Maybe Fools rush in..

Another day, another card. And today I have been the given: The Fool. A card that has not often come up for me in readings for myself. It is a card of the Major Arcana, cards that depict life’s great lessons and themes. It is the numbered with zero, it comes at the beginning and end of the 22 major arcana cards. It is the start of the journey, but every end is also a beginning and so the zero blurs that line of beginning and end. It tells us of the circle of life, of life’s nature to be cyclical, and infinite.

The card is illustrated with a young man, standing at a cliffs edge. He holds a small satchel and is accompanied by a dog. He looks peaceful, hopeful and the sun shines down upon him. He is starting out, on top of a cliff looking out at the journey before him. He is not alone, a forever, loyal friend by his side and everything he needs on his back. Perhaps it is called the fool because we need to be at least a little foolish to start on something new. To give us bravery but also because at the start, you know the least you ever will about the journey you are on. You are ignorant of what will come to pass and so we start, inevitably, as fools. 

There is so much negative connotation to the word ‘fool’, no one wants to be a fool. In western culture we call the fool the person to be laughed at, to be mocked, not to be taken seriously. Maybe because that is what we do, when someone is new to something, when they do not know. We are quick to not take someone seriously if we see them as an amateur or less than a expert. Its true even, they simply don’t anything yet and so their expertise is non existence. But the step is serious no? Yesterday I wrote about the two of swords, a card about decisions, about making a decision. Say the fool comes next, I’ve made my decision to start on a path and off I go. As a fool because I have not learned the path yet but I’m on a path, does that not hold is own weight? Maybe that is what the dog represents in the scene, the young man may be a fool at the start of his journey, but he has a loyal friend, one to support him and show him the way. The sun shines on him, so even though he may be a fool, he is recognised in the world and supported on the road.

At the start of something new, we are usually hopeful, full of potential. We carry visions of the ideal outcome. We want the best possible version of whatever it is we are doing to come to pass. Of course we do, and if we didn’t have those ideas and visions, would we even do anything?

The Fool is full of idealism, and optimism. He hopes his journey will be what he needs to be, what he wants it to be. The Fool could be telling us to just start, to forget all those things because we cannot know them, it could be asking for a leap of faith. He is looking out over a cliff after all, we don’t get to see the journey in the card, only that he is starting it. 

And what of this cards shadow nature? The dark side of taking a leap of faith would be to act recklessly. To throw all caution to the wind and act in haste. In reverse this card could indicate the need to rethink a new start, to ask again before heading off that cliff. It could suggest that there is too much hesitation happening and we should seek out reflection. The Fool is a character full of innocence and adventure, so if we cover that in fears, put up blocks to its manifestation, what is left is apathy, distraction, maybe a loss of fun or hope. 

It gives me the feeling of a child like wonder. That sometimes in life we need to approach things as a child. Embrace our own ignorance and leap into the world, trusting that it will be there to support us when we need it. The Fool can tell us that even when things feel hopeless and we act with carelessness, this is just the spirit of the young and it is simply manifesting itself without attention and intention. Carelessness with intention can become adventure unshackled from scrutiny. From careless, to care free. Recklessness can become bravery, when focus is applied. As with every card, the two sides of the coin are always connected and are always accessible through the other. Of course, this can go both ways but today I feel the need to give myself a message of hope, because that is what the Fool asks. He asks us to close our eyes (as his are in the icon) and look at our journey through our hearts. With our companion by our side and the world at our heels, we can set off and bask in the wonders that we will come across. He is only a fool because he is new, just starting out. He will not sit and wait for life. He is packed, his direction set, he will walk the path and do the work. If we take the road to be a journey through the major arcana then we know this fools exploration takes him to the final card, the world. He reaches the world. 

A truly wonderful way to see the beginning of a new passage. We start off as optimistic fools, so many wonderful and terrible things will happen to us along the way but by the end, we will join into the will of the world. Find our place as a piece of a whole and rest. Its as if every new decision we make, every new story we write is just playing out the story of our whole lives. We are born new, innocent. We grow, we learn, we hurt, we love and at the end we return to the world, or however you may see it. I hope I can always remember this. At every new beginning and at every difficult turn, that innocence is precious, it grounds us to faith and hope, without which we could lose all reason. To begin, is to end. Life is those steps and all the ones in-between.