5 Lessons of The Fool Tarot Card
How to Make the Most of This Energy
The Fool is a staple member in traditional tarot decks as they set the tone for the entirety of your journey as expressed through a process of self-actualization. Comprehension of this card can support you as you peel away levels of illusion inherent in society.
To honor the power of this figure, we must consider their origins and position relative to the deck. In my opinion, The Fool is the most powerful card of the Major Arcana because they represent the card reader themselves.
When we dive into the Fool’s wisdom, we reawaken childlike wonder through activation of the archetypal energy inherent within. Although the subjective nature of existence rejects universal truths (thankfully), I am here to help you navigate some of the potential lessons of The Fool.
Follow the Breadcrumbs
Don’t feed ducks breadcrumbs, please.
The Fool follows what I like to call “breadcrumbs of the Universe.” They leap, with abundant faith, into the blanket of existence, allowing for a full awakening to the Universal truths of existence. Through an engagement with the archetypal nature of The Fool, we can tap into this awareness.
That’s a tall order. Indeed. As an earth-based spiritual practitioner, I like to tune into this energy through daily life. However, when we focus intentionally, the magic and possibilities flood our minds.
This means that the elements surrounding us lead to the greatest possibility of transcendence, union, and manifestation. In other words, you can find the greatest possibility for soul-filled innocence through a simple moment of mindfulness. Cool, huh?
Take a Leap
I try my best to live by the philosophy that I must go towards what scares me. If what I desire doesn’t scare me, then it’s possible that I’m not challenging myself. However, it can be difficult to determine the difference between fear and truth.
The moment of gut reaction can be one of great confusion — especially for trauma survivors. Both fear-based instinct and protective intuition derive from the same place in my body, so how am I meant to decipher the difference? How do I know when to face my fear versus when my safety is threatened? What a conundrum, right? I don’t know. I mean, our ancestors likely didn’t struggle as much with this challenge.
Sally instinctually runs when she senses a predator. She also knows when it is best to move towards the fear, such as when she is hunting for her meal. She knows the invigorating feeling that accompanies fear is one of importance because it drives her to accomplish her goal (not starving).
As individuals who live in modern society, it is in the best interest of the powers that be that we are conditioned to detach from our intuition. Instead of reliance on our gut feeling, we foster greater trust with companies who want our money. Not only is this reliance fostered, but the marketing team has the capacity to convince us that we are, in fact, wrong about our own intuition.
When we learn to distrust ourselves we become puddy in the hands of the greedy folx who lead this “free world”. I would normally say that this is especially true for women, but I find that all genders suffer equally from this veil that separates them from their authentic selves.
Through my own experience, the truth is very simple. But, unfortunately, t need to pay someone to help me listen to my intuition, which feeds a misconception that this basic animal composition is complex. When the illusion of complexity collides with a perception of lack we have a recipe for confused baby sheep.
So how do we break out of this mentality? How do we remember the truth of our being? I can recommend many different mystical practices to help you tune in, but I’ve discovered a simplistic method for discernment. Are you ready for it?
When confronted with a decision that prompts a guttural instinct, ask two questions:
- What memory is stirred by this choice?
- Is this decision in line with my desire for growth?
If the choice is aligned with growth, then the answer resides in acknowledging the trigger with a choice to move forward. On the other hand, if the choice is not aligned with your highest good….well, bye, girl.
Trust in the Unknown
I don’t think this will happen to you.
It’s easy to claim you listen to your intuition, but it’s another thing entirely to follow where that intuition leads you. Part of this process is a complete surrender to the unknown. Surrendering to the unknown can be scary because, well, sometimes it is dangerous.
I’m not suggesting that you walk into a dark alley filled with hungry lions and poke them with sticks. I mean, if that’s you’re thing, fine. Instead, my focus is on the possibility of growth through the wisdom that accompanies surrender.
This lesson is one of the most challenging in my own life. I tend to fight the whole idea of surrender. I would rather attempt to control the outcome through micromanagement of my life. However, as many times as I’ve followed meticulously laid plans, they never align.
What actually occurs is often oppositional to my plan. Until I surrender to my ego and circumstance entirely, I’m fighting the wind (and losing). A beneficial shift only occurs when I engage in this process.
Surrender is messy. Surrender is scary as fuck. So how do we do it regardless? Not to beat a dead horse, but we must follow the fear. Fear is the primary indicator that we are on a path towards growth. Again, I’m not telling you to jump off a cliff with no harness. We must still lay plans in order to create safeties so the process of surrender looks more like breaking through hurdles and less like getting our limbs ripped off.
As you see in the tarot card, the Fool has everything they need in order to properly surrender. This ain’t a haphazard action, it’s one that requires forethought, fear, and a willingness to jump.
You Control Your Destiny
As a recovering Psuedo-Spiritualist, I spent a great deal of my life in the mindset that good things happen when my vibration aligns with them. Although I do not discredit this belief system, we speak of the less complex and divinely propagated vibrations. Vibration is as simple as:
- Setting a goal
- Aligning your thoughts
- Aligning you feelings
- Aligning your actions
- Remaining consistent
These are specific action-oriented approaches that yield results. You fail in a business venture through a mere visualization of success. Trust me, I’ve tried it. The key to this equation is the action that comes along with the alignment, which is why I believe the law of attraction is sort of…bull shit.
I do agree with the basic fundamental truth. I agree that like attracts like. If I constantly believe I am a victim, then I will be a victim. Simple, right? This is where the law of attraction is logically sound. However, if I am to believe that I can manifest a million dollars from my energetic alignment, then something is amiss.
Action thought and intention is necessary to create the kind of life we desire. I don’t need to spend money on a program to teach me how to do this and neither do you.
You can create the kind of life you desire, and nothing stands in the way of that — not even the Universe. So regardless of what anyone else tells you, you have the free will to decide how you want to live your life. This understanding of control is what the Fool brings into our life.
Go with the flow, babe.
This may seem counter to the previous point mentioned, but the spectrum of reality is fluid. Contradictions are inherent…take it or leave it. Anyway, hear me out! Once you take action, go with it. You’ve prepared, and now is the time for patience and fluid cooperation.
Although the Fool isn’t known for patience this energy does have an ever-expanding ability to focus attention on multiple areas at once. When we engage with different areas of life (ones where we already experience flow), we can remain in a state of gratitude and surrender.
Through this presence, we can continue to move with life — even as we wait for our plans to fall into place. The Fool helps us move towards this free fall towards our greatest desires and unlimited possibility for growth.
