In this recent post, which features cards from the Gothic Tarot of Vampires, I selected The Fool as my personal card for the week of 10/11/09 (GTV Fool, above left).
I was drawn to that menacing shadow, but then I started to think, who is The Fool in this card? The young woman clinging to the young man’s hand? She doesn’t seem to notice his other hand’s shadow is poised with ill intent. Or maybe it’s the young man who is The Fool by being unaware of his metaphorical shadow side. Maybe they are both being Fools—they seem intrigued by something in the distance when perhaps they should be running. Or maybe The Fool is someone outside the frame of the card who is running from them—someone who can only see the larger-than-life shadows and not the innocuous beings beneath.
While pondering this original, elusive interpretation of The Fool, I couldn’t help but think about my familiar friend, the Rider-Waite-Smith Fool (above right). Now that is one sunshiny card! Stepping off a cliff never looked so good. Then I imagined him waking up one morning to find himself in the Gothic Tarot of Vampires. Whoa!
Exercise for Reflection:
Pull The Fool card from several different decks. Imagine each Fool figure confronting a vampire. Which handles the situation with grace, confidence, or wit? Now imagine that Fool in your shoes facing a dreaded situation where fear often gets the best of you. You may find you have something to learn from him—or her.
Here are a few Fool cards. Place your cursor over a card to see what deck it is from. Click on its image to take you to Tarot Garden, where you can see more samples from the deck and make a purchase.
