Mystic Dreamer Tarot - The Fool

When I first saw this card, I wasn't sure whether this Fool was male or female. The figure seems androgynous to me, but the companion book refers to her as female. (This issue of gender identification becomes a real problem for me with the very female-looking Knight of Cups, which the books identifies as male.) At any rate, this Fool is no clumsy oaf. She appears to be dancing gracefully on what looks like a plateau of some sort.

Mist shrouded mountains lie behind her and a somber faced sun looks down from above. There is also a sign at the edge of the plateau, which would signify, according to the book, being at a crossroads, with a variety of paths to choose from. A raven is perched on top of the sign. One of the interesting features of this deck is that it's filled with ravens, which I see as messengers of divine guidance.

She is accompanied by a dog, her companion and protector, who can "give encouragement and warning, if necessary." On the ground beside her is a stick with a red bag tied at the end, containing her few possessions. In her left hand, she holds a white flower (a rose?), signifying purity and innocence. In her other hand is what seems to be a tarot card. Other cards are falling or are casually strewn about. The book states that the cards represent her choices. I think it's also possible that the cards could represent the Fool's Journey, the path through the major arcana that represents the evolution from naive innocence to wisdom.

There are three questions provided for this card:

1. Which card will she pick and how will she decide?

2. What does the sign say?

3. What does she carry in her bag?

For the first question, I think she will decide by continuing to randomly strew cards about until she is left with a single card. That will be the one she will choose. And because it is chosen randomly, no one knows what it will be. I think this suits her unpredictable nature.

For the second question, the sign seems to provide two possibilities, "The Journey" and "Home." I think she will leave home behind her, because she cannot grow in maturity and wisdom without embarking on her own unique journey.

For the third question, I think she carries in her bag all of her abilities, talents, and instincts that will aid her in her journey.

Alan

This card doesn't seem to have much connection with me so this study was a little rough and had to think on it for a day or two. Like the fool's bag and the wolf didnt mean to much. the things that hit me most was the sun, the falling of the cards and the lantern.

hmm... it the fool looks rly male to me... "it" has abs lol. this card to seems to me to have an air of control to it. the fool lets the cards fall away randomly, letting fate determine which one he is to have, and as if they're nothing, holding the final card in a laid back kind of way...

He stands on a pile of rocks in the middle mountains and water-falls not worrying about his current perdicament (sp?)

I think the light signifies the path, whatever it may be, and the wolf is the guardian/inner strength... his red bag is her bag if "goodies", whatever she need to help her conquer her problems she might encounter.

Im not quite sure what the white rose stands for.... maybe beauty (? ) in whatever situation he's in? it also

seems that the sun is shining in background which makes me think that the future looks bright, or to look for the brightness...

and of course the signs (i believe that the top one says "Journey" and the bottom one says "Home") are the cross roads... they're not rly screaming anything to me lol.

I see the the raven is in alot these cards... what does stand for (if anything)?

P.S.
i had to type this with a splint on my right hand and it was super hard rofl! it proved entertaining

I, too, could not connect with this card. Alan and meril, thank you for your take on the significance of the cards...when I first looked at this card I was like, "HUH?!"

The white rose...purity, innocence. Also, white is a color of mourning in eastern and African cultures. The white could signify the death of one cycle of life...and all endings are another beginning of sorts. This fits, especially if you think of going from XXI (The World) to 0 (The Fool)...endings to beginnings.

The wolf, on one hands, seems to be just "there"...but on further study, he looks vigilant; like he's looking for the dangers that the Fool cannot (or will not) see.

The Fool is at a crossroads...go home to the tried and true, or go on a journey to something new? Even if she returns home, I think of the adage "you can't go home again".

What is the significance of the bells? Like a "fool", the bells would announce her arrival anywhere...even when it would be better for her to not be so obvious. But that's the Fool, childlike and naive. And man, that's a tiny red bag! The Fool is truly bringing nothing but her wits and abilities on her journey.

The raven is very significant in this deck. Note that in the sky there are 10 birds (I assume they are ravens as well); 10s are about transformation, going to the next level...and 10s reduce to 1, the Ace, the beginning.

Ravens are associated with bringing messages in NAtive American culture. I have also heard of the raven being associated with the god Chronos. The raven is also considered a keeper of secrets, and a guide to our inner selves (I can see this association with the Hermit, who is also associated with Chronos)--bringing the truth to light. In Celtic lore, the raven is associated with the Morrigan, the dark goddess of battle. The raven is also associated with death deities. Ravens are also associated with knowledge, protection, healing.

T.

thank you so much Afrosaxon and Alan! all of this is making me understand the deck better already

I don't think I can add any more than you three already have. (Which was all great by the way )

But the only thing I have to say is that I thought the flower that you are saying is a rose, to me it looks like a lily. I don't know if I'm right or not, or if that would even change the meaning. But I suppose that's my two cents to this card.

I would like to add, though that even though I don't connect well with this card, I do love it. I love the randomness that The Fool chooses her life by. She doesn't think, she just does and goes with what is thrown at her. I really admire people that can do that and be successful in it, because I'm a more strict person and I have to have a plan for everything or things just fall apart.


As for the questions:
Which card will she pick and how will she decide?
You can tell that she is not thinking really on picking a card for herself, but just letting them fall from her hands until only the ones she needs are left. Seeing this, I think that she isn’t going to pick her own cards, but let fate pick them for her.

What does the sign say?
From what I can see, I think that one part of the sign says “Home” and the other says “The Journey”. Meaning that The Fool is making her choice to go back home to be her childish self and never grow up, or she can continue on with her journey into maturity.

What does she carry in her bag?
The bag is small so that means that she is not bringing much with her on this journey. She now has to rely mainly on her instincts and her wits to get her through dangers that she may encounter. Her companion and the raven are also there to help her by guiding her and giving her companionship.

Incredible! I can wear my contacts, my glasses, AND use a magnifying glass and I never figured out what the bottom part of the sign read!

I figured out "The Journey" but I never knew it also read "Home". Amazing eyes.

The dog is sometimes meant as a warning against bad decisions. Sometimes it is shown biting the fool's leg. Here, the dog looks more like a wolf. But it doesn't look interested in its master, to be honest.

I also thought the Fool was a man and that the Knight of Cups was a woman. The Knight of Wands frightens me. How skimpy his clothing is. Looks as if it were made out of black tape where it wraps around his legs.

I just got this tarot as a Valentine's gift. I'm working through this one in my journal, and I just did the fool last night. It took a deep reading and some meditation, but I think I've pulled something out of the card.

I found the sign in this card particularly striking. The top sign, "The Journey," seems to point to the left (or so I think, it doesn't have much of a point) and the bottom sign, home, points to the right. This is interesting because traditionally in reading, the left is the past and right is the future. I think that this is a symbol of the circular nature of the Major Arcana, that the fool is both the starting point and the destination. Our fool, dancing on her rock, is at the last waypoint before she must chose whether to move forward, or not. As she reaches this decision, she glances homeward, already homesick, but unaware at this point that the journey will eventually bring her back home.

Another feature I don't think anyone has noticed is the group of ravens flying over the mountains. If we notice, they are flying in a V, a shape that in nature allows flocks of birds to be driven forward, cutting through the air. I see this as a positive omen for our fool. If she has faith in herself and her intuition, all the other pieces will fall into formation, guiding her forward, cutting through all resistance.

This is my one and only deck...love it

I think the fool is gay in this card. Overall, I don't view the fool as male or female...With the fool, I look at the surrounding cards..to get an impression...what is the fool going to do? Is the fool up to no good, and watch out..or just "having fun"

What really struck me the most in this card is the dog...looks like the Navajo Coyote...the trickster!...Maybe just me, but right above the dog, to the right, at the top of the waterfall..do you see an image there...looks like the dog's head..the dog as a fool too?...could just be me.
LOL...If I had to choose a dog in a fool's card...it would be a lab puppy..lol

I don't see the fool making a choice with the other cards, I view it as a journey.

I think the flower is a rose

for the knapsack...the basics

The Sign

Maybe its just my intuition that makes me see the words on the sign as reading The Journey Divine, but that is what I see. It makes sense to me, for I view The Fool as the first necessary step toward such a journey, regardless of whether he chooses to take it or not.

Just a thought

The sign

Hi, everyone, and thanks for setting up this thread. This is the first tarot deck that has really intrigued me in a long time.

To me the sign is not in two parts, but rather it reads, "the journey home". This may be analogous to the Fool's journey. It seems to me that whatever she chooses, she is beginning a journey that will inevitably lead her from her state of innocence, but will also lead her to complete realization as a person, hence "home". The sign then tells us (not her) that she's at the beginning of the journey, sort of like a title. The journey is inevitable, the choice isn't really hers to make. (And just as well, with the way she is dancing and casting the cards about, she doesn't seem very interested in making choices yet!)

Make any sense?