Royo Dark Tarot - The Fool

[DeliberateDelirium]

This card depicts a woman wearing a red mask and a red and black corset dress, standing and holding a horned skull looking in its direction with her eyes closed.

A first glance, one might not see the connection to this imagery and the traditional meaning of The Fool. The booklet gives a little more insight into the meaning. It speaks of unanswered questions, search for meaning, and reason leaving the way to intuition and the innocence of instinct.

The woman in this card appears to be at a loss for direction. The skull represents the cycle of life and death, and she looks to it for answers. She closes her eyes to look inside herself, and listen to her intuition. After searching inside herself, she remembers her innocence and natural wisdom and is ready to start a new beginning.

The meaning here is not straightforward, but it still fits in my opinion. It seems to be more about remembering wisdom before embodying it. Thoughts?

[Elendil]

I get the sense from this card that the figure is on a threshold of some kind. This is a significant moment of either revelation (should she open her eyes) or denial (if she keeps them closed). It is thus a card of options - moving forward (and discovering more) or remaining in place (limited to what is already known).

The skull would seem to suggest confrontation with the simple truth that all things eventually decay, a confrontation with mortality... and what we then make of/do with this information. I wonder for the moment why she is masked...

I will think about this some more.

[DeliberateDelirium]

Originally Posted by Elendil

I get the sense from this card that the figure is on a threshold of some kind. This is a significant moment of either revelation (should she open her eyes) or denial (if she keeps them closed). It is thus a card of options - moving forward (and discovering more) or remaining in place (limited to what is already known).

The skull would seem to suggest confrontation with the simple truth that all things eventually decay, a confrontation with mortality... and what we then make of/do with this information. I wonder for the moment why she is masked...

I will think about this some more.

That makes sense. The booklet also did mention, "the necessity of looking to one's own mortality." I didn't mention that I guess because I was trying to relate it to the associations I have with the traditional meaning of The Fool. It has a different feel than most Fool cards, but it makes sense to think of it as "the simple truth". I mentioned the skull as representing the cycle of life and death, because it seems to relate to The Fool being at 0, the end and beginning. I think she needs to confront the truth of this cycle in a different way in order to get a fresh perspective.

The threshold idea is interesting. It seems a bit different from what I originally thought, but it's good to look at it from different perspectives. I could also relate that to The Fool in that it could represent blind faith, or a new beginning. It balances it out by keeping in mind the negative aspects of The Fool. I think that's all valuable to keep in mind. As far as the mask I know some other renditions of The Fool have a mask usually when it's depicted as a jester, so it helped me make the connection more. I didn't think much into its meaning at first but it's interesting to note that the next card, The Magician, is holding a mask in his hands and I think he removed it from his face. (I made a thread about that card too, if you want to look and add anything) It's not the same mask, nor is it the same person obviously but it could still be looked at as a progression. The Fool is still unaware of her potential, but The Magician knows how to apply it. That could have something to do with why she is wearing a mask, and he is not. I don't want to get into too much detail about The Magician on this thread but I thought his mask might represent his persona to the outside world, so maybe hers represents the same and she doesn't realize she is more than that yet. Just a thought, but thanks for adding your insight. Feel free to add more.

[DeliberateDelirium]

I actually just came across a website that gave me further insight into this card. The website has nothing to do with Tarot, but I found this wording fitting:

"Everyone eventually reaches the point in their lives where they become fully aware of the inevitability of their own death. It is at this point that they choose to either embrace the overwhelming significance of the realization or to recoil in horror."

I actually don't agree with what's on the website after that, but no matter. That one part was all I needed to spark my own insight. It's like what you said about facing your mortality, and how the card is on a threshold. The thing is I always thought of The Fool as being a card of infinite potential, but not always being aware of it or how to manifest it. In this case, I believe the threshold would have to do with remaining in a state of fear and horror (and being unaware of infinite potential), or embracing the unknown (the questions that can't be answered) and then progressing to the next card, The Magician, who becomes aware of how to apply and manifest infinite potential into the material world despite of perceived limitations.

[Elendil]

Some more thoughts:

The mask - an indication that identity at this point is unformed and fluid.

Red - the colour tradtitionally associated with danger, but also with courage/bravery.

The 'crackling sparks' around her hair - potential and energy (but as yet undirected and unfocussed).

I'm not sure yet what to make of her tattoos: she has a horned skull tattoo on her forehead (possibly mirroring or making a connection with the skull that she holds) and there is a flaming sword tattoed on her upper right arm.

[DeliberateDelirium]

Originally Posted by Elendil

Some more thoughts:

The mask - an indication that identity at this point is unformed and fluid.

Red - the colour tradtitionally associated with danger, but also with courage/bravery.

The 'crackling sparks' around her hair - potential and energy (but as yet undirected and unfocussed).

I'm not sure yet what to make of her tattoos: she has a horned skull tattoo on her forehead (possibly mirroring or making a connection with the skull that she holds) and there is a flaming sword tattoed on her upper right arm.

That interpretation of the mask makes sense with The Fool card, I just generally associate masks more with a false persona but I guess it could also mean she doesn't know who she is or what she's capable of. Like I said The Magician is removing a mask, so it's like he just became aware of his potential.

I didn't notice the crackling sparks around her hair, that's a good observation and interpretation. I didn't think much into the tattoos either, but your interpretation of the skull one makes sense. I don't know about the other one.

[Dreamhealer420]

I agree with there being a threshold and that she's trying to choose a path to go down. The way she's standing would imply she began to move forward and than stopped to think if that was the best decision. She's contemplating what she needs to do and where she needs to go. She does not look distressed though; more like she's just heavily thinking.