Tarot - The Fool

One of my resolutions for 2024 is to post a blog each week talking about a specific tarot card. I hope it will provide some food for thought for the year ahead both for myself and anyone that reads it. 

 

Even if you don’t believe in the Tarot, they hold some very powerful messages and are great for brainstorming and pointing out areas in your life which you could improve and I feel that this is one of the best aspects of the Tarot. Along the way, I shall also share some images from different decks (I love collecting Tarot cards and have a fairly large collection) 

 

For the uninitiated the 78 cards in the Tarot are split into two parts, the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana are the ones most people have heard of (the devil, magician, lovers etc) these are the cards that often allude to the over riding themes of our lives and the important choices that we have to make. The Minor Arcana are made up of four suits (most often called Cups, Swords, Pentacles and Wands) and are numbered from 1 - 10 with four court cards (page, knight, queen and king). These cards are mostly to do with our day to day living. I will be starting with the Major Arcana and working my way through the deck week by week. I should make it clear that this series of blogs are not really designed for learning the Tarot but just my thoughts on the cards, please feel free to disagree as much as you want. 

 

One of the great things with the Tarot cards is that everyone will have their own ideas on what the cards mean to them and although there are standard meanings for the cards, the most important thing is what they mean to an individual, and of course this changes day by day and reading by reading. 

This is the only card in the deck which isn’t numbered (or numbered 0) but it is generally regarded as the first card of the tarot and often represents the journey that you are about to embark on. 

 

More often than not the fool is seen at the edge of a cliff with a knapsack over his shoulder a white rose in his hand and a dog barking at his feet. 

 

The knapsack represents his resources that he carries with him, while the white rose represents purity of thought, or innocence. Clearly going on a journey, often shown with his head held up high and not really looking where he is going and possibly just about to step off the cliff. 

In days gone by (and often depicted in Shakespeare’s plays) a fool would be employed by a King to amuse him, but far from foolish, Shakespeare often gives him lines which show a wisdom. Indeed, the fool would often have the ear of the King and often could say things to him that others couldn’t. So, whilst thought of as foolish by the majority, he in reality was anything but. 

 

Could this card be telling you to go with your instincts, regardless of what others might think? Often we would like to take a certain path but are put off by what others might say. How many very successful people were originally told that they were not good enough and would never achieve anything? This is the card for adventure and that’s exciting isn’t it? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, for me, this card inspires me to go after my dreams and begin the journey. The dog barking at the fool’s feet are perhaps warning him to be careful and so I see this as a warning to keep your feet firmly placed on the ground. Sometimes we can be so enraptured with the goal that we don’t focus on the details and day to day tasks necessary to make sure the goal becomes a reality. So, don’t listen to the nay sayers, go for your goals and dare to dream:-) 

 

Next week - The Magician