Tarot *Traditional* Fools by HH
In Rachel Pollack's book written for the Haindl deck she says, "traditionally the Fool represents the child, the seeker about to journey through life
" *Traditionally* the Fool is anything but _the child_
In the occult decks Beginning with Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the fool is depicted as a naive wanderer
Before the publication of the RWS deck in 1909 the tarot Fool was something else, all together
In the modern decks the Fool has many guises
With a modicum of Renaissance art and history we can see that the classical deck Fool is based on two much old icons; the _miserso_ living in poverty, the dregs of society
The Tarocchi of Mantegna is an example of this icon, homeless and seemingly helpless
Fools from Lo Scarabeo’s version of the the Nicholas Conver 1760 Marseille deck, the 1995 reproduction of the 16th century Sola Busca decks, and from the 2000 reproduction of (pseudo)Mantegna Tarot can be seen here: [url=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InTheCards/files/Cards%20/Antique%20Fools/fools.jpg]Antique Fools[/url] Of course, the other icon is the Court Jester
The one who entertains by acting the part of the incompetent dunce
Despised because he is fully at the mercy of all the court above him
He is "too dumb to come in out of the rain"
The combining of these two icons gives us a Fool who relates to the world, to nature, to others, in the most primitive of ways: he is a victim
A zero, nothing, zilch, naught
When it snows he is cold, when it rains he is sodden, when the wind blows he is battered, he is often hungry and the dogs nip at his heels, and fight with him for scraps
He is unclean, unkempt, and has not the means to rise above his station
In the game of tarot the Fool can be played at anytime, in any way, but he is worthless
He is unnumbered and can never win a trick
Much different than the whistling wander, eh? And much truer to *tradition*
"The Fool speaks true to power", hardly a declarative statement portraying the role of a child or an innocent
The trip through life is joyous, it is wonderful and wondrous, but there are as many times when the journey is fearsome, fearful, and anything but wondrous
That is the point at which the journey alters the journeyer in appreciable way, the journeyer has knowledge, peace, and liberation for he has faced the unknown
That instills maturity and familiarity, not childish enthusiasm and naiveté
Here are some early keywords for the Fool
It is easy to see how they differ from both my personal keywords and from many contemporary tarotists's views, in general
Thus, my argument with Pollack's sweeping statement regarding tradition! WAITE: Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment
Reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity
MATHERS: Folly, Expiation, Wavering
Reversed: Hesitation, Instability, Trouble arising therefrom
ETTEILLA: FOLLY (78 or 0)-Demented, Eccentricity [Extravagance], Insanity, Aberrations, Intoxication, Delirium, Frenzy, Defective, Rage, Carried Away
- Enthusiasm
-Blindness, Ignorance
-Crazy, Insane, Irrational, Innocent, Without Affectation, Simpleton
other posts in this tarot thread
The Fool by HH
The Chinese Tarot Deck's Fool by HH
by WolfChild
by HH
by WolfChild
by HH
*Traditional* Fools by HH
Lösche's Cosmic Tarot by HH
by HH
Some random thoughts, Fool that I Am
by HH
The Fool - couragous? by startide
by HH
The Fool by Witchywoman
by HH
by Witchywoman
by HH
by bluemoon
by bea