The Fool

The Fool is the first card in the Major Arcana and it’s numbered 0. It shows a young man setting off to seek his fortune. He carries his few worldly possessions in the traditional bag tied to a stick which is carried on the shoulder. This is the archetypal image of the traveller who goes where he will with hardly any baggage. In his left hand he holds a flower aloft and this, I think comes across as a bit of an airy fairy, me no carey sort of aspect. The fool is dressed in jester’s clothing and at his feet a small dog dances with joy. The sun is shining and behind them are the mountains. Ahead of them lies a step off into the unknown.

This card gives us a happy feeling and a sense of freedom and originality. It means that the time has come to leave behind your baggage and step into a new and exciting adventure. Like the fool you could be thinking about a journey. This may be an actual journey to somewhere you’ve never been before or it could be a journey to do with your work or a relationship or some other area of your life that you haven‘t felt able to change before. If you’ve felt that there were too many ties to let go then now is the time to reassess and see if those ties can be broken. This is a new journey for you. It’s trying out something exciting for the first time. The fool reminds us of the fledgling leaving the nest, he’s stepping from the world that he knows into what he’s sees as a foreign land. He’s not afraid, he’s delighted to be able to do so. He’s saying that you should trust in yourself a little more and to stop listening to people who say it will never work. The little dog is so happy because dogs pick up the moods of their human companions and react very quickly. If you cry your dog will immediately looked distressed, if you throw your head back and laugh your dog may rush to find a toy of bark and dance with sheer joy. Thus the little dog on this card gives the clue as to the mood of The Fool. Have the same faith as the little dog and The Fool. Trust your own judgement and go forward with joy and anticipation. You need to realise your potential and open yourself up to new possibilities. If there are mistakes to be made then you will learn and grow from the mistakes. They are there for a purpose and you have to learn these lessons before you can realise your dreams and be at one with yourself.