Free Tarot Readings
THE FOOL
The Fool Traditionally this card is either unnumbered, or else, occasionally, is numbered zero. It depicts a man dressed as a court jester.
The Jester or Fool was a familiar figure in Medieval and Renaissance Europe; although some Jesters were merely hunchbacks, dwarfs or cretins, many were highly gifted acrobats, singers and dancers who held a special position at court.
The Fool was often allowed to satirise his masters or play outrageous tricks which ordinary men dared not emulate.
A particularly gifted Fool might sometimes gain a reputation which extended far beyond the confines of his master's realm, and occasionally one would achieve an international reputation as an entertainer and be able to travel far and wide, offering his services to those kings, princes and barons who could afford his fees.
The Fool depicted on the Tarot card, however, does not seem to have attained such eminence.
In many old packs his clothes are ragged and he is being attacked by a dog that tears at his legs as he marches along.
He carries a bag slung over his shoulder on the end of a stick, and grasps a sturdy staff in one hand.
The bag may have originally represented an inflated pig's bladder, a primitive balloon which was part of the Jester's stock-in-trade.
Sometimes he is shown following a brightly coloured butterfly or insect that flutters before his face, in which case the bag may really be a butterfly net in which he hopes to catch his prey.
The archetype of the wise Fool is one that is found in many cultures in all parts of the world. His lack of experience in the ways of society is seen on the surface to be a disadvantage, but in reality it ensures that his mind is not closed to unusual experiences that are denied to ordinary men.
He is the vagabond who exists on the fringe of organised life, going his own way, ignoring the rules and taboos with which men seek to contain him. He is the madman who carries within him the seeds of genius, the one who is despised by society yet who is the catalyst which will transform that society.
The Fool is the Green Man, the harbinger of a new cycle of existence, the herald of new life and fresh beginnings. He can be seen as the innocent spirit about to embark on physical incarnation; the young child who has yet to learn of the perils in the world; or as the seeker after enlightenment chasing the elusive butterfly of intuition in the hope that it will lead him to the mysteries.
The mood is joyous and carefree, yet hints of pitfalls and trials just ahead.
He represents the chaos before reason, the pure impulse that is neither good nor evil. Symbolically the Fool can be said to be both the beginning and the end, therefore he is not limited by being assigned a number, and can appear at the beginning or the end of the twenty-two card sequence.
When he appears, as here, at the beginning, he can be interpreted psychologically as representing the newly-born child which is not yet aware of itself as a separate entity. He is not yet an individual, and therefore is not responsible for his actions as an individual.
He is shown setting out on his journey into life entranced by the bright butterfly of sensory experience and heedless of all warnings about the fall into the bondage of matter that lies just ahead.
His bag contains those elusive memories of what he is leaving behind, memories that will urge him ever onwards in his search to recover what he is about to lose—his primeval innocence.
In some Tarot packs he is seen to carry a small flower loosely in one hand; this is his soul, the fragment of divinity which he will bear with him through all the trials ahead.
The negative aspect of the Fool reveals the Joker, who chases in pursuit of extravagant amusements, heedless of the chaos and anarchy he leaves in his wake. The heady joy of the moment is his only concern.
Divinatory meanings:
Upright: influences which are unexpected and unplanned, but which exerts a powerful force on the matter in hand. It is a challenge that can transform the situation in the querent's favour if properly handled.
It indicates that an important decision or choice will have to be made. If this card is well placed, flanked by fortune cards, then a wise decision will be made, and perseverance will bring its rewards. If badly placed, flanked by unfortunate cards, warning is given of impending error.
The Fool can also indicate the imminent start of a new cycle of destiny, and can refer to a type of person—the creative dreamer.
Reversed: Foretells of major problems arising from reckless, impulsive action
