Whoever draws The Fool in tarot usually hears the same ready-made phrase: it is the card of the new beginning, of the leap of faith, take the risk. Beautiful. The problem is that Arthur Edward Waite, the man who created the most used deck in the world, wrote something else in 1910.
In his list, the upright card 0 means madness, mania, delirium, and frenzy. The Brazilian reading of "pure potential" came later, and no one usually warns the reader about this.
This guide brings the profile of arcana card 0, the reading symbol by symbol, the "0 or XXII" fight, and the reversed position in both schools.
Does The Fool guarantee that it will work out?
No. No card in the deck does that, and with this one, caution needs to be greater, because it is easy to sell as authorization to take a risk.
What The Fool describes is a position: someone at the beginning, with a foot on the edge, without experience and without a map. It can be courage. It can be imprudence. The card does not say which of the two.
It is also not practical advice. Arcana card 0 does not tell you to quit your job or move cities: it shows the state of the person asking.
The Fool marks the departure, not the arrival. It tells that you are at the beginning, and nothing beyond that.
Profile of Arcana Card 0
| Field | The Fool |
|---|---|
| Number | 0 in most modern decks. XXII in 18th-century Belgian decks. No number in old Italian ones |
| Other names | Il Matto and Il Pazzo (Italy), Le Mat (Marseille), Le Fou (France), The Fool (Rider-Waite-Smith) |
| Position in the sequence | opens the Major Arcana in the Golden Dawn order, before The Magician (I) |
| Correspondence | Hebrew letter Aleph and element Ar, in the Golden Dawn table |
| Upright (current reading) | beginning, potential, freedom, spontaneity, willingness to leave without guarantee |
| Reversed (current reading) | impulsivity, recklessness, naivety, escape, paralysis before the new |
| Upright, by Waite (1910) | madness, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy |
| Yes or no | disputed field: part of the schools read yes, part read maybe |
Two caveats about the table. The correspondence with Aleph and with Air comes from the Golden Dawn, an English order founded in 1888, and is not a consensus. The planet Uranus appears in derivative material, without a firm primary source: treat as a school attribution. The list of the 22 is in the guide to the Major Arcana of the tarot.
Symbol by symbol: what the image tells
In the Rider-Waite-Smith, designed by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909, each element of the scene has a function. Waite describes the card in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, now in the public domain.
- The young man on the edge of the precipice: Waite describes "a young man in gorgeous vestments", a young man in sumptuous garments. He is standing on the edge, at the top of the world, not fallen on the ground.
- The gaze on the horizon, not on the abyss: the original says that he observes "the blue distance before him", the blue ahead. The risk exists and he is not looking at it.
- The white rose: read as a sign of freedom in relation to lower desires. Purity of intention, not naivety.
- The wand with the embroidered bundle: Waite speaks of "a costly wand" with a bag hanging on the shoulder. Tradition reads there the knowledge that he has not yet opened.
- The dog: in the Rider-Waite he leaps by his side, a companion. In old decks the dog pursues and bothers the figure. The difference completely changes the reading.
Waite summarizes the character as "a prince of the other world," a prince from another world traveling through this one. It is not the portrait of a failure.
Why the Fool is 0 in some decks and XXII in others
This doubt has no mystical root. It has its roots in an ordering dispute between two occult systems of the 19th century, as recorded by the Tarot Heritage collection.
- Eliphas Levi, in 1855, fitted the Hebrew alphabet into the trumps starting with Aleph in arcana I. In this arrangement, the Fool is left over and goes to the end of the line.
- The Golden Dawn reversed the logic in 1888: it put the Fool first, numbered it zero, and gave Aleph to it. This shifted all the letters one card down.
- The result is that almost every English language deck adopted the Golden Dawn order, while Levi's system remained preferred in part of Europe.
Hence the "0 or XXII." If your deck brings 0, it follows the English school. If it brings 22, it follows the French. Neither is wrong.
From an outcast of the 15th century to a prince of another world
The scene you know is the end of an image reform that took almost 500 years. The starting point is harsh.
| Phase | How the card appears |
|---|---|
| Visconti-Sforza, 1450s | torn clothes, without shoes, feathers in his hair, a club to defend himself from dogs. The portrait of a sick person excluded from the social life of the time |
| Marselha, around 1650 | ambiguous figure: ragged clothes underneath, colors, collar and bells on top. It could be the street artist on the path to the next ritual work |
| Waite and Colman Smith, 1909 | the complete turn: spirit in search of experience, prince of another world on the edge of the precipice |
The story of this transformation has a practical effect on the table. Someone reading in Marselha tends to see someone exposed, harassed by the dog. Someone reading in Rider-Waite tends to see autonomy and choice. In a question about changing jobs, the two answers do not look alike.
The Fool in the reading: love, work and combinations
In love, the card speaks of a bond at the beginning, still without a defined shape. For someone who is alone, it indicates openness. For someone who is in a relationship, it may point to recovered lightness or a lack of commitment, depending on the surrounding cards. It is worth crossing with the love tarot.
In work, it points to a beginning, a change of area, a project without a set structure. It is a card of departure, not of result. It usually asks for preparation where the consultant only wants courage.
In health, it appears linked to new energy and carelessness with the body. The usual caveat applies: tarot is not a diagnosis and does not replace a doctor or therapist.
In yes or no, the answer divides the schools. Some read yes, due to the impulse to follow. Some read maybe, because there is a lack of base. The blog's criterion is in yes or no tarot, and arcana card 0 is one of those that switch sides depending on the method.
In the most searched combinations:
- With The Magician (I): the classic duo. The Fool wants to leave, The Magician knows how.
- With The Tower (XVI): a leap without preparation and the collapse that comes after.
- With The Sun (XIX): a beginning that reaches a good conclusion, with clarity on the path.
The Fool reversed and the shadow of the card
Here appears the most interesting divergence of arcana card 0.
The contemporary reading treats the reversed card as poorly managed impulse: imprudence, fleeing from responsibility, naivety exploited by third parties. Or the opposite of that: the paralysis of someone who does not take the first step.
Waite wrote another list. In his divinatory meanings, the reversed Fool is "Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity": negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, and vanity. For the upright card, he lists "Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy". In the original, the heavy meaning is in the upright position, not in the reversed.
Both schools work. What does not work is alternating between them depending on the card that comes out. Choose one criterion and keep it for the entire spread, as explained in the guide for reversed cards in tarot.
Shadow of arcana card 0: confusing a leap with an escape. Leaving out of courage builds. Leaving to avoid facing what is here only changes the address of the problem.
A necessary note to close. Tarot is an oracle of European origin, born as a card game in 15th century Italy, and is not part of the liturgy of Umbanda or Candomblé. The Fool of the European deck is not an orixá (orisha) and does not correspond to one. The tarots of orixás are a distinct Brazilian system, with its own structure, and that is where this type of correspondence takes place.
Frequently asked questions
What does the card The Fool mean in tarot?
It indicates a beginning, potential still without form, and the willingness to move forward without guarantees. It describes the position of someone on the edge, without accumulated experience. It can point to courage or recklessness, depending on the surrounding cards. It is not advice on a decision or a prediction of the outcome.
Is The Fool arcana card 0 or 22?
Both numbers circulate. The Golden Dawn placed the card in first place and numbered it zero, an order adopted by almost every English language deck. Eliphas Levi's system left it at the end, and 18th century Belgian decks brought XXII. Neither of the two versions is wrong.
What does The Fool reversed mean?
In the current reading, impulsivity, recklessness, naivety, or the paralysis of not taking the first step. Waite wrote something different in 1910: negligence, absence, distraction, carelessness, apathy, and vanity. Choose one of the schools and maintain the same criterion throughout the entire reading.
Is The Fool in tarot a yes or no?
It depends on the method. Part of the schools read yes, due to the impulse to move forward. Part reads maybe, because the card shows someone without a base established. It is one of the arcana cards that most frequently change classification, so the answer never comes from it in isolation.
Is The Fool a good card?
It is neither good nor bad. It is neutral and depends on the context of the reading. Next to cards of structure, it points to a healthy beginning. Next to cards of fall, it signals a leap without preparation. Waite, curiously, listed heavy meanings for it even in the upright position.
Where to buy tarot decks and items
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find what you need to study and practice:
- Tarot decks: Rider-Waite, Marseille, and Brazilian editions
- Reading towels: to set the table before the reading
- White candles: to open and close the reading ritual work
- Incense and smudge sticks: to clear the environment and the deck
- Guard bags and crystals: to accommodate and protect the cards
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or call on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil. We also do tarot readings with Joice.
To check the iconography and the names of the card, see the “The Fool (tarot card)” entry on Wikipedia.
References
- Wikisource: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, part 2 (Arthur Edward Waite, 1910)
- Wikisource: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, part 3 (Arthur Edward Waite, 1910)
- Tarot Heritage: Turning Points in Tarot History
- Tarot Heritage: From Il Matto to The Fool
- Wikipedia: The Fool (tarot card)
