THE MAGICIAN

These vast planetary landscapes may look like Hubble telescope captures, but they are nothing you couldn't make at home with some detergent and a wire-hanger wand. Under Jason Tozer's photographic eye, ordinary soap bubbles become worlds of their own, swirling with unearthly colors and hovering still and eternal in outer space.

We all know that bubbles only last a few seconds, but for a brief and wonderful time everything hovers breathtakingly in the air, creating a bold and effortless illusion of perfection. The Magician is the first card in the deck (the Fool being technically numbered zero), and he demonstrates how easily and dazzlingly elements combine when you approach them with the proper amounts of concentration and daring. This blaze of inspiration is often linked symbolically to the original act of creation -- both the Big Bang version, and the microcosmic one that occurs when sperm meets egg. There is incredible potential for learning and mastery here, with consequences far more complex and delicious than are apparent to the naked eye. All the better to dazzle your audience!

Lest a novice grow a little too over-confident in his abilities, it's worth remembering that his "magic" depends entirely on his flexibility, his ability to observe and conform to the natural laws of the universe. The second he expects those laws to conform to his will, he loses balance and the bubble bursts. [Via]