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Above all things, Know thyself.
The Gold Foil Tarot- Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot-0-The Fool
Produced by Stuart R. Kaplan.
Gold foil tarot card back. I Must apologize for any cockeyed presentation of these cards as I must use my phone to take copies of these golden cards. My printer-scanner won't copy these cards as they are so bright it just reflects the scanner's light.
The Rider-Waite deck, which is also represented here by the Golden Foil Tarot rendition, is the one most people are familiar with. The Holy Spirit is suggested in the wheels of celestial spirit on the Fool's robe. The concept of the Scintillating Intelligence, a phrase coined by Dr. Paul Foster Case of B.O.T.A., is implied in the radiant sun and the white rose in the Fool's hand; a white rose symbolizes freedom from lower forms of desire. Desire is the power that launches us into creative endeavors and will never be overcome, nor should it. However, it can be directed towards a goal either by subconscious means which usually results in animal desires, or by the awake consciousness when linked with Higher Will of the Greater Self which then creates from Spirit.
In the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck, the wand, the symbol of Will, is elongated to support the wallet that displays the eye of Horus, the All-Seeing Eye of Spirit. This wallet represents all the experiences of the Soul, which are kept in the Akashic records.
If you look closely, you can see a girdle of 9 ornaments symbolizing the houses of the Zodiac even though there are 12 houses of the Zodiac. The artist's field of view is limited to 9, so the viewer must imagine the other 3 around the back of the Rider-Waite-Smith's Fool's image. Therefore, this girdle of coins does symbolize the Zodiac.
The faithful dog is the symbol for the intellect of the body, Spirit's faithful companion.
The Rider-Waite-Smith Fool is seen as staring at the bright sky while walking off a cliff into the abyss, implying absolute faith in spirit and the fearlessness of the truly innocent. All of this combines to symbolize the unknowable beginning that is Spirit.
The Tarot of the Old Path-The Fool
Lois Bourne.
Uranus-Air.
Backing of Old Path Tarot Cards.
The Fool is the most subjective of all Major Arcane cards, and in fact, the entire tarot deck of 78 cards are aspects of the Fool. Hence, the Fool is The Spirit, as in the One Energy, the One Will etc. However, the Fool can also represent foolish behavior, such as the baby crawling towards the fire, throwing the mother into a fearful emotional flight to rescue the child.
On the Tarot of the Old Path Card, behind the terrified mother, is a young man, dressed in green, striding upon a path that forks ahead of him; one of these paths is precipitous. Upon the blond boy's shoulder rests, a sack on a stick. This sack holds all his past experiences that will come to his aid in future encounters. Hence this blond youth represents the individual soul's journey in Life.
In the foreground, a golden rod warns in the language of plants to take care. The partridge is a bird that deceives to protect, and act of which the young person is unaware.
The upper right hand of this card shows a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, waiting for its wings to dry. The Butterfly is the traditional symbol for the soul; Hence symbolizing the young Soul's journey as a first flight and/or starting off on the journey Life.
The Tarot of the Old Path emerged in recognition to the many tarot card readers who are witches and initiates of Wicca, which is known as the Old Religion, the Craft, or the Old Path. Truth being, no witch is truly a witch without a good working knowledge of these ancient symbols. The word "witch" seems to have come from the Old English. The word itself has an etymology that is arguable, so I have made available a link to the word's origin. In modern vernacular the word witch refers to a "wise woman" and is not confused with black magic and/or satanism. Modern witches practice a beneficial, nature-based religion and philosophy with a strong following in United Kingdom and the United States.
Acting as advisors contributing to the Tarot of The Old path are a group of eight Witches:
- Margot Adler-USA.
- Lois Bourne- UK.
- Patricia Crowther-UK.
- Janet and Stewart Farrar-UK.
- Aislinn Lester-UK.
- Pauline Newbery-UK.
- Kim Tracey- UK
- Sylvia Gainsford-of the Fellowship of Isis and artist of this Tarot-UK
Howard Rodway writes the introduction to the cards in the accompanying book-The Tarot of the Old Path.
1909, was when the Rider-Waite tarot deck was first published. by William Rider and Son and was designed by Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942) who was an American Occultist who lived most of his life in England. Later it became known as the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, honoring the artist Pamela Colman Smith. The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot (RWS) has been published in numerous editions and has inspired many variants. The Golden Foil Tarot being yet another of an estimated 100 million copies published in over 20 countries.
Radiant Edition of the RWS-Fool
In the Major Arcana (Spirit worlds) one finds this Fool as the beginning of the Adventure of Life. Here, the Fool represents the original innocence of the Spirit and its devil-may-care attitude allowing the Soul to be ready to take the first steps into the unknown. The Spirit dances to its own drum beat as joy itself. As in the Rider-Waite- Smith -0-Fool, is seen as staring at the bright sky while walking off a cliff into the abyss, implying absolute faith in the Divine Creative, and the fearlessness of the truly innocent. The White rose in the fool's left hand symbolizes purity, youthfulness, and innocence. Young love, eternal loyalty, and new beginnings are also commonly tied to the meaning of white roses, making them a popular choice for weddings and romantic occasions. All of this combines to symbolize the unknowable beginning that is Spirit. The faithful dog is the symbol for the intellect of the body, and/or the subconscious, Spirit's faithful companion. As with all Traditional Fool cards, this one has left the life of the city, without a clue what lies beyond the cliffs edge. Therefore, the Soul fully trusts that its instincts will carry it beyond the ordinary while carrying all it needs to journey in the leather bag on the end of a stick.
The Key word for the Fool is Choice. From the ocean of his spirituality, the fool has climbed the steep cliffs of his higher consciousness. Standing on the purple paths of his master that form a crossroads, he is about to make a choice and the pink and purple of his tunic denotes the strength to make that choice. The faithful dog-companion is the symbol for the intellect of the body, and/or Organic Matter, Spirit's faithful companion. As stated in the RWS Fool description, white roses symbolize purity, youthfulness, and innocence. Young love, eternal loyalty, and new beginnings are also commonly tied to the meaning of white roses, making them a popular choice for weddings and romantic occasions.
The Fool Card represents the totality of Self, often called the "God head" of Individual consciousness. When we converse with the Fool, we address the totality of our own capacities. Here we may ask tough questions such as: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where do I go? Also, when conversing with the Fool, this Greater Self, may change shape often, appearing in extraordinary ways---sometimes bringing a great sense of peace as if a Buddha sitting on a lotus or at other times, creating fear that is beyond description as the journey of self-discovery is not for the faint hearted and fears must be faced and conquered to "Above all things, Know thyself". We may converse with a youth, an old man, a dragon, a crocodile, or with some other animal "spirit guide". The Fool may appear as a ball of light or even a thunderstorm. This is because we are dealing with the creative act within ourselves. We are the inheritors of God's or Goddess's Image-making " ability as "All is Mind." All of us, at one time in our life journey, must make a choice of following the common path of mental and emotional slavery to an outside authority and the hypnosis of words, or to take the "path least traveled" that is called the Hero's journey. This is the path where one seeks their " whole spirit", which is another way of saying, becoming a Whole Being whose Divine Authority is their original author. Here is the path of solitary determination and often, struggle, for there are no clear worn footprints of the common herd. We are a trinity---Spirit-Mind-Body and not a lone animal cowering under the blows of the herd alpha. To find our True Authority, is to be a completely manifested Spirit-Mind-Body whose only authority is the inner Buddha or Christ.
It is recommended that we meditate with this card. The deeper our meditation, the closer we come to the very ideological source of the unconscious where the more profound, and often more irrational, the answers we "receive". No matter how absurd the answers seem, we must remember that what is represented here if far beyond thought (especially worded thought) and the effects of addressing the Energy of I AM (fool) may be most disquieting to a mind which sees reality only in terms of the waking consciousness. Therefore, I recommend that meditation with The Fool be postponed until experience has been gained with the other cards. Advanced discrimination skills are required to make sense of the experiences which are likely to result from interaction with this archetypal figure. It also helps to remember, that all 78 cards of the Tarot Deck, Modern or Traditional, represent an aspect of the Fool who is the 0 and/or the Infinite Spirit.
The advice given by the Fool card's appearance is that you lighten up...stop being so serious. Allowing yourself to be spontaneous enough to go beyond the boundaries of logic. Here abides intuition. So, allow yourself to open and receive without question, instead of trying to manage what is happening right now. If discontented or lacking motivation, why not review things to date?
When THE FOOL card is thrown during a reading:
- The querent is in or experiencing a state of ecstasy and/or a state of Peak experience.
- Fearlessness.
- Courage.
- Is completing all motion by Faith, absolutely trusting THE SPIRIT.
- A feeling of being protected, and that everything will work out.
- Being open to what the future brings!
- Rescuing the "Child within" from the lies of indoctrination and dogma.
- Don't be afraid to take a leap of faith.
- Now is the time to start your "Hero's journey".
- Be spontaneous, and let your wild spirit run free.
If ill defined by accompanying cards - Reversed.,
- The Fool is then the harbinger of folly, mania, extravagance and even negligence.
- The querent is experiencing the shadow side of self, a part still in the shadows of emotional immaturity and/or ignorance.
- A psychological attitude is holding you back from responding authentically and naturally.
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