THE FOOL

Basic Tarot Symbols

The fool in colorful motley clothes, pack tied to a staff, a small dog, a
cliff.
Basic Tarot Story

With all his worldly possessions in one small pack, the Fool travels he
knows not where. So filled with visions and daydreams is he, that he
doesn't see the cliff he is likely to fall over. At his heel, a small dog
harries him (or tries to warn him of a possible mis-step).
Basic Tarot Meaning

At #0, the Fool is the card of infinite possibilities. The bag on the staff
indicates that he has all he needs to do or be anything he wants, he has
only to stop and unpack. He is on his way to a brand new beginning.
But the card carries a little bark of warning as well. Stop daydreaming
and fantasizing and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the
fool.

Thirteen's Observations

In the Tarot, cards like The Magician or The Hermit can often stand for
the Querent or for someone in the Querent's life. The Fool, however,
almost always stands for the Querent alone, no one else. In standing for
the Querent, the Fool represents a time of newness, a time when life
has been "re-started" as it were. The person feels that they are back at
zero, whether that be in romantic affairs, or career, at their job or
intellectual pursuits. Far from being sad or frustrating, the Querent feels
remarkably *free*, light hearted and refreshed, as if being given a
second chance. They feel young and energized.

In addition, they likely have no idea where they're going or what they're
going to do. But that doesn't matter. For the Fool, the most important
thing is to just go out and enjoy the world. To see what there is to see
and delight in all of it.

Unfortunately, in this childlike state the person is likely to be overly

optimistic or naive. A Fool can be a Fool. This is the card likely to turn
up when a Querent is thinking of investing his money in a new, "sure
fire" business. Or when the Querent is sure that it's "love this time!" Like
the Fool, they're so busy daydreaming of what might be that they're
ignoring what is. They're about to fall right off a cliff. It's time for them to
listen to that watchful little dog, which might be a concerned friend, a
wise tarot reader, or just their instincts.
As a card, the Fool ultimately stands for a new start. When it turns up
the Querent might be about to make a move, not just to a new home,
but new job, new life. There's more than just change, renewal, and a
brand new beginning in the Fool, there's also movement, a fresh,
exciting new time.

Without the notion of Zero, our system of mathematics becomes

meaningless. Similarly, the Fool is an essential part of the Tarot
because he is the spark that sets everything else into motion, the
divine breath that gives life and inspires the first step towards
fulfillment and completion. Though the first step down a long
path may often seem small in comparison to the journey, that
first step is vital because without it there would be no journey at
all! The Fool is the cause behind all effects, the power behind all
manifestations and the seeds of the end sown in every
beginning.

The Fool is unmoulded potential, pure and innocent, neither

positive nor negative yet containing the possibility of both. He is
the unconditioned soul about to come into manifestation for the
first time to start learning the lessons of the world. Though
everyone calls him a Fool, he does not pay them any attention,
and he simply goes on his way. Certainly what they say can be
justified, since his ignorance of the world can lead him to do
things that more experienced people would never imagine. But
in these things he can find knowledge and enlightenment. He
does not care what others think or say about him, because he
knows that what he is doing is right for him.

His approach to life is a strange, unconventional one, because he

does what is comfortable to him. This is a viewpoint not often
supported in our modern world, in which "do as I say" is the
commandment most followed. To those who have lived their life
under this philosophy, the approach of the Fool may be
extravagant, shocking, even frightening. But this approach is all
that the Fool knows, and because the only approval he requires
is his own, he will continue to live this way, despite what all
others think of him. He has total faith in himself. Perhaps he is
not such a fool after all.
The Fool does not hide himself from the light, because he is the
light - the wonderful light that shines out of every child before
they see the world and are forced to build so many walls and
barriers to protect themselves. The innocence of a child, sadly,
is something rarely found outside of children, even though a lot
of people could use it these days. With this innocence comes
perfect trust, fearlessness in others, and total self-reliance. It
allows you to see the world with new eyes and learn new things
every day of your life. Think of how much better the world
would be if everybody acted this way! It's a shame that only
children, and the Fool, see this light.

The Fool almost always stands for new beginnings, new

experiences and new choices; the first steps along a new path
and the first words written onto a blank page. Like the Aces of
the Minor Arcana, such beginnings are like the Fool himself -
neither positive nor negative, but with the potential to turn into
either, depending on the choices you make and the path you
follow. But this must not be your concern, because when a
journey begins no one can know (or should know) what will
happen on the way to the destination. Never let another person
control your life. Live in the present and trust in your own
abilities - this is the way of the Fool.

Such journeys always imply a degree of risk, and hence the Fool
is pictured walking toward the edge of a high cliff. With any
new experience there is always the risk of failure and the
certainty of change; it is the degree of change, and how that
change will appear, that are undeterminable. But the Fool has no
qualms about taking chances, so why should you? It is through
the first steps that we learn how to walk, and it is through
changes that we learn how to live our lives in harmony and
peace. So jump head first into the abyss of the unknown, and
know that even if you eventually fall to the ground, for a while
you will soar.
MAGICIAN
Basic Card Symbols

Red & White coloring, the lemniscate (infinity symbol), a small wand, a
table displaying a chalice, a pentacle, a staff (wand) and a sword
Basic Tarot Story

Traveling on his way, the Fool first encounters a Magician. Skillful, self-
confident, a powerful magus with the infinite as a halo floating above his
head, the Magician mesmerizes the Fool. When asked, the Fool gives
over his bundled pack and stick to the Magician. Raising his wand to
heaven, pointing his finger to Earth, the Magician calls on all powers;
magically, the cloth of the pack unfolds upon the table, revealing its
contents. And to the Fool's eyes it is as if the Magician has created the
future with a word. All the possibilities are laid out, all the directions he
can take. The cool, airy Sword of intellect and communication, the fiery
Wand of spirituality and ambition, the overflowing Chalice of Love and
emotions, the solid Pentacle of work, possessions and body. With these
tools, the Fool can create anything, make anything of his life. But here's
the question, did the Magician create the tools, or were they already in
the pack? Only the Magician knows - and on this mystery, our eloquent
mage refuses to say a word.
Basic Tarot Meaning

At #1, the Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower

and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things just-so
by speaking them aloud ("And God said 'Let there be Light!' and there
was Light"). Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented
by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a
salesman. Also clever with the sleight of hand (Mercury *was* the god
of thieves!) and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying
to sell you snake oil. The 4 suits laid out before him remind us of the 4
aces, which in the Tarot symbolize the raw, undeveloped, undirected
power of each suit. When the Magician appears, he reveals these to
you. The reader might well interpret this card as telling the querent that
they will be given a vision, an idea, a magical, mental image of
whatever it is they most want: the solution to a problem, an ambitious
career, a love life, a job.
Thirteen's Observations

If any card in the Tarot is the Tarot, it is the Magician. He's one of the
most recognizable cards, always a favorite. He's also the only card in
the major arcana that refers to the minors with the "trumps" displayed
upon his table. If the reader believes the Magician stands for the
Querent, then the Querent either is, or is currently finding himself
eloquent and charismatic at this time. Both verbally and in writing, he is
clever, witty, inventive and persuasive. People listen and agree with
him. He also has an interest in science. He might be, in fact, a doctor or
scientist or inventor.

Standing for someone other than the querent, the Magician could be a
skillful doctor, scientist, inventor lecturer, salesman, or con-man. It's
important to remember that the Magician can as easily be clever as
skilful, a trickster as well as a magician. This is someone with a
magnetic personality, someone who can convince people of almost
anything. For better or worse, his words are magic.

Most importantly, the Magician card stands for the "reveal" - as in a

magic trick. The handkerchief is draped over an empty box, the
Magician waves his wand, *presto!*--now there is a dove in the box.
The Magician card does the same for the Querent--only what it reveals
is not birds or rabbits but NEW ideas. Emphasis on NEW. When the
Magician card appears, the Querent is likely to say: "Now there's an
idea! Why didn't I think of that before?" Truth is, the Querent had that
idea in his head all along. The Magician merely revealed it to him. But
what will the Querent do with this idea? That's a question for the next
card....

The Magician's number is One, the number of creation and

individuality; his power is transformation through the use of his
will. In his manipulation of the basic elements into all the
substances and materials of life, he shows us that from a
foundation of the mundane can emerge all that is to come. He
can take the Nothing from which the Fool emerged and shape it
into Something, making one out of zero. Clearly this is power of
a divine sort, and it is true that the Magician is a conduit for a
higher power, which commands all of the material world. Since
all that we can see in the physical world is the conduit himself,
the acts he performs often seem like magic.

The Magician may seem like a strange title for someone who
holds real power, because the word "magician" tends to conjure
up pictures of illusionists and escape artists, whose power
involves sleight of hand and misdirection. The Magician,
however, is similar to the stage illusionist in many ways. He is
confident in his skills and his ability to produce the effects that
he wants. His real power comes from sources outside of him,
and he is powerless without these sources, just as an illusionist
depends on people "behind the scenes". Both magician and
Magician, however, are as important to their powers are the
powers are to them. Without a conduit, power itself is impotent
and useless.

With his powers the Magician holds influence over all - theory
and practice, logic and emotion, thought and action. Almost
every modern depiction of the Magician includes one or more
symbols of infinity to denote his limitless power; the snake
eating its tail and the lemniscate (horizontal figure-eight) being
chief among these. This limitless power comes from sources
outside his body yet under his control. And as long as the
Magician remembers that this power is his to command, even if
he loses all of his worldly power and skill he can never truly be
called powerless. For his Will is a power that, while it can be
subdued, it can never be destroyed.

Another nearly universal association with the Magician is the

red-and-white color scheme. This theme recurs throughout the
Tarot and it is very symbolic that it starts with this card and not
the Fool. For while the Fool was the potential for positive and
negative, the Magician is the union of positive and negative. He
creates and he preserves; he destroys and he redeems. His true
power is that he not only knows what he must do, but he knows
how he must do it, and why he must do it. Then he does it. The
Magician reminds us that a wish alone will change nothing, but
a decision can change everything. A desire to create is nothing
without an ability to create, and vice-versa.

When the Magician appears he shows that you are ready to

become a conduit for power, like he is. The forces of creation
and destruction have always been at your command but now you
have the wisdom and confidence needed to use them
constructively. Now is the time to act, if you know what is it
you want to accomplish and why. Since the powers of
transformation are at your command, change your desires into
objectives, your thoughts into actions, your goals into
achievements. If you have recently met with failure, now you
can change that failure into success as easily as the Magician
changes fire into water. The only limits you have are those you
impose on yourself.

The outward manifestations of such power are as numerous as

they are varied, but the most common outer effect of the
Magician's influence is unswaying and total confidence. The
realization that the world is under your control is what inspires
this kind of confidence, and with good reason. So go out into the
world, set your mind to whatever goal you are interested in, and
then just stand back and watch as everything falls into place
under your command. Ultimately, the message of the Magician
is a simple one despite his limitless and infinitely complex
power. Your life is under your control. Your life is what you
want it to be. Your life is what you make it.
M - Skill, diplomacy, sickness, pain, loss, disaster, self-
confidence, will
R – Physician, Magus, disgrace, disquiet