Image: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain/CC0)
TL;DR: Waite wrote in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911) that the divinatory meaning of The Fool is folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, and reversed meanings such as negligence, absence of care, and vanity. In modern Tarot reading, this card is often understood as a new beginning, freedom, and wholehearted commitment without calculation; when reversed, it suggests impulsiveness and lack of preparation. Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: separate the excitement from the preparation before stepping into something new.
Where does The Fool sit in the Major Arcana?
The Fool is card number 0 in the Major Arcana. In a standard 78-card Tarot deck, the Major Arcana has 22 cards, and The Fool stands before both card number 1 (The Magician) and card number 21 (The World). This "zero" position means the card is often seen as the point of origin for the entire Major Arcana journey.
The Rider-Waite-Smith artwork was printed in 1909, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, with the divinatory material compiled by A. E. Waite and published in his book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1911. The divinatory meanings Waite gives in the 1911 book are often different from the meanings common today, so the layers are kept separate below.
How does Waite describe The Fool in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911)?
Waite writes in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911): a young man in gorgeous apparel, stepping lightly as though the earth and its bonds could hardly hold him, pausing on the verge between the peaks of the world. He gazes at the blue ahead, at the sky opening wider rather than the scene below. The eager gait is still visible even as he stands still; his dog is still dancing. The verge opens onto a depth that is not at all frightening, as though an angel waits to catch him if he leaps. His face is full of a knowing look and a dream waiting to unfold. In one hand he holds a rose, in the other a fine wand, and from the wand a satchel embroidered with elaborate patterns hangs down over his right shoulder. He is a prince of the other world travelling through this one, in the morning light, in clear air. The sun shines behind him.
What divinatory meaning does Waite give for The Fool in 1911?
Waite writes in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), under Divinatory Meanings: Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment. Reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity. These can be rendered as: foolishness, frenzy, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, madness, a slip of the tongue that reveals too much; reversed, carelessness, absence, dispersal, negligence, apathy, nullity, vanity.
This is the block of meanings Waite lists, including the reversed meanings and those that seem to contradict the card's bright imagery. Waite should not be credited with modern meanings such as "new beginnings" or "freedom" that he did not write.
What does The Fool mean in present-day Tarot reading?
In present-day Tarot reading, The Fool upright is usually understood as a new beginning, freedom, a leap taken without calculation. Reversed, the card is usually understood as impulsiveness, lack of preparation, an unwise risk. Common keywords are beginning, freedom, adventure.
This is also the meaning used by Nhật Nguyệt's card-drawing tool. The present-day reading does not deny Waite's 1911 block of meanings, but emphasises the positive side of beginning rather than the "folly, frenzy" side that Waite lists.
| Layer of reading | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Waite 1911 | Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment | Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity |
| Present-day reading (used by the site's card-drawing tool) | New beginning, freedom, a leap taken without calculation | Impulsiveness, lack of preparation, an unwise risk |
In Nhật Nguyệt's understanding, what do the symbols on The Fool say?
In Nhật Nguyệt's understanding, the details on The Fool in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck can be read layer by layer, but it should be remembered that this is the site's understanding, not Waite's 1911 text.
| Symbol | Feature | Nhật Nguyệt's understanding |
|---|---|---|
| The number 0 | Neither beginning nor end | Untapped potential, unbound by convention |
| The young man | Gorgeous apparel, pausing on the verge, eager gait still visible | A leap of faith, action based on intuition |
| The dog | Still dancing | Instinct, companionship, a voice of warning |
| The rose | Held in one hand | Joy, beauty, a spirit of freedom |
| The fine wand | Held in the other hand, with the embroidered satchel slung over the right shoulder | Will, light baggage for the road |
| The verge | Opens onto a depth that is not frightening | The edge of the comfort zone, where the unknown begins |
| The sun | Shining behind him | A supporting light behind, the optimism of a beginning |
Waite does not describe snow-capped mountains in the passage about this card, so the table above does not include that detail. Likewise, Waite does not say the figure is barefoot or walking through a fertile field.
What does Nhật Nguyệt suggest when The Fool appears?
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: if you are weighing a new step at work, separate the excitement from the preparation. A beginning does not need a perfect plan, but it should still have a few milestones so you can check where you are going. In love, say what you want rather than guessing the other person's mind; in money, avoid big decisions made only on a passing sense of adventure; in health, keep basic sleep and movement habits before trying something new.
These suggestions are Nhật Nguyệt's way of opening a question so you can look again at your own situation, not a claim about the future or a certain outcome.
What is notable about The Fool in Tarot history?
Tarot appeared in Europe at the end of the 14th century through Italian port cities, at first as a card game. Surviving early decks, such as the Visconti-Sforza deck in Milan, were hand-painted in the mid-15th century for the upper classes. It was not until the mid-18th century that Tarot came to be used for divination in Italy and then spread to France, and the French occultists of that time began assigning Tarot unverified mystical origins.
In 1909, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith and compiled by A. E. Waite, appeared, printed with all 78 illustrated cards. In 1911, Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, in which he recorded divinatory meanings for each card, including The Fool. From then on, The Fool became one of the most widely recognised images associated with Tarot.
Should The Fool be treated as a prediction of the future?
It should not. The card is a symbol for looking again at a situation, not a certain forecast. Waite 1911 records one block of meanings, present-day reading records another, and both are interpretations. You can use the card as a mirror for putting questions to yourself, rather than waiting for it to decide in your place.
Overview article on the topic: What Tarot is and how to read the 78 cards
