The Magician Upright: The Magician is a forceful, dynamic card represented by Mercury (known to the Greeks as Hermes) the messenger of the Olympian gods and one of their resident bad boys.  As Hermes Trismegistus, he was celebrated as the originator of written magical incantations.  He was wildly popular among alchemists in the Middle Ages, who used texts attributed to him in their search for a spell to turn lead into gold.  They didn’t find it, which isn’t surprising as Hermes is also remembered as the trickster of the pantheon. 
According to one legend, he was born in a really dank, foul-smelling cave, which he didn’t like much.  So, being all of a few hours old, he climbed out of his crib, crawled into the sunshine and decided to take up a career as a cattle rustler.  Like you do.  By the time he was 24 hours old, he’d already stolen his brother Apollo’s cows, hidden them in the aforementioned cave and tried the big-eyed baby routine on the outraged owner when he came to reclaim his property.  It didn’t work, but hey–24 hours old.  Eventually, they worked out a compromise in which Hermes got the cows and thereby the wealth to find better digs, and Apollo got a lute made out of an old turtle shell and some guts from one of his own cows.  No, I am not kidding.  
This card points out that opportunity has to be made rather than merely accepted.  So get along, little dogie.  There’s opportunity on the hoof just waiting to be corralled.
The Magician Reversed: Um, you know that big Vegas weekend you have planned?   Not really the best time for it.  Hermes, messenger of the gods and our Magician, was also the patron god of gamblers.  The Magician Reversed means a really bummer night at the craps table/roulette wheel/etc. in your immediate future.  I’d stick to the penny slots and cage a lot of free drinks–you’ll need them.  In fact, you might just want to call off the whole trip, since the Magician Reversed also indicates confusion, indecisiveness and, possibly, the abuse of power.  Add to that the fact that Mercury was the god of thieves and tricksters and, frankly, it’s not adding up to be a great weekend. No matter how good the spiel, don’t buy any extended warrantees, invisible rust-proofing or snake oil in the near future.