The Fool Darkens

The Fool, some say, is the most important card in the Tarot deck. The major arcana, some say further, from the Magician through to the World, can be seen as mapping out the entire journey of the spiritual pilgrim. That pilgrim is the Fool, who follows the winding pathway from start to end, while simultaneously being outside time altogether. Unlike the other cards of Tarot, the Fool boasts no number - the Fool is 0, zero, infinite; living in eternity.

Traditional depictions of the Fool show him - it is invariably male - as indeed a fool. There are early depictions which look like a beggar, a wild man, or someone who has lost his marbles a bit. The most familiar portrayals of the Fool, such as that of the Waite-Smith Tarot, show a figure resembling a jongleur, a jester. Decked out in colourful splendour, he sets out happily on a journey under the blessings of the morning sun. Sometimes he is juggling balls in the air, his head in the clouds. At other times he carries his worldly possessions in a bundle on a stick over his shoulder; travelling light, psychologically and materially. Sometimes he is shown about to stride over the top of a precipice. Sometimes he is accompanied by an animal, normally a cat or a dog.

Optimism, a carefree sense of freedom; life as a journey jam-packed with possibilities: this is the kind of attitude communicated by our traditional Fool. He cocks a snook at  the limited, oppressive nature of a life too determined by, and identified with, rationality.

His 'down side' is naivety - hence the imminent topple over the cliff -, recklessness, irresponsibility. The animal at his side may be issuing a warning, attempting to bring our Fool down to earth. It may be the animal nature which the Fool deigns to forget or disown.

The Fool follows the pilgrim on the journey. At least it's best if he does. He brings constant freshness to matters; he is the Zen beginner's mind, if you like. Recall the Fool if in danger of feeling stuck, stale, or depressed. In an ideal world, he is the constant companion.

With age, and with experience, the Fool is challenged. In Blake's 'Innocence and Experience', this Fool sings the songs of innocence, and this song only. Maybe he needs to fall down that scary precipice in order to learn a thing or two. And so the vision of existence darkens. And the focus shifts into Dark Tarot......

There are a number of fascinating Fools scattered around in the darker corners of the Tarot world. My favourite is that of the Royo Dark Tarot.

It is not a figure designed specifically for the Tarot: she first appears in Luis Royo's book 'Dark Labyrinth'. She is, nevertheless, perfect for the occasion.

It is not essential to be a Tarot specialist to realise that the Fool has undergone a considerable transformation. 'He' has become 'she'. Along with this change comes the disappearance of the bright light of the morning sun. The Fool now emerges out of and into darkness; she is a being of the night. Sun gives way to moon, the bright light of day and understanding succeeded by the night and the infinite mystery. Bye bye Apollo; hello Dionysos and the Queen of the Night.

The Fool with his head in the clouds is dead and gone. In his place we have a being fully cognisant of the deeper realities of existence. In Shakespearian mode, she contemplates a human skull, and is constantly aware of her own mortality. She keeps herself behind a mask, not giving too much about herself away to all and sundry, another sign of her movement from innocence to experience. Her loss of innocence imparts only greater beauty to her being, however. It is the particular loveliness which arises only when one possesses the courage to embrace darkness, the unknown, the great mystery. She is the real Fool, the darkened Fool, the Wise Fool.

Images. Some favourite Fools:
Cachet Tarot (top)
Way of the Fool Tarot (middle)
Royo Dark Tarot (bottom)