78 Weeks: Fool

To find out what these threads refer to, please seeThe link above provides suggested dates and links to all threads for this study.

Some amongst us may be working through the deck in a different order, and using different decks.

For more general comments or questions about the 78 weeks, please post in the thread linked above.

Enjoy!

bump bump bump

I have hardly even thought about the World, but wanted to bump this up to remind me to post XTAX

Well, to be honest I have fallen behind a bit...

I think the Fool belongs anywhere in the deck, the end, the beginning, next to the Lovers, Temperance, Sun etc, because it is the card of beginnings and endings....I often see the Fool placed with or near the World and/or Death in a spread.

But I think the Fool can signify cycles beginning within cycles. For example, I drew The Fool last week and at that time I was just about to finish Summer School and begin Semester One, but it is not the beginning of my course, only the beginning of this year in my course. A cycle within a cycle....

There's more to come, my brain is not functioning properly this morning XTAX

I think the issue I have with the Fool, is that I could write about it forever and ever, but just don't have the time....
XTAX

Hadar Marseilles

This is the aftermath of the world. The World represented the end of the road, perfection and freedom. The Fool, (Le Mat, Le Fou) is beyond freedom, he doesn't care, he is himself, he has nothing to hide, he is liberated, so he can move on. This is shown by the dog (?) tearing at his tights. He is exposed but still carefree.

The Fool is dressed like a Jester, with bells and frills - why? because, he wears his personality. He is very obviously travelling - towards the future.... and growth and one day he will meet up with .... Le Bateleur - the showman, although he doesn't know that yet!

This card is teaching us the very important lesson of individuality and liberation. Look at his face and also his gait, both are determind and carefree.

The Fool

Thoth - Fool

A man, dressed in green, carrying a cup, a bag of pentacles, a fire wand and a sword in front of him. He has a tiger biting at this leg and a crocodile behind his feet.

The Thoth fool is representative of the Celtic Green Man, and also the horns on his head relate to the greek God, Dionysus - a youthful god of vegetation, wine and ecstasy, known as the "bull-horned god" because he often adopted the form of this powerful beast. The grapes over his shoulder also associate to the Dionysus reference as well.

In front and around the Fool is a spiral that starts / ends at his heart and incorporated into the design of the spiral is a sword with the caduceus symbol on the handle. Also there is a butterfly which is akin to the air, it is the mind, and the abiliity to know the mind or to change it. It is the art of transformation - transformation of self. The Fool holds an upended cup in his right hand and the water flows down to the ground. It also looks like the crocodile flows from this water and it is supposed to be symbolic of the dangerous side of emotions. The tiger is also supposed to be indicative of the animal side of our nature. Also the Fool holds a cup in his right hand (water) and a wand in his left (fire) - the balance of two opposite elements.

Upon contemplation of the Thoth Fool in comparision to the RW fool, the RW Fool seems to be suitable for the start of the Major Arcana. However the Thoth Fool seems to be that he could fit in at either the beginning or the end as he has a more worldly wise, wild look in his eyes which is different to the more innocent looking Fool from the RW. Also the spirals surrounding the Fool also indicate that everything keeps going around, you start a journey, travel through life's trials and then sometimes end up back where you started, albeit older and wiser, but it does not mean that you stop journeying. You may just step off on a different cycle in life and learn from life's experiences all over again.

CreativeFire

hmmmmmmmmm, I don't have anything to contribute in a research sense. I agree with most of the above. The Fool to me is The Divine Innocent, the Traveller, the Self. As he cycles through the sequence, he gathers each experience into himself and moves on, finishing each cycle at a higher level of experience and of innocence as his expanding awareness shows him how little he really knows, and again and again and again........

In my system, the Fool goes on the path between Foundation and Kingdom. He is the identity principle which allows for manifestation.

But, as the paths run both ways, he is also the first impetus to climb back up the tree.

I guess he's the alpha and omega...


fly well
Raven

F Folly
O Optimism
O Original
L Liberated

HADAR

He strides forward but appears pushed by the little dog. I see him as the end of the journey but the link to the next one, only this time on another level.

I see his clothes being torn off as part of his liberation, his transformation. To move on, he needs to be free of material constraints. We arrive in this world with nothing, we leave it with nothing. Its a cycle. The important thing here is, he is himself. He needs nothing.

His freedom is holistic, he is free of worries and responsibilities too. During the time he has travelled through the Arcana he has experienced each archtype. Now he has done that and been there and he moves towards the future. What will be in store for him?

P.S. I would really love to know what is inside his bag. We can all postulate but I guess we will never know for sure.

CRYSTAL

His love of life is evident. I imagine him to be up in the clouds, hopping from one piece of firm ground to another. He is surrounded by sky and clouds. This fool is quite different from others in that he has no animal with him. He holds out a piece of fruit in his left hand, an apple or an orange. An apple can signify beauty youth and fertility whilst an orange can symbolise good health. There are cherries on his vest. He does not look where he is going and may be about to fall. He is a free spirit, laughing at life.

HAINDL

This fool is dressed as a mediaeval court jester/ entertainer. There was much more to the court jester than meets the eye. He could usually get away with things that other members of the court couldn't. There is a kind of wisdom in that. He points to the injured swan and the message is that you cannot understand love until you have suffered.

I feel really glad that I have continued this study up to this point. I am not sure if I will go any further, if I do, it will only be with one deck, my Hadar. I can't wait to put the Haindl deck away. I have grown to dislike it very much throughout this study, probably because it goes against everything I think now.

So this fool will discard what is no longer relevant and move on to another journey.

For me, The Fool is the pure expression of the unfettered divine. Paul Foster Case in his book The Book of Tokens - Tarot Meditations summed it up for me. I quote the first two verses and there are eleven:

I AM.
Without beginning, without end,
Older than night or day,
Younger than the babe new-born,
Brighter than light,
Darker than darkness,
Beyond all things and creatures,
Yet fixed in the heart of every one.

From me the shining worlds flow forth,
To me all at last return,
Yet to me neither men nor angels
May draw nigh,
For I am known only to myself.

Ever the same is mine inmost being;
Absolutely one, complete, whole perfect;
Always itself;
Eternal, infinite, ultimate;
Formless, indivisible, changeless.

I suppose I should say that for me, The Fool is the clue that God is Everything.

In my quest to create a Tarot of Marseilles depicting the characters in modern clothing I struggled considerably with The Fool. What in the world does a modern day Fool wear? For his trousers, I decided on torn jeans which seems common enough. I seriously struggled with his hat until I saw a man - a common sight in Southwold, Suffolk - who daily wears the hat I've drawn for my version. It wasn't until I actually started drawing that I settled on a long sleeved multi-striped t-shirt.

I wish to thank Melissa for listening to my musings regarding The Fool's clothing in the Aeclectic chat room.