In the beginning – The Fool represents a new beginning
The Fool is the very first card of the Major Arcana. Numbered Zero, The Fool is both the start and the potential of everything that follows.
He stands at the edge of a cliff, eyes lifted to the sky, heart wide open. With a small bundle, a white rose, and a loyal dog by his side, The Fool represents a soul about to step into the unknown — full of trust, freedom, and curiosity.
You are the Spiritual seeker, the dreamer, the trusting soul awakening to your new path.
The Fool invites you to open your heart and embrace new beginnings, an adventure. Trusting your inner guidance even when you cannot see the path ahead, having no expectations.
The Fool card is numbered zero this is symbolic as it stands for infinite possibilities, a creative spark before form, before anything exists there is always zero and its potential.
Symbology in the Fool card offers allegory.
• The Dog: Trust your instincts and inner voice, offering unconditional love and protection. Your trusting companion dog may warn you but never judges.
• The White Rose: Held in the Fool’s left hand, your feminine side symbolizing purity, innocence, and spiritual openness. A connection to the divine, in Christianity the white rose has been linked to the qualities on the virgin mother Mary.
• The Bundled pack: A small pack over his shoulder said to contain the four suits of the Tarot. Cups, Swords, Pentacles, and Wands, representing the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual tools needed along the way.
• The Staff: Carried on the right, the masculine side, it suggests direction, support, willpower and practical movement, how you move through the world.
• Snowcapped Mountains in the Distance: Challenges and aspirations in the distance or yet to come, sacred steps along your spiritual evolution.
• Red Feather & Green Wreath: The balance between primal nature your instinct/intuition and the plant kingdom, growth and natural wisdom.
• Clothing and Belt: His white spiritual undergarment of purity and innocence, the fiery symbols on his over coat and golden belt reminds us that we carry spirit, passion, and the cycles of life within us.
The element of Air and breath of life.
The Fool is aligned with the element Air, in both ancient Greek and mystical Kabbalah traditions, is linked to breath and the spirit of life. In Kabbalah, the letter Aleph, silent yet powerful, represents this first breath. The breath of beginning, of being and becoming.
A Mythic and Mystical Archetype
Spiritually, The Fool carries echoes of Shiva, the Hindu god who dances the universe into being, and of the celestial planet Uranus, the force of change, freedom, and awakening in astrology.
The Fool is not bound by gender or identity. He is often shown as androgynous, reflecting the soul, a being of wholeness, ready to experience life in all its forms.
The beginning – an adventure, a journey.
In Tarot, The Fool travels through all 21 cards of the Major Arcana. From innocence to wisdom, from unity to individuation, and back again. This mirrors the spiritual path: full of learning, letting go, and reconnecting with the true self.
Some believe that before birth, our souls are in a place of divine bliss, some call this Heaven. The Fool’s first step is the soul’s choice to incarnate, to explore life in physical form, guided by trust and love.
My question to you is:
When you reach the edge and you have chosen to jump, will you fall, or will you fly?
There’s no wrong answer, each time The Fool appears in a reading, it offers a unique invitation based on where it is placed in the layout of the reading. It may be an opportunity for a new chapter, a fresh breath, or a chance to leap into a new adventure.
For Your Practice:
• Meditate: With the Fool card before you or in hand. What part of you is ready for a new beginning a great adventure?
• Journal: Where in your life do you need to let go and trust the process?
• Draw a card: Ask what tool, cup, sword, pentacle, or wand you most need on your journey right now.
Whether you are new to Tarot or deepening your spiritual practice, The Fool is your companion. Walking beside you, not ahead — reminding you that the journey is sacred, and every step is part of the destination.
The journey begins when you say yes.
by Maria Capone
A Professional Reader of the Tarot Guild of Australia.
