The Fool : a muggle guide to tarot
   -Whoâs more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?
        Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars episode IV A New Hope
Our first real post! Because letâs be honest, an introduction isnât really a post. How exciting. This will be an in depth talk about one card: The Fool. It is one of the most enigmatic cards of The Tarot de Marseille; it is both the first and the last card in the Major Arcana. The what now? The tarot is divided into two parts: the Major Arcana with 22 numbered cards called âtrump cardsâ with one figure or symbol, and the Minor Arcana of 56 cards (4 suits of 14 cards each). The Fool is sometimes unnumbered, sometimes it has number 22, sometimes zero. The Fool is both the beginning and the end of the tarot, the alpha and the omega. Hence, this card is the first post of this blog and at the end I will talk about it again, in a new light. Confused yet? Letâs get systematic.Â
In this blog we will talk about the tarot from two different perspectives, because you can handle that, youâre an intelligent person. One perspective isnât enough:
1. The tarot cards with their meaning relating to the card in a spread, while doing a tarot reading. This is the most classic approach to tarot and will get the most attention. One of the goals of this blog is to make sure you can do your own tarot readings, both for yourself and for other people, because knowledge is useless if you donât use it for something good. Today you will know what it means when the fool suddenly appears in a spread. If not then Iâm a lousy teacher.Â
2. The tarot as a metaphor for a journey, in which the Major Arcana functions as a path, starting with the fool (0), then continuing on with the magician (1), the high priestess (2) and so on, ending again with the fool when we make full circle. Each step poses different questions and challenges on which to reflect. It is a journey, a journey made by the fool. Today we will take the first step in this journey, because the fool, thatâs us. Itâs going to be a bumpy ride, believe me. In this way tarot can be a starting point (and nothing more) for meditation. A one card spread if you want.Â
Each time I will use different examples of cards, but Iâll make sure to include at least these three decks each time:
> a few examples of the Rider-Waite Tarot
1. The Rider-Waite Tarot: because it is very traditional in its symbolism and very simple. It was published in 1910, at the peak of the mysticism craze of pre-world war Europe. Â I want to get you acquainted with the standard symbolism of tarot and its meaning. This is a very good deck to start with. You might fancy very artsy tarot decks that interpret card meanings differently and use different symbolism but letâs start with walking before we start running, shall we? If you can interpret the Rider-Waite cards, you can interpret 95% of tarot decks. If you are just beginning with tarot, this is the ideal deck to start learning. You can choose your own personal and favourite deck later, there is no hurry. First learn the meaning of the cards, look around, let it sink in and then decide on a deck that is truly you. Also, itâs quite cheap and you can find it anywhere, certainly online. In my days, before the internet, I had to visit a witchy shop and fearfully ask an elderly woman reeking of incense what would be a good tarot deck to start with. In silence and with a frown, she pointed one of her long fingers at the Rider-Waite deck. I paid her, didnât wait for the change, and got the fuck out of there. The shop is now an expensive burger restaurant. I wonder what happened to the woman.Â
> a few examples of the Renaissance Tarot, my favourite deck
2. The Renaissance Tarot: because it is the deck I use for readings. I love it completely. It is still quite traditional in its symbolism but deviates on several smaller details. It is a good compromise between a traditional deck with clear symbolism and a certain simple and elegant aesthetic that speaks to me. It works for me, and that is the only thing that matters in the end. Fun fact: people didnât do tarot readings during the renaissance, itâs so totally an 18th century thing. Yeah, the age of Enlightenment has a few surprises in stall for you.
> a few examples of the Wild Unknown Tarot, drawn with freehand, featuring a lot of animals.
3. The Wild Unknown Tarot: as an example of a deck that still uses all the traditional names and numbers of the cards but with a completely new symbolism, created and interpreted by the artist Kim Krans. These days there are a lot of artists who take up the challenge of creating a tarot deck, which is a huge undertaking because you need to create 78 artworks. But beauty isnât everything. There is a lot of the artist himself and how he or she interprets the cards in the artwork, which often occludes other meanings of the cards. There is something to be said for the universal, timeless symbolism of traditional tarot decks. It is very exceptional when an artist succeeds in making a new kind of universal symbolism that includes all different meanings of traditional cards. I will show you the pitfalls of such âpersonalâ decks and its often-surprising advantages. The Wild Unknown deck is the one all the well-dressed witches on Tumblr are posting pictures of, but it is truly beautiful nonetheless.
4. Four? You said there going to be three? At the end of this year I will include a fourth, stunning deck. It will be glorious. It will also be artsy as fuck. The eye wants something too.Â
You can see I am inclined towards more traditional decks because I believe it is you who should be interpreting the cards and not the artist who made the cards. Once you have mastered the meaning of cards, you will soon be aggravated by the shortcomings of many of these âalternativeâ decks. But if it works for you, great. Although I doubt a SpongeBob SquarePants themed tarot deck will serve its purpose of guiding you in your troubled existence. So, we will discuss a traditional card, a semi-traditional card and a new card. Other decks will make guest-entries to show you the vast diversity of decks and to inspire you.Â
If you already have a tarot deck, itâs now the ideal moment to take out the fool and place it next to your screen or in front of you. That way you can see if your card matches any of the symbols we will talk about or if the artist interpreted things differently. Do it NOW. If you donât have a deck, no problem, I included pictures.Â
Most cards depict the fool as a young man on a journey, walking towards a cliff, looking up or backwards (at anything but the gaping abyss in front of him). He is often accompanied by a faithful dog that follows him wherever he goes and tries (and fails) to warn him. He is dressed in simple robes or sometimes in the complete attire of a jester or harlequin to emphasise his humorous take on life.
In the renaissance tarot we see some elements of the rider-waite return but the fool is surrounded by white roses, often signifying innocence, purity and renewal. He also carries a lute, referring to wandering minstrels (a figure that has a lot in common with the jester or harlequin) and the instrument of Orpheus, who took a journey to the deepest of abysses, the underworld. In general, it depicts joy, frivolity and optimism.Â
Here we see the artist taking a spin on the symbolism, depicting a chick about to take its first flight. It is also young and optimistic and knows little but must dare the first leap into the air. It must start flying someday but it might be plunging towards its death as well.Â
Remember the fool is a set of glasses you put on to look at things, it doesnât predict anything. The fool doesnât care about a lot of things, he has fun, sings, dances and doesnât care what anyone thinks of him. In his jests there is often truth though. In Dutch we have a saying: al lachend zegt de zot de waarheid. Roughly translatable as âThe fool tells the truth while laughing.â As in Shakespearean tales it is often the jester who, hidden behind layers of humor and riddles, can criticize the ruling powers, but in order to do that he must be outside the established order. The fool is a non-conformist, a weirdo, a loner in some way, with his own frivolous take on life. He challenges common beliefs and cares not for them.Â
When this card refers to a situation it speaks of new beginnings, the first step of a journey, releasing the inner child, play, instability, excitement and spontaneity. It shows a leap of faith without overthinking.Â
When this card refers to a person it means he or she (or especially with the fool, someone in between or not on the gender binary spectrum altogether) is a non-conformist, unconventional in one or many ways, punks, rebels, activists. someone spontaneous and frivolous. A person who puts aside warnings like âyou canâtâ and âyou shouldnâtâ but just believes in themselves and continues on. The fool has no plan, no long-term vision or commitment and lives in the now with all its five senses. Whether that is smart or not, will end in a huge fall or not, will be made clear by the surrounding cards.Â
When a card appears in a spread in the upside-down position it means something else completely. Some people tell you not to do reversed meanings but in my view, that renders the tarot an overly optimistic story (except for the suit of swords, which we will discuss much later). Reversed meanings offer a chance to give the negative in life a place and reflect on that. Life sometimes gives you lemons, sometimes it crushes you under a container of lemons. Itâs no use denying the darker aspects of life like sorrow, loss, grief, sadness, anger, greed or hopelessness. They are as much a part of life as joy and hope. When a card appears reversed; it can do one of three things with the upright meaning:
1) It can mean the exact opposite of it, the shadow-side of things.
2) it can denote the positive of the upright meaning is blocked by something.
3) It can be the positive taken too far. (too much of a good thing)Â
In this case this means these three things:
1. Here the fool is naĂŻve, innocence is ignorance, not caring for anything is not caring enough about the right things.
2. It means you donât dare to take the leap of faith, that you are beholden to old, dusty beliefs that no longer serve you, ideas that have outgrown their use. A choice is right before you but you donât dare due to fear of the unknown. But sometimes not all knowledge is available or needed to take a decision.
3. This denotes the absolute fool, the untrustworthy, the one that takes it too far. You are losing yourself in excess and temporary escape. When pointing to some else he or she is the one that in its blindness and foolishness will also be blind to you. In this case, the abyss is right in front, one step away.Â
I promised you to also interpret the card as a start of a journey we will embark on together. Call it a spiritual journey, call it a self-awareness trip, personal development or whatever. At the beginning of this journey the fool asks us to trust ourselves without looking at the past, at shortcomings, at traditions or conventions (within society or within yourself). Doing something new is often difficult, not because we dislike new things but because we like the old far more. It asks to leave behind the life as we have known it thus far and go further. There is no clear destination (yet). It asks us to be fools and just dare to jump, to do something. This doesnât have to be tarot but you need something to reflect on life, make choices, be silent and listen to yourself, not all the voices and noises around you. To truly be yourself, whatever that may mean (thatâs for later).Â
If life is hard, and even if it isnât, it doesnât hurt to escape for a bit and relax. Sure, have a glass, smoke a cigarette if thatâs your thing, watch your favourite series, party like there is no tomorrow, fuck a stranger, have an orgy, take a knitting class out of the blue. Itâs ok not to face things right away. Itâs only in excess that these things hurt. You canât escape forever. Turning into an alcoholic, drug addict, bingewatching 5 seasons with nothing but junk food or procrastinating for months will inevitably plunge you into the ravine. As a wider view on life you can sometimes be the fool, wandering around without a plan, burdened by just what you take with you. It can be very refreshing. But heed the warnings and donât fall into the abyss; itâs bound to be out there, somewhere.Â
TLDR:
Upright meaning: a leap of faith, innocence, non-conformity, spontaneity, frivolity
Reversed meaning: plunging into the abyss, foolishness, naivety, ignorance
Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, âs-Gravenhage, 2004. P123-126.
Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P12-15.
Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P158.
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