The Fool Upright: The Fool is the card of amazing breakthroughs, often caused by flashes of brilliance so far beyond the norm that they may seem a little nuts. Think of Icarus, the mythical figure on our card, who strapped some home-made wings to his back and stepped off a cliff determined to fly. Or Christopher Columbus, bravely sailing west with his tiny, leaking fleet. Most people were confident that Columbus would either starve, drown or end up as lunch for a sea monster. Luckily for him, he bumped into the West Indies before his sailors decided that roast Columbus sounded tasty. Was it luck or was it genius? With the Fool, it’s often hard to tell.
The Fool Reversed: The Fool Ill-Dignified warns of rash actions, impulsive behavior, dangerous and unnecessary risk-taking–in short, of foolishness. Although genius can sometimes look like insanity to the less gifted–think Ben Franklin flying a kite in the middle of a raging thunderstorm–the Fool reminds us that the reverse is also often true. The image on this card depicts Icarus about to step off the cliff, his home-made wings in place, his heart confidant that he is about to soar like an eagle. It was doubtless a wonderful feeling, the sun on his face, the wind in his hair . . . at least for the few moments it took for the wax he’d used for glue to melt. Then, of course, there was that whole plummeting to a messy death thing. Remember, the Wright Brothers also wanted to fly, but they A) started on the ground and B) used nails