Book of Thoth Study Group- The Fool

Parzival

The Fool

The eyes seem to be amazed, perhaps gazing for the first time on existence, arriving out of pure potentiality--Atman (individual Self) breathed out of Brahman, or shot out of Brahman. There's a leap here, like a green sprout out of the ground or a chick out the egg. The dove, butterfly, caduceus, and sun-eye must in some way sequence the Self's long journey, but I haven't fathomed this yet. It's an unravelling as much as an evolving of consciousness. But the Fool has to find his way from starting as inexperienced Monad to self-pioneering his "journeywork to the stars"( Whitman). He's on his own to do it his way, absolutely free "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" (Tennyson). No impediments can halt his joys and sorrows as he Self-unfolds. But he will have to learn to find creative harmony with others also on their journeys with him and around him. "No man is an island" (Donne).
The tiger's bite on his thigh might be ensuing suffering as essential to the journey--not a warning but pain inevitable to come. Life bites everyone, more or less painfully. The challenge is to become who we are without biting back. Prior interpretations are much appreciated. So much here, so much deeper down is this Fool's foundation.
 

September Pixie

Re: more bits

linabeet said:
I found more about the tiger in the old forum thread -

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The fourth spiral holds the crocodile and tiger. The crocodile initiating creative career development and the unfolding of that ability by the rose he is wearing. The tiger indicates fear. Note the tiger is biting at the leg of the Fool but he seems somehow oblivious to it's presence. It has lost it's power over him because he pays it no mind remaining focused on his goal ahead as he stares out from the card.
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Could that possibly indicate that there is a call here for mind over matter? You know, like the way people walk on glass... pain doesn't exist if you pay no attention? Thus giving the carefree like spirit of the old RWS meanings? The couple embracing just above the crocodile being a blending of conciseness? Grapes indicating fruits of labor or baring fruit (children?) if this card isn't a growth card perhaps a creation card?
 

September Pixie

Reading from the LWB that came with my deck it says:

"In spiritual matters , represents ideas, thoughts, spirituality, that which endeavors to transcend earth."

So perhaps the dove and butterfly represent connection to spirit while the tiger and crocodile represent "mania" from the physical/material world...?
 

RedMaple

The spiral beginning and ending in the heart reminds me of the circulatory system, except in this instance, it goes outside the body. It reminds me of lines from a Rilke poem:

I live my life in growing orbits
that move out over the things of the world
I don't know if I shall ever reach the last
but that shall be my attempt

Please forgive me if I'm misquoting, it's been awhile, and I don't have the poem with me, but you get the idea.

As we move out into the world, energy flows back into us, there is no separation, and our heart is of course, where we understand our experiences.

I think also that the sun in the sexual chakra shows it is activated, as is especialy true in youth. I know I wouldn't have noticed a tiger gnawing on my legs at the height of passion.

Just my first thoughts on the deck, which I just got today after much resistance.
 

RedMaple

Just another thought on Aleph. Rabbie Lawrence Kushner suggests that aleph is the moment just before we speak. We take in a breath, open our mouth, and .....

that pause, that moment before manifestation is the aleph. It is a moment when all things are possible, it is the moment before creation.

In Torah, the first word is "Bereshit", "In the Beginning" - notices it starts with "B", or "Beth" in Hebrew, not Aleph. Aleph is the pregnant fertile void before creation.

That to me is the essence of the Fool.
 

TheSeeker

RedMaple

You certainly have interesting perspectives, RedMaple.
 

inanna_tarot

I first looked at this card and thougth Peter Pan! The innocence, the boy that never grew up, the inner child and those cute little boots! It reminds me of kids wearing crazy outfits of their own choice because they dont care about fashion or looking silly. Ah how I look into those eyes with kindness rather than like hes staring right through me. He is looking at my heart, my own innocence and seeing how we can fly together. The tiger maybe highlighting how we loose that innocence with fiery passion of puberty, we become more self conscious rather self aware as we were as children.
Also, with the Uranus aspect because he is so innocent and without social conditioning, he does we he feels like, what feels right at the time, and so touches on our nerves and social boundaries. Could this card be suggesting Michael Jackson as the 'modern fool'?

Also, thought I might add as I cant see it on the posts (though I may have missed it) the gemini twins arm in arm, back to back underneath the Fool. Just another symbol of +1-1=0.
These cards are really becoming alive since I got AC's book to aid my study. Nothing like hearing it from the horses mouth :D

Blessings,
Sezo
x
 

Aeon418

inanna_tarot said:
Also, thought I might add as I cant see it on the posts (though I may have missed it) the gemini twins arm in arm, back to back underneath the Fool. Just another symbol of +1-1=0.
That's a good point. It's another symbol of unity and Crowley's 0=2 formula. I don't think you've got it quite right though. It should be 1 + (-1)=0. In this formula two opposites unite and thus cancel each other out, returning to the unity of 0. It's the whole positive/negative, male/female duality = unity thing.
 

inanna_tarot

Oh, I thought it saw it in the Book of Thoth as +1-1=0 as in a negative and a postive make the neutral which is the fool. But its my first serious reading of the book of thoth so I could be wrong :)

Blessings,
Sezo
x
 

Aeon418

You're absolutely right, but +1-1=0 uses two positive numbers. Your formula just takes one away from one leaving nothing.
In Crowley's own words:

So they wrote the equation - Zero equals plus one plus minus one 0=(+1)+(-1)

The Book of Thoth p.29