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The Fool's Journey
This fun project was inspired by an exercise in Mary Greer's book, 'Tarot for Your Self'
Most popular books or movies are centered around a hero or heroine who
steps outside their comfort zone in order to explore new territory and thereby gain a
deeper awareness or is rewarded a 'prize' of some sort. Our favorite stories that we tell
over and over in different scenarios are centered around characters who through some
'trial by fire' become more evolved and individuated, whether it is a happy ending or not.
Folk and fairy tales are often centered around a child, an innocent, or 'questor' who must
go out into the world to challenge the unknown in some extraordinary way. There is usually
a happy ending to these tales because of the openness, naiveté and
purity
of the hero.
With determination and courage they overcome obstacles they must face in order to reach
their goal. S/he is often assisted by magical powers bestowed upon them by people or
creatures s/he has been good to along the way. Often times the prize is material wealth
(representing security and prestige) or more often, the daughter of the king is given in
marriage to the hero, or the heroine marries the prince and they live "happily ever
after". The marriage is a metaphor for harmony and a balance of the yin/yang
principles.
Creating a Story
This exercise is a good way to familiarize yourself more intimately with
the cards and how they relate to one another in a reading. Write a story about the
Fool.
Who is this character and where do they come from? Where will their adventure lead them?
Describe their appearance. What is the challenge or threshold they must pass through and
why? Do they have animal or human allies, or any special powers or unique limitations and
challenges? The spread I've chosen for this exercise works well for storytelling as well
as dream interpretations, however other spreads will work too. You can create your concept
of the
Fool
by collaging an image of the card or by other creative means. Or choose a
Fool
card from a favorite deck.
Let the cards help you to create the plot of your story. You can either
choose 14 more cards in a deck that you are specifically drawn to (if you use this method, it helps if
you use a deck that shows images on the minors and include some court cards.) or randomly
select 14 cards from a shuffled deck. Decide what type of story you want it to be (folk
tale, adventure, fantasy, comedy, romance, etc.) You don't need to follow the image of the
card exactly but rather get a sense of what metaphor it is conveying. For example if the
Chariot
card has a man riding a chariot being drawn by a black and a white horse, this can mean a
person learning to 'take the reins' in their life and balancing opposing forces. Lay the
cards in the order of the spread in the diagram and write down the story line.
Card one is the
Fool
or main character of your story. Explain his or her appearance, personality or some identifying aspect about
them that is relevant to the story.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
In cards 2___________________and 3__________________________explain the
nature of the situation that the hero or heroine is in at the beginning of the story.
________________________________________________________________________
Cards 4________________, 5___________________ and
6_______________________
introduce the plot's theme and the challenge the hero is faced with.
________________________________________________________________________
Cards 7________________, 8_________________ and 9
____________________depict the progression of the story. The characters, events, etc. that
help or hinder the goal.
________________________________________________________________________
Cards 10_______________, 11_________________ and
12_______________________ indicate the psychological or karmic basis of the
Fool's Journey
and how the character has evolved having experienced this situation.
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Cards 13________________, 14_____________________and 15___________________ tie up the story with some sort of
outcome, lesson or message that the story reveals.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
If you have time, flesh out the outline of your story and write it on separate paper.
Here is an example of a story tarot spread
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