doctor Who day on November 23, I’m launching a new series here: Doctor Who quotes that express or align with common interpretations of the cards of the major arcana: #22DoctorWhoTarotQuotes. Each week we’ll explore a major arcana card by pairing it with a quote from Doctor Who that plays on the essence of it.

How does one come up with such a project? I was thoroughly enjoying myself recently, reading through a list of the best quotes from Doctor Who, and musing about how they cover the great panoply of human experience. A bell (but not a cloister bell) rang somewhere deep in my subconscious as I thought about the other thing I love that covers the great panoply of human experience – tarot cards! I started reading the quotes more carefully, and realized that I could easily find quotes that matched the essence of each of the cards in the major arcana. I’ll admit that some fit better than others, but some fit so well they made me grin with delight.

We start, as any journey should, with card 0, The Fool. Of course, the Doctor themselves is the Fool, the hero on a quest, an adventurer exploring the universe. The Fool, perhaps not coincidentally my favourite card in the deck, is about making the leap and trusting the universe to catch you. When things go really wrong, the Doctor will be to save the human race yet again. Also, the Fool is unpredictable because they live outside of convention. They are the cosmic egg, the beginning, where the adventure starts. And so of course we start this adventure with the Fool.

It was Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, one of the more overtly positive incarnations of the Doctor, who said, “I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.” I can’t think of a more Fool-ish set of sentiments than optimism, hope, and improbable dreams. What do you think of this quote as an interpretation of, or a riff off of, the Fool? Does it work for you? Why or why not?

Join me over the next 22 weeks as I merge the wisdom of two of my very favourite things: Doctor Who and tarot cards, in #22DoctorWhoTarotQuotes.