Major Arcana · Mirror of the Arcana
0 · ArcanumThe Fool
The Fool in tarot is a card of beginning, lightness and trust.
Key meanings
- beginning
- lightness
- trust
- leap into the unknown
- freedom
The Fool upright
A new beginning. Pure trust, spontaneity, and the courage to step into the unknown with an open heart.
The shadow side
A blind leap where you needed solid ground, and fear hiding behind 'I don't care.'
The Fool reversed
Recklessness, or the fear of stepping at all. Naivety, or running from what you're responsible for.
The Fool as the card of the day
Today the world opens up before you like fresh snow with no footprints on it yet. Don't ask where the path leads, just take the first step with a light heart. This isn't foolishness, it's trust in life itself.
The question this card asks
What would you choose if you weren't afraid of getting it wrong?
The Fool: yes or no?
leaning yes
The Fool steps off the cliff and does not break. Yes, with your eyes open.
The scale runs from yes to no through three middle steps, and arcanum 0 lands on leaning yes.
A closed question gets a lean and never a verdict, and this lean is coloured by beginning. Pull your own card →
Every card is a mirror, not a verdict. Walk the other arcana and listen to what they say together.
✦ See all 22 Major ArcanaFAQ
Does The Fool (0) count as a good card or a bad one?
No card in tarot is simply bad. It carries beginning and lightness, and whether that reads warm or difficult is decided by your question and by the position. Frightening you is not my work.
Is The Fool one of the twenty-two major arcana?
Major, arcanum 0 of twenty-two. Major arcana speak of thresholds and minor arcana of routine, and 0 is a threshold.
Where does The Fool sit in the order of the majors?
The order of the twenty-two puts The World in front of it and The Magician behind. Arcanum 0 is the step between them, and that is where its direction comes from.
What does The Fool (0) mean upright and reversed?
Upright, the reading starts from beginning and lightness and opens out from there. When it falls reversed, arcanum 0 turns inward, and the question becomes what you are not letting through.