Is the Fool impulsive

[Eric13]

A question came up this morning for me. Is the Fools journey based on an impulse in which he decided to up and go on an adventure. Of the many definitions it appears it could be an impulsive journey to discover his light, or maybe not. I would love to know others views. I may not be able to respond right away myself.

[Guest]

the fool is about the choice being made, what led to that point and what proceeds after informs us of the way the Fool is operating. It could be impulsive or it could be well thought out. Often though "the best laid plans of mice and men go awry." 

 

The fool is making the choice to blindly walk off the edge. is that foolishness or faith that his next step will land true regardless? is the dog really nipping at his heals, or is he courageously about to step off the cliff with the fool?

 

 

[Cobweb]

Not necessarily impulsive (though I personally read the Fool as impulsive more often than not) but definitely risk-taking: "Leap and the net will appear" - or not!

[Bluelagune]

Hi Joe,

 

This is a dictionary definition of the word - impulse:

1. a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act.

2. a driving or motivating force; an impetus.

 

There is no story of tarot without the Fool card. You can see the link below:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/fool.shtml

 

The basic definition of the card is something new: new journey, new beginning, new adventure. Going off the cliff would probably be a Tower card.  I always wondered if the fool card indicates "plans" or he just goes out on his own on a whim. But then Steven Jobs had to start from a 'whim'. Richard Branson has this type of energy in all his projects. I don't know if I can call him a fool though? You have to take a leap of faith, as whatsawhosit[/member] mentioned, I don't know if Jobs ever said to himself at the begining "I want to build a great cellphone". I think when he started there was no such idea. The inital idea was computers that evolved later on into cellphones. So you have to start somewhere: Impulse or not.

 

Best,

Blue

[Wanderer]

I've always thought that the exact nature of thee Fool is very dependent on the deck; we get a different feel from different depictions. Sometimes it seems to be the beginning of a well-laid plan, and sometimes a momentary impulse. It is always a step into the unknown, but in some decks it is not, perhaps, a blind one.

[Saturn Celeste]

A question came up this morning for me. Is the Fools journey based on an impulse in which he decided to up and go on an adventure. Of the many definitions it appears it could be an impulsive journey to discover his light, or maybe not. I would love to know others views. I may not be able to respond right away myself.

Absolutely!  I think the Fool is linked with Uranus (correct me if I'm wrong) and that is the planet that rules Aquarius.  Aquarians can be very impulsive. ♒

[Eric13]

Thank you everyone for all of the great answers and they all are. I like using a TdM deck, and the Fool is also carrying everything he owns in that little bag, all that he needs so I also see him as very happy and he's not on any cliff edge. But when it came to a question this morning, for the weekly reading, I got a very strong sense of an impulsive act, or move, and I didnt feel good about that and I advised caution. There was just something about it, at that moment. I fully support foing off in a new direction, situation that is foreign. Thanks for the great replys.

[auntvita]

Maybe you are in the role of the little dog. Issuing a warning to be more aware of the next step one is to take.

 

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Bluelagune]

I love Aquarius! They are wonderful people and they see so far ahead of their present time that their abilities can be seen as amazing. A friend of mine, Aquarius, who bought a house for 170k downtown the city I used to live in. When she bought it, everyone called her an idiot. Now she can get probably in the range of 2 or 3 mil for that location. That said, dog usually represents a friend intentional or not, people need those.

 

[Grizabella]

I see the Fool as being more scatterbrained than impulsive. He just isn't paying attention to what he's doing. He's very distractible. Something can catch his attention and he goes with it even when he should keep his focus. It doesn't matter what he's facing for not being cognizant of where he is and what his feet are doing.

 

On the other hand, he may have been acting on some kind of an impulse when he headed out toward the cliff. When he got to the cliff, then not paying attention comes into play.

 

The Fool in the Everyday Enchantment is a good example of all the ways a  card can speak to us. In this one, in addition to all the additional meanings associated with the card, This shows a construction worker up on a high scaffolding and he's looking toward someone who is an observer, kind of showing off for them. What would be something that could distract the guy that way? Well, maybe he's got a very low opinion of himself that's reinforced by his personal life every day. Whoever is looking at him seems to be in awe of his ability to be up there doing what work he's doing and thinks he's special.  Because he isn't getting good vibes back from his personal life, he just momentarily forgets to watch what he's doing because he's getting this much-needed admiration and he's about to fall off the scaffolding as a result.

 

Now, the other cards in a spread tell more of the story, but I just mentioned it because of all the many interpretations that can be given for the Fool and why he's about to o off a cliff. It's very hard to pin down just one. Losing one's focus at important times is definitely one meaning to be considered.

 

In the case of the Fool on RWS depicted with that little bandana bag on his stick, it might be that he's naive and gullible enough to take it literally when somebody convinced him that the bandana will act as a parachute if he goes off the cliff if he just hangs onto the stick.  He's too trusting and takes everyone's word for things without thinking it through completely.

 

I hope this post makes sense. Talk about distracted! I was making this post and heard an absolutely horrendous crash. We have a lot of accidents here on the highway and when I heard that, I ran out in my bare feet (my poor old feet) to see if I needed to go help somebody. Turns out it was another big tree that crashed down. Not snow this time. Maybe just that the trees are leafing now and one that was damaged in the snow storm might have just finished breaking because the new leaves and the rain was  too heavy. We're due for at least three inches of rain here so I hope this isn't going to repeat itself. At any rate---distraction is right! lol

[Eric13]

Well said!

[Guest Night Shade]

The Fool is impulsive, but he does have common sense, represented by the little dog barking and nipping at his heels.  The problem is that The Fool refuses to hear or see reason, even when it's literally about to bite him.  I sometimes see this card as a warning that while it's fine to impulsively set out to reach a new goal or dream, you should listen to that little voice inside that knows the best way to get there.

[DoNotDelete]

I agree that The Fool can be impulsive, but then again that might just be an excuse for something evil in it's heart. In Rider Waite the dog warns it of going off that cliff. For me the cliff symbolizes sin since The Fool itself is faith.

 

That's why in so many cases The Fool can be seen as original sin.

[Eric13]

I'm not so sure about that.

I see the Fool being full of conscious light, his will holds all he needs in his bag as he sets out on his journey not thinking about any risk because he doesn't think about where he's going, and he is full awareness that transcends limits of human wisdom. He does poses all human traits but the yellow on him shows him to be good, with positive intentions. He seeks his light of consciousness, but he's not perfect, a bit over confident a dog has to warn him he doesn't seem to listen to. Maybe a bit eccentric and inconsiderate. But I dont feel any evil in him, or anywhere in the Tarot. But that's just me and my opinion.

I do see all these fine and outstanding responses though. Great to see.

[DanielJUK]

Reading Bluelagune[/member]'s definition there I think it's not exactly the right word with this card in my opinion. This is more of a description of the Devil.

 

The Fool packs up everything he needs in his bag on his stick, puts on his best walking boots, takes a white rose and his dog and sets off. I guess it could be argued he is impulsive in that he wants something new, something different, he sets off to create change. But his motives are not impulsive, he begins a journey with no goal, for no cause, he just sets off to the unknown! It is risk-taking, seeking potential and I think a better description than impulsive, spontaneous. There is no plan of action here though, he just takes a chance and goes for it. I don't think his motives are really impulsive.

 

If you read reversed cards, I think The Fool (rx) could be impulsive, the upright now turns to recklessness, it's taking too big a risk now. There is no regard of the consequences because they are so set on something, so I think it could apply there. The risk with it is you end up looking foolish as you took too much of a risk  :))

[Guest D76]

A Fool does not take a dog with him and does not take any white rose. The Classic Fool is a beggar marginal or mentally ill person. Fool who is bitten and barked by a dog and teased by a children ...  Such "fools" were often banished from the cities and they were forced to wander/stray ...-- This is the usual history of the Middle Ages, when tarot was created...Why don't you read this, but read all sorts of occult fantasies/drivel?

 

The Fool from the RWS deck is the most wrong fool. Absolutely wrong.

[gregory]

A Fool does not take a dog with him and does not take any white rose. The Classic Fool is a beggar marginal or mentally ill person. Fool who is bitten and barked by a dog and teased by a children ...  Such "fools" were often banished from the cities and they were forced to wander/stray ...-- This is the usual history of the Middle Ages, when tarot was created...Why don't you read this, but read all sorts of occult fantasies/drivel?

 

The Fool from the RWS deck is the most wrong fool. Absolutely wrong.

Could just as well be the "village idiot" - a fully accepted part of society, and not necessarily mad - as in the court jester, too. The "idiot savant" probably included the hugely intelligent Asperger's individual - hardly mentally ill, just different.

 

The village idiot in mediaeval times was a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity, but the term was also commonly applied to an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual. It was a perfectly acceptable social role - a unique individual who was to some degree dependent, yet who also contributed to the community's social fabric. As early as Byzantine times - predating the Middle Ages by a long chalk - he was treated as an acceptable individual, perfectly compatible with the prevailing norms of social order. The concepts of "village savant" and "village genius" are closely related to the concept of pre-industrial anti-intellectualism, as both figures are subjects of both pity and derision.

 

The social roles of the two are also combined and applied, especially in the sociopolitical context, in the figure of the European medieval/Renaissance court jester. Not always ill, poor, bitten or teased. The court jester did pretty well. There are in any case alternative views of most things in life - why not of the Fool ? Let me remind you of a post of yours the other day:

 

I know that each card tends to have a basic meaning that is used over all decks' date=' [/quote']

 

Who told you that?

No universal meanings ​​for the cards. Everything is individual and very subjective.

 

That surely allows for the Smith/Waite interpretation/depiction being just as valid as your own.

[Phenix]

I like to read TdM from time to time were the dog is not necessarily just a companion on his journey, and I feel those tend to imply more about the impulsive nature of the Fool. Sorta like, yeah your journey seems like it would be awesome when you start out, but were you maybe a bit naive and didn't think about if you might get bitten on the rear in the end?

[Guest D76]

 

That surely allows for the Smith/Waite interpretation/depiction being just as valid as your own.

 

Well, to each his own.

 

We accept only the characters that were used in the Renaissance, when the Tarot was created. What modern occultists have invented is not interesting for us.

 

 

 

 

 

[PageOfCups]

 

That surely allows for the Smith/Waite interpretation/depiction being just as valid as your own.

 

Well, to each his own.

 

We accept only the characters that were used in the Renaissance, when the Tarot was created. What modern occultists have invented is not interesting for us.

 

 

What is happening in the middle card? 😨😱😂

[gregory]

I think the children are just "exposing his junk" for the hell of it., You have children messing around the Fool in the Charles VI deck, too.

 

 

And in the Este cards (that's the deck you are asking about) the next one is the Magician - where the same kids (look at their clothes !) are being pests but the Mountebank isn't having any:

 

 

Michael Howard says of that  Fool:

 

A8: The d'Este Matto

 

So let us start looking at the tarot cards in terms of "hieroglyphs" as the Renaissance understood that term, starting with the card we call in English the Fool, in the d'Este deck of c. 1473. In all the early lists--which mostly are from around Ferrara or Venice--the card is called Il Matto, the card of the Madman.

 

Andrea mentions the d'Este card, famous for its exposed phallus toward which a child reaches (at left below)

 

On the one hand, such exposure was considered subhuman, as those of low intelligence or mad were viewed more like animals than humans and not expected to conform to the dictates of morality.

 

At least in Florence, they also were not welcome in the city. The more decently attired Charles VI Matto (at right above) shows children throwing stones at him. This is what children were expected to do. Michel Pleasance (Florence in the Time of the Medici p. 181) summarizes a story by Grazzini in which a man is persuaded to pretend he is dead, so he can watch his own funeral. But he forgets he is dead, and "people begin to think that he has gone mad. Children start throwing stones and clods of earth at him, shouting 'mad, mad' and try to catch him. If caught, he would probably be killed. Pleasance says of another such victim, that his pursuers are "children and clerks--who, as Grazzini says, would have killed him had they caught him" (p. 184).

 

Since you ask :)

[gregory]

I have no idea why that attachment won't go away... ! I have deleted it twice !

 

Never mind !

[PageOfCups]

gregory[/member] thanks. And thank God for Pamela Colman-Smith.

 

Although I really like the CAT (instead of a dog) in the one on the far-right!

[gregory]

I THINK that is still supposed to be a dog, actually :)

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

the fool can be read as purely bloody minded too. Being locked into an ideology limits the ability to read the cards. The query and the querent whether self or other is key.

 

The fool was also paid entertainment at social events, not necessarily mentally deficient.