Every story has a protagonist: the central figure at the heart of the story. You're with them in the beginning and watch as they progress on their adventure until you finish the final page and close the book. When we use Tarot as a lens for self-inspection, we put ourselves in the place of the protagonist, The Fool, and observe as we flip through the pages of our own story, or what is commonly known as The Fool's Journey.
The Fool's Journey is a walk through the Major Arcana of Tarot and is represented by the 21 different archetypes that appear throughout our existence. For those unfamiliar with the term archetype, it is a representation of a pattern or collection of characteristics that can easily be identified outside of one's own culture, time, or geographic location. Common archetypal themes found in Tarot include the Mother, the Father, Lovers, and Death - all ideas and concepts that hold a universal understanding, symbols with which we can all identify at some point in our life.
The Fool's Journey can easily be broken into three groupings that help us relate to periods of our life. The first leg, which we will discuss here, represents the period from birth through early adulthood: our journey of self.
The second leg of the journey begins when we begin to live in and embrace the World around us. This would represent experiences like the growth of a career and the establishment of significant relationships. This is also, however, where we traditionally first experience loss and begin to recognize the limits of our mortality.
The final leg in The Fool's Journey begins in the later years of life when we typically see a turn inwards as we explore spirituality and our personal relationship with our Creator (God) within the Universe.
When the journey ends, however, the story begins again as The Fool's Journey is more about cycles than beginnings and ends. Each card represented in the Major Arcana marks a significant life event, something profound and meaningful, unlike the other 56 cards in the Minor Arcana which represent the day-to-day passings and smaller events in our lives.
As a system of archetypes, it's also important to remember that, while the Major Arcana is numerically ordered in a traditional progression, the order of the events and archetypes that make up the Major Arcana can be shifted and shuffled as life dictates. The Fool can find himself between any two cards at any time.
We begin The Fool's Journey with the notion of The Fool themselves. Gender is removed, and bias is inconsequential. The Fool appears before us bright-eyed, ready for adventure, with an outlook unclouded by judgment. They march to the precipice of a cliff as if the drop below is mere inches away, but carries on unflinchingly. They bring with them a simple bundle that contains the experiences and knowledge they need for their journey, nothing else.
Arthur Waite, one of the co-creators of the modern Tarot deck we know, stated that The Fool is a "spirit in search of experience," and placed them at the beginning of the Tarot deck. They are marked with the number 0, as it is a number without order and represents unlimited potential, containing all numbers. Their place in the deck is fluid, however, and is equally at home in the beginning as they are in the middle or end.
As an archetype, The Magician is rather metaphysical compared to many of the other archetypes in the Major Arcana. Carl Jung states the Magician represents "thought, science, transformation, inspiration, and innovation" and is the most powerful of the archetypes.
The creation of an idea, that spark of inception, is why The Magician starts at number one. The channeling of ether into the creation of the elements (fire/wands, earth/pentacles, air/swords, water/cups) demonstrates The Magician's power of transformation. This creationist energy is where the relation to The Fool comes in, as we experience that initial spark of creation (the literal zinc spark that occurs when a sperm fertilizes an egg), and we see the beginning of The Fool's Journey.
In The Fool's Journey, The High Priestess is marked by a period of slow, quiet growth, gestation, the fetal period where the growing embryo embraces the physical form and develops key physical traits and characteristics. The archetype: The Divine Feminine.
The High Priestess is a connection between sacred, spiritual realms and the earthly, material world. She is a natural spiritual leader and promotes growth through meditation and spiritual connection, embuing The Fool with intuition, the spiritual awareness to interact with and appreciate The Divine, and an understanding of faith (that not everything can be seen).
The third step in The Fool's Journey is The Empress, the archetypal Mother. At this point, The Fool has been birthed and rests safely in the arms of The Empress who provides the emotional comfort and safety required of caring for a child. She nurtures The Fool and grounds them in her emotional protection, providing a stable environment to learn about the world them.
The Empress also encourages exploration of the senses as The Fool begins to wander and learn about the material world around them. This is the foundation upon which all other lessons are built: emotional stability, confidence, awareness, and structure.
The Emperor follows The Empress in The Fool's Journey and is the archetypal Father. He is the absolute counter to the Empress and rather than focusing on emotional grounding, he teaches hard lessons in rules, routine, and organized structure. He is a disciplinarian who shows care through order and boundaries.
As a father, he is reprsented as a wisened man who has progressed through life via sacrifice and respect for authority. These lessons are imparted to The Fool to balance the emotional and spiritual energies and prepare him to live a structured life in the outside world.
The word "Hierophant" is defined as a person who "interprets sacred mysteries and essoteric principals," however, as an archetype, we see The Hierophant as The Great Teacher. In The Fool's Journey, this is a period of institutional learning, of indoctrination of social norms and how they should think and act. The Fool has left The Empress and The Emperor and has embarked on a journey of structured education: secular, social.
This is the first time in The Fool's life where he has identified a need for belonging and social groups and learns the ins and outs of cultural inclusion. This is the period of time when The Fool begins to shape their personal belief systems and establishes their own unique view of the world.
As the Hierophant marks a period of great learning, it is also the first "departure" we see in The Fool's Journey as The Fool leaves the safety of his parents in pursuit of knowledge and worldly understanding.
The Lovers, by name, has a sexual conotation to it, and is often depicted with a couple or representation of Adam and Eve. However, the archetype of The Lovers is more than sexual invention. This marks the period of life for The Fool that is most commonly associated with the teenage years, where The Fool begins to yearn for independence and personal freedom. They want the freedom to make their own choices in life, including the pursuit of a relationship and sexual maturity.
The Lovers is also an introduction of choices, the appearance of good and evil, and the time when The Fool begins to establish their own sense of personal values, especially in regards to personal inclusion and relationships. They begin to step away from self-centric thinking and move towards union and what's best for the group.
As The Fool begins to come into their own and accepts the cultural norms they live within, we begin to see the invention of the Individual. Having learned from parents, schools, churches, society, and personal relationships, The Fool has established a sense of self-control and victory over themselves. This sense of willpower and self-control is what is defined by The Chariot.
The Chariot falls in the period of life when The Fool sets out on his own as a young adult, leaving the comforts of family and home to embark on their own story. This is often tied to pivotal events such as receiving a driver's license or leaving for college. The Fool has matured enough to understand the rights and wrongs of the world around them so they can thrive on their own. It will not be without hardship and challenge (as we will see in the upcoming leg of The Fool's Journey). However, the foundation that has been provided by each of the archetypes should be strong enough to see them through to the end of their story.
Follow the Fool on his journey into the next chapter: The Fool's Journey: Part 2 - The World.
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