May 06 2008
The Fool becomes Joyful

One of the principle archetypal messages of the old style western tarot can be found in the tarot card The Fool. Typically, the card shows an individual soul, a “fool” about to step of into incarnation. The fool is stepping away from source (i.e., the sun) and off the cliff into a physical body below. In this card, the fool has a mission which is (depending upon your location in the hierarchies of this world), variously, to “learn,” to grow, to evolve, to strengthen, to soften, to attain salvation, to develop, to purify, to become good, to clear karma, to prove yourself worthy, etc. You start off as the royal idiot, the untamed wildman, the insensate fool and only later, if you are lucky, if you pass “Judgment” are you able to attain “salvation.”
Superficially, these all seem like different goals but in reality they are all the same. The goal of incarnation, the single purpose for your existence, is for you to work to improve yourself in some way.
This is your purpose.
Ask yourself what is the purpose of your life on this earth and you are invariably drawn to the archetype of purpose as represented in the western tarot by the fool card.
Of course, this “purpose archetype” doesn’t stand alone. In fact, of all the other archetypes in the old book, this card is arguably the most interdependent. You can’t just order somebody to work. We’re just not wired that way and so the fool must work with The Magician, The Tower, Temperance, Wheel, and even Judgment in order to make an argument convincing enough to get us to willingly put on the chains (The Devil).

Contrary to the purpose as explicated in the old world fool archetype, we have the new Joyful archetype of the Halo/Sharp Triumph deck. In this card we still see an individual soul or monad stepping into incarnation, but this time we see the soul fully empowered (chakras activated), awakened, and connected to source. In the Halo/Sharp card, the soul follows the golden road into incarnation, joyfully anticipating the experiences that it will manifest, blissful in the awareness of its divinity, and ecstatic at the positive and exciting experiences that await it. Here there is neither justification of suffering nor expectation of woe. On the contrary, when the old world passes away and the old archetypes no longer hold sway, only good things await the incarnating monad.
The message in the new archetype is clear. Your only purpose as an incarnating monad is to experience joy.
Michael…
This is my favorite by blatant contrast from old to new thought…..For its message, and its magnificent beauty….The voice of this card is vibrant and has a long lasting echo after walking away from it…I Love it !…I wanna poster…and a Tee Shirt !
Blessings
Lynda