When the Impossible Becomes the Inevitable: Saying ‘Yes’ to The Fool

Photo by Erik Dungan on Unsplash

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Instead of pranking anyone today, I want to take this opportunity to talk about the Tarot card, The Fool.

If you’d like to hear my playlist for The Fool while you read, you can listen here.

When The Fool arrives in a reading, I am always careful to point out that this card doesn’t represent a foolish person, quite the contrary.

The Fool is the Alpha and the Omega of the deck. Numbered 0, this card is both the chicken and the egg. The Fool is always with us, but when it arrives in a reading, we want to sit up and take notice.

The 22 Major Arcana cards tell a story. Joseph Campbell would call it the Hero’s Journey, we’ll call it The Fool’s journey.

Like three separate acts in a play, The Fool’s journey can be divided into the three lines of the Major Arcana, but The Fool stands alone.

The Smith Rider Waite

To tell the story of The Fool, we get to go all the way back…

Once upon a time, we were all spirits without bodies. We saw something that we wanted to manifest. Divine and the Collective said, “Great! You’re going to need a body for that. Have fun!”

This is where we begin our journey and meet The Fool.

We see a youthful figure about to blithely step off a great cliff. Neither male nor female, they are an androgyne. They represent the “original self.”

The Fool’s animal familiar is an adorable little dog. It’s ready to alert its master to the potential danger of the precipice, and equally prepared to faithfully follow into the unknown. Our animal nature will be coming along for this ride.

In one hand, The Fool carries a white rose symbolizing life, love, and passion. In the other, a waltzing Matilda satchel containing knowledge of the true self.

Emblazoned with the silhouette of an eagle’s head, The Fool’s bag is a reflection of the spirit, ready to soar. It has no space for past trauma, fear, or expectation. The Fool is unbound from the…