The Incidental Tarot"A posse ad esse" From possibility to actuality
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The Incidental Tarot - "A posse ad esse" From possibility to actuality
The Incidental Tarot

The Devil is in the Details

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments
15 Chimaera

Chimaera: The Devil of the Incidental Tarot

The ugly, nagging details.

I’ve never had a very concrete idea of how to apply the message of The Devil, or in the Incidental Tarot’s case, Chimaera, to my own life. It’s a murky sort of card…calling on questions of morality, behavior and choice…the concept of “sin” in the traditional canon of philosophy. Is The Devil a card meant to mirror the sins of an individual, to shine light on the consequences of our selfish actions and desires?  Or is it more a card reflecting the moral and ethical challenges of “this mortal coil” we all labor within? I think it’s a bit of both.  If The Hanged Man (or Eclipse in the IT) is the door that opens our psyche to our own darkness, then The Devil is a florescent spotlight on our choices and actions…our sins. Individually, and collectively as a people.

I would never consider myself an immoral or sinful person. I strive to live my life with good intentions, to avoid harm and cultivate integrity in all that I say and do. But am I free of “sin”? Hell no, and I know it (pun intended). We all make choices day in and day out that have harmful repercussions in the world around us. Some, more impactful than others.  No soul is free to cast stones; that is the nature of incarnation. The Devil is an indicator of how we relate to our own flaws, and how we work through the conflicts that they bring about. It is a frightening card to many people, as it is never comfortable to examine our faults and take responsibility for our sins, no matter how great or small they may be. For some, the facade they present to the world is so strong they cannot even see through their own glamour…and it can ultimately destroy them. Chimaera expresses the illusory nature of this facade: the fact that terrible things often come in shiny, seductive packages. It peels back the layers of artifice we construct around our desires and shows us the often vulgar nature of what it means to be human.

For me, Chimaera’s mirror often shows a wide reflection. I see the broad, devastating vista of evil humanity has committed and how I am inextricably bound to it. The seven deadly sins now come in new and ever-innovative packages. Pride comes in the form of racism and bigotry. Greed comes in the form of hedge funds and oil barons and energy wars. Gluttony comes in mindless consumerism and wasting of resources. Lust comes with exploitative pornography and the culture of rape. Sloth resonates with entitlement, irresponsibility and ignorance. Envy brings about discontent, misery and the shameless pursuit of schadenfreude. And Wrath….Wrath is the most insidious of the sins. It is like a virus carried on the backs of its brethren…infecting each of them with active malice and physical harm. Wrath escalates the other sins, bringing them unceremoniously to the surface and breaking the illusions they hide beneath. In this way, Wrath can actually be a purifying force…bringing the infection to the surface where it can be treated and ultimately healed. That is the flip side of the Devil…the raw truth beneath the lies, the unfolding consciousness that is the first step to healing and wholeness.

So how should we react when Chimaera shows up in a reading? How do we determine its context?  For me, it shows that I am in need of the “unflattering mirror.” I also need to remember that I can only control my own thoughts and actions, and that no matter how powerless I may feel on my path or my place in the world, I do have that small power to change myself…to not succumb to the 7 deadly sins as they would manifest in me. I have a tendency to become overwhelmed with the madness of the world, to give in to depression, anxiety and a sense of utter helplessness. I become nihilistic. That is the rock bottom for me, the feeling that there is no hope in the world, that all is meanness and madness and nothing I wish or will can affect it.  I allow the Devil’s mirror to strip away my own integrity…and thus give in to the very urges that contribute to the problem. I languish in my purpose, I lash out at those who remind me of how I’ve failed, and I give in to the soulless pleasures that seem, even transiently, to numb the pain of it all.

But all these are illusions…the Madness and the Sins that perpetuate it. We need only remember that the gravest danger lies in the deception itself, the monster beneath the shining facade…and in uncovering it, we have the power to heal.

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Going with the Flow: Polarity

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments
14 Polarity

Polarity: The Temperence of the Incidental Tarot

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged about one of the cards. Since mid-December to be exact…when I briefly touched upon the Death card. It was an eerily appropriate card to close 2012, at its core, a year of tremendous transformation. It was a year dominated by politics and human rights, life and death and somewhere between the two, the dogged pursuit of happiness. And now, it seems I’ve blinked and six months have passed! Between work and wedding planning (this September is closing in like wildfire!) I’ve barely had time to keep my head above water, let alone try to keep up with blogging and my usual philosophical musings.

2013, what little I’ve seen of it thus far, is different. From my eye it has an interesting new life to it. Not that there is suddenly an end to global drama and turmoil…but there is a sense of palpable relief that we made it through 2012, and from that a kind of invigoration to move forward. 2013 is the year of The Lovers, a welcome diversion from the tangles of the Hierophant last year.

For me, not without intention, this year of the Lovers is dominated by the planning of my wedding, set for September 22 (the Fall Equinox for those counting). It is a simultaneously fascinating, exciting and maddening process at times. This brings me to the influence of Polarity, otherwise known as Temperance in the Tarot. The card of divine balance.

Temperance has always been one of my favorite cards, which is fitting, since its message of balance is one that I am constantly charged with pursuing in my life.  I like to think that I have two settings at which I operate: FULL SPEED AHEAD and a low idle.  The idle is the frustrating part, because rather than using my lack of active direction to fully experience some form of relaxation, I often end up enduring these periods with a sense of urgent anxiety. If I’m not engaged, active, or producing something tangible, I’m haunted by “What could I be doing right now, what should I be doing right now?”

As you can imagine, this is not a healthy way to go about one’s life.  There are only so many hours in a day, and at least part of the learning experience of incarnation is found in the state of receptivity. Especially for artists (of all kinds), this is a crucial element of the creative process. We have to stop thinking, sketching, writing, conceptualizing for periods of time, so that we can look around and absorb the state of the world around us. Polarity instructs us to strike a balance between the active and the receptive, and to be able to flow between the two states for a harmonious existence. For this, we often have to purposefully un-learn certain cultural expectations, such as “I need to be working/producing/constructing/progressing at all times, or my precious waking hours are being wasted.” This kind of thinking is an unfortunate side-effect of the Western lifestyle. Capitalism and technology have hoodwinked us into believing that we have to keep up with the manic pace of western life in order to be happy or fulfilled.

Polarity is the embodiment of balance: the ever flowing relationship of yin and yang, masculine and feminine, active and receptive. She reminds us not to drain the well of consciousness and creativity, but to give it–and ourselves–time to receive. Because there is an infinite universe out there, full of wonders to inspire and feed the spirit, if we stop long enough to receive them. For many people, meditating is a daily tool to come into the receptive state. I’ve yet to be able to master complete and sustained quieting of my mind, but I have found that the simple act of turning off all screens (computer, tv, phone, etc) is an effective disconnect tool for me. To let go of my own stimuli addictions for a period of time is for me, a powerful act of receptivity.

The classical definition of Temperance (thanks to Wikipedia), as one of the four cardinal virtues is:

“(Sophrosyne in Greek is defined as “moderation in action, thought, or feeling; restraint.”[1]) has been studied by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology movement. It is considered a virtue, a core value that can be seen consistently across time and cultures. It is considered one of the four cardinal virtues, for it is believed that no virtue could be sustained in the face of inability to control oneself, if the virtue was opposed to some desire.”

Moderation is a tough one for me, at least moderation of behavior. I’ve never been one to over-indulge in hedonistic pleasures (food, drink, sex, etc.), but I do have a very bad workaholic streak that in recent years has been very difficult to moderate. Sometimes I find that the only solution when I work myself into a maelstrom of activity and obligation is to drop everything and wallow–again, not the best or healthiest of habits.

The beauty of Temperance is that it is a life-saver to hang onto in the stormy, choppy ocean of life. Its mediating energy floats effortlessly between our extremes, giving us a faithful marker to reach for as we yoyo through the heights and pitfalls of our routines. A reminder that there is a middle ground, a level path waiting for us when we are ready to step onto it. One foot on the ground, one foot in the water…poised, but not pointed. It is also a reminder to release expectation and submit to the flow of energy that surrounds us. You know how they say to “steer INTO a fishtail” when you skid out on a wet road? It’s kind of like that. You might feel like you are veering out of control in some unknown direction, but there’s a good chance if you just roll with it you’ll feel the necessary release and return to balance. I’ve had to do that recently, let go of a seemingly desperate need for answers, in order to shake off my feeling of helplessness. It’s no picnic, and it doesn’t remove your desire to take action or alleviate the stress of a given situation. But it does serve to lift you out of that awful, rubber-bandy feeling of helplessness. And that is SO worth the price of admission.

I’m doing my best to keep steering into that fishtail right now. Letting go of all the nagging obligations that tug at my shirttails every day: “I should be shopping for wedding favors, I should be planning the honeymoon itinerary, I should be doing some art…” It’s all still going to be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Polarity is holding out her hand to rescue me from the rollercoaster for a little while.

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The Potential of Darkness

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments
12 Eclipse

Eclipse: The Hanged Man of the Incidental Tarot

I should know this feeling by now, the creeping feeling of something in the universe—in my psyche—coming unhinged. Somehow, my inner bell starts ringing and making a ruckus when the stars align in this certain way, but I never seem to have the foreknowledge that it’s coming.

It is November of 2012, a month drenched in the intense energy of the Eclipse. Not just the Tarot card that corresponds to the Hanged Man in traditional decks, but a full solar eclipse in the southern hemisphere, and a lunar eclipse 2 weeks later. When this happened in June of 2011, I drew the Eclipse design that would become the Tarot card you see here.

All of 2012 has seemed to be a year of strife, for individuals and for nations. Radical, transformative energy is all around us, slowly ramping up for the much-anticipated cosmic shift on December 21. I don’t profess to know the ins and outs of such a momentous astrological event, or ancient Mayan wisdom, or the musings of apocalypse theorists. But I do know when the forces that drive the world are in high gear and threatening to knock me on my proverbial rear. Tides are turning, old barriers are being broken and we are experiencing a deeply moving transition into new territory.  We are at the mid-point of growing out of an old, crumbling era and journeying forth toward a potentially great new horizon. Some people interpret this as a balancing of the polarities: raising the divine feminine up out of oppressive darkness and bringing her into balance with the still overwhelmingly patriarchal structures of our civilization.  A sort of cosmic recentering.

At first I attributed much of my recent emotional angst and overwhelm to the super-charged rancor of the Presidential elections. I kept thinking, everything will eventually “break” and the steam will dissipate after the elections are over. But really, it’s just not proving to be so.

And it’s not political at all, this residue of tension. It’s energetic, celestial, cosmic. Eclipses are windows of intense transition: brief interludes when we come face to face with our fears, mistakes and burdens—even our crimes—and are given the opportunity to overcome them. But it isn’t sunshine and roses with Eclipse. It is difficult pathworking; facing one’s dark side is never a cakewalk. You have to give yourself permission to take comfort in this darkness for a period of time… know that it is temporal, and that healing follows in its wake. But as with any invaluable opportunity, it carries a risk. That dark window can also be looked at as your own ignorance, whether willful or unintentional.

Last night I came home after having written the beginning of this blog, and forced myself to take some time out. I tidied up the house, turned off the computers and phone, lit a few candles and sat down to be in stillness and muse on the Eclipse energy. I managed to quiet my mind for a period of time, which I’ve not been able to do for some weeks now, and some very uncomfortable thoughts bubbled to the surface. Thoughts that wouldn’t go away. As I lay in bed last night, processing that brief interlude of meditation before falling to sleep, it occurred to me that those thoughts weren’t truths, but fears. Deeply held fears that couldn’t be addressed in the short period that Eclipse was moving through my cosmos. But I also realized that I wouldn’t have been able to hold that mirror up to my own psyche without acknowledging and tapping into that magical marginal space between darkness and light. The task now is to work through the fears as the light returns and integrate them into my whole-self.

No pressure there.

Eclipse energy lingers.  When I went out to my car this morning to head off to an extra long work day, I found that my car had been broken into and all my belongings carelessly rifled through (thankfully nothing was taken—I never leave anything of value in the car overnight).  After the shock of being thus violated subsided, I realized part of the fear of the Eclipse is this: not only is it a time when the lights go out and we must come to grips with our fears, but it is also a time when chaos has a prime opportunity to exert its influence. Under cover of darkness, mischief and miscreants abound. In our necessary self-absorption and introspection, the rest of the world carries on, taking advantage of the space of uncertainty and transition—sometimes for good, but sometimes not.

It is with this knowledge that I now see the flip side of Eclipse in action. That embracing the darkness, even fleeting as it may be, allows the terrifying unknown to enter your physical space as well as your consciousness. It allows chaos, and disruption and the actual forces driving your fear to find the holes in your defenses and work their way in. That sense of residual violation is a reminder that certainty (of anything) is an illusion. Perfect self-containment is an illusion. In reality we are (no matter how tediously we tailor and control what we think the world knows of us) still subject to the random bursts and billowings of an unknown wind… and sometimes we get knocked down.

The trick is, as they say, to always get up again. Look into that mirror, acknowledge what it reflects back to you—then throw it against the wall and don’t bother to pick up the shards of glass. Let them be a monument to your growth, a reminder of the sharp and trialsome lessons you’ve come to learn, and make a new path around them.

This is the gift of Eclipse. A powerful, sometimes frightening opportunity to face the unknown, to face your own darkness and name it. To name a thing is to have power over it, after all. Then you move forward.

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The Chariot’s path…

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments
7 The Chariot

The Chariot of the Incidental Tarot

The Chariot…I will admit, it is a card that I’ve always given short shrift to in the past.  Being largely at a loss as to how to portray it, it was one of the last four trumps that remained to be designed.  It had always seemed to me to be a very masculine card, speaking of war and strategy and dominion.  But as I delved into the mythos behind its traditional imagery, I realized there is much more to the Chariot than meets the eye.  It is in fact, an allegory of the Soul’s journey.  In the Tarot, the Chariot is a direct sign of the Soul Path of the querent.

Some years ago, I was at a Renaissance faire in Washington with the musical ensemble I perform with, and I found myself mysteriously drawn to the symbol of horses.  I found a lovely ceramic mug with a depiction of the Celtic Epona, goddess of hearth and home (originally patron goddess of the Roman military).  At the time, I felt very drawn to Epona as a grounding influence, and I was so enamored of her image, I bought myself a number of beads to string into a necklace: a large jade floral wheel at the center, flanked by two horse heads, one white and one black.  I really don’t know where the concept came from; I didn’t have any conscious association with the Chariot in mind at the time.  In fact, it was only just recently as I was doing the research for this card that I made the connection.  That summer in Washington, I was purposefully (if unconsciously) grounding myself on my Soul Path.

Plato’s narrative on the Chariot is one of the earliest representations of the myth, though it seems to be based on even earlier ancient texts.  He describes the Chariot as the vehicle of the Soul’s progress from its maker, through its various incarnations on earth, and on to its eventual return to heaven.  The driver of the Chariot is the Soul, and the horses, one white and one black represent the two opposite but tandem forces that drive the Soul on its journey.  The white horse is symbolic of the highest and noblest form of action, the perfection of reason and sensibility.  Chivalry, charity and grace are qualities of the white horse; the black horse represents the more primal aspects of human nature.  The force of passion, which is not inherently negative in itself, opposes the nature of the white horse and often clashes with it, creating the conflicts and challenges of earthly life.  In the extreme, the black horse symbolizes intense emotion: lust, obsession and rage.  These passions can throw the Chariot off course, and draw it back into the baser levels of existence.

I realize now, that to some degree, my own Chariot has been driving in circles for a very long time…often slogging through mud and wind and the harsh weather of my own distraction. But the weather is quieting down, the horses have gotten some rest and I am starting to see a path clearing before me.  And you know what?  It’s a little scary out there… leaving behind those well-worn circular tracks and facing the wide open road ahead.

But here I am, the sun is shining, and I found a map.

READING THE CHARIOT:  The Chariot’s appearance in a reading heralds an important opportunity wherein the querent’s Destiny shall be recognized and engaged.  The foundation has been solidly built and much effort has been committed to achieving goals, and a great portion of that work is now coming to fruition.  The Chariot represents victory through hard work, responsibility and dedication, of foregoing the extremes of experience in favor of balance and moderation.  This card is also a spiritual milestone being number 7 of 21 trumps, indicating a strong sense of completion, of promises fulfilled and intentions realized.  In general, the Chariot is a card of pathworking, an excellent omen of success, and signals that the querent is well-established on the path to his Destiny.

To define The Chariot in a word: ACHIEVEMENT.

REVERSED.  Leaning too heavily on the passionate nature (the black horse); letting emotion and distraction obstruct the way of the Soul’s progress.  Obstacles, trials, lessons to be learned.  Emotional clarity must be diligently sought, and discipline applied to remain on the Path to Destiny.

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The Talismans

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The Talismans

The Talismans: Labyrinth & Ariadne

The Incidental Tarot includes two extra cards, unnumbered and independent of the Major and Minor Arcanas.  You can think of them as “wild cards,” or as I prefer to call them, Talismans.

This unusual pair of cards was added to the deck after much consideration, by both myself and the audience that witnessed the unfolding of the Incidental Tarot over the course of 2011.  Ariadne was the first to be chosen.

She came out of my daily art challenge whilst traveling, my sweetheart and I being in the midst of a road trip through Oregon.  We were looking for a place to camp for the night, and not having made reservations ahead of time, we weren’t sure where we were going to end up.  A local ranger directed us to a wooded gorge where there was supposed to be a good number of pack-in pack-out sites along the Molalla River.  When we arrived in the area somewhere around 3pm, every site was packed along the 2+ mile stretch of river.  Discouraged, we drove to the end of the forest service road and parked to discuss our options.  We decided to give it one more try, to drive back up through the camping area and give it the once over for anything we might have missed.  Sure enough, on the way back one of the first campgrounds we passed had been vacated, aptly named Osprey, which tickled my sweetheart, an avid raptor-phile.  I sat down on a log with my little drawing kit as he unpacked our gear and out came Ariadne, as easy and flowing as the river beside us.  I had finished the line drawing in less than an hour, and I knew right away she was going to be a favorite.  I added the serene blue and hints of color to her once we came home from the trip, and I quickly came to rely on her image as the avatar on my Facebook arts page.

When the deck was completed two months later, I decided to include space for two extra cards.  I would choose one, and let my audience choose the other.  I offered them a vote from 5 different drawings, and Ariadne came out the winner.  But when I put her next to the card I had chosen, to my surprise something about the pairing just didn’t fit.  So I went back through the almost 300 drawings I had done over the course of the year, and there was Labyrinth.

Labyrinths are ancient and powerful paths that lead one between the worlds, into the realm of magic where thoughts can be manifest. To enter a labyrinth is to step out of the mundane world and into a magical space…the Otherworld.  The meditative steps around and back and around again lead us into a trance state where we can access divine insights and cross the thresholds of time and space through our subconscious. No one knows where the concept of the labyrinth was born, but its mysterious curves and sinuous pathways have been found in countless ancient cultures, and are still created as the centerpieces of many modern sacred landscapes.

Labyrinths have always been special for me.  Where I live, there is a string of primitive stone labyrinths set up along a hiking trail in our local park woodlands, which also happens to be a volcanic preserve.  It’s clear when walking these wall-less labyrinths that sacred space here has long been established.  At the center of each circle, a small altar is composed of stones, trinkets and notes left by local “pilgrims.”  Part of my ritual of walking the labyrinths is to acknowledge the “offerings” left by others before me.  I pick up the trinkets and stones with gentle fingers, knowing that someone brought these things here for a purpose…to pray, to give thanks, to ask advice, or simply to offer a gift to the natural world.  I quietly read the notes, often scribbled on scraps of paper or random business cards, whatever the walker happened to have on their person at that moment.  Some of the writings I have found were profoundly moving, and I believe the act of reading them lends support and energy to their purpose.  It is a way of silently helping to send the intention forth, with no connection or bias to its original messenger.

I too have left offerings in the labyrinths, and experienced the magical calm of walking a well-trodden path to its center, where mundane objects become sacred and thoughts are transformed to the vibration of prayer.  It is a beautiful ritual, and one that can have the power to open the heart and reconnect you to the world.  It is almost as if the winding path of the labyrinth is an invisible umbilical cord, leading you back to the center of yourself again.

Labyrinth stood out immediately as the companion talisman to Ariadne.

In ancient Greece, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen Pasiphaë. When the king refused to sacrifice his precious white bull to Poseidon, Aphrodite caused Pasiphaë to fall recklessly in love with the bull to shame her husband. Pasiphaë had a hollow cow constructed, into which she climbed in order to have relations with the bull. From this union was born the Minotaur: a monstrous creature, half bull and half man who could only be sustained by consuming human flesh. This was King Minos’ lasting punishment. He imprisoned the Minotaur in a labyrinth, and was forced to sacrifice seven youths and seven maidens to the creature every nine years to keep his kingdom from further demise.

Theseus, who would later become the founder and king of Athens, volunteered to enter the labyrinth and slay the Minotaur. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus, and secretly gave him a ball of red string that he might find his way out of the labyrinth. Not only did Ariadne save the man she loved from being lost in the labyrinth (or the Otherworld, if you consider it an allegory), but she also helped to save her people from continuing to be victims of the disgraceful sacrificial ritual brought on by her father’s arrogance.

So you see how these two images naturally came together as the Talismans for the Incidental Tarot.  In a sense they are both keys to the Otherworld: Labyrinth is the way in, and Ariadne is the way out.   Within that magical and sacred space is a twofold chance to journey deep into the unseen realm of your own heart.  Here can be found an amazing opportunity, but also perhaps great danger.  The beast within, the incarnation of your sins is hidden in this place, and must be faced, acknowledged and overcome.  Ariadne is there to remind you of your own courage, your highest purpose…and to help you find your way home again.  She is the power of Love itself.

These cards are always to be read right side-up; they are not intended to have reversed meanings. To receive one or both of the Talismans in a reading is a very special happening.  It signifies a rare opportunity to experience the deepest magic of pathworking, and to know that someone or something is watching over you to guide you on your journey.

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1 The Red King

by The Incidental Empress 0 Comments

The Red King…such a compelling gentleman, isn’t he?  He holds within his hands a flask containing the essence of the red rose (magic in earthly form); he is crowned by the fiery golden rays of the sun, the cosmic expression of his spirit.

The Red King is the first numbered trump of the Incidental Tarot, thus he is equated with the Magician of traditional Tarot decks.  The Red King is a magician; simultaneously an alchemist and the incarnation of his Work.  He embodies the alchemical phase of rubedo, or manifestation.

Rubedo is the phase of alchemical work associated with the transmutation of the spirit into purified physical form.  Metaphorically, we can view this as the union of body and soul: the quintessential dream of Immortality.  The full work of alchemy is infinitely complex (to modern scholars) and layered with spiritual allegory, but the archetype of the Red King in simplest terms signifies the union of spirit with matter.  The Red King represents the ability to manifest the intangible energy of the unseen world; to bring forth and manipulate its power on earth with a knowing hand.  He is associated with the element of fire, sulfur, the Sun and the masculine active principle of energy.  The Red King of the Incidental Tarot represents magic made manifest.

Magic, in its purest form is spirit.  It is the energy unseen which permeates all of creation, waiting to be tapped and channeled into whatever form the magician denotes.  The Red King is the conductor of this energy, a master of magic; he himself has risen from the darkness of chaos, been purified into spirit and then born (with this knowledge) into the physical reality of this world.  He is both the magician, and magic made tangible in the world of the elements.

The Red King denotes mastery over the forces of the unseen.  He has constructed his world steadily and carefully through the phases of the Work, all the while striving to harmonize his own higher purpose with the role he has been given in the greater Cosmic Work.  He understands the consequences of foolish pursuits, and directs his personal action with the same purpose that he channels the greater energies of the unseen world.  His spiritual work is in perfect harmony with the work he directs in the physical world; thus he is a master of both.

In a reading, the Red King represents great potential in the hands of the querent.  He or she is poised to be a direct channel of Magic, and to become a powerful conduit between the unnamed, unseen forces of the universe and those that function in the physical world.  This is a position not to be taken lightly; it is a role that requires balance, responsibility and conscience, for the work of the Red King affects the destinies of all those whose lives he touches.  The querent is in a position of great advantage, with all the tools necessary to succeed in the Work, and can proceed with confidence, strength and a sense of empowered responsibility.  Action is the key to this card; the magic is already in you and need only be tapped.

To define the Red King in a word:  MANIFEST.

REVERSED.  Misuse of power, arrogance, spiritual weakness, squandering of resources.  Inability to assume authority, irresponsible action.  Manipulation without conscience.

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Happy New Year from the Fool!

by The Incidental Empress 1 Comment
The Fool

The Fool of the Incidental Tarot

It is the first day of 2012, and what better day to introduce you to the official Incidental Tarot website!

Now that my ACEO Challenge of 2011 is complete, I can focus on the final touches of the Incidental Tarot project…namely the building of this website and finishing the companion book to the deck!  The deck is currently being printed, and while we’re all itching to get them into our hot little hands, I invite you to follow this blog, share with your friends, and please be welcome to comment and discuss anything and everything Tarot-centric here!

Along with the virtual ribbon cutting *cue champagne popping* ceremony of this blog and website, I thought it most appropriate to begin this phase of the journey with The Fool.

The Fool is the first and the last of the Major Arcana; the alpha and the omega. He represents the most perfect potential of any person or situation.

The Fool wears the guise of a traveler and carries a small pack with only the essentials needed to survive on his journey. He has everything he needs to fulfill his life path, which is primarily to understand the nature of what it is to be human. A banner flutters from his pack inscribed with “a posse, ad esse: from possibility to actuality,” the Fool’s motto. He represents the ultimate potential of destiny ready to be manifest in the world. The Fool also represents the higher self, the intuitive spirit that guides us when the trials and tribulations of life muddle our sense of purpose. If we can remove the mental, emotional and physical clutter of our chosen paths, the purity of the Fool’s vision will guide us through times of confusion and shifting paradigms.  And isn’t that most appropriate now, with the impending transformations of 2012 at our doorstep?  Let us hereby banish the shadow of 2011 and welcome the light of a new year with the clarity and freedom of the Fool’s message.

The Fool took a long time to be “born” as I worked my way through the Major Arcana.  It is a card I had never felt a strong kinship with…perhaps something to do with my inherently serious and perfectionist Saturnine nature.  I just had trouble relating to it.  But eventually I found I did have a very strong vision for this card, and that came from my favorite Mark Twain novel, The Mysterious Stranger.  The story (within a story) centers around August, a young printer’s apprentice in renaissance Austria.  He lives and works in a castle replete with colorful characters, and longing for adventure as any boy would.  One day, a mysterious stranger shows up at the door of the castle and all manner of curious and magical things begin to happen.  Without giving away the beauty of the story (which I highly recommend, by the way), the stranger shows August that anything is possible, and that life is a dream that can be dreamed in an infinite number of ways.  He shows August the potential and the freedom of his own consciousness.  To me, that is the message of the Fool.

The mysterious stranger on the card itself carries the emblems of all four elements, the arrow for fire and action, the rose for water and emotion, the quill for air and intellect and the acorn for earth and the body. These are the gifts (and tools) of earthly existence, and he follows the colorful hummingbird, a symbol of the fifth element of spirit, or the soul. Is he about to catch the hummingbird, or has he just released it?

In a reading the Fool represents pure spirit; the querent need only let go of earthly attachments and conflict to see the insight of his destiny.

To define the Fool in a word: POTENTIAL.

REVERSED. Willful ignorance, irresponsibility, disregard of consequences. Allowing oneself to be ruled by whims. Unable to form coherent plans for the future.

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