The Fool, going left or right?

Thirteen

Paul Foster Case says the sun in the card stands "at an angle of forty-five degrees in the eastern heaven" because "the spiritual sun never reaches the zenith, for from the zenith it would have to descend...the Fool faces North-West, toward a direction which, for Masonic and other occult reasons, has for milleniums (sic) been symbolic of the unknown, and of the state just prior to the initiation of a creative process."
Cool! I hadn't thought about it, but yes, the Sun is rising there. And I'm not at all surprised that the Fool facing "left" is NW...likely the same angle newbie Masons had to face on swearing that first oath to join the club ;)

Northwest huh? "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." ~Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, explaining to them that he is only "a fool/mad" when he facing in a certain direction, as that sails him where he wants to go. If the wind blows in another direction--requiring that he shift his angle--they'll find him sharp and sane enough.
 

nisaba

Great question! My thoughts about this...While we read left-to-right (so heading left would be "backwards"), the Golden Dawn crowd, leave us remember, assigned Hebrew letters to the cards and the kaballistic tree of life. And Hebrew is read right-to-left ;)

Good point. It's also worth remembering that left is yin/passive/"female" and right is yang/active/"male" so it might indicate an approach to life.

Also, what about the range of glorious Fools that face straight-on? Like the Cosmic Fool/dancer, and 007/Witches, and many others? (those are just the two springing immediately to a very tired mind).
 

Edward Tarot Hands

Paul Foster Case says the sun in the card stands "at an angle of forty-five degrees in the eastern heaven" because "the spiritual sun never reaches the zenith, for from the zenith it would have to descend, and the idea here intended is that infinite energy never can reach a point in manifestation whence it must begin to decrease in power. On this account, too, the Fool faces North-West, toward a direction which, for Masonic and other occult reasons, has for milleniums (sic) been symbolic of the unknown, and of the state just prior to the initiation of a creative process."

wow

Good point. It's also worth remembering that left is yin/passive/"female" and right is yang/active/"male" so it might indicate an approach to life.
Very interesting and how do you think these ideas could be attributed to other cards such as court cards who very often are facing different directions?
 

Barleywine

Very interesting and how do you think these ideas could be attributed to other cards such as court cards who very often are facing different directions?

Another excellent question. They are most often seen as "past/left" or "right/future" oriented. The Golden Dawn considered the horse-mounted Kings looking "against the flow of the reading" as showing something or someone entering the matter, and those looking "with the flow of the reading" as someone or something passing out of the matter. Then there is the idea that the "Right-hand path" is virtuous and the "Left-hand path" is devious. Lots of things to consider.

ETA: Before you ask, those facing straight out of the card could be seen as focused entirely in the present.
 

Edward Tarot Hands

Great information you are a veritable wizard!

Then there is the idea that the "Right-hand path" is virtuous and the "Left-hand path" is devious. Lots of things to consider.

poor lefties have always had a hard time

ETA: Before you ask, those facing straight out of the card could be seen as focused entirely in the present.
did your tarot predict me asking this?? ;)
 

JMI_Tarot

This may seem an odd response, but there is a reason that in the movies the good guy enters from the left and moves toward the right of the screen, and the bad guy enters from the right and moves left.

Its because as viewers we sense, without knowing anything about a character if he's a malevolent or benevolent force by which side he or she enters from. Whether we realise it or not, we ascribe a negative feeling to whoever enters from the right and a positive one to who enters from the left. (This is taught in every film class)

It could be that whoever designs the card has at least a subliminal feeling about the Fool's intentions and that could influence the direction they choose to face them, consciously or unconsciously.
 

Edward Tarot Hands

This may seem an odd response, but there is a reason that in the movies the good guy enters from the left and moves toward the right of the screen, and the bad guy enters from the right and moves left.

Its because as viewers we sense, without knowing anything about a character if he's a malevolent or benevolent force by which side he or she enters from. Whether we realise it or not, we ascribe a negative feeling to whoever enters from the right and a positive one to who enters from the left. (This is taught in every film class)

It could be that whoever designs the card has at least a subliminal feeling about the Fool's intentions and that could influence the direction they choose to face them, consciously or unconsciously.
wow very interesting. Do you think this is a natural responce or a cultural one? It would be interesting to see if this is true in other cultures
 

JMI_Tarot

wow very interesting. Do you think this is a natural responce or a cultural one? It would be interesting to see if this is true in other cultures

That's a good question. I don't know but I've wondered if it doesn't have something to do with the direction in which we read, the one we are most familiar with being the most comforting.
 

Barleywine

Apparently, when you're on the stage looking out at the audience, "stage right" is to the left as seen by the audience. So the "good guy" coming from the audience's left is on the actors' right. I couldn't find any reasoning why it's done this way.

Stage right/stage left: "When you are on a theater stage, looking out to the audience, it is your right/left direction. There is also "stage center," which is the middle of the stage, as well as "front" and "back stage," front being closest to the audience. When you are in the audience looking on stage, the directions are opposite and called house left/right. Stage right = house left and vice-versa."
 

JMI_Tarot

Apparently, when you're on the stage looking out at the audience, "stage right" is to the left as seen by the audience. So the "good guy" coming from the audience's left is on the actors' right. I couldn't find any reasoning why it's done this way.

Stage right/stage left: "When you are on a theater stage, looking out to the audience, it is your right/left direction.

Yes, that is how stage directions work. However, it's what the audience or viewer sees that is the point of the crafting of the staging, and in the case of the Fool card, may have something to do with how he's positioned, again consciously or unconsciously, by the artist.

It's just a thought.

When you are in the audience looking on stage, the directions are opposite and called house left/right. Stage right = house left and vice-versa."

And if a performance is being recorded, "House right and left" are called "Camera right and left."

There is also "stage center," which is the middle of the stage, as well as "front" and "back stage," front being closest to the audience.

Basically the staging version of Foreground, middleground, background, the basic composition elements of all painting and drawing, and Tarot cards.