The Meaning of the Fool Card in the Tarot System

0: The Fool Tarot card

Planets: Uranus, Mercury, Neptune, Pluto

Zodiac sign: Aquarius

Planet in the sign: Uranus in Aquarius

Element: Air

General meaning

Adventurousness, unconventional thinking, carefreeness, fearlessness, openness to the world, rejection of stereotypes, travel, reckless action.

Drawing the Fool card does not always mean that you or the person in question is literally a fool. If the reading concerns a specific person, it may mean that this person does not want too much to be known about them. The card points to the need to make spontaneous decisions. The Fool is a person who sets a new movement in motion and embarks on a life path still unknown to them. This is a young, curious, open, imprudent person to whom a sense of danger and caution are foreign. The Fool seeks change and constantly experiments with reality.

The unknown, hidden information, a possible journey, robbery (the youth with a sack over his shoulder), reckless behaviour, youthful folly, madness.

The Fool can be energetic and optimistic, feeling strength and joy, because so many interesting and exciting adventures await him ahead. There may be surprises and unplanned events, but that does not frighten the Fool.

The Fool carries within him the energy of youth, freedom from prejudice, courage, surrender to the flow, and childlike spontaneity. According to the Fool, we must know how to take off our masks, break the rules, and free ourselves from the chains that weigh us down — this makes us lighter and allows us to broaden the horizons of our perception of the world. Through the Fool, we learn to trust the Universe and to become aware of our inner divine child. With the Fool, we become the creators of our own reality and discover within ourselves the courage to obtain what we desire.

The appearance of this card says that the time has come for you to pay for past sins and settle your debts so that you can move forward. Yet you will still not be able to see the road you are walking. This card appears when something new begins in your life. It can indicate that very promising opportunities have opened up for you. You may have to make a very important decision that will open new paths for you. But a new beginning can lead anywhere: perhaps a new, good friend will appear, or you will simply have to go with the flow. The Fool signifies a period in your life marked by strong nervous upheavals. Unexpected resolutions of situations can throw you off balance. Sometimes the Fool also signifies the beginning of an actual journey.

Affirmations of the arcanum

I am a divine being.

My essence is one with Spirit. It has neither beginning nor end.

I accept the world as it is and am open to everything it offers me.

I trust the universe.

I begin my journey from zero.

I allow everything new to enter my life.

I allow myself to be clumsy and foolish, and this gives me the ability to embrace new things.

I switch off my clever mind.

I believe that fortune favours fools. And today fortune will favour me.

I allow myself to be like a naive child again, for childhood gives the impulse for change.

I feel full of new and positive attitudes.

My body is like that of a young man/woman.

The meaning of the Fool Tarot card in a spread in combination with other cards

• The Fool + The Magician = an absurd idea
• The Fool + The High Priestess = an unexpected discovery
• The Fool + The Empress = an unexpected pregnancy
• The Fool + The Emperor = poor leadership
• The Fool + The Hierophant = a search for truth
• The Fool + The Lovers = trust
• The Fool + The Chariot = an uncontrollable situation
• The Fool + Strength = uncontrollable force
• The Fool + The Hermit = a needless struggle
• The Fool + Wheel of Fortune = fool's luck
• The Fool + Justice = problems with the law
• The Fool + The Hanged Man = a dead end
• The Fool + Death = radical change
• The Fool + Temperance = good fortune
• The Fool + The Devil = lies, false information
• The Fool + The Tower = problems caused by absent-mindedness
• The Fool + The Star = a sign from above
• The Fool + The Moon = addictions
• The Fool + The Sun = recognition
• The Fool + Judgement = a public appearance
• The Fool + The World = travel

Work

Tourism; show business (something related to the stage, circus, entertainment); criminal business; a petty pickpocket. Not the best card for business; imprudent actions, letting things drift. An unformed career. Often speaks of a job change. One of the cards of poverty.

Health

A careless attitude toward health. Mental illness, poor health. Possible pregnancy. One of the cards symbolizing death (in the reversed position together with other cards)

Relationships

Flirtation, a holiday romance, a minor intrigue. Nothing serious.

Personality type

A light-hearted, adventurous person. A person with “their own god” (a drunkard's luck) – they will come through a difficult situation unscathed or stumble on a smooth road. Can symbolize a person absorbed in their own world. Attempts to draw attention to oneself, eccentricity.

Advice, warning

Go with the flow, trust fate. Do not build grandiose plans. Change your surroundings or your job, go clear your head. As a warning – the circumstances are unpredictable and no specific recommendations can be given. It warns that the question has not been formulated correctly.

Yes or no

A precise answer cannot be given. The reasons may vary. For example, some circumstances of the matter are not being taken into account, or everything depends on how the questioner acts.

The reversed meaning of the Fool Tarot card

If the Fool card comes up reversed, it points to foolishness bordering on madness, eccentricity, and recklessness, as well as an inability to control the events and situations in one's life. The Fool often wastes far too much energy and time in vain, all because the ability to manage his resources prudently is foreign to him. Instead of applying willpower to turn the situation in his favour, the Fool gives in to laziness and apathy and runs away from problems. The reversed Fool card indicates that a person takes on many things at once and finishes none of them.

The Fool card in this position urges you not to take risks. Before you do anything or make a decision, you should think everything through carefully and assess the situation. You may feel as if you are standing at the edge of a cliff and could fall at any moment. On the other hand, this card may warn that it is foolish to cling to your convictions, as they may turn out to be wrong. Do not make impulsive decisions. Your thoughts and judgements may prove mistaken.

Reversed meaning: Work

The situation resolving for the better (the money will be found, the contract will be signed). Finding a job or getting a promotion. A promising project, the end of an internship or probation period. Returning from a business trip.

Reversed meaning: Health

Recovery, becoming pregnant, or the birth of a child.

Reversed meaning: Relationships

A promising meeting (a new acquaintance). Clarifying a relationship or circumstances (where this clarification will lead should be checked with another card).

Reversed meaning: Personality type

A light-hearted, adventurous person. A person with “their own god” (a drunkard's luck) – they will come through a difficult situation unscathed or stumble on a smooth road. Can symbolize a person absorbed in their own world. Attempts to draw attention to oneself, eccentricity.

Reversed meaning: Advice, warning

Look at things far more seriously. Do not let things drift.

Reversed meaning: Yes or no

Most likely “yes” (possibly with conditions).

The Fool Tarot card in different Tarot decks

Practices with Tarot cards

Practices with the Fool arcanum can help you let go and surrender to the natural flow. The Fool's energy provides contact with higher consciousness at the level of the whole body. We allow ourselves to want something; we find the courage to be who we truly wish to be. The Fool lets us lift prohibitions, break rules and norms, make changes to our habitual way of life, or even activate the vibrations of chaos, within which we can create something new.

0 Guided Tarot meditation “The Openness of the Fool”

The main character of the guided Tarot meditation “The Openness of the Fool” is the Fool arcanum. Since the Fool is card number 0 in the Tarot system, it is perfectly suited for beginning Tarot meditations and can be the very first Tarot meditation you do. The meditation uses the Rider-Waite Tarot card The Fool.

The Tarot meditation “The Openness of the Fool” can be helpful if:

• You want to get to know the Fool card more closely and feel its energy.
• You lack lightness in decision-making.
• You want to look at a problem from a zero point of view, with a fresh perspective.
• You are afraid of the unknown, afraid to “leap into the unknown”.
• You are weighed down by the burden of past experience that you “drag” with you through life like a suitcase without a handle.
• You want to become freer, more relaxed, and more spontaneous.

The Tarot meditation “The Openness of the Fool” is an excellent tool that lets you start everything over from the beginning and reset a situation to its starting position. This meditation removes the limitations our mind builds up when we want to start something new. These limitations arise in the mind from our previous negative experiences. The more years spent in this world, the more negative experiences. That is why, as we grow older, we become more and more afraid to start something new.

When we were children, we were not afraid to bump our heads, to run, to laugh; we were open to everything new, and within us there was an enormous desire to explore the world. That is exactly what the Fool is like: he is at the beginning of his life path and wants to explore the world. The Fool is not troubled that he stands at the edge of an abyss or that a dog has sunk its teeth into one of his legs; he looks at the sky and is optimistic about the future. He does not know what awaits him, and it does not worry him at all.

The potential of our childhood is enormous, and with this meditation we can return to childhood and reclaim the lightness, openness, and fearlessness we have lost as the years passed and various life events battered us.

The Fool is our inner child, who keeps us in constant motion and makes us move forward. The Fool wants to try everything, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. The Fool's motto could be “Better to regret what you did than what you didn't do”.

The Fool meditation can help, for example, if you want to start a new business or project but are gripped by fear and uncertainty and come up with a hundred and one BUTs for why not to do it. This meditation can remove the fears that keep you from moving forward and realizing your plans, and give you the courage to make something happen.

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