Fool ~ Anna Maria d'Onofrioh Tarot
The Fool is the harbinger of new beginnings. When this card appears, the forthcoming life path is one of unbound potential and beginnings that come with a deeper spiritual meaning. The white sun represents power and a strong, vibrant aura emanating from the Seeker, but the Seeker’s power has not yet created worldly substances of value. It is about power, but no product. Compare: Key 1, The Magician, a figure who can harness power constructively (or destructively, when in reverse). When The Fool appears in a reading, it is about a point in the Seeker’s life when the next step could either send the Seeker flying into the air over that cliff with impressive accomplishment or falling down hard from naïveté. The temperament of The Fool is one pure in spirit, openhearted, and like a child, innocent and naive. There is a Peter Pan mentality—boastful, careless, a bit arrogant, and possessing a willful refusal to take responsibility or be mature. Yet the Seeker is a beautiful, creative soul—perhaps someone with the foolish belief in the attainment of impossibly beautiful goals. There is a trace of swagger and flamboyance in The Fool. He is a swashbuckler. The fanciful style of the Fool’s clothing suggests one who is attached to superficiality, a Seeker with great pride in his or her attractiveness. The Fool card can also mean that a choice is being offered, one of great significance. The choice before the Seeker may seem minor, but it is a choice that could affect a lifetime, so tread with caution (otherwise the Seeker might fall off the edge of the cliff). Compare: There are cards in the Minor Arcana that also indicate presentations of choice before the Seeker, such as the Seven of Cups or Two of Swords. The Minor Arcana choice cards indicate matters of immediate concern, from day-to-day life. When The Fool is drawn and represents a choice being offered, that choice will have a profound impact on the entirety of Seeker’s life or the progression of his or her spirituality. Compare: Key 6: The Lovers, which can also suggest a choice being offered, though in The Lovers card, the choice often has ethical undertones. With The Fool, the choice is not over ethics or morality; it is a choice between two forks in the path. One fork will lead to attainment (flying, transcending the cliff) and the other will lead to likely demise (falling off the cliff). The Fool or Trickster is a universal archetype found across many cultures, such as Robin Hood, a skilled archer with a heart of gold, but who is vain, naive, and indiscreet; or Puck, the spirited woodland creature of English folklore; Kitsune, the clever fox of Japanese and Chinese myth, a mistress in the art of deception, yet she loves deeply and demonstrates unwavering loyalty; or the Chinese legend of Sun Wukong, the tender-footed Monkey King with supernatural abilities who defies the laws of heaven and hell. When The Fool card appears in a reading, the Seeker is embodying the characteristics of Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Puck, Kitsune, or Sun Wukong. The Seeker displays a naive disregard for rules, but because of his or her extraordinary innate abilities, can get away with such defiance. Traditionally The Fool card is unnumbered. Some systems, such as the Rider-Waite-Smith, assign “0” to it. Other systems assign “22” to the card and place it behind Key 21: The World, or, without numbering it, simply order it at the end of the Major Arcana. The Marseille-based Trumps shown in Appendix I provide an example of an unnumbered Fool placed at the end. The element of Air governs The Fool, so the attributions associated with Air will represent the external forces at play in the Seeker’s situation. In The Fool, yang energy is dominant. The number eight may be relevant. Benebell Wen . Holistic Tarot An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth.
