MAJOR ARCANA
The Fool Tarot Meanings
The Fool tarot card is the first card in the major arcana, it symbolises the very first step on all of life’s journeys. With this in mind, there’s no surprise that this card most commonly refers to a new beginning and taking the first step on a brand new adventure.
There is a naivety to The Fool, but it’s important that we don’t underestimate what it is truly capable of. For us, it can be a freeing and motivational card, that symbolises a new chapter of our lives, one that we feel excited about and ready to face head-on.
The Fool Upright Meanings
When you draw The Fool in an upright position, it is most often a positive sign. Some of the positive meanings of The Fool in the upright position are:
New Beginnings
Leap of faith
Enthusiasm
Innocence
Spontaneity
In the upright position, The Fool is often a sign that you are about to set off on an exciting adventure, one that you were destined to go on. It can also encourage you to take that first step, put worries and doubts aside and take a leap of faith into the unknown. As the illustration shows, you are excited about this new event in your life, you are riding high on the adrenaline of it all, so keep that energy up and jump without fear.
The Fool Reversed Meanings
When The Fool is in the reversed position, it most commonly comes as a warning for the person having the reading. Some of the more negative connotations for The Fool in the reversed position are:
Naivety
Risk-taking
Distraction
Stupidity
Recklessness
To help me remember the meanings of The Fool both upright and reversed, I often think about the advice I would give to a child or someone who is a complete beginner at something. What positive advice would you give, what warnings would you offer, those are usually the main meanings of The Fool tarot card.
Reading The Fool in a spread
The Fool Tarot card meanings depend on the context of the reading you are doing. If you’re asking questions about career The Fool may offer different messages than if it is within a reading about love. I find it helpful to apply different contexts to any card to see which first best. Below are a few different ways you might read The Fool when it appears within a wider spread.
The Fool as an Invitation
Instead of viewing The Fool as a flat sign that you’re going to start a new life cycle or start a new beginning, how can you realign that and read it as an invitation? What could The Fool be inviting you to do in context to the question you’ve asked the cards?
For The Fool, this invitation could be the following:
An invitation to explore new avenues or new ways of doing something
An invitation to explore fear and the current risks of your situation
An invitation to connect with your inner child and explore how that would change the situation
An invitation to look at any reckless behaviour you may have experienced
An invitation to explore the possibilities of a situation and how they would feel
The Fool as Sage Advice
Sometimes the Tarot can be acting the same way as our best friend would, giving us advice and guidance from a place of deep love and respect. That advice may not always be what we want to hear, but I guarantee it’s what we need to hear at that moment. The Fool may be appearing to offer you this advice in order to help you solve your problem or overcome your current challenge.
Some advice The Fool may offer is:
It may be time for a fresh start that puts you first
Your reluctance to see the reality of a situation is causing a blockage (especially if it’s a question around finances!)
Figure out what it is that you want to achieve and go for it, ignore others that may try and bring you down on your way
Embrace the passion and enthusiasm you have right now and allow it to take you where you need to be
The Fool as a Lesson
Tarot can also deliver harsh lessons to us that may be hard to swallow or a welcome addition to our current situation. When we view Tarot as a lesson, it’s important to remember that it’s up to us to decide whether we want to be taught that lesson, or if we’re going to ignore it and carry on regardless. Again, Tarot is not absolute, so nothing is set in stone. The lessons that Tarot offers require inspired action and that can only come from you and your desire to evolve.
Some lessons that The Fool may offer you are:
A lesson on growth and becoming a responsible adult with commitments
A lesson on caring for your inner child
A lesson on when and how to take a leap of faith
A lesson around reality and fantasy
A lesson around endings and beginnings, especially the lesson of letting something go in order to attract something better
The Fool as a Redirection
Finally, we have the card as a redirection. The Fool is especially aligned with this framing due to its meanings of new beginnings and fresh cycles. Sometimes we will get The Fool in one of the future cards or in a space that suggests a possible block or outcome. When this happens, it can often symbolise a need to redirect your energy or focus.
As a redirection, The Fool could symbolise a need to:
Let go of something that is no longer serving you in order to pursue something that you feel more aligned with
Focus on a new area or priority within your life
Stop focusing on what others think or taking the advice of others that may be leading you down the wrong path
Let go of control and allow yourself to be led by your intuition, rather than your logical brain
The Number of Zero
The Fool is the very first Major Arcana Tarot card. You may think that its number would be one, but The Fool is Zero in the chronology of the Major Arcana. This Zero, illustrated as a complete circle, represents cycles. the unending flow of energy and the universe. The Fool therefore adopts this unending flow meaning we can and always will, return to a beginning.
Astrological Uranus
The Fool’s astrological sign is the planet Uranus. We can use the astrological properties of Uranus to help us deepen our interpretations of The Fool. Uranus symbolises change, revolution and the unexpected, something The Fool embodies fully. Uranus also rules the astrological sign of Aquarius. As an air sign, there is a lot of clarity that accompanies this, something The Fool has all or nothing of.
The Fool Archetype
The Fool archetype is that of the innocent. There’s a lot of safety included in being so naive about the world. However, it can also mean staying in comfort zones that don’t nurture growth or expansion. Like The Fool’s unending Zero, the innocent archetype remains in a bubble of ignorance until something forces them to step outside of that bubble and move through experiences.