X La Rove de Fortvne

[foolish]

There are many connections between The Magician/Bateleur and The Fool. If we place the fool at the end of the deck (where I believe he belongs), and spread it out into a circle, then the two cards come together. It is a beginning and and end of the journey.

Is the bag on the Magician's table the same bag being carried by the Fool? Could this suggest that the enlightened Fool has put away the material objects of the "montebank" and begun to walk in the footsteps of the apostles - without the care of material wealth?

 

[kwaw]

If we place the fool at the end of the deck (where I believe he belongs), and spread it out into a circle, then the two cards come together. It is a beginning and and end of the journey.

Yep - the fool is at the beginning and the end of the journey - does that not imply he undertakes the journey, rather than the bateleur, whose position is fixed. An old Italian proverb has it - like the fool of the tarot, here, there and everywhere (beginning, end and every step in between). The bateleur's position however is fixed, lowest of the low and going nowhere. If there is a journey for the Bateleur, it is a journey of the first row, from bateleur (bagat - small thing) to charioteer (parvus mundum, the microcosm, worthy bridegroom), from Adam to the man wearing the apparel of the second Adam, fallen man to redeemed man, man of vice to man of virtue, through perfect love (of god and fellow man).

see my post above:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=2613324&postcount=70

 

[foolish]

My point is that the Bateleur and the Fool, in the larger scope of the tarot, are one and the same. The Bateluer, as you describe - at first fixed in his positition, rises up through the world to the level of the Charioteer. But I don't believe his destiny stops there. The Charioteer may have conquered the material world and obtained its treasures, but there are still spriritual lessons to learn in order to "conquer" one's ego and arrive at a place of enlightenment. As an analogy, the Fool is not much different from the Bhuddist monk who has returned to the world after achieving the experience of narvana. He returns to "save" the souls of others.

Another connection between the Fool and the Bateleur might be found in their terminology. Another term used for the medieval street performer (bateleur) was the jonguleur. "Jonguleur" literally means juggler, but it had a much broader meaning. The jonguleur was a peddler of stories, bringing news from other areas as they wandered from town to town. They were sometimes recognized as peddlers of the oral tradition, along with providing entertainment. It came from the Latin "joculator," meaning a “joker” or “jester” (Collins English dictionary) - or Fool? In the court setting, the juggler often took the role of the jester. An example of this is found in 1066, where “Taillefer, the jester of William the Conqueror, had juggled before enemy lines and was first to be killed at the Battle of Hastings.” (French Wikipedia) Are the two one and the same person at different stages of life?

 

[kwaw]

Another term used for the medieval street performer (bateleur) was the jonguleur. "Jonguleur" literally means juggler, but it had a much broader meaning. The jonguleur was a peddler of stories, bringing news from other areas as they wandered from town to town. They were sometimes recognized as peddlers of the oral tradition, along with providing entertainment. It came from the Latin "joculator," meaning a “joker” or “jester” ....

There are quite a few posts in the cary-yale thread that may be of interest in connection with the bateleur as juggler starting in posts from about 224 here:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=62044&page=22&pp=10&highlight=iugler

and then in various posts to the end.

This thread is for reflection the Wheel of Fortune in particular - while that may require its relationship to other cards in the deck be discussed the present discussion on the fool and bateleur here has perhaps drifted OT and are better suited to their own threads maybe?

 

[Bernice]

Kwaw: This thread is for reflection the Wheel of Fortune in particular - while that may require its relationship to other cards in the deck I think the present discussion on the fool and bateleur here have are better suited to their own threads perhaps?[/b]

Apologies, perhaps my fault (post 67). When all's said & done, it seems to me that the image of the wheel regardless of the type of figures on it, simply depicts the concept of the Rise & Fall of ones' Fortune in life.


Bee

 

[kwaw]

Tetractys

X

What a Circe is Fortune
.
to turn us into beasts
..
and wheel us through our seasons
...
as Time upon us feasts.
....

​

 

[Bernice]

How very apt! I appreciate things in a nutshell.


Bee