Way-Finding and Physiodivina - The Fool

Wildwood Tarot

Happy Fools Day and Happy Easter!

This year Easter falls on the same day as April 1, also known as Fool's Day. I've been watching the conversation among the minister's I'm friended with on Facebook as they explore ways to address this odd combination. I'm not sure I see a big challenge. The way that Jesus taught involved commentary in the Stoic tradition which were designed to puzzle the listener and challenge them to think differently about something. 

This opportunity to look at life through fresh eyes is a function of the fool. The return of Jesus from the dead is both deeply meaningful in the vein of renewal, faith, new growth, and hope and a bit of a "fooled you!" joke on his followers. Again, not incompatible with the lessons imparted by the sacred fool. 

I posted last year about many kinds of sacred fools in cultures throughout history and how they can provide wisdom and help to us now. Right now I'd like to delve specifically into the concept of the fool as represented in phsyiodivina: objects such as runes, Tarot cards, and the natural world that invite us into wisdom from the divine. 

The First Fool

The oldest recognizable Tarot cards are the Visconti-Sforza deck. The "miser" or "poor man" card is the first card in the "trump" cards. Trump cards evolved from pageants and parades in medieval times. These parades included people dressed as popular concepts of the time and often represented a series of life conditions or the challenges of a hero's journey. 

The cards that evolved from that community pageantry begin with the fool card. The fool card carries many meanings and is depicted many ways in the decks that emerged after that first one. The sense of the person who has nothing but the (minimal) clothes on their back is often a part of the meaning of the card. 

The hero's journey begins, ultimately, when we are born, and at birth we own nothing and have little idea what will unfold in our lives. Pure potential, innocence, and surprise... Over the years the idea of the fool or the beginning of the journey has been depicted various way by various artists.

The Court Jester

Renaissance images of the fool card in the Tarot, from France, depict the court jester. This fool was responsible for speaking truth to power and keeping the ruler he served honest. Sometimes I wish that there was an official court jester at work in American politics. Perhaps comedians such as Stephen Colbert and Samantha Bee are the modern Jester. 

During this period the Tarot was used as playing cards (the modern playing card deck began to be used.) and the traveling Roma began to offer divination services that included use of the Tarot.

The Golden Youth

In the 40s and 50s individuals and organizations in England doing research into occult and symbol systems developed Tarot decks. The most well known decks are the Rider-Waite and the Thoth decks. The Rider-Waite deck was adopted by many as a definitive interpretation and in a way it stalled creativity with the images used in Tarot.

Perhaps this codification by members of the Order of the Golden Dawn is where the ideas of Tarot being related with devil worship got started. Some of these people were engaging in what they called witchcraft or kabbalah or other practices that were frowned on by the church. 

"Book of Thoth" by
Aleister Crowley and

Lady Frieda Harris

For me that doesn't invalidate the interesting things they did with symbolism. The poor jester became a young person with no possessions about to step off a cliff. 

The fool as a leap of faith is a great metaphor for every person who is about the embark on a new venture. We have hope and trust, and we move out into a new landscape. Often we select certain items to take with us that we think will help for the projects ahead, sometimes we feel woefully unprepared. 

I'm reminded of the photo of my niece on her first day of grade school. She has a brave smile, a small backpack and is about to embark on a new adventure. 

Rune of Self

The rune "Mannaz" from proto-Germanic old anglo-saxon means "man" or "humankind." The rune represents the self and self awareness. When working with this rune you are advised to know yourself and be aware of your place in the world. You are also advised to look to your relationship with the divine: the divine within and the divine as encountered in the world. 

Mannaz resonates with the fool concept: we come into this world naked and without tools or knowledge. We just have our selves, alone. We carry this self as the most important tool for the journey. I am reminded of the wisdom that 'you are sacred, you are a blessing to this world when you are born. You only need to exist to be of worth.' You do not need to do anything more than "be." 

Revival and Renewal

The late 60's and 70's saw an explosion of people working in interesting ways with archetypal images and mythological symbols. Tarot was re-imagined and artistically played with to reflect feminist, new age, Jungian, and other new ways of understanding the world and our selves. 

Interpretation of the symbols on cards broke away from the old Rider-Waite depictions and meanings. Psychedelic cards and esoteric cards competed with animal cards and angel cards.

The idea of using the Tarot for personal psychological and spiritual exploration became more common. Though many who describe themselves as psychics did Tarot readings as a part of their psychic readings, there was a new understanding of how we, as human beings, respond to imagery with insight and even transformation. You don't have to be psychic to find meanings in the images and stories contained in the cards, just like you don't have to be psychic to find meanings from a Rorschach inkblot test. 

This time of renewal in society, of openness and transformation was a sort of "fools" time. Experimentation, hope, trust, and adventure were the rule of the day. 

A Feminist Fool

Thea's Tarot (Papercuts)

The New Amazon Tarot

As people became more focused on personal development in the 80s Tarot became one of many tools used by gurus, self help advisers, therapists, and supportive friends. At the same time, more creative decks continued to be developed. 

During the 80's I was coming out as a Lesbian, discovering the long history of women's community and encountering the divine feminine. Tarot cards helped me to more deeply explore the wisdom available from spiritual teachers and traditions that had been suppressed by centuries of patriarchal hegemony. 

Not only did these decks re-imagine ways of presenting evocative images, but they even changed the shape of the cards. Round cards allow the interpreter to imagine more nuance in a reading. My favorite interpretation of the "Fool" card is "Trusting OnesElf" which is a wonderful play on words. Trust, trusting your self, and trusting the playfulness within are all great interpretations. 

The Mother Peace deck's fool card emphasizes this playfulness and trust. 

The fool card invites us to trust the divine and surrender to the flow of our lives. 

The Fool's Year

There are many times when my life went through a "fool" period. One year my grandmother died, my spouse asked or a divorce, my eyesight almost failed, I lost my job, I graduated from grad school, my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and I moved across the country. 

The fool cards from all my Tarot decks provided me with help to make sense of the many things I had no control over. I felt like I had stepped off a cliff (maybe, pushed?) and was just amazed that I was still there after months of feeling like I was in free-fall. 

The only way I got through it was by surrendering to the events around me and continuing to bring my full self to the joyful and the painful changes in my life.

Nature

Rumi Card

Goddess Card

As I move through the world there are many things that also teach me the lessons of the fool. My soft-eared beagle, cajoling me for a treat by being silly and cute is a manifestation of the trickster God. The tiny bird in the bush outside the window, braving the coastal storm is a representation of  surrender to what is. The polar bears remind me that each thing is sacred, just because it is what it is. The young people leading #BlackLivesMatter and #NeverAgain movements show me what stepping off of a cliff to follow a dream looks like. They inspire me to do the same. 

As I find my way by living it, I look to myths, symbols, images, and stories to help me stay nourished, in flow, and connected to the sacred. Physiodivina helps me. How are you in a time of the fool? And what can the fool offer to you right now?

---------------
Reverend Amy helps those who feel adrift, or dread getting out of bed, to learn and live their gifts. Learn how Amy can help you find your way at amybeltaine.info.