Image via WikipediaSymbols
Young man, the sun, yellow, orange, white, small dog, brightly colored clothing, laurel wreath, cap, feather, bag, staff/ wand, white rose, yellow boots, cliff, mountains.

The card
Here’s Jack setting off to the markets, to buy a cow for his mother and coming back with a handful of beans; here’s Parsifal setting off for magical Camelot; here’s a band new soul entering the world. This card is bright, humorous, and cheerful. We feel the warmth of the sun, and hear the barking of the small dog. The rose gives off a wonderful fragrance. We’re full of the energy of youth.

Look at the card for a moment, and try to identify the emotions it arouses in you. Remember that this is subjective; whatever you feel is right, there is no wrong answer. Do you feel hopeful and enthusiastic? We’re all the Fool, each morning of our lives, as we get up ready to face a new day and have no idea what that day will bring. We never see the chasm yawning at our feet. The Tarot is a way for us to see the result of our careless steps in advance, however, sometimes it’s better to take a leap of faith, and just step off the cliff.

The Fool is likely to appear in your readings whenever you’re starting something new—like a new business. It can indicate the start of an entirely new cycle in your life, or it can indicate the end of an old one. Whenever the Fool appears, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a fool to be starting your new business, or whatever new project you’re involved in. That depends on the surrounding cards. If the surrounding cards are uniformly negative in context—if the Fool is surrounded by a lot of Swords, or The Tower, or The Moon, it would mean that your new business  was in serious trouble. You should find out what is causing the problems and work to rectify it with all speed.

Sometimes it’s not possible to avoid problems however.

All the major arcana cards are archetypal in nature. They indicate that the situation is largely out of our control.

The Fool can also be very literal. For example, one morning I was rushing to leave the house. I picked up a big stack of magazines to take out to the recycling bin. I stepped off the back step, but my foot hit the step and I slipped. I found myself lying on the concrete.

My two dogs gathered around me in concern. You could see the shocked expression on their faces: they were as surprised as I was. I thought I’d broken my ankle, but it was only a sprain.

I thought the accident had some significance, so to find out what it was, I asked the cards. I drew a card, and it was—the Fool. I had to laugh. It was a clear expression of what had happened: I was too busy thinking about everything I had to do that day to pay attention, so I stepped off the cliff.

All the elements of the card were there: the step, I was carrying something heavy, the dogs, the bright sunlight—a tub of geraniums growing beside the step.

So cards which indicate accidents, the Fool, the Tower, the 10 of Swords, can often be literal: take care, because you might be about to slip on a cosmic banana peel.

Sprained ankles notwithstanding, I enjoy receiving the Fool in my readings. The card is similar in spirit to the Joker in the ordinary pack of playing cards; you can use the card to stand in for other cards.