Robin Wood, The Fool 0

MeM

I see a wide open space with lots of room to roam. With the butterflies and the ribbons on his backpack I get a feeling of being whimsicle. I can almost hear the tune that is being played and see him on his toes and want to start dancing with him and playing with the dog.
 

annik

My first though while looking at the card is the flute player of Hamlin (you know, the nice fairy tale with mice infestation and ending with children aduction).

It is easy to see the free spirit that animate the fool. A bit careless but with some charm. The dog is so cute!
 

Ace

I love his outfit. I think the back pack is important: all the magic tools (sword, cup, pentacle, and wand) are in there.

The thing about nature spirits (like the Pied Piper) as that they are not trust worthy. Nature is not all good and wonderful. The big pick on the small or weak and animal life can be hard. There is a story "the Pipes of Pan"? about a man who embraces nature so completely he eventually plans to be absorbed into it, when he hears the pipes of Pan. The trouble is, he completely ignored the "evil" side of nature, the cuttroat side. And eventually he meets Pan-who kills him!
 

Phoenix Rising

Just another take on this. I have been studying Chaldean numerology and I can relate to the Fool card very well, as it is my day of birth. Although it is numbered 22.

Submission-and Caution
22 is symbolised by the ancients as "A Good Man, blinded by the folly of others, with a knapsack on his back, full or errors" It's a warning No of illusion and delusion. It indicates a Good Man/woman who lives in a fools paradise; dreamer of dreams who awakens only when surrounded by danger, when it's often too late. it warns of mistakes in judgment, of placing faith in those who are not trustworthy. The person who it represents should exercise caution and watchfulness in both career and personal matters. The karmic obligation here is to be more alert, to curb "spirityal laziness," and develop more spiritual agrgressiveness - to realize your own power to change things, to prevent failure by simply ordaining success. When this personal responsibility is recognized, practiced, and finally mastered, the 22(Fool) can be in control of events, no longer blinded by the folly of others, and will see ideas achieved and dreams realized.

I can say this has been very accurate as far as my life is concerned, and it hit me like a lightning bolt, because i put my trust in untrustworthy people and always got hurt, but now I know and it has made me more alert!hehe
 

MeM

Has anyone read the fools journey?... I was reading it the other night.. and wow.. it really goes a long way in figuring out what the other cards mean.
 

Ace

Fool's Journey? who wrote it? what is it about?
 

MeM

Let me see if I can find a link for it...
 

Catpaw

Each card has positive and negative (shadow/reversed) sides. the Fool can be follhardy and pursue a pipe dream or not be true to him/herself or taking a crazy chance. For the most part, the Fool is an enabler allowing each of use to accept the challenge/new adventure before us and to "boldly go where we have never gone before"...so something Star Trek-like. The Fool is my favorite card as it is the one that caught my eye in a book store window when I ventured in and purchased my first deck about 25 years ago.

Yes, I have read the Fool's journey and re-read it occassionally to remind myself of the lesson. Enjoy!
 

L'Etoile

I see it a bit kinder

It seems to me as if the youth in the picture is just starting on a journey. There is no settlement in sight, but the youth looks clean and fresh, and so, I think, does not live in the wilderness. The youth is not tired yet, so he/she (I can't tell, it could be either) has only started on the trip. After a few days one gets weary and dirty, and the youth is in high spirits. Perhaps s/he is dancing on a cliff's edge, but what teenage thinks they can die? Most young people take stupid risks and often live through them. I see this as a symbol of innocence. The youth doesn't know s/he could be hurt because s/he has never been hurt by his/her choices before. The wide open spaces provide freedom, but the youth doesn't look at the beautiful vista that we see. We don't know where s/he is headed, and so the Fool often brings surprises.

I would see this in a reading as innocence, freedom, surprises and a clean slate (hence the number 0 associated with the card). Perhaps a warning to caution, but that really only would be obvious in the card reversed.