Crossword Genius

Eastern magician to talk on the country (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

magus

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'eastern magician' is the definition.
'magus' can be an answer for 'magician' (magus is a kind of magician). I am unsure of the 'eastern' bit.

'talk on the country' is the wordplay.
'talk on' becomes 'mag' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'the country' becomes 'US' (U.S. is an example).
'mag'+'us'='MAGUS'

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for magus that I've seen before include "Gift-bearing Wise Man" , "Magician, wise man" , "Wizard" , "Priest" , "Balthazar, Gaspar or Melchior individually" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.