The Fool’s Journey: Part 2 — The World
When we finished the first leg of The Fool’s Journey, we found The Fool has grown from child to adult and learned to find his place in the world. He found confidence in his ability to make his own choices and was able to set out thanks to the foundational understandings he gained from The Empress, The Emperor, and The Hierophant. Now as a fledgling adult, we find The Fool ready to embark on the second leg of his journey: The World.
The second leg of the journey is less of a traditional “journey” compared to the first leg where we see physical growth. Adulthood is long, arduous, and changes with every decision we make. This is where we understand how The Fool can be anywhere in The Fool’s Journey at any time. Even still, the path to enlightenment has a process, and The Fool is on a path of learning. Understanding and reflecting on each of the Archetypes can help us find our own place in The Fool’s Journey.
Additionally, the archetypes presented in the second and third legs of The Fool’s Journey are more metaphysical representations, as opposed to symbolic representations such as The Empress and The Emperor.
8. Strength
As The Fool enters adulthood having identified his own sense of being, sense of purpose, and hardened system of values, they find themselves facing personal challenges that can range from impulsivity to addiction. Being challenged in our daily lives helps each of us to grow and be better versions of ourselves but can take time and repetition before we tame the beast.
The archetype of Strength is a core characteristic that The Fool must understand and grow. Strength is a quiet practice. It is purposeful and mindful and helps The Fool to take pause and reflect on behaviors, situations, and emotions, and make decisions based on this newfound understanding. Strength is a contemplative mindset of observation, where we evaluate the present and are moved to act. This could be to respond in a particular way, to pause and not react, or refrain from a behavior that is keeping The Fool from moving forward.
Strength is a moment in The Fool’s Journey that is revisited regularly as The Fool seeks self-mastery over the inner beasts within.
9. The Hermit
While The Fool continues his journey and looks inward to find Strength to tame their inner-self, The Fool enters the next step in The Fool’s Journey: The Hermit, a natural progression, almost a side effect, of act of turning inward.
This is not an era of depression, but a time when The Fool has retreated from the world around them to focus on their own self. The Hermit in the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck shows an aged figure on a mountaintop, alone and holding out a lantern, as he looks at the world below him. The Hermit has climbed the mountain to be closer to the heavens, away from society and things that distract from his search for the divine.
As an archetype, The Hermit represents the stillness The Fool finds when they shut out the world to focus on their own private, personal experience of life. From spiritual insight through scriptural study and prayer to yoga and meditation, The Hermit is a period of self-check, of connecting with The Divine and drawing back the veil to again commune with The High Priestess, the second step in The Fool’s Journey. At the end of the day, The Hermit represents The Fool spending quality time alone to reset the spirit and re-align boundaries.
10. The Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune is possibly the most “meta” of the archetypes as it represents time and cycles. Everything changes and The Fool is tossed around like a leaf in a wind storm. The Fool experiences change all around him: births and deaths, comings and goings. At the center of all these experiences is The Fool who identifies and consumes these experiences in their own unique way and must find a sense of personal balance and peace of mind while traversing these changes. While uncomfortable, The Fool must also come to terms with the lack of control of the larger machinations of life and destiny, that they are but a single spoke in the very, very, large wheel of life. This aspect of control is a theme that will present itself in many of the upcoming cards in The Fool’s Journey.
Thinking of the grand scale of time, the challenges presented by the Wheel of Fortune can be seen throughout the Minor Arcana, as The Fool is faced with change through betrayal, regret, guilt, shame, endings, and beginnings. The Wheel of Fortune is simply a reminder that the nature of life is change, and enlightenment comes as we “go with the flow” and embrace the present instead of living in the past or dreaming in the future.
11. Justice
In the continued journey, The Fool grows through their experiences, celebrating successes and bemoaning mistakes. The archetype of Justice enters as The Fool begins to weigh their own self-value and morality. It could also be interpreted as an interaction with the legal/justice system in Tarot; however, the archetype behind this card is of internal and personal justice, and less of the literal, symbolic interpretation.
Justice is a card of logic, a representation of karma as The Fool’s experiences are weighed. This inner compass allows The Fool to judge their sense of self-worth through their actions and beliefs. It is not a card of emotional weight but of immediate logical examination, although the scales can be falsely weight by emotional bias. These scales help The Fool to identify and act in accordance with their own moral ethics and judge and compare the consequences of their own actions.
12. The Hanged Man
Another one of the more “difficult to grasp” archetypes, The Hanged Man is the archetype of self-sacrifice for the gain of knowledge. The figure in the card is suspended upside down, not out of discipline, but voluntarily. This potentially uncomfortable position provides a new point of view of the world, introducing new insights and understanding of things that were perhaps once unseen. The figure remains at ease, unmoving in his stasis; however, his consciousness is in full motion, drinking in the silence of the present, and refusing to act on whim. He finds peace in inaction and transcendence in the truth of their new outlook.
As The Fool finds The Hanged Man, they are in a position of a patient pause, “hanging out” while they reflect on what they really want. This may entail sacrifice and letting go of that which no longer serves them. Ultimately, The Hanged Man is where The Fool finds acceptance of the lessons of the Wheel of Fortune: we cannot control the timings and events of the Universe; we can but wait until the time is right.
13. Death
The Fool’s grasp of control is yet again pushed forward as he meets the next archetype: Death, the epic epitome of change. While the Death card in Tarot is often feared as a harbinger of ill will and death, that is not what the archetype projects. The Fool in their adult life is met with all kinds of monumental situations that change their ultimate path forward. Death extends its hand not as a literal, physical death, but as a representation of inevitable change and evolution. As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. As The Fool is met with Death on their journey, their experience can be as varied as their reactions. To be clear, Death is a representation of the renewal of energy and is dry and logical, unburdened by emotion. It is The Fool’s interpretation of Death and its experiences that bring in the emotional reactions seen in the Minor Arcana. Death’s purpose is to forge clarity from confusion and establish a new order.
14. Temperance
Having been confronted with a life full of uncontrollable change, The Fool arrives at the next step in the Major Arcana: Temperance. The archetype of Temperance is associated with balance, moderation, and self-control. It is often symbolized by the image of a person pouring water from one container to another, representing the need to find balance and harmony in life. The Fool will have repeated interactions with Temperance throughout their life as learn to moderate change and grow from the experiences.
Temperance can be seen in the markings of the II of Pentacles which shows a figure struggling to juggle two pentacles, the idea of needing to find balance and harmony in the face of complex tasks. The Fool, through Temperance, can find recognition and acceptance in the idea that sometimes there is no right or wrong, only difference, and that it is still possible to be at peace while maintaining their personal beliefs and still respecting the beliefs of others. This can also be seen in The Fool’s need to balance spiritual, physical, sexual, and emotional needs while still supporting, respecting, and providing for others’ needs.
The archetype of Temperance also suggests a willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good and to maintain a sense of equilibrium in the face of adversity. On the path to enlightenment, The Fool must learn to roll with the punches while maintaining sight of their personal values and beliefs.
Originally published at https://www.pixel-tarot.com on January 22, 2023.
