As in many stories and epic myths, the major arcana journey begins with a single traveler—in this case, the Fool. Our hero may be unsure or reluctant to step onto the path … or perhaps they are willing to go, excited about the adventure. Often the Fool is portrayed as somewhat naive and ignorant to what lies ahead. Many stories begin with someone either arriving or departing, which is the mark of a change, a turning in the story, or the beginning of a new adventure.
In the tarot, the Fool is the number zero, the only number that is at both the beginning and the end. The zero symbolizes the potential of all things. This is a state of liberation to be in a place that is beyond the Beyond. And yet, society views the fool in an often negative and condescending light. The fool is a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person. A foolish person is someone who lacks sense or judgment and instead relies completely on intuition. Fools spend time idly or aimlessly. How do we make sense of folly or foolishness in relation to the Fool card?
Curiously, the Fool is the only major arcana card that appears in a regular deck of playing cards in the form of the classic joker. Historically, the joker or court jester was not only a performer but also held the role of reflecting and commenting on political or social issues. We find that today in the role of comedians and certain clown traditions wherein the performers use the medium of humor, and bizarre and confrontational acts to evoke a response in the audience, present an alternative perspective on social issues, and offer transformation within the experience of the performance itself.
In some indigenous traditions, the clown was considered sacred. They performed a specific role during ceremonies to open people’s hearts and ready them to receive the transformative qualities of ceremony. Clowns use the power of humor to help remember humility, vulnerability, and standing in the pure essence of the heart. Similarly, other aspects of the Fool archetype can be found in indigenous stories featuring the Trickster, Heyoka, Coyote, or Raven. These characters trick us out of our ego, surrendering our pride and arrogance. In the spiritual exploration of the tarot in Wisdom of the Tarot by Elisabeth Haich, the Fool is situated at the end of the major arcana journey, just before the final card of the World. Instead of appearing at the beginning, here the Fool is the culminating enlightened soul, the one who has worked their way through each trial and tribulation of this life journey as symbolized by the major arcana.
In the classical Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the Fool, a gender neutral figure, is poised on the edge of a cliff. Their face is upturned toward a bright yellow vast sky. They carry very little with them, indicating a life free of burdens and the ability to move unencumbered into the next part of the journey. Their left hand, the hand closest to the heart, is open and holding up a white flower toward the sun, a symbol of truth, beauty, and innocence. In the background loom craggy mountains indicating the potential obstacles and difficulties of the journey. Yet the Fool’s face shows no fear or concern. Is this ignorance, naivete, or total trust? Perhaps it is a combination of all three. Nipping at the Fool’s heels is a small white dog, symbolizing the instinctual or intuitive nature that accompanies us on our journey through life. This is the aspect of our nature that relies on inner knowing and wise guidance. We can view the dog as a compassionate spirit helper, our unseen guide who accompanies us on the journey even if we are not aware of them.
In the Crowley deck, we see an image of a horned green man, his legs spread like the opening of a jumping jack. The Green Man in ancient Pagan tradition is the wild, earth-loving aspect of the masculine worshipped alongside the Goddess. He symbolizes growth, vital life force, and the quickening of the spring energies. Many symbols adorn the Fool here: grapes represent the fullness of life, the butterfly symbolizes the transformational energy, the tiger is akin to the small dog nipping at the Fool’s thigh, reminding us of our own pure instinct and intuition.
At the base of the card is an alligator, a symbol of sexual energy and our lower emotional body or base desires that arise from greed, anger, and ignorance. Through spiritual practices, following the journey of the Fool through the major arcana, there is the potential to transform the emotional qualities of raw desire, aggression, dominance, and victimhood into power, compassionate love, spiritual gifts, and insights. Along the cord of light that loops around the card we see the ancient medical symbol, the caduceus. Historically, the caduceus is related to Hermes (Mercury in Roman mythology) and is a magical symbol that bestows blessings upon travel, commerce, and philanthropy. In esoteric views, this symbol of two snakes indicates a unification of opposites, balance of duality. This symbol is also connected to the two major nadis (yogic nerve pathways) in Ayurveda and the two strands of our DNA that coil around one another, symbolizing the balance and interplay of opposite energies. Anchoring this cord of light along the heart center is the dove, an ancient symbol of grace and the transformation of the heart. Many spiritual practices begin with work to scour away at the energetic crust over the heart center, allowing us to open more fully, become more trusting, and more vulnerable.
Although traditionally written as male, the Fool holds qualities we may associate with femininity, masculinity, and beyond. This figure is not bound to any gender—within the potentiated energy of the Fool is the capacity to transcend gender completely. Our culture tends to hold people to specific, rigid qualities and behaviors starting in childhood, e.g., giving pink, flowery, “feminine” gifts to girls and blue, mechanistic, “masculine” gifts to boys. In the spiritual expressions based on Jung’s work, we find a sharp divide between the passive “feminine” and active “masculine.” In contrast, Yogic texts associate feminine divinity as active while the sacred masculine is passive. The Fool offers us a chance to explore our own inner qualities and deconstruct our associations with male/female and masculine/feminine. In several ancient myths we find alternative genders, asexual beings, hermaphrodites, and beings with feminine and masculine characteristics. The potentiated energy of going beyond limiting binary structures such as gender is symbolized by the Fool’s number, zero. Zero contains everything yet symbolizes nothing. It is both the alpha and the omega, the end which meets the beginning, the ouroboros or snake devouring its own tail.
The arrival of the Fool in a reading indicates you are moving in a new direction. This is the time to trust and open to a new beginning. The word “fool” is connected to folly and foolishness but also to playfulness, joy, openness, and vulnerability. This figure may also indicate an unusual or unlikely solution to a current problem. The Fool, as number zero, is full with infinite possibilities; there are likely millions of ways to solve a problem you have never thought of. The Fool is pure instinct and leaps in total trust that the wings will appear.
The Fool in the major arcana journey indicates that something new and unlikely is about to enter your life. Perhaps a chance meeting, a series of synchronicities, or more specifically a journey to a new place or new venture on the horizon. The key to embodying this card is to trust your intuition. The Fool reminds us that it is okay to take risks, that we can’t know what is coming our way, but it is okay to open our hearts and leap!
Essential Qualities: play, innocence, trust, open heart, wander, wonder, living in the moment, intuition, instinct, vulnerable
Suggestions: Take an aimless wander around your neighborhood. Don’t choose any destination—just wander. Play! Practice juggling, prance, dance, get into your body and out of the house. Do something foolish, trick your ego out of yourself. Go get a tattoo. Say hello to someone new. Smile at people randomly. Give money to the homeless on the street. Wear a chicken suit to work.
Ceremony: Welcome the Dawn
This simple ceremony inspires us to step onto the next phase of our life’s journey. Get up before dawn and go to a place where you can watch the sun rise. Choose a place on a cliff, hill, mountain, or any spot in nature that overlooks a view to inspire the sense of possibility and openness. Once there, close your eyes and ask yourself “Who am I?” with no expectation. Allow answers to rise within. Open your eyes and watch the sun rise over the horizon and witness this majesty with the fresh eyes of innocence and newness. Imagine it is the very first and last sunrise you will ever see in your life. In fact, it is … no sunrise will ever be the same. Make a vow to treasure the entire day as if it were your first and last day on earth. Be open to the miracle. Accept your life fully as it is now, in its full, potentiated state of beauty and trust.