World Spirit Study Group - The Fool (0)

[Jewel-ry]

In this card a woman is about to step straight off the top of a building. Now the thing that strikes me is that the fool in a 'conventional' tarot card is about to step from a cliff. This then is a slightly different concept. In the 'cliff' scenario, the fool is already on 'terra firma' and generally appears to not see the edge of the cliff. In this card however, she is dancing along a pitched roof. She had to have taken a risk to get up there in the first place. So she must know the danger but she is still prepared to take her chance. Is she pushing her luck? She appears very happy-go-lucky and is surrounded by birds who almost definately are her friends. They bring her flowers. Birds generally are messengers between heaven and earth and can represent freedom. The flowers are life itself. Her trusted dog is tugging at her skirt, which is ragged. He, as in most decks, is trying to warn her of the imminent danger.

So the message here is a leap of faith, take a chance, a risk, trust but there is an obvious danger too.

J :)

[13thFaeChylde]

When I look at this card I recall this quote...

Whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now.

---Goethe (1749-1832), German poet and dramatist

I get the sense that she knows that her success, or even destination is not guaranteed...but she has friends who will assist her (the birds) and who will look out for her (the dog) while she goes on her journey.

[lunalafey]

The fool has a carefree attitude, nothing can hurt me, anything is possible, have no worries.
One thing that differs from the 'conventional' is the fool is a woman {intuition}. The Fool is alot about trusting your intution, to others it my seem you go blindly into the line of fire, yet reach the other side unharmed. The WS Fool is destine to fall from the roof (but whose to say she will get hurt?), and if the dog does not let go, he's going down too. I see the fool and the dog as one in the same. There is an element of holding on to the rational/trusted, but letting go of fear enough that you feel both protected {little voice that says, 'not this time'} and invincable- 'don't tell me I can't, I love a challenge...let's go'-- ('and I may die trying to prove you wrong!')
Faith & bravery gets things going- and can often encourge and rally other to follow 'a cause' {the birds}

[spoonbender]

I love this Fool! She looks so carefree, so naive, so free! I never really payed much attention to the fact that she's a woman up to now, because it really "fits" on this card: the Fool is receptive to the world around her, is intuitive, she 'feels', rather than 'thinks'... Thanks Lunalafey for making me see that! And that quote from Goethe is so appropriate here, She Who Watches!
To me, the fact that she's dancing on the ridge of a roof, shows that she is about to leave what's so familiar to her, what she already knows and where she feels secure (symbolised by the house and to a certain degree by the dog). The roof, to me, shows that she wanted to get as high as possible, her spirit truely is uplifted... She can see so far here! I like what Jewel-ry said about this, that is was a risk to get up there in the first place.
The birds bringing her flowers show that what she is doing is the right thing to do, like a 'thumbs up' from the universe. There is always a certain danger in the Fool-card, but I really don't get the feeling that the Fool here should be afraid - now is the time to trust.
What Lunalafey said about the Fool and the dog being one in the same makes perfect sense, but I had never thought that far (I should start thinking more!). It fits beautifully!

Edited to add the link (http://www.llewellyn.com/tarot/images/ws_fool.jpg), in case other people want to see it too!

Spoonbender

[Tarotmyst]

When I look at this card I get the feeling that the house belongs to the fool. Considering this card comes at the beginning and the end of the major Arcana cycle it gives me the impression that she has climbed onto her roof to be closer to the divine/heavens. Almost like she is on top of HER world.

She is carefree and has faith and a closeness to her god that she trusts in. This is what gives her the freedom and the confidence to take such risks as dancing on rooftops.

The dog tugging at her skirt warns against being too foolish in certain situations. He seems pretty determined to hold on to her and gives me a real grounded feeling when I look at him. I think he represents friends as well as our own common sense and inner warnings.

The skirt being so ragged also shows how simple the fool’s life is. She doesn’t need fancy clothes or possessions. She is happy dancing with the birds and being close to the universe.

I also noted that there were 7 birds - seems significant to me.

Also this card gives me a sense of childlike fantasy and curiosity because it reminds me of characters like Snow white and Cinderella singing and dancing with the animals in the disney films.

[spoonbender]

Tarotmyst, thank you for sharing that with us! You brought it beautifully into words, and I hope we'll hear more of you in the World Spirit Study Group! I too noted the seven birds, but I don't really know what to think of it. It relates the card to the Chariot... perhaps the Fool is more secure, more in control than we think - or than she lets on? What do you think?

Spoonbender

[Tarotmyst]

Yes that makes sense. I was thinking more about 7 being regarded as a spirtual number...

But linking it with the chariot works too. The fool must have a similar sense of inner control but i think this comes from innonce and peace rather then the more driving control and disruption of the chariot.

[Sulis]

I've had this deck for almost 2 years, it was the first deck which I really connected with and I love it. This deck contains some of my favorite cards of any of the decks I have but it's also got some cards I just don't like. The Fool falls somewhere in between - it isn't as bad as The Sun and The Star but it's certainly not one of my favorites.

Why is this woman on the roof? That's what screams out at me every time I see this card. It just seems like a very strange place to begin a journey. A cliff I can get my head around but a roof?.....
Having said that, there are elements of this card which I really like:
I love the birds and how they appear to be bringing her flowers, almost as if they bring the blessings of the Gods.
I love the fact that this Fool is a woman and the way she's not stick pin thin.

I just can't get past that roof :)

Some of your comments are bringing me round a little though :)

Love and light

Sulis xx

[lunalafey]

Originally posted by Sulis
I just can't get past that roof :)


In dreams, a house is considered to represent the 'self'.....so you can stretch it to say that the roof is representational of ones asperations, or the intuitive, higher self?
Also in astrology, there is use of 'houses' the 10th house is sometimes called the 'roof'.....10th house association is job/career, your 'calling' & the reputation from such, being in the public eye, public status and the time that it takes to accomplish these things.

[lark]

This card brings back a childhood memorie for me.
We used to climb a fence that was next to an old shed in our yard. And we would jump off the roof flapping our arms.
The girl on the card looks like she's just about ready to start flapping her arms.
We were absolutely sure that if we did it enough times one of those time we would take off and really fly.
Talk about carefree faith!

Those little birds are saying "You can fly! You can fly!
Just like in the movie Dumbo
At least Dumbo had those big ears.
All I had was my skinny little 8 year old arms.
But, I was filled with faith.
The dog pulling on her dress reminds me of my dog Nickle, who barked his head off when we jumped off the building.
Even he knew it was dangerous.
Boy, were we dumb kids!
Sometimes I wonder how we all survived to adulthood.

[Sulis]

Lark what a lovely story. I'm going to think of you jumping off the roof and flapping your skinny little arms every time I look at this card now.
The roof's looking better already :D
Thanks.

Love and light

Sulis xx

[Bean Feasa]

The discussion about the roof reminds me of something the character Shirley Valentine says in the film of that name. She talks about how when she was young she used to 'jump off our roof' - hope I'm remembering this right. And her point in recalling this is that now she's middleaged and in a rut, she's lost touch with that carefree, adventurous part of herself - her inner Fool, so to speak. To sum up quickly, for anyone who hasn't seen it, during the remainder of the film, she does reconnect with that very persona ;).
I'm hoping over the next few weeks to join in some of the threads on this deck, if nobody minds, and if I can get the time - I'm pretty busy with the Tarot of Prague but the World Spirit is neck-and-neck with the ToP in the race for my affections. They have different styles but I love them both. My leetle, leetle pretties!
:) Kate

[Sulis]

Bean Feasa, it would be lovely if you would join our discussions. I've been reading your threads on ToP with interest and keep meaning to join in myself but I seem to have very little time at the moment ( I'm not doing too well at posting in this group :) )

Post away :D

love and light

Sulis xx

[Satori]

Hi WS folk,
I am a newbie to this deck, but love it already. Again, I like Sulis and some of you, have a few cards in the deck that are less than my faves, but, that is expected.

Anyway, The Fool.
I did chuckle when Sulis said, "Why is she on that roof?"
I agree with one poster who said they thought it was her own roof. As a stay at home Mom I can say that while I never actually got the thought, "Hey, I'm feeling really shut-in right now, I'm going up onto the roof and take a little daring adventure plunge into the arms of the Universe just to see what happens.....", no, that thought never came to me, but I do get the thought of "I need to get out, to adventure, to find a way to be as free as a bird and go wherever I want to go!"

See the white light around her body and the dog's body?
I see this as if they are traveling astrally. They are in the dreamtime, and it seems as if they are protected and able to act out of that wonderful resilience and limitless possibility of the dream world. The birds don't have the same white light around them, so they aren't the ones involved in the transformation, they have already transformed I think.
A female Fool rollicking off of her roof, seems natural if you think of her as she is depicted, a little older, connected to hearth and home and just out of the dishpan or cowshed where she was milking (is that a milkmaid outfit-looks like it to me!)
Plus, if it is a dream sequence, I know that once off that roof, anything can happen, and she won't be hurt, she'll bounce, fall into the arms of the magician or just jolt awake in her bed and feel that disorientation we feel when awakening from a dream....

I love the whole story of the Fool, the Fool's Journey. It is what brought everything together for me when I was first learning tarot, and I always bring everything back to that story.

[Sulis]

Ooh Elf, I like what you said about the white light surrounding their bodies- I never even noticed that but yes, they are shining.

Reading what you've all said about this card has made me see it in a completely different light - I used to dislike this card - no more though - I really like the idea that she's a mother who just needs to get away and go on an adventure for a while - oh to be that Fool :D

Love

Sulis xx

[Flavio]

In my country swallows are considered "goodbye" birds because there is a popular song about them and their migratory behaviour, that song is played in school graduations and sometimes during funeral services, "we will miss you but wish you luck in your new journey" to me 2 swallows are there because the lady is about to start a journey to something higher or maybe only to a big pile of straw in the floor :)

[Alrisha]

The fool is ready to enter the unknown knowing that her trusted friend (the dog) will always be with her. The dog is willing to follow her wherever she goes and such companionship brings confidence and joy. There's nothing to be afraid of in this world for the fool's been blessed by the world (birds with flowers). when you have total trust and faith, the world around you responds the same way.

[Inana]

I can’t add much here. I don’t like this card although is a very original take on the fool. It transmits me a bigger sense of madness, irresponsibility and danger than other fools. She is happily playing with the birds while going to fall into the void.

We have a saying in Spain that goes: “Tener la cabeza llena de pájaros”. I don’t know if it exists also in english, it translates “to have the head full of birds”. It means what I see in this card: having your mind lost in fantasies, pretending your dreams are real and not realizing how the things actually are. Is strange cause i usually see the fool a little more grounded, but not in this deck.
Keys: Living carefree, taking risks.

Elf: I haven’t noticed the white light before! That’s really interesting… Nice thoughts.

[Satori]

Originally posted by Inana
I can’t add much here. I don’t like this card although is a very original take on the fool. It transmits me a bigger sense of madness, irresponsibility and danger than other fools. She is happily playing with the birds while going to fall into the void.

We have a saying in Spain that goes: “Tener la cabeza llena de pájaros”. I don’t know if it exists also in english, it translates “to have the head full of birds”. It means what I see in this card: having your mind lost in fantasies, pretending your dreams are real and not realizing how the things actually are. Is strange cause i usually see the fool a little more grounded, but not in this deck.
Keys: Living carefree, taking risks.

Elf: I haven’t noticed the white light before! That’s really interesting… Nice thoughts.
Hi Inana,
I understand your dislike, but I have to say that in the Fool card that sense of "why are they heading off the cliff????" is more disruptive to me than this roof sequence...not sure why. More later, my nephew just got here to do some landscaping for me!

[Inana]

Originally posted by elf
I have to say that in the Fool card that sense of "why are they heading off the cliff????" is more disruptive to me than this roof sequence...not sure why. I agree the cliff is more disruptive than the roof.
But for some reason, this fool on the roof looks more naïve and playful to me. Also reminds me more about those persons that only can see their world and don’t listen to anything.
It can be because climbing to the roof to dance with the birds is a more temporal thing, while walking around with the bag and the staff like a pilgrim (even if stepping off a cliff) is more like a way of life... I dont know.

[Satori]

Yes, you are right!
The bag and the staff, as if prepared for the journey, where this Fool is not...making her even more Fool-ish!!!

[Seed Crystal]

What a nice thread; I have learned much from you! Some thoughts:

Regarding the roof vs. cliff: I always felt the traditional cliff setting gave a sense of joining the story in progress, or suggesting a sudden awareness you weren't in Kansas anymore. I prefer the roof setting. lunalafey (and others), I agree with your insight. Real change and freedom starts where you are, starts in your own home, starts in your self, maybe starts with the realization you have already climbed, not just wandered into the wilds. The journey starts before the pack and the staff are gathered.

I see the dog as playing with her, maybe not warning at all. The dog is looking at her or up, not worriedly at the ground.

I like the body she has; it reminds me of the parking scene in _Fried Green Tomatoes_. She may be utterly in touch with her child-like spirit but she's not a child, she's past puberty, and she knows the rythm of the moon. I like the sky's colors blue and white, much better than the traditional yellow and glaring sun. The colors and her gender also speak to more of a moon / Goddess / intuition interpretation.

The bird with the olive branch reminds me of the end of Noah's voyage in the Ark; after all the flood, hope and nenewal of the earth is promised. And I like the fact that the birds are many different kinds.

[Satori]

Originally posted by Seed Crystal
Regarding the roof vs. cliff: I always felt the traditional cliff setting gave a sense of joining the story in progress, or suggesting a sudden awareness you weren't in Kansas anymore. I prefer the roof setting. lunalafey (and others), I agree with your insight. Real change and freedom starts where you are, starts in your own home, starts in your self, maybe starts with the realization you have already climbed, not just wandered into the wilds. The journey starts before the pack and the staff are gathered.

I love that line, seed crystal, "the journey starts before the pack and the staff are gathered". Beautiful stuff. Thank you, that is exactly why I think I liked her on the roof. It just hadn't crystallized yet! Glad you are joining us and welcome to AT.

[EminemsAngelBaby]

Wow, birds, and birds, everywhere. Looking at the fool this song came running through my head......."come fly away, come fly away with me"......it's one of the old Rat Pack songs, not really sure who sings it:confused:

Anyway....I really get a sense of this woman's exuberance. Her delight and joy.....her desire to merge with the birds, to be as one....to jump off that rooftop and soar into the sky like her playmates around her. Such a look of simple pleasure on her face....she seems lost in the clouds, at one with the moment. Lightness, airyness, song and dance, freedom, and the wind.....all feels so hopeful.

I see her little dog as protecting her from the fall. Holding her back from making that leap....literally balancing her so she doesn't plunge to the ground below. He cares about her and wants to protect her from hurting herself. No no, he seems to be saying. Keep those feet on the ground.....or the rooftop in this case!

There is so much airyness, movement, and light feelings in the card it kinda tickles my tummy, but at the same time the sense of danger is also present.

Reminds me of the way I feel when I ride the ferris wheel.

[RedMaple]

I love the woman on the roof. It immediately reminded me of Fiddler on the Roof, except she's dancing, not fiddling. I love the story about jumping off the roof, believing you will fly -- yes, the birds seem to promise that.

I think it is also a common feeling when we are young, and when we are in beginner's mind - and we are just oblivious to the dangers.

There's a poem by Rumi, where he warns a young poet (himself?)
to "...sitdown. You are drunk. And this is the edge of the roof."

I've always loved that. This card is about walking that edge, whether it's a cliff, a roof, or any new venture. There are so many things we would not try if we were always adult and cautious.

[Seed Crystal]

Just noticed something about this card and the World - notice the postures, the body types, and is that a roof below the World?

Happiness is a well designed deck.

[flowergrrl]

..but after reading this thread, I'm beginning to like it more. I'm new to this deck and the forum, so please forgive me for dredging up an old post.

I think the main reason this Fool card disturbed me is because it has been galvanized in my heart that women are strong, at least the women in my family, and don't have time for folly. So, this card upset me in a way.

Then, especially after reading the responses here, it made me think, "Hey, maybe it's okay to let go sometimes, to be free, to be alive".

Maybe this also hit me in another way personally. I'm contemplating a big career move, so this card brought all of those issues up for me, how free I would feel doing something that *I* wanted to do...even though it may not make sense to a lot of folks.

Anywho.:-)

[Seed Crystal]

..but after reading this thread, I'm beginning to like it more. I'm new to this deck and the forum, so please forgive me for dredging up an old post.

:) My personal feeling is, no thread is too old to post on, unless it's been archived so that it actually CANNOT be posted to. That wonderful stretched out conversational feel is to me a big attraction of discussion boards like this one. So glad you have joined the party, I look forward to seeing your posts (and perhaps seeing others in new light).


..I think the main reason this Fool card disturbed me is because it has been galvanized in my heart that women are strong, at least the women in my family, and don't have time for folly. So, this card upset me in a way.

Then, especially after reading the responses here, it made me think, "Hey, maybe it's okay to let go sometimes, to be free, to be alive".

Maybe this also hit me in another way personally. I'm contemplating a big career move, so this card brought all of those issues up for me, how free I would feel doing something that *I* wanted to do...even though it may not make sense to a lot of folks.

Anywho.:-)

As someone who has made such career choices myself, and as someone who believes one's life and freedom is one's own, however one chooses to claim them, I can empathize. It's scary to realize how much freedom we actually have, exhilerating and scary to make such choices, to design one's own path.
Best wishes, and don't forget to breathe and laugh at times. :)

I think it takes great strength and personal confidence to accept the risks and gifts of apparent folly, or those of a self-conscious and personally responsible life (whether or not it appears to conform to societal norms). I am not sure if the approval of family and/or friends is more a blessing or a burden, just as the lack of such approval can be both blessing and burden...

But at the end of our days, our life is what we have chosen and not chosen, and both carry responsibility.

Just my thoughts.

[RedMaple]

Old Drifters song:

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I found a paradise that's trouble-proof
Up on the roof....

I also thought in regards to women being strong -- 100 years ago, (or less)women who acted outside what was expected of them were considered mad, and consigned to the attic. Maybe she's escaped! And about to fly, though no one thought that possible. I love it.

And oh, I love the tiny roof beneath the world figure -- how far she's gone!

RM

[flowergrrl]

Oh RedMaple, I love that view you presented of escaping! Yes, she's escaping from the roles she's been given...by society...by her family...by whatever. She just wants to "be"!

[the_surfacer]

I did a visualisation exercise in which I "entered" this card back in November and journaled the results, which I'll reproduce here, with apologies for its length, in hopes it might be helpful to the discussion:

---
Bless her, she's such a trip. I sat down on the tile roof, trying to ignore the fingernails-on-chalkboard sensation my tense grip on the reddish terracotta was creating. The rooftop couldn't have been wider than a balance beam, but there she was, The Fool herself, dancing along it so delicately she put Nadia Comaneci to shame. Naturally, she lacked any of Nadia's intense concentration; rather, she seemed to be almost ignoring her feet while she fed the birds, who swooped low to nibble delicacies from her hand. She managed all this, amazingly enough, with a blue-eyed dog nipping at her skirt, its tattered state a testament to previous displays of either the animal's obvious affection for her, or its attempts to keep her on the actual roof. Given all this activity, I doubted speaking to her would disturb her and so called out, "Hello!"

She turned to me, looking only slightly surprised to see someone else sharing her rooftop. "Good day," she replied cheerfully, pulling a ball from a pocket somewhere in her skirt and bouncing it on the rooftop. The little brown dog sprang eagerly into action -- perhaps this game was what its tugs on her hem were attempting to start. As nimble as its owner, it chased the ball almost to the roof's edge before catching up with it and returning it to its owner. "Would you like to throw for a while?" she asked me.

What could I say? I took the red rubber ball and tried to keep my tosses high enough to maintain the dog's interest, but not long enough to send the poor thing leaping off the roof after it; having seen the dog's clear enthusiasm for fetch, I thought this sort of death-plunge a distinct possibility.

As if to echo my worries, The Fool was nonchalantly edging closer to the other edge of the rooftop, cheerfully chatting up the birds. I felt I should say something.

"Ah, um, you're headed straight off the roof."

She cocked her head quizzically at me, shrugged, and then on her very next step, one of her broad, bare feet touched down on empty air. I gave a cry and automatically looked to the ground, where ... she wasn't. Lifting my gaze again, I found her standing in midair. She took a few more steps -- four, I think -- into empty space directly above her garden, then turned and skipped back onto the roof, sticking her tongue out at me.

I was flabbergasted, but skipped the obvious "How did you do that?" in favour of something that, looking back, seems an incredibly silly question. "Don't you ever worry about falling?"

One of her blonde curls fell forward onto her forehead, the shadow it created accenting the cloud of confusion that had settled onto her face. "What's 'worry'?"

Despite myself, I laughed and shook my head. "Never mind," I replied, never for a moment expecting that to be the end of the matter.

It was. She went cooing to the birds again, and the dog pulled at my pants leg. I threw for it a few more times, and then returned the ball to its mistress, bidding her a good day and patting the dog's scruffy coat, before I carefully clambered down the side of the house, leaving her, the birds, and the dog to their little midair world.
---

I realise now, looking back on this piece of writing, that The Fool might be a little sharper than I thought -- she's found a way to distract the dog, her common-sense warning system, so that she can go dance in midair. Whether this is wise is up to the situation. ;)

Anyway, if this is too long, or inappropriate to the thread, let me know and I'll edit it down or something.

[Talisman]

"One of her blonde curls fell forward onto her forehead, the shadow it created accenting the cloud of confusion that had settled onto her face. "What's 'worry'?" " -- the_surfacer

__________________________________________________ _______________

A nice story, a fun look at the beginning of The Fool's journey, a la The World Spirit. Thanks for posting this.

Talisman