0 - The Fool

The Fool is probably the most special card in the tarot deck. I say this as it encompasses all other tarot cards within it. It is a card that is whole, yet incomplete at the same time; perfect, yet falable; a card of experience and yet completely unknowing. The overwhelming feelings for me when I look at The Fool are those of potential, opportunity and optimism. The card is quite delicately drawn here, and there is a light and airy feel about it with lots of space around the central figure. He (and it is a he in the Rider Waite version - note the Adam’s apple) seems carefree and unafraid of anything, with a childlike innocence all of his own. In other tarot decks, these features are not so obvious, portraying The Fool as a grotesque figure or as an idiot, someone to be shunned and ridiculed. Interestingly, in some cultures a 'fool' is considered to have a divine link, a 'hotline to God' so to speak, and their ramblings are taken with great seriousness. They are seen as someone who is without fear, without loyalty; totally independent of everyone and everything. They are revered for their 'wisdom' and say things just as they see them without the need for social niceties.

Colour plays a very important part in tarot (the subject of another topic for the future) and here we have wonderful yellows in the sky and on his boots and tunic. His hair is also a pale yellow as well. Yellow is the colour of hope and optimism, it is a strong and vibrant colour, giving energy and power and uplifts the soul. The green on his tunic indicates new life, new growth, and new opportunities. The orange mixed in on his tunic, again another very vibrant colour, indicates a passion and energy, yet he may not know just how much of that he has at this time.

The black staff indicates his potential again, and note the pack, how small and seemingly 'insignificant' it is. Within it are all his worldly goods; all he needs at this time for his life journey. Note the eagle's head drawn onto the pack, indicating wisdom. Perhaps this is wisdom not acknowledged or encountered, but it is there - we all know far more than we realise.

The rose, so delicately held between thumb and forefinger is a symbol of purity and sometimes the Devine, held aloft for all to see. The Fool has his trust in Spirit (God, the Devine, whatever) and looks skywards towards his diety with eyes that say "I don't know how, but you WILL look after me, I believe in you as much as I believe in myself, and though I know not where I am headed, it is your Will I am following".

And so with the sun on his back, an air of expectation and a trust in his God and himself, the Fool steps forth over the edge of the cliff and into a whole new adventure.

What is tarot?

Tarot is a set of 78 cards, split into two main parts, the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.

The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards, usually numbered from 0 to 21. Some decks have the cards numbered from 1 to 22, with cards 0 and 22 respectively being assigned to a card known as 'The Fool'.

The Minor Arcana is made up of 56 cards, grouped in four suits of fourteen cards each. The fourteen cards consist of four Court cards and ten 'number' cards. The Court cards are named Page, Knight, Queen and King, though in other decks you get variations such as Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight. The number cards again come in two different types, those that display a picture with the relevant quantity of each suit type shown on within a scene, or just the number of suit elements shown as 'pips' like traditional playing cards.

The names of the suits is traditionally Cups, Swords, Wands and Pentacles, though again there are variations such as Chalices, Spears, Batons and Coins. To be honest, it doesn't matter what the suits or Court cards are named.

What tarot also is, is a wonderful tool. This tool can be used for divination, self exploration, meditation etc. There is huge debate in some quarters as to the origins of the tarot, but this matters little to me. I am much more interested in where tarot can take us, not where it has come from.

Some people will say that tarot is a work of evil and that it is 'devil worship' to use such things. This is of course complete tosh. What we have here is an issue regarding intent. If you take a knife as an example, the knife itself is quite inert lying on a table. But if someone with evil intent were to pick it up, they could use the knife to kill or maim. However if someone with good intent were to use it, they could prepare food with it, or carve with it and use it for good. It is all about social responsibility, the person using the cards taking responsibility for their own actions.

Tarot cards are laid out in many different types of spread. These range from simple three cards spreads right through to ones that use ALL the cards. I have one spread whcih I call the 'Annual Review' which looks at the next twelve months ahead in the Client's life. This uses all the cards and takes between one and a half and two hours to read correctly. For the beginner though, you need only start with a simple three card spread of something like the past, present and future.

However, before you even get to that stage, you should learn what the cards mean to you. The easiest way to do this is to get a notebook and pen, your tarot deck, a table or other flat surface such as a floor and some peace and quiet. Look at the first card of the Major Arcana, The Fool. Here we are working with first impressions, so study the card and write at the same time. How does the card make you feel? Are you happy, sad, nervous, carefree? What colours are on the card, how do they make you feel? What about facial expressions or body language? Take those into account as well. Write down everything you can aboout the card and after two minutes, change to The Magician and repeat the process again on a new sheet of paper. I recommend using loose leaf sheets by the way, as when you have been through all 78 cards (and PLEASE don't try to do all 78 in one day), you turn them upside down and start with The Fool again going all the way back through them. What you are doing is making a very simple tarot journal which will help you so much in the weeks, months and years to come.

Enjoy your journey.

Mark  

Remembrance Day

On Armistice Day this year I stood, as I do every year, at 11 am and I give two minutes of my time to the memories of those who gave their lives in conflict. I happened to be in a branch of Waterstones this year and noticed the sign saying that there would be a two minute silence at the appointed hour.

I had been looking at some tarot books and decks for about ten minutes when I got the most enormous headache, which came on very suddenly. I shook my head slightly, to try and clear it I suppose, and then heard the sound of a massive explosion just as the clock struck 11. I looked up to see others in the shop stood silently, heads bowed in reverence but all I could hear were flack shells exploding, screams, machinegun fire and shouting. I also got flashes of infantrymen running, crouched over trying to move forward. The location was a beach of some sort.

For all the world I was in the middle of a battlefield. I must admit I was on the verge of panic and kept looking round at people to see if any of them had heard what I had. Nothing. Not a soul moved or seemed in the least bit disturbed.

With each stroke of the clock I heard more explosions and was physically shaking by the end of it. The silence was so welcoming and it took me the remainder of the two minutes to regain my composure. Was this my subconscious playing tricks on me? Was it memories of ‘war’ films being replayed in my mind? I don’t think so as it is not the type of film I choose to watch. Also, the sounds and images I saw were bore no relation to any of the very few films I had seen. I find this interesting as at 11 am the guns were supposed to have fallen silent, yet what I heard was far from that.

Was this a memory of a past life? Was it recognition of the fallen? It left me shocked and shaken whatever it was. I am clairvoyant and often get messages from those who have departed this life, but have never had anything as strong or sudden as that before. The sounds and images went as soon as quickly as they came and after a mug of sweet coffee I was fine.

I was advised by a very good friend to blog this, and so here it is, my Remembrance Day experience for 2009.

Lest We Forget.

Welcome to the Tarot Workshop

Hello.

I hope this small corner of the web will become home to some interesting thoughts, ideas and ramblings about all things tarot related, with a smattering of spirituality thrown in for good measure. I also hope that it becomes a place of learning and debate for the tarot student.

I would encourage your thoughts and ideas to be expressed on tarot and spirituality as we are all in a state of learning when it comes to such matters and there is no one "right" answer.

I will be presenting my thoughts on the Major Arcana in due course, then move onto the Courts and Minors. I hope to discuss tarot spreads, decks, symbology, numerology, colours, pathworking, meditations and more.

I was aware of tarot a long time before I actually owned my first deck. Tarot (pronounced 'tarrow' as in 'marrow' for those who don't know) was always spoken about in hushed tones when I was a child. And living and growing up in a small village in Cumberland as it was known then, I guess it was as no surprise as we were a superstitious lot at that time.

As a teenager, I dabbled for a while in studying the 'unexplained' and such subjects as UFO's, ghosts, the Loch Ness monster and of course tarot. But again, I could take it or leave it as I had done previously.

When I started college however at Bolton, things changed for me. Free from home I could live my own life, not that tarot or anything else was discouraged in any way at home, but these were now my choices, my rules and as I say, my life. The first deck I bought I still have, the 1JJ Swiss tarot, which is modelled on woodcuts from 'ancient times' and was quite a 'basic' deck I recall, having faces much like a normal deck of playing cards, but with these other named cards, such as Strength, The Hierophant and of course, Death.

I studied the little booklet that came with it and I somehow felt special. Special that I was on the verge of some great secret. If I read that booklet and could understand it, then I would know things that others wouldn't; I would know their thoughts, their secrets, their future. Or so I thought.

I done my first 'readings' within a month of getting the cards, always referring to the booklet as I did so, always trying to remember the various meanings of each card, both upright and reversed. I say 'readings' as I didn't really feel competent at all when I read, it didn't feel right, didn't feel natural. To me at that time, I was struggling to understand it all and felt like giving up. I did however make some startlingly accurate predictions and this only deepened my interest. I mean, how can 78 pieces of card with different images on actually predict the future or tell me about someone's past? It's crazy, isn't it?

My big breakthrough came when I bought a tarot deck called the Rider Waite. This deck was different, this deck had much more colour and it also had pictures for the number cards unlike the 1JJ Swiss. I remember opening the box, carefully peeling off the cellophane wrapper very carefully then opening the box. I slid the cards from it, along with the obligatory booklet, and started to leaf through the images. I didn't get far. The third image in was The High Priestess and I was smitten. This card is still my favourite in pretty much any tarot deck, but in the Rider Waite she was just something else. There was just this knowing look in her eyes, in her expression. Calm, knowing, confident.

The rest of the cards didn't disappoint either. I still have both decks and still use them in readings. The Rider Waite I use on a daily basis. Both decks are over 20 years old, but to look at the 1JJ Swiss, you wouldn't think so. Where tarot will take me, well, who knows ;-) but I shall always be fascinated by it. I have a few projects up my sleeve regarding this wonderful art and these will be revealed in due course, but rest assured, you will be amongst the first to know of it.

Thank you for reading.