Tarot Card Meanings: The Fool

“Fools rush in, where wise men never go
But wise men never fall in love
So how are they to know?
When we met, I felt my life being
So open up your heart and let
This fool rush in”

‘Fools Rush In’ by Bow Wow Wow (Mercer / Bloom)

Welcome to my chain of fools!

The Fool is the first card of the Major Arcana (zeroth card?), representing new beginnings, openness, and the courage to take a leap of faith. In this post, I explore the Fool Tarot meaning: including classic symbolism, modern interpretations, and the personal risks we take when we say yes to something unknown.

I had a soft spot for The Fool right from the first time I looked through a Tarot deck, and the lyrics to ‘Fools Rush In’ got stuck in my head*. The song plays in my internal jukebox every time The Fool makes an appearance for me now! I’ve always loved the glorious, fearless naivety of this card; the hope, the levity. It’s such a perfect card to have as the first one you really study when learning Tarot too, as in many ways as the freshly minted Tarot student you are The Fool – all wide eyed uncertainty, relying on guts and heart, before the deeper study of the art shores up your knowledge.

Symbolism in the Fool Tarot Card

Traditionally depicted in the RWS as a blissfully unaware traveller merrily about to step off a cliff – despite the warnings of their faithful companion dog at their feet – The Fool as a card is all about new beginnings, spontaneity, taking leaps of faith, and having the courage to take a chance – however improbable a successful outcome might seem. The RWS also depicts the Fool as clutching a white rose (a symbol of his innocence). Roses are beautiful, but dangerous (ouch!) – much like our journey through life. But the Fool doesn’t care about the dangers, he eagerly grasps the rose anyway, despite the thorns. He is not so much ignorant of danger, as uncaring (because the cost is worth the payoff), and trusting in the universe to take care of him. So much poetry comes to mind here, R.S. Thomas (what’s living but courage?), Robert Herrick (gather ye rosebuds while thee may), and Franz Kafka (the world will offer itself freely to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet).

I particularly love these two more modern twists on The Fool – who can forget the rush of running to jump off a cliff into the welcoming, wild wet of the sea on a hot summer’s day? Or the thrill of taking a flying leap into the waiting air. There is a recklessness and a danger in these sorts of activities. You might break your leg. Or your neck. But, as Neil Gaiman writes, ‘sometimes when you fall you learn to fly’.

Yes, The Fool is impetuous and silly, but imagine how lonely you’d be never taking any risks with your heart, or with your one wild and precious life? Imagine all the joy and connection with the world you’d cut yourself off from if you stayed behind those protective, sturdy walls. And even the story the Major Arcana cards tell, if there’s no Fool starting their journey through the cards there’s no anything. No Star, no Sun, no Empress, no World. Just you – the wise, unfoolish one – shut in your room, alone, safe, and never learning or growing. That is a safe life, yes, but it’s not a joyful one, it carries no potential for radical pleasure or genuine connection. In Wild Card, Jen Cownie and Fiona Lensvelt write, “The Fool… believes that the worst possible thing is to live in grey, afraid to try because you might not succeed. They believe that the reward of glorious technicolour is worth the risk… This card reminds us that hope isn’t foolish at all”.

Similarly, in WTF is Tarot, Bakara Wintner explains how “embodying the energy of The Fool is an act of self-trust so radical that it allows us to take risks that might seem crazy to others”. The gift of this card is it teaches us to take heed of the untamed, hopeful, childlike part inside all of us, the part that believes in a better world, a kinder future, our own infinite potential. “We must jump,” Wintner states, “to defy this instinct is to defy life itself”.

“Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean –
The one who has flung herself out of the grass…
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?”

From ‘The Summer Day’ by Mary Oliver

The ‘Fool’s Eye View’: The Fool card as empowerment

I really love these three cards that all take a ‘Fool’s eye view’ of the message of the card. For me, The Fool has always felt like a very personal card, speaking directly to the querent – your choices, your chance, your life, your happiness. So I like how these cards centre you, the viewer, in the Fool’s energy. Whether it’s the prosaic everyday of keys, phone, wallet or the terrifying jump into the rainbow abyss. Sometimes just leaving the house is the bravest thing we can do. And sometimes we need to heed the call of the great wild unknown and hike out into the hills.

Some natural Fools here. Jessica Bott explains that in Japanese culture, cherry blossoms are not only the traditional flower of Spring, but also a symbol both of renewal and of the fleeting nature of life. The cherry blossom thus urges us to taste the sweetness of life while we can, to grasp every opportunity, to make that leap. “I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees,” the poet Pablo Neruda writes. The Fool urges us to explode violently into life.

And look at this ‘Fool’ tree in the Lili White Tarot, straining with every fibre of its being towards the sunset. The tension and yearning the artist captures in this painting is incredible. Change can be hard, though, and often comes at a cost. In the awesome Tarot For Change, Jessica Dore writes that “change at any level – the personal, relational, cultural, systemic – requires two things: that we be courageous enough to… [be] weird…, and that we be willing to feel whatever angst or uncertainty that brings”.

Some more whimsical Fools here. I love the mad dash energy of the Cosmic Cycles’ Fool, ignoring the slippery floor warning signs as she sprints towards her latest adventure. Both the blissed out expression on the face of the woman in the Lightseer’s Tarot, and the grace and balance in her body, really capture the gorgeous golden naivety of the card. The artist and creator Chris-Anne writes, “she falls into the void, where her beautiful future awaits”.

And then this image from my All-Time Favourite Deck, the Bonestone & Earthflesh Tarot, is just stunning. Ana Tourian is just *the* most wildly talented artist. I love this young Fool, peering into the secret heart of the wise old tree and finding it inexplicably contains the universe. Big Alice in Wonderland vibes. Will she take a step into this brave new world? (Spoiler: yes). Three dreamy little Fools. In their brand new, hot-off-the-press book Finding The Fool, Meg Jones Wall notes that “it takes strength to hope, to dream. There’s an inherent idealism in the fool, a belief that our wildest ambitions and richest fantasies are not only possible but also worth pursuing”.  

“The Fool is… deliberately choosing the road less travelled, deciding to break a new trail and follow their own personal arrow. Every step is important, leading The Fool away from the life they have known and into something beautiful, a future with a glittering promise. They are chasing authenticity, being as true to themselves as they can possibly be, and are brave enough to wish without limits”.

‘Finding The Fool’, Meg Jones Wall

The Fool FAQs

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Works Cited

Cownie, J. & Lensvelt, F. (2022). Wild Card: Let the Tarot Tell Your Story. Bluebird.
Dore, J. (2021). Tarot for Change. Hay House.
Jones Wall, M. (2023). Finding the Fool: A Tarot Journey to Radical Transformation. Weiser.
Wintner, B. (2017). WTF is Tarot? And How Do I Do It? Page Street Publishing.