Pixabay Image by akbaranifsolo.
If you have heard about the Fool’s journey, that is the journey everyone goes through. Therefore, every card in the Major Arcana represents each stage you go through in life and those you may encounter as you enter each stage.
When you think about all the cards in this fashion, you will be able to pinpoint how you relate to each of the cards during your journey. The Fool represents the one about to embark on an adventure without experience.
All of the cards in the Major Arcana following the Fool represent the experience that he will gain. This will cover the Fool to the Wheel of Fortune, as this is the first part of his journey.
Pixabay Image by Virgo Gem
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The Fool
The Fool is the novice excited about embarking on an adventure. It is associated with Uranus, the planet representing progression and pushing boundaries, and numerologically zero, which represents the Universe or the divine.
The Fool represents everyone for one reason or another. You can say the Fool is empty, innocent, and naive. Think about your first day at your job. You have no idea what to expect, or your first day at school, and even more appropriate, a new baby born into the world.
The Magician
As the Fool steps forward in his journey, he encounters the Magician, the conscious creator associated with Mercury, the planet ruling thoughts, communication, travel, and numerologically one, the creator.
The Magician is the creator and the one who rules the consciousness, communication, and realization that you have it within you to manifest anything you choose.
As the Fool progresses in his journey (whatever it may be), he begins to think about how to make the best of it, which means he is open to asking questions, researching, and digging within to get the answers.
For instance, you are new at your job, and you know you have it within you to find out what you need to do, so you ask questions, research, and dig within to find out how to do the best work possible.
High Priestess
The Fool is creating on a conscious level, as indicated by the Magician, but now the Fool needs to dig within to discover how to make the best of any situation. That is where the High Priestess comes in, ruled by the Moon, represented by intuition, and two numerologically, the number of duality, which represents balancing the conscious and subconscious.
The High Priestess represents the fertile ground where intuition and creativity lie as she represents the unknown potential of how well an idea manifests, which is all in your subconscious.
Think about when you get an idea after doing a lot of research (represented by the Magician), and you need to dig within to find out how you can manifest it (the High Priestess) by allowing your subconscious to speak to you through meditation, your dreams, or by quieting your mind as you journal.
The Magician and the High Priestess go hand in hand, as the Magician has the masculine power of creativity and the High Priestess the feminine side of it, requiring you to reach into your subconscious to manifest it.
For instance, you are at your job and find out what you must do to do your best work (the Magician). The High Priestess comes in to help you quiet your mind so you can find out how to put it out.
The Empress
As the Fool progresses into his journey, he is more in tune with his surroundings and notices what is nurturing him, like how a baby sees his mother.
The Empress is the third card, as the numerological meaning of three is all about expansion and creativity and is ruled by Venus, the planet of love and abundance. To expand, you need nurturing, which is what the Empress does, as she is the mother of the Major Arcana.
Think about the Fool working at his new job. Why is he working? Because earning money, and money is what will provide him with what he needs for himself and his family. That is how the Empress expresses herself in this particular example.
The Emperor
After the Fool recognizes the nurturing aspect of his surroundings, he needs the structure to keep him going on his journey, which is what the Emperor represents.
The Emperor is ruled by Aries, the zodiac leader, and by the number four, as it numerologically represents structure and stability. The Emperor is the father figure and the disciplinarian; he sets out the rules and creates order, as he is also the leader.
Let’s stick to the Fool at the new job example. Sure, the Emperor could represent the Fool’s boss, but more so, the Fool also knows he needs to be disciplined to provide the best work possible and stick to a strict routine by doing that. As long as he does that, the job will continue to nurture him (the Empress).
The Hierophant
As the Fool ventures away from home, he begins to explore further into the wider world, gets a higher education, and develops a belief system. The Hierophant is the next card, representing conformity, traditions, higher education, expert advice, and culture, as the card is the fifth card, ruled by Taurus.
It is counterintuitive that a card representing conformity is assigned the number five numerologically, as it is about change, chaos, and finding freedom.
However, Taurus is also assigned to the card, which is a sign that represents structure, stability, and conformity. Therefore, the change is represented by the Fool learning and evolving in a structured setting. The Hierophant also represents the herd mentality, which is not a positive aspect of the card.
The best example regarding the Fool with his job is that while gaining familiarity at the workplace, he has been trained to present himself in a specific way and is adopting and conforming with the culture. The work is becoming part of his identity, and he develops a sense of fitting into it.
The Lovers
The Fool finds himself at a crossroads with the Lovers, as it represents making decisions you must commit. Until now, the Fool has focused on himself as he learns to grow within his new experience. Now, he has to develop a partnership, whether with someone else or finding himself in a position to commit.
The Lovers is associated with Gemini and is the sixth card, as Gemini rules duality. Since Mercury is the ruler, you have to think long and hard before making a significant decision. The numerological significance of six is balance, harmony, adjustment, and alignment. It is also a number that represents being responsible for others.
The Lovers presents a dilemma for the Fool as he is presented with a situation where he has to make a choice and a commitment and needs to understand juxtaposing sides before making a decision. As he does that, he needs to be sure that whatever he commits to aligns with his values and be true to himself.
Returning to the job example, the Fool discovers that he will earn more money if he works on Saturdays.
However, Saturdays are the days he spends time with his family, but he also needs the extra money to support them.
So this is where he needs to make a firm decision. Does he continue to value the time with his family and forgo the extra money, or does he sacrifice the time with his family to provide more for his family? Only he can decide what is more aligned with his values as he is true to himself.
The Chariot
The Fool is still young but is becoming more seasoned in this stage in his life or with this experience and has now developed a strong identity and confidence.
Through the Emperor, he has developed the discipline to master his craft, the Hierophant to learn it through the help of others in his community, and Lovers representing him with challenging situations where he has to make decisions and commitments, which has helped improve his problem-solving skills. That is how he has developed the confidence, ego, and mastery.
Therefore, now, he faces the Chariot, where he has developed a desire to win and attain goals no matter how challenging the journey is for him to do that.
The Chariot is the seventh card, ruled by Cancer. Numerologically, seven represents reflection, faith, wisdom, investigation, and assessment, which the Fool has been doing, which fueled his confidence.
Cancer is all about moving forward, as it is a cardinal sign, but the emotional drive is behind the Chariot’s desire to succeed.
Going back to the work example, the Fool is in a position where he encounters a dilemma but fully believes in himself that he will be able to work through the obstacle through will and determination.
He is more experienced at the job but has only encountered a few obstacles that he has not seen yet, so he is highly confident he will overcome whatever challenge he faces.
Strength
As the Fool keeps experiencing some hardships and setbacks in his journey, he faces new challenges. He will find himself suffering a lot more now and will experience self-doubt, which he never thought he would experience during the Chariot stage of his journey. However, this is the stage where he develops courage, tolerance, and patience, which are needed when facing hardship.
Strength is associated with Leo and the number eight. Leo is all about bravery, honor, and royalty, and eight is a karmic and powerful number, as the infinity symbol presents the number.
Therefore, unlimited power is associated with this card. When the Fool believed he had everything under control during the Chariot stage as he was full of himself, Strength humbled him.
Returning to the working example, Fool encounters a problematic situation at work, where he doubts his ability to overcome it, in contrast to how he handled previous ones indicated by the Chariot. He realizes that this situation he must overcome with humility and patience and develop the belief that he can overcome it.
The Hermit
The Fool is now at a stage in his journey he is asking “why.” After his first set of trials and tribulations represented by the Lovers (making difficult decisions and commitments), Chariot (determined to overcome obstacles), and Strength (realizing the hard way that he cannot be cocky and is not as equipped to handle the obstacle as he thought), he now is asking “why.”
This is not a stage of normal curiosity as he is looking within for profound answers, as he is now in the Hermit stage, pulling away from society to dig within to discover the more profound truth.
The Hermit is associated with Virgo, and numerologically, nine. Virgo is highly analytical; the nine always represent the completion and culmination of a cycle and spiritual growth.
He may not realize this, but he is completing a phase of his journey, so he has the urge to pull away and do some self-reflection. He may talk to a therapist, a coach, or an expert to help him get the necessary answers.
He wants to understand the motivations behind his journey and connect with his feelings about it. Returning to the working example, the Fool is at a point where he is questioning whether or not this job is the right fit.
He is beginning to find that the challenges that he has been faced with may not be worth his energy. Therefore, he is at a point where he is questioning his position at this company.
Wheel of Fortune
The Fool had his opportunity to do a lot of self-reflection, as indicated by the Hermit, but now, he sees the purpose. He also sees how situations happen and sees how things happen in cycles.
This is where he encounters the Wheel of Fortune, as that card is about fate, destiny, and changes and represents a turning point. This card is associated with Jupiter, the planet of expansion and luck, and is the tenth card in the Major Arcana. Ten is the number that represents the completion of cycles and starting a new one.
He sees that fate has a hand in some of his experiences. He may see his destiny after events leading to his turning point.
He is ready for changes and movement again after the self-reflection he did, represented by the Hermit. This card can mean a change of events that takes you away from your path, or your turning point is a new attitude developed after doing a lot of soul-searching.
The Fool at work developed a fresh perspective of his role after taking a time-out and a fresh understanding of the nature of the work.
His sense of purpose at his job has been restored, and he is ready to take on new challenges with a new perspective. Another example could be that he is assigned new responsibilities at his job that will better fit his role. Either one represents the Wheel of Fortune.
There is the first part of Fool’s journey, as he completes his first cycle, and the next section will cover the remainder of his journey, going from Justice to the World.
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