by Gahl Sasson
Before we even start talking about fools and such, it is important that we realize that we are the Fool and the Journey of the Fool is our own adventure through the magical realm of archetypal energies. The Tarot is very old, yet also very childish, it should be revered in a serious matter, yet it is funny and sometimes even ridiculous. It is holy and profane, divine and earthly, quite like us, the human beings who read the Tarot cards. The cards speak to us via the subconscious, it is a language each human being understands without learning, it is embedded in our genes; infants in their mothers wombs communicate it – it is the language of dreams. The cards share these archetypal symbols that are found in dreams, these symbolic letters and words transcend time and space, go beyond religion and defy borders between countries. It is a way to the One, it is a way to speak with ourselves. It is the soundless Om. Working with the Tarot, you will find, enhances your capability to interpret your dreams and even direct them. Its a trip, its a journey and so the journey begins…
The Fool– Let’s imagine the Fool to be a soul, not yet reincarnated, don’t forget, the Fool is just potential not actual as yet. He wants to embark on the scariest ride in the Universal Theme Park – reincarnation into a human being. Wow, that’s a cool trip. So first our androgynous soul meets..
The Magician– the first archetypal energy. The Magician is the communicator, the keeper of the mysteries. He is the Fool’s guide, his guardian angel, always there, invisible, helping in the last moment. He is also the trickster that teaches the Fool that the mind is an illusion. He represents the sperm, the spiritual father of the Fool, he is number one, numero uno. But as they say, it takes two to tango. So…
The Priestess– We have her Highness number two in the cards — the High Priestess. This woman is a remarkable being, she is the Moon, the holder of memory, all that we have known and will know. She is the one that makes us forget everything before our birth, so that we will learn to remember during our life time what we have forgotten upon birth. She is the ovum. Now that the Magician is united with the High Priestess. A child is on its way…
The Empress– the biological, earthly mother of all living things – she is mother nature herself. The Empress is fertility, art beauty and life. She is nurturing, seductive and like nature – breathtakingly beautiful. She gives birth to our little Fool, he suckles from her fruitful breasts, thankful for the gift of life. The Empress spoils him, gives him whatever he wishes, she loves him like a mother, unconditionally. The Fool spends a great deal of time with her or in the wild nature.
The Emperor – his father. The Fool never really understood what his gentle and graceful mother found in that muscular overgrown man. What reason she could possibly have to want to be with him, when she can be with me? The Fool asks. But when the Fool is about six years old, his father, coming back from a long vacation, takes him asides and tells him in a low voice: “Now, you have to learn to be a man, so that one day you can find your own Empress and have a wife like mama.” Well, that sounds logical enough for the Fool to agree to spend some time with the Emperor, the ruler of war, order, logic, reason, civilization and pioneering. It turns out to be actually very cool: wrestling with the Emperor who pretends to loose, learning about sports and wars, learning about politics and strategy and stuff like that. The Emperor has not become an emperor by chance; he was anointed secretly in his youth by an incredible timeless man, a man who had trained him in the higher form of warship – how to fight for the Light. This was…
The Hierophant– the keeper of the sacred keys. The Emperor knew there was a point he reached with the education of the Fool that he could not surpass. Now the Fool must find his spiritual teacher that can convey to him the meaning of life. The Emperor gave the form to his son, now it is up to the guru to give the content. And so one day the Emperor calls for his teenage son, the Fool, and tells him that he must go to the forest and find the Hierophant. The Fool is excited as always, and he bids farewell to his parents the Empress and Emperor and embarks on a new adventure. In the forest in the shade of a great oak tree, the Hierophant meets his Yoda, his teacher. At first the Hierophant doesn’t want to teach the boy, he is too arrogant, too pampered, too impatient. The Fool is hurt but intrigued, not knowing that the Hierophant’s refusal to teach him was already the first lesson. The Fool stays with his master, learns to meditate and understands that all things are impermanent. He learns about the universe and the order of things, and when he is about 16 the Hierophant initiates him into the mystery of life, gives him the seven keys and tells him to begin his walk-about and find his destiny. He has taught him all he needs to learn, now it is time to go back to the real teacher of any fool – to life. So the Fool slides down the forested mountain, heading back to his home town, when he sees a most beautiful sight…
The Lovers – A young woman, about his age – 16 or so, is drawing water from the well. Their eyes meet. Boom, its love at first sight. They look alike, as if they are twins, indeed life is full of surprises. They become Lovers. The Fool stays with her for a while, he makes love for the first time and she becomes his best friend. Together they discover a new way to communicate. But nothing lasts forever, the Fool has learned that much in his short and exciting life. One day when he is lying in the meadow next to his lover he hears the trumpets of war, coming from his father’s castle. As the Fool stands to have a better view of the endless field, he sees from afar a great …
The Chariot–..war chariot, lead by his father general. The Fool has a strange feeling creeping up and down his spine, like a snake uncoiling ready to attack. He feels the spasm of the call. He dresses, kisses his lover farewell and runs toward the chariot; he must join his father and family. He must go home! The emperor has decided to protect one of his provinces that has been attacked by barbarians. He has gathered an army and wants his son to come with him. The Fool is 18 years old and able in body and mind. He arms himself, takes a chariot and goes to his first battle. Life is unfolding in front of the Fool. They win all their battles, victorious in defending their homeland, the emperor and his dutiful son the Fool, head back home. On the way they have to cross through a neighboring exotic kingdom so they can get home faster. Something strange happens to our Fool. One night the Fool decides to take his horse and roam the peculiar jungle surrounding their camp. It was near the capital of Lionlingaria.
Strength– The Fool is about 20 years old, athletic, glamorous and victorious, in a way, full of himself (or should we say fool of himself). He comes across a little pond and since it is a hot summer day he undresses and dives in. Then he hears a roar coming from the other side of the pond. He is a little anxious when he hears the sound of water splashing. Something has entered the pond. “Do lions swim?” he thinks to himself quite worried. Then he feels something smooth touching his back. He turns around and he sees the most amazing green eyes. He pulls back and realizes he is next to the most beautiful young woman he has ever seen. He can not control his attraction – he kisses her passionately and the rest must be censored. The Fool is in love again, but this time it is with the strength, the passion, the maturity, not to mention the sexual techniques this woman has. She turns out to be the princess of that monarchy, and the Fool learns all there is to learn about the Kama Sutra and sexuality. He feels like a king, like a lion that can roar his will. He is intoxicated with the ecstasy of love making. He never felt stronger or higher. Then it all has to end, as fast as it began, the armies have to move on, his secret love affair with the princess ( who was suppose to be kept a virgin until marriage ) was discovered and her father, the King of Lionlingaria is about to declare war on the Emperor because of his Foolish son’s secret love affair. So before things heat up, the Emperor agrees with the Lion king that in order to insure a state of peace between the countries, the foolish charismatic fool must go to…
The Hermit– and repent for a while, at least until things cool down. The Fools is devastated, he longed for his love, but life is as beautiful as it is cruel and that’s how things are. Reluctantly the Fool, now about 21 years old, climbs the high desolated mountain, were it is said that a strange eccentric Hermit lives. The Fool meets him at the mountain summit, an old man, grey beard, holding a little lamp that is shining a unique kind of white light. The Fool learns to enjoy the old man’s company, they hardly speak, the Hermit has a very keen eye, he pays attention to little details in the Fool’s personality. The Hermit purifies the Fool from all that excessive energy he has, not to mention his uncontrolled sexual drive. The Fool learns humility, how to enjoy simple ordinary things. The Hermit loves the young man, he is an avid student, but the Fool has refused to go deep inside himself. He is a great lover, incredible warrior, very skilled socially and knows every mantra possible. But the Fool doesn’t know himself. And the Hermit knows it. The Hermit can see the future, he can see…
The Wheel of Fortune– turning, spinning around and around. All things change and he can see that the Fool is about to embark on a dangerous and even fatal journey. And so the Fool must say goodbye to the Hermit and go down the mountain to rejoin his life, to face the consequences of his former action – fulfill his karma. He knows he will have to confront the scales of….
Justice– He is surprised to learn that his father has already forgiven him, and that his mother was never actually angry with him. “After all”, she says, smiling mischievously, “that’s precisely how I met the Emperor, many years ago.” And so the Fool finds himself back home where he dedicates his time to learning all there is to learn. But something is wrong. Things are uncomfortably comfortable. He misses the adventures, but where else can he possibly go? He has been to foreign kingdoms, meditated himself to every corner of the astral world, learned many languages. There is only one last place he can travel to, the place he has avoided – his inner-self, the realm of the subconscious – to the underworld.
The Hanged Man– The Fool knows he will have to be brave and determined, this journey is not going to be an easy one. Many have tried to go to the kingdom of the Lord of Darkness, but none have come back. He goes to the deepest forest, there he finds an old Ash tree and he hangs himself upside down from the tree. He wants to have a different perspective of life. He sacrifices himself, his ego, to his higher self. He wants to die and to be reborn again, as a person who is united with his subconscious side. He hangs there, a hanged man, and…
Death– he dies. His death is not complete, near death his soul descends to the underworld, directed by the roots of the Ash tree, Earthward to the kingdom of the underworld. This is, in fact, the first real journey the Fool embarks on. Until now it was all an illusion. Now the true journey begins, into himself, to the depth of his being, to the seat of his fears. He is on the threshold, between life and death, light and dark. He needs…
Temperence– in order to survive this trip. He must balance himself between the fire of life and the deep waters of the subconscious to travel to his destination. When he reaches the farthest corner of the underworld he faces the Prince of Darkness, Lucifer, Nosferatu, Satan –
The Devil– He is surprised to find out that the Devil is not at all sinister, in fact he is a rather cool guy. The Devil teaches him how to use things, how to get what he wants. He gets him beautiful cars, babes, real estates (land is cheap in the Underworld) The Fool is feeling like the king of the hill. He has everything he ever dreamed of. He doesn’t realize that he is caught in the web of temptation, he doesn’t know it is a material illusion, and that the spider was only waiting for him to be stuck. But the Fool begins to feel something is wrong. It is too good to be true, he has even forgot when and why he came to the Underworld in the first place. He starts being more and more aware of his fears, and the more he connects to his fears the more the illusion brakes and he can see the true face of the Underworld. He hears whispers saying “All things are impermanent, it is all an illusion, snap out of it, the sleeper must awake.” He must burn it all, purify it all with fire…
The Tower– must be destroyed. The Fool looks around, sees his cars, his babes, his houses. He knows it is all an illusion, to distract him from working on his fears. He takes a match and burns the illusion, not knowing that he is actually burning himself with the Tower. In the Upper world a lightening bolt hits the branch that the Fool is hanging from and burns it. The Fool hits the ground and wakes up from his coma. The only thing he can see in his delirium is…
The Star– a beautiful, naked woman, pouring water and cleaning him. The waters are the water of memory and the lady is a younger manifestation of the High Priestess that was his spiritual mother. This time she is the lady of the Stars, bathing him with pure radiant energy which revives him. She speaks to him. “You must visit…”
The Moon– she whispers softly and still in his Dreamtime state he finds himself on the Moon, looking down on Earth. There were two towers on the Moon, and he knows he has to walk between them. He also realizes they are like two huge scanners that search for any residue of fear left from the experience in the Underworld. If he has none, he will pass through them and survive, if not… The Fool collects himself and remembers what all his former teachers have taught him, that “form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is form, emptiness is emptiness,” its all an illusion, its all impermanent. And that thought is the bridge. He crosses over and reaches the other side…
The Sun– In the Sun he is healed. His mother and father worried from his long absence have sent troops throughout the forest to find him. A white mysterious wolf has shown the soldiers where the unconscious delirious body of the Fool is. He is brought to the castle, and placed under the faithful hands of the great healer. He regains his health, bathing in the rays of the all healing Sun. And after a few weeks, he is called once again to fight a duel, with a horrible black knight who is sent by the Lord of Death himself. No one in the Kingdom can stop him. Many knights tried and failed. The Fool, not completely healed, begs his father the Emperor, not to send any more knights to fight this black stranger. It is he who needs to confront this blackest of all shadows. For after all it is his own shadow, as powerful and knowledgeable as himself. Only the Fool can overcome the Fool. And on the…
Judgement– day, when the Black Knight arrives, the Fool sits down crossed legged under a Tree at the entrance to the city. He is not clad, not armed, not even with a dagger. He begs all his friends and family and all the citizens to leave the city. He must face this character alone. The Black Knight draws his sword and charges. The Fool doesn’t move, he chants in his mind a proverb he has heard a long time ago from his master the Hierophant: “Be still and Know that I am God” the Black Knight comes closer and points his long sharp spear at the Fool. Still as a rock the Fool doesn’t move. The Black Knight advances in great speed, a crow shrieks. The Fool’s life streams before in fast motion. He sees his first lover, he sees the old Hermit- silence his only advice, he sees the Lion princess and her passionate body, he sees the Ash tree and the Magician. And he realizes they are all One, they are all manifestations of his own personality, he is his Lover, he is the Emperor and he is the Empress. He is the Magician, he is the Hermit. It was all an illusion, all things are really impermanent, its not a mantra, IT IS THE REAL REALITY. He opens his eyes and sees the Black Knight standing over him with a sword ready to cut off his head. The Fool closed his eyes once again and touches the earth, his mother,
The Universe– At that moment as time condenses to infinity, the sword of the Black Knight is a hair away from the Fool’s throat. The Lady Universe opens her mouth in majesty, her lips the horizon, her voice the sounds of waves she speaks “This is my beloved son, who through innumerable lifetimes has so given of himself that there is nobody here, therefore be gone Black Knight, you are trying to cut a head that does not exist.” At that moment, the Black Knight lifts his mask and reviles his shining face, he is indeed the Fool, teaching the Fool the last lesson, how not to be afraid. The Fool, our young hero has attained enlightenment. He is now running around, assuming many names, depending on the language or accent of the locales he is visiting. Some call him Christ, other Moses, some Buddha or Muhammad, some Zarathustra or Lao Tzu. He is nothing but a Fool, a Joker-man.