The Tarot Fool Card:
The Tabula Rasa
By Geraldine Amaral

          I dwell in possibility.  
      Emily Dickinson

The Fool card, Key number zero in the Tarot, is probably one of the most misunderstood cards in the entire Tarot deck.  Its very title suggests that the card is about foolishness, stupidity, ignorance; or that it describes a mentally deficient person, an idiot or a simpleton.  Other associations include deception and trickery, as in trying to fool someone.  The etymology of the word, however, reveals that historically the Fool was a court jester or a person who entertained with wit, satire and buffoonery.  From ancient times and extending into the 18th century, people with mental and physical deformities provided amusement.  Such individuals (including dwarfs, cripples, idiots, albinos, and freaks) were often part of noble or royal courts.  The medieval court Fool, however, while often physically challenged, was seldom mentally challenged.  In fact, to sustain the patronage of the powerful nobility, the Fool had to be a man of keen insight, caustic wit and the ability to indulge in satire, tricks, and repartee.  Often the Fool, with his physical deformity and sense of wit, was the only one who could comment critically on the behavior of the monarch without suffering punishment.  The Fool or Jester was common in Elizabethan drama (for example, the Fool in King Lear), and his costume, which was hung with bells, usually consisted of a varicolored coat, tight breeches with legs of different colors and a mock scepter and a cap which fitted close to the head or fell over the shoulders (similar to the garb we see in the Tarot Fool card).  Further, not only was the Fool kept for amusement but many believed that the Fool’s deformity could avert the “evil eye” and could be a means by which misfortune could be avoided.  In some societies, they were even regarded as poets or prophets.¹

The End is the Beginning

What we call the beginning is
often the end
And to make our end is to make a
beginning.
The end is where we start from. - T.S. Eliot

The irony and ambiguity of the Medieval Fool, with his deformity and wit, his double-edge tongue and the ability to get away with it, is sustained in the Tarot system.  The position of the number “zero,” shows an ambiguity about the placement of the Fool card in the deck.  Is it the beginning or the end of the 22 Major Arcana keys?  As in the poem by T.S. Eliot, many Tarot enthusiasts say is it both the beginning and the end – it is everything and nothing.  The Fool's zero is the connection between Key 21, the World which is the last card in the Major Arcana, and Key 1, the Magician, which is the first card in the Major Arcana.  The Fool is the bridge that reminds us of the cyclical nature of all existence.

The Tabula Rasa²

What is man in nature?  Nothing in relation to the infinite, everything in relation to nothing, a mean between nothing and everything. -   Blaire Pascal

The Fool can be likened to the unconscious mind.  The unconscious mind holds unlimited potential, as does the Fool.  Both contain unlimited resources waiting to be tapped.  The bag which the Fool carries reinforces this notion, symbolizing the collective unconscious and all the archetypal wisdom available through it.  The Fool is the essence, the soul, the beginning without any identification, the "tabula rasa."  It is the inner self before it develops.  The Fool is the raw materials, waiting to be shaped, the crude energy of the universe.  In some decks, the Fool portrays an androgynous figure which underscores its undefined, amorphous state.  The bag he carries is on a rod, which is really his wand.  In his emerging state, he does not know that he has a wand or how to use it!

The Leap from the Precipice

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. - Henry Miller

The Fool appears to be walking towards the edge of a precipice.  There is a suggestion, therefore, of decision-making (will he jump off or turn back?).  There is also an implication of risk-taking.  Sometimes in life it is necessary to take a leap, to risk something in the hope of gaining something greater.  As he nears the edge of the cliff, we wonder if he is not paying sufficient attention and will fall off, or if he must choose to take the leap just ahead in order for him to progress further on his chosen path.

The Fool’s Message in a Reading

When the Fool appears in a Tarot reading, it could help you get moving if you are feeling stuck, especially if your immobility relates to maintaining the "status quo."  The Fool can bring fresh energy into a stagnant situation and will assist you in being able to see a new direction, a new course of action or a fresh outlook.  The abyss below the Fool is analogous to the journey of life -- you never know for sure what the next step may bring.  So the Fool's presence may serve as a warning to examine more closely what is ahead.  Further, each Tarot card has both a positive and negative pole.  The positive pole is typically called the “gift” and the negative pole is called the “shadow.”  The gift of the Fool card when it shows up in your reading might include fresh energy, redolent with new possibilities; the emergency of a highly developed imagination; eternal youth; unlimited opportunities; creative eccentricity.  It might suggest that a choice is needed that will start a new cycle of vigor or new possibilities; a risk may be necessary.  The shadow aspect might include naiveté, immaturity, thoughtlessness, folly or even wanderlust.  It would include impulsive choices, lack of experience or knowledge.

The Beginning Fool:

If the Fool appears at the beginning of your reading (as the cards are placed in a spread) it may indicate that you are about to embark on an experience for which you are not suitably prepared.  The Fool, appearing towards the early part of a reading, suggests enormous enthusiasm, but little pragmatic experience.  This “early” Fool brings an insouciant and light-hearted approach to life.  This Fool may bring you more “joie de vivre” as well as a more relaxed attitude.  The white flower which the Fool carries, his white inner garments, and the white dog, all imply purity and innocence.  The dog also can be compared to the mind, or the ego.  Like the puppy, in order to live successfully, the mind must be trained.  The Fool is untainted by life’s experiences.  This young fool is the “adventurer,” but not the adventure itself.  The actual life journey commences with the Magician, Key #1. This Fool is the “breath of God,” the empty vessel, a place of complete openness.

The Mature (Ending) Fool:

If the Fool appears in a reading at the end of a spread, the Fool implies maturity and wisdom, wisdom gained from experiencing the various levels depicted by the twenty-one Major Arcana cards.  This Fool is no longer the raw amorphous energy portrayed in the earlier Fool; he now holds a matured and experienced power within himself.  This Fool is able to pragmatically apply the wisdom he has gained.  The Fool at the end of a reading may indicate that you have learned from your life experiences, including adversity, mistakes and failures, and have grown stronger because of the challenges you have faced and overcome.  The Fool, when it appears at the end or towards the end of a reading, brings the gift of maturity and wise decision-making.  The willingness to take risks is still present, but it has been tempered by life’s experiences.  However, the Fool at the end may still suggest new possibilities -- a cycle is ending, one in which you have gained enormous maturity and success.  There may also be a matured optimism, tempered by life’s experience, but a willingness to keep putting one foot in front of another and keep the challenges of life going.  We begin again with the Magician, ready to traverse the experiences and wisdom of the remaining Arcana keys.  Now you are a more seasoned traveler and it is time for another adventure!  

Life Mission and Soul Purpose:

The Fool could also be viewed as each one of us as we enter this life.  That is to say, it represents the space or period between lives, when the soul is resting and preparing for the next series of lessons in the “earth school.”  The Fool is the Tabula Rasa, waiting for your world, your culture, your family, your education, even your heredity to inscribe and shape your life.  Each of us has a soul, an archetypal plan that governs every aspect of our lives.  If it is true that each of us has both soul purpose and a life mission, then the Fool may help guide us to understanding both of these.  If you believe in reincarnation, the Fool can be viewed as the space between lives.  Dr. Brian Weiss, author of Many Lives Many Masters describes this state: 

We go through so many stages when we’re here [on earth].  We shed a baby body, go into a child’s, from child to an adult, an adult into old age.  Why shouldn’t we go one step beyond and shed the adult body and go into a spiritual plane?  That is what we do.  We don’t just stop growing; we continue to grow.  When we get to the spiritual plane, we keep growing there, too.  We go through different stages of development.  When we first arrive, we’re burned out.  We have to go through a renewal stage, a learning stage, and a stage of decision.  We decide when we want to return, where, and for what reasons.  Some choose not to come back.  They choose to go on to another stage of development.  And they stay in spirit form ... some for longer than others before they return.  It is all growth and learning . . . continuous growth.  Our body is just a vehicle for us while we/re here.  It is our soul and our spirit that last forever.  ³