When you are wondering what will happen next, The Fool shows up to tell you something awesome (and totally unknown and unexpected) is about to happen. It’s here to show you where you need to bring more fun, adventure, and playfulness into your life.
Traditionally, this card shows a young man blindly walking off the edge of a cliff, his face turned toward the sun. He’s on his own private adventure and he doesn’t have a clue about what’s in front of him. In one hand he carries a white rose (symbolizing his innocence) and the other hand holds a traveling hobo-bag (or man-purse-on-a-stick). His devoted little dog is following and they are striking out on an adventure.
The Fool is either the first or the last card of the Major Arcana, depending on how you choose to order your cards. It’s given the number 0 (zero) and it both starts and completes the 22-card Tarot Hero’s Journey through the major cards of the tarot. The Fool is also known as “The Pioneer,” “The Lunatic,” and “The Foolish Man,” which tells you a bit about the traditional meanings of this card.
In its most positive readings, The Fool is about starting a new adventure with enthusiasm and fresh hope. In a negative sense, it can be read as being stuck in immaturity, self-delusions, and short-term thinking. Overall, The Fool is optimistic, self-focused, and blind to reality. But he’s also got a cute dog and a nice purse, so you know everything will work out just fine!
Keywords for The Fool Tarot Card
- Energetic adventures and a fresh start
- Folly, mania, frenzy
- Go for it – it’s time to take a risk
- Travel (in a literal sense) or a journey of self-discovery
Keywords for The Fool Reversed
- Absence, thoughtlessness, carelessness
- Apathy and being unprepared
- Quit acting like a child – it’s time to grow up
Patterns and Correspondences of The Fool Card
- Major Arcana = the cycle of your life’s lessons and spiritual growth
- Number 0 = beginnings and starting fresh
- Zodiac sign = Aries, the start of the zodiac
- Planet = Uranus, for novelty and unexpected events
- Element = Air
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The Fool Tarot Card Meanings for Love
The Fool is a pleasure-seeking, playful, and sociable card. If you are looking for love, it’s a great card to inspire your romantic adventure. Create your online dating profile, take some big social risks, and put your beautiful self out into the world. Your “one true love” might not show up quickly, but at least you’re going to have fun searching for them!
If you are questioning your current romance, The Fool can be read as a person inexperienced in love (either you or your partner), or it can be read about the state of your relationship in general.
Maybe you need to be more playful and bring the fun back into your partnership? Reconsider your romantic life as a crazy adventure and find new and exciting things to try together.
Rekindle the spark that brought you together by playing games, asking questions, and finding a hobby or physical activity you can share.
The Fool Tarot Card Meanings for Work
If you are starting (or want to start) a new job, career path, or professional interest, The Fool supports you. Great things will come if you set aside your fear and your past mistakes, and move in this new direction.
It’s time to take a risk with your work. Ask for the raise, take on a new project, or start studying something you know absolutely nothing about.
You will trip and make a fool of yourself. And that’s wonderful! We only grow through experience, and The Fool is sending you on an adventure to gain the knowledge and confidence you need for this new life.
The Fool Tarot Card Meanings for Health
If you are starting (or thinking about starting) a new health, nutrition, or exercise plan, The Fool is here for you! It’s going to be a great adventure if you throw yourself into it. It’s a fresh start, and you can put every health disappointment or failure behind you and begin again.
You may need more fun in your life. Even extreme introverts and natural hermits need to be connected to the greater world. All of your life’s greatest lessons – and its most memorable events – will involve other people. The Fool can show you where to be more playful and social with others.
The Fool Tarot Card Meanings for Money and Finances
The Fool is a risk-taking card. It’s time to take a risk with your financial future and take a chance on a new adventure.
However, The Fool is also a crazy trickster and sometimes this card is a warning against being too foolish.
It’s tough to have it both ways! The answer may not be logical or follow conventional wisdom, so you must follow your insight and intuition. Be careful and only risk the money you can afford to lose.
But spending on fun, adventures, and your social life may be what you need right now.
The Fool Tarot Card Meanings for Spiritual Guidance
If you are questioning your life’s purpose, you are like The Fool at the beginning of a grand spiritual adventure. This is a quest of self-discovery, with ups and downs continuing through the other 21 cards of the Major Arcana.
It’s a confusing time. You are so early in your journey that your destination is unknown and unseen. Right now, the path is unclear.
And that’s exactly as it should be. If you can see 100% of the steps ahead of you, you are on the wrong path. This well-trod path created by someone else is not your journey. You are blazing a new trail, completely in line with your own dreams, values, and vision.
You only need to see the next step in front of you. Once you take the first step, continue moving forward and follow the threads pulling you. You’ll eventually reach clarity and understanding, and your true destination will be revealed.
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