The Fool

New beginnings, innocence, naiveté, childlike trust, carefree enthusiasm, longing to find one’s heart desire, spontaneity, endless potential, inexperience, excitement, leap of faith, risk, reckless, the unknown

This is just the beginning! The Fool is Card Zero of the Major Arcana, representing the point where everything begins and ends and begins again. The Fool tarot card is a sign of unlimited and endless potential. It’s a cosmic invitation from the universe to start your next adventure. The world is your oyster, babe! Release your expectations or any preconceived notions because anything can happen right now, you just need to take a leap of faith and dive into the unknown.

Germaine Greer, (born January 29, 1939, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), Australian-born English writer and feminist who championed the sexual freedom of women. Freed from the usual societal constraints she is, quite possibly, the most important radical and controversial woman of the 20th and 21st-century feminists.

Greer’s book, the Female Eunuch, regarded as a feminist masterpiece, led many women to take the ‘Fools Leap’ and quite literally changed the lives of a generation of women.

Greer urged women to think beyond the stereotype patriarchal society had created for them, likening the situation of the 1970s woman to that of a bird “made for captivity”. She was the wise fool who embarked on a quest without thought for the consequences. Her wisdom is to follow the path to your personal Grail.

The Encyclopedia of Women in Leadership in Australia
Friday essay: The Female Eunuch at 50, Germaine Greer’s fearless, feminist masterpiece

Now a young Germaine is holding a door, covered with imagery depicting the Fool, hoping you will enter and learn more about the energy of the Fool, how it impacted on her life choices and what you might gain from taking the plunge.

Working with the General Energy of the Fool

Go through your decks and examine the variety of ways in which artists depict the Fool. Check guide books for any artist insights but do make sure to trust your intuitive responses.

The meanings or associations we make when we look at a card like the Fool change from moment to moment. At one moment the actions of someone like Germaine Greer might feel daring and at another she might show herself as the Queen of Swords. We are all made up of the same archetypes and Greer cannot be pigeon holed any more that you or I can be.

For now, at this moment in time, she is ‘talking to us’ about those qualities which we associate with the Fool. There is no time quite like the present to work with this energy.

Remind yourself about the qualities associated with the Fool. Read more about Germaine Greer and glean insights into what propelled her to walk the Feminist path in search of her grail and write the Female Eunuch at a time when it was not as common to express such forthright views, views which would automatically be deemed not only controversial, but heretical.

Draw on your knowledge of other women! Identify another woman who you believe bravely traversed new ground. Make notes!

Consider engaging in a Guided Visualization that takes you to the Fool and make notes in your journal.

Learning Through Play

It is well known that Play in the preschool years enables children to explore and make sense of the world around them, as well as to use and develop their imagination and creativity. But why should the little ones have ALL the fun. Get out the pencils or crayons and colour this image from Coloring Only mindfully.

More Colouring Resources

Playfully Filling the Blank Page

Write an affirmation about taking the leap on a post it note. Stick it on your forehead and look in a mirror. Leave the affirmation on your mirror or wherever you will regularly see it.
Write a note to leave on the fridge to explain why you are compelled to follow your heart and set out on an adventure.
Write a tarot haiku
Choose a card that has an opposing energy to the Fool and write a piece that captures some of the tension the Fool feels.
Write in the third person expressing doubts about taking the leap.
Google and refresh your understanding of the Canterbury Tales. Add the Fool to the list of Chaucer’s characters and write a ballad or a tale
Write a Don Quixote inspired piece
Draw a sketch of yourself as a Fool remembering you are not entering the Archibald Prize

Playing with spreads helps you to explore the pros and cons of whatever is calling you.

Take the time to complete a spread like this one by Labyrinthos.

Adventure – What new adventures await you? What new challenges are on your horizon? What aspects of your life are calling out for you to explore?
Position – Where are you? What is the state of your life’s journey right now? What is the environment and context in which you are operating?
A Risk – What risk are you taking? What are you putting on the line? What do you have to lose?
Foundations – What is something that you have always relied on in your life? What are you leaving behind on this adventure?
A Warning – Where are you vulnerable? Where do you need to be alert? What possible mistakes could you make as you set forth on your new journey?
A Helping Hand – Who or what should you trust? What resources or knowledge do you have at your disposal?

Spread by Labyrinthos