kingofcards | [ooc] Now You See Me and the tarot

Dylan Rhodes
0. The Fool
Though a central image in the second movie, Dylan is first given the title of the Fool by Thaddeus Bradley in the first film. At the time, it's not a compliment, since Bradley doesn't seem to have figured out Dylan's real identity yet. It is a compliment, however. At Iong's, Bu Bu explains that the Fool is a blank slate, but it's much more than that.

The Fool is the first card in the tarot, and the cards of the Major Arcana are often perceived to be his journey. The Fool is brave and a bit naive, setting off on an adventure without worry or thought for the consequences. This could end badly; many portrayals of the Fool show him close to walking off a cliff, prevented only by a small dog that represents his instinct. The Fool is someone who carries his whole world with him and gives his all, protected by his own instincts and certainty. As the first card, he can become anything.

It's often interpreted, however, that he eventually becomes the second card, the Magician, who has all the tools of the tarot at his disposal. His journey leads him to wisdom and mastery. Bradley tells Dylan he's "played the Fool." Dylan probably believes he's doing exactly that while actually being the Magician, but he's wrong. He's still the Fool and still very much on a journey. Like the Fool and his dog, however, he needs to learn that he can rely on others for protection and guidance, and that he isn't traveling alone.

Henley Reeves
II. The High Priestess
The High Priestess is a figure of great wisdom. She knows and understands the mysteries of the world and the truth behind the illusion. She is willing to teach anyone who comes to her honestly, whole-heartedly, and ready to truly learn. She is the guardian of the unconscious world, and sits before the veil between us and our inner selves, keeping out the uninitiated, acting as the feminine balance to the Magician. The High Priestess when drawn encourages the subject to trust their intuition. She may also indicate coming change.

In the same way, Henley very much balances out the boys' club that is both the rest of the Horsemen and the magic world in general. While I suspect that she learned a lot working with Danny, I also suspect she's more of a natural teacher than he is. It's clear that she's a person who does very much operate on intuition and who trusts her inner self.

J. Daniel Atlas
VI. The Lovers
The Lovers is a card about relationships, secrets, and choices. While an angel watches over the Lovers in the garden, he cannot interfere; only these two can make their choice. Often there are only two choices to make: the easy path and the more difficult but ultimately more rewarding path. (This actually seems more relevant to Danny's journey in the second film.)

They can stay as they are, happy and ignorant, or they can choose knowledge and hardship. It speaks to a need for trust and understanding, and the ability to resist temptation, though interestingly, in the tarot, temptation actually seems to take the form of staying in the garden of blissful ignorance, not of eating the apple and entering the world. Drawing this card may indicate the need to make a choice or an arrival at a moral crossroads. It requires self-honesty of the subject.

This seems particularly relevant both to Danny's difficulty with relationships and his desire to take the tough road and seek knowledge from the Eye. It also manifests in the second film as he struggles to find balance and trust in relationships, avoiding the self-honesty it asks of him until late in the film as he reaches his moral crossroads when Dylan returns. Ultimately, though, Danny is not someone who shies away from the more difficult road less traveled. He just has to learn how to trust those traveling with him.

It should also be noted that the Lovers card is mirrored in the Devil, a card which utilizes the same imagery as a mockery of the purer intentions of the Lovers. The Devil speaks to temptation; it offers the possibility of glory in order to separate and isolate people, making them more vulnerable. Where the Lovers come to understand that they must work as a team, the Devil says that going it alone is best. Danny's journey is very much one of trying to separate the true Lovers from the mocking version shown by the Devil, resisting the temptation of solo glory in favor of hard work as a team.

Merritt McKinney
IX. The Hermit
Befitting his name, the Hermit is an extremely solitary figure who keeps to himself, reliant on his own knowledge and intuition. He is on a path by himself, seeking higher understanding, and is already close to or at the pinnacle of his understanding. His isolation only serves to increase his knowledge as he spends time deep in introspection and study. He has a strong need to understand not just the world around him but why it is the way it is, but knows that the answer to this question is often internal.

However, while the Hermit is solitary, it should be noted that the lantern he carries acts as a beacon. Like the High Priestess, he is a teacher, and those willing to follow the hard path up the mountain behind him will learn a lot from him. He is both compassionate and detached, and has more to teach and share than perhaps even he realizes.

Jack Wilder
XIII. Death
Contrary to his appearance, Death is not a card which heralds coming death. There are cards that are actually much more likely to indicate that. Death instead signals a coming change or rebirth; it is a card of transformation, of endings giving way to new beginnings, which puts me in mind of Jack's journey from the baby of the group to someone who becomes an equal part of the team, recognized in his rebirth as one of the "grown-ups."

Death is unconquerable, but Death is also pure; it rides a white horse, indicating as much, and bears a white rose on its banner. Death does not favor any race, gender, religion, age. It comes to all. It is impartial. The gateway around the distant rising sun indicates that rebirth is required for the attainment of knowledge. A phase of one's life must end in order to effect the change needed to begin the next stage of life. This card speaks to coming circumstances that will clear away barriers, though one may need to be creative and must be willing to let go of the past to make the most of change. Death says it's time to purge the past in order to move forward.