This series of posts, a walk through the tarot, begins with Card 0, the fool.
The card represents new beginnings. It often implies a journey. We’re going to follow the fool as he makes his way through the cards in the tarot’s major arcana and meets the archetypal people and events which shape all our lives.
For this journey, the major arcana cards have been divided into 3 rows of 7 . The first row represents the fool’s conscious awareness. He’ll meet the magician and the high priestess who are the outer and inner forces of his individual personality, before going on to meet the empress and emperor, the hierophant, the lovers and the chariot
The second row of seven cards will introduce him to his unconscious self, beginning with awareness of his inner strength – along with the hermit, wheel of fortune, justice , hanged man, death and temperance.
The 3rd and final row delves deeper into his subconscious self. Beginning with the devil, the fool will meet the tower, star, moon, sun, judgement and the world
He has a long way to travel – we’ll look at the bakground of each card, their symbols and messages and learn how the cards can be a window into our inner selves and give us guidance during times of stress or crisis.
If you’re new to the tarot, the previous post Let’s talk tarot explains more about the origin and history of the cards.
In one of the early tarot decks, the Italian d’Este tarot from the 15th century, the fool was almost naked with genitals exposed and being teased by young boys.
In the Charles VI or Gringonneur tarot, from the same period, the fool is clothed, but only just, and the boys are now throwing stones.
The Fool was often depicted as a wandering beggar or vagabond, with a dog tearing at his clothes, which were already ragged, or barking at his feet.
The fool has been Le Mat or madman, or ll Matto or beggar. He’s been called the fuggitivo for Fugitive and Misero for Miserable.
The word Fool derives from the Latin follis, which means bellows or bag so historically the fool was related to windbag, someone who talks or gossips without saying much of real value.
He has also been portrayed as the joker or jester, employed at the court of a king as an entertainer.
The fool told jokes, juggled, was sometimes an acrobat, dancer or musician, and often known for telling truths to the king that no one else dared to say.
Today the word fool is associated with being silly or stupid, someone who lacks good judgment or common sense – but in the tarot he is the archetype of the outsider, the homeless traveller, moving from town to town, seeking food and shelter.
What he does with his life is up to him but the fool will need guidance to learn how to make the best of it. This is the purpose of his journey through the cards.
Without roots, the fool represents freedom from social convention. Being young, he’s not yet bound by the wider world to act or speak in certain ways, and is free to make his own choices.
Standing on a cliff with arms outstretched and eyes closed, the fool’s face is turned up to a cloudless sky with a full sun. In a world of his own, he isn’t paying attention to where’s he’s going so it looks like the next step will take him over the edge.
In the distance are snow covered mountains with a glimpse of the countryside below. In a world of his own, the cliff edge suggests he doesn’t know where he’s going but whatever lies ahead will be different to anything he’s previously experienced.
On the Waite/Coleman Smith tarot, there’s a cluster of stone on the right of the card. Some say it’s a cave or his home and signifies all he’s known of the world so far.
On his own, away from family and friends, he seems happy in his innocence or naivety. Stepping out into the wider world can be daunting yet also exciting.
The clothes on the Waite/Coleman Smith tarot are extravagant and showy.
It looks like he’s wearing his best for the occasion.
The fool hasn’t yet realised outer appearances are only surface identities. What we can’t see also matters.
The sleeves of his clothes look like flames as does the red feather in his cap. The reds contrast with the cool white of snow and a white rose in his left hand.
The rose is a symbol of innocence and purity. The fool isn’t yet embittered or soured by life. He hasn’t had his heart broken or made any wrong decisions.
Life waits to be discovered and he’s full of optimism and joy.
The dog at his feet is also white. Almost a ghost dog, up on its hind legs, tail wagging and barking to attract his attention. It might be trying to warn the young man of what lies ahead, or he could be giving the fool his blessing.
The dog might represent family and friends left behind.
Some will have been pleased to see him set out on his own, while others will have been full of warnings and fears for his safety.
This duality is typical of the tarot.
It shows how everything in the world is a binary construction. We need to know one side to recognise the other, as in dark and light, good and evil, trust and distrust etcetera.
Every card is also the opposite of what it shows. Some people call these dualities card reversals.
Although the core meanings of the cards have remained consistent, when it comes to individual interpretation there’ll be multiple possibilities.
The outcome of a tarot reading is associated with time and place. The cards can speak in different ways to different people but one option will always have more resonance than others.
The fool carries his possessions, sometimes tied to a stick, at other times in a backpack.
Some say the bag contains the tools of the minor arcana cards; the cup, pentacle, sword and wand, but it would have to be magic to contain all those, especially the sword and the wand!
We’ll come across these four elements in the next card, the magician. They’re also the names of suites in the 56 cards of the minor arcana.
The fool might be carrying his life time. All the minutes and hours he has left. Like all of us, he doesn’t know how much time he has ahead of him.
The pack is small because the fool doesn’t yet need much. He isn’t encumbered with physical and emotional baggage.
It could also contain those parts of himself which are hidden beneath his consciousness. He carries his unconscious and the subconscious layers but hasn’t yet opened the bag to discover them for himself.
We can think of the fool as representing the ritual of initiation. As well as the entry to secret societies, rituals are unavoidable aspects of life.
We all go through the rituals of beginning formal education and taking exams, or when we start or change relationships or careers.
In older packs, the Fool was unnumbered. Early decks used Roman numerals where the zero is missing.
The first pack to number the major arcana was the Sola Busca, around 1491, This pack used Arabic numbers rather than Roman ones, so the fool became zero.
Zero is flexible because it exists outside of the numerical order.
Zero can occur at the end of the cycle of 22 cards, if there’s a need to start out all over again. Or it can occur anywhere within the cycle.
We all have times where we feel we’ve been set back to zero, maybe after bereavement, a relationship breakup or redundancy, times where we need to make a fresh start.
As zero, the fool symbolises the individual, setting out on a new path.
He stands outside of the three rows of cards which represent our conscious, unconscious and subconscious layers.
The fool’s journey is about to begin.
The purpose of walking the tarot is an inner as well as an outer one. Some people live their whole lives without ever looking inwards and the tarot offers the opportunity to discover more about who we are and how we can fulfil our full potential.
The fool is full of the energy of life but has no where specific to direct it – he has no destination in mind.
In his walk through the tarot, the fool will meet the archetypes who’ll help him discover who he really is. The first card the fool will meet is the archetypal magician who represents creative energy and the ability to effect change.
Join us as we take the next step on the journey…
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