The Tarot is made up of seventy-eight very different maps. Each tarot is unique and fantastic, with its own personality and is there to give honest advice when we need it most.
The Fool is neither good nor bad, but transmits his messages impartially. When the madman appears in a reading, or jumps out of the package to say hello (as cards often do when mixed), it can bring out positive or negative emotions based on our own experiences, thoughts and feelings.
So look at his picture and put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Imagine yourself as this character, perfectly oblivious to your environment, who moves happily, oblivious to the danger. How do you feel? Excited? Scared? Adventurous? Worried?
What’s the message of the Fool?
There is no right or wrong answer, but it may be wise to ask the question and feel the emotions that arise in you.
Some people don’t like to resonate with this card – they would hate the idea of being a fool. Enthusiasm to look stupid seems to diminish with age.
Seeming stupid is often a fear for us adults, but when Le Fou appears in a reading, we must remember that there are also positive points to embrace that we may have overlooked.
The Fool is about to embark on his own journey, his life cycle on Earth. It means the untapped and unblemished soul that is in each of us. It is new to the human world and is not bogged down by the worries, self-doubt and blockages that seem to cling to us as we travel through this world.
He was born again, with a new lesson to learn as part of the purpose of his soul. He does not remember the lessons he learned from his past lives (which are symbolized by his set of related goods), nor from his own potential (symbolized by the wand he wears unconsciously). Yet he knows that he was put on Earth for a reason and joyfully begins the first steps of his journey.
The madman may well wobble on the edge of a cliff, (but let’s not worry for a moment). He also advances confidentially and full of adventures. He doesn’t know where he’s going to end up, but he’s still going. With his head in the air embracing the journey ahead, who are we to warn him that it can be dangerous?
We cannot see the future and neither has he trusted the Universe that everything will be fine and that is the essence of his senseless nature. We may think it’s naïve, but, you have to admire his spirit.
The Fool may not know his plan, but the Universe knows it, it is destined to meet each of the other Arcanes Major cards in the game of Tarot, from card one, The Magician, to the twenty-one card, The World.
These maps represent the complete life cycle of the journey we all live and thus give the Fool his life lessons, his experiences, his trials and the tribulations necessary to carry out his human life and the purpose of his soul.
Anyone can embark on a journey of self-discovery similar to that of the Fool and transform their lives in the most magical way. What an exciting adventure!
