Studying the Cards: One-- The Magician

The interpretation given by my Everything Tarot book states:
The appearance of the Magician in a reading indicates latent powers, yet to be taken up and brought into manifestation. Also known as the "Juggler," this card suggests that everything in the universe is spread out before us for us to learn to use correctly to manifest the results we desire. These are literally the basic materials of creation and it is the task of the Magician to handle them well, to manipulate and control them for beneficent purposes. This is mental work that affects the material realm.
Thus, the Magician shows us that what we consider to be illusion is another form of reality, and what we consider to be reality can be mere illusion. This is not trickery but a deep understanding of how we must learn to use our intellects, our intuitive abilities, our personal talents, and our practical skills in order to mediate between the two worlds, both of which affect us simultaneously.
The Magician is a card of power, for just as a mage, or true magician, stands at the center of the universe with the tools and ability to manipulate it for his purposes, so does each of us create, or recreate, our own universes within ourselves, first in our minds, and then in our manifest realities. This card tells us that our nature is one with the nature of the universe. It suggests that we have the ability to control our own lives, that we can manipulate people, things, and events--so long as we go about it the right way and for the right ends.
This card is primarily about self-development; as Tarot Arcanum One, it is the beginning of the road to spiritual enlightenment, the starting point. It does not say that we are already able to control our universes, but that we must learn what mode to use in order to gain our ends and reach our goals, whether they are strictly mundane or whether they are intended to stretch us spiritually.

For a reading:
This is a situation of new beginnings and new choices. It indicates someone who is willing and able to manipulate the situation in order to achieve the desired ends. It indicates leadership potential, ambition, desire for action, and new relationships coming into being. The tools for whatever action is desired are already at hand, as is the knowledge for using them correctly. This is a key point: any use of the Magician's power for improper end will backfire. It is a time to evaluate the tools you have at your disposal and relate them properly to your aims.

Description:
The book describes the Magician as almost always a man (as it is in my card) standing alone (as it is in my card) before an array of the traditional magician's tools (which it states in most decks are the symbols of the Minor Arcana suits). My card does have the four Minor Arcana symbols, though not in an array in front of him; instead in my card he is either holding them or they are draped around him in some way. He is holding a wand, although on my card he has both arms aimed downwards but held out to the sides; in the book he is shown as having one hand raised to the heavens and his other hand aimed at the Earth, symbolizing a connection between the spiritual and physical world.
The book describes that in the Waite deck, he has grape vines above him and roses and lilies below him, symbolizing a sacred drink (wine), purity, desire, the 5 senses, and proper use of arcane knowledge. His costume itself changes by deck, but he always wears a belt. In my deck the garb is somewhat... "viking" is it makes me think of. Ironic really, since I was led by accident to a webpage earlier today telling me of the Tesseract... and the movie Thor connected that Tesseract to the norse gods. The book describes the ourobouros, or snake biting his tail, an alchemical symbol for wholeness. That is not represented on my card, at least not in that way... my Magician has a coiled tattoo on his right (my left) arm. The book says he can therefore be connected to the power of healing through connecting the two worlds within one's self.

Details I've noticed:
On my card, the Magician is a man with long hair and wings. The wings I always associate with the mind. So he represents something inside oneself. Being that the card IS number One, it is a beginning. The "starting point" as the book worded it. The card before this, the Fool, represents the leap of faith and trusting in the universe to lead you down the right path; the opening up of oneself to the Universe with trust and faith. This card is the beginning of a new life once that opening has occurred; the starting point of a spiritual and mental journey. The Magician in my card holds both a wand and a cup; fire and water. Opposites that need each other. Yin and yang, perhaps? He has a pentacle and a sword hanging around his neck, giving him all four of the Minor Arcana suits represented and within his grasp. He has the infinity loop on his belt, and he has a coiled tattoo on his upper arm, his other upper arm displays a line with three spikes coming off it in different directions. Three aiming up and three aiming down. I believe that symbol to represent the coming together of the upper and lower worlds; of the spiritual world and the Earthly world. The coil might represent the ourobouros as other cards show, but the two ends do not meet. I don't think they have to though, since he has wholeness throughout his entire card.
He has a white dove below him, and two black birds above him. Black and white; yin and yang yet again. I don't think they are meant to mean opposites, but rather two halves of a whole. He is also standing above the moon, and he is illuminated as if the sun is behind him. The power of the night world, the spirit world, meeting the power of the sun, the source of all life. This card just radiates the energies of spirit and the physical world meeting.
As the book describes, he has all those symbols of knowledge and power, with all these symbols either being a part of him or within his reach, and so he is very powerful and knowledgeable. He himself almost appears to be glowing, as if he is magick incarnate; and using the elements (the symbols) and the power of the mind (the wings) he can change the way things work, to make them go the way he wants. I do not want to use the term "manipulate" because that word in general sounds wrong. He reminds me that we all have a power inside ourselves, and that positive thought itself can change our lives. If I look at him and not at the rest of the card, it almost seems as if the dove and crescent moon at the bottom form a flower; a pure, white flower. Peace and positivity. The black birds above him, I just noticed, are flapping at different paces. One has it's wings aiming down, the other has it's wings aiming up; this tells me that although they are different, they are both the same. They are flying to a different "beat", yet they are both black birds. Reality and Illusion, one and the same regardless of their differences.

I have come to absolutely love this card after learning about it.

Update:
Today is February 7th, 2014 and I am going back over the cards I have already studied. I still love The Magician card, and have actually found an interesting new thing to associate with him. On my card, he has a clockwise coil on his upper arm. In my recent studies, I've learned that clockwise (deosil) is symbolic of creation and positive energy. And since the Magician is all about using the tools laid out before you to create your manifest reality, I think it quite fitting that he would have a symbol of creation.