Gilded - The Fool

HoneyBea

The fool

Ciro's Fool is very reminiscent of a Harlequin character, the zodiac signs that he juggles above his head are I think symbolic of what choice he will make today - who will he choose to be - the question here is how will he make his choice - will it be a conscious effort or will he let chance play a major part for him? He twirls a golden hoop at his feet - does he do this to stretch himself, or is this something he should pay attention to? The big question this Fool raises is - are his actions constructive and calculated, or is he just being carefree and taking his chances?

The Fools message is one of taking a leap of faith, if he spoke he might say to you don't think too much just do it!!
 

bluefairy

Very funny tarot boy i never even noticed it before but now that i have i had to show the card to my husband and we got a great laugh out of it. i find it strange that his face would be on the card of the fool,i think it suits him well..lol but after reading all on the fool here there is not much more to add.
sorry i am new to the gilded and i want to be apart of the study group here it might light the fire i need to get started with these cards.

agian very funny...lol
 

DeaconBlues

I noticed the George Bush resemblance right away, too.

I tend to blur my eyes a little bit when I'm studying a card, because it seems to help me get the overall impression of it. In doing so, I noticed the little glows of light over each hand (I didn't see these until I blurred my vision - funny how that works). To me, this says that illumination is within his grasp. He only needs to notice it and pay attention. To do this, maybe he needs to drop some of what he's juggling and find himself on firmer ground.

All this is kind of obvious, I guess, but those twinkles of light will remind me of that in readings!
 

PAMUYA

The Fool, I love this card..what comes to mind is "Follow your Heart". I read the following somewhere, I wish I can remember so I can give this person credit for it, but I thought it really captured the spirit of this card:

"Though everyone calls him a Fool, he does not pay them any attention, and he simply goes on his way. Certainly what they say can be justified, since his ignorance of the world can lead him to do things that more experienced people would never imagine. But in these things he can find knowledge and enlightenment. He does not care what others think or say about him, because he knows that what he is dong is right for him, never letting another person have control over his life.

His approach to life is a strange, unconventional one, because he does what is comfortable to him. This is a view point not often supported in our modern world, in which "do as I say" is the commandment most followed. To those who have lived their life under this philosophy, the approach of the Fool may be extravagant, shocking, even frightening. But his approach is all that the Fool knows, and beause the only approval he requires is his own, he will continue to live this way, despite what all others think of him. He has total faith in himself. Perhaps he is not such a fool after all."

The gilded Fool states this perfectly, his foot in the hoop, will he trip up? will he fall? He is too busy following his heart to worry.

Wish I had more of the Fool in myself!
 

Jamil

The background looks like dawn, to me, and the horizon a line of mountaintops still in darkness symbolizing unrealized but potential enlightenment. With that view, the mist and clouds at his feet and behind him might represent ignorance, which is beginning to break up in the direction of the dawn.

Regardless of dawn or sunset, though, the Sun positioned to bring either shouldn't illuminate the planet above the Fool in quite that way (it seems to me the planet should be illuminate from below and behind). Given that, it might be that the planet's illumination is coming from the arch of astrological symbols, showing that the Fool's reach is actually cosmic in scale, showing that he has the potential to understand the Universe.
 

Ronia

I've been reading with this deck for quite a while and the Fool is both among my favorite and most challenging cards. Today, I noticed another challenge - why does his wand have a hat? Horns? Is the Fool playing with the devil in his feet? Is this the innocence capable of playing with the darkness because in its purity the innocence is more powerful? Or is this another character from Comedia del Arte (I also think this Fool is more Harlequin and even older images of court artists than anything else)? If so, what is the significance of the mask? Just wondering... This Fool card is one of the very few that never leave me with clear feeling, it is always complex, there is always uneasiness.
 

Catmoon

The Fool in the Gilded can preform the "character type" of each and all the signs of the zodiac ( he can be everyone and do everything) but he takes it lighthearted, it's easy for him "deal" with it but he doesn't take fun of that.

Just my $0.002
 

veniteangeli

The Fool looks like he has the potential for great things in his hands - whether or not he knows what to do with them is another thing altogether. And, in fact, the expression on his face suggests to me that the weight of all this potential is weighing kind of heavily on him.

The wand and the hoop symbolize male and female, yin and yang, but they're also a symbol of all that he juggles. He's very dexterous, for a Fool. He's not necessarily enjoying himself.

I think the sky in the background is a symbol of the unknown, as in his indecision as to what to do with all the so-called playthings he's surrounded with.
 

skye-angelite

The very first thing I noticed about this card was the illumination at the Gilded Fool's hands while juggling the Zodiac symbols.

The second most important thing I noticed was the planet, and it makes perfect sense to me that it would be Neptune that the Fool is juggling the Zodiac symbols around. In astrology the descriptions of Neptune through the signs of the Zodiac are very interesting.
Neptune, the transcendent aspect of our lives, the veiling power which cannot be understood by rationalization but only spiritual perception. The secret of Neptune is to absorb ourselves in compassionate action without thought of gain or building up our egos. Crystal clear clarity of compassionate awareness to develop and manifest in all our worldy activities. Neptune's energy settles around us in a dreamy, intuitive way and performs a dance with our emotions. Maybe the Fool is dancing not balancing - I like to think so!
Is it coincidence that the symbol that represents Neptune with it's three-pronged pitchfork mirrors the three-pointed cap that the Fool wears? And of course the Neptune symbol represents the three essences of nature - becoming, being and passing away; birth, life, death; mind, body, spirit; past, present, future. Oh, the possibilities for this Fool are endless!

After clearly seeing the planet (Neptune?) I saw that in amongst the Zodiac symbols it appears that he is also juggling stars - what a lot to juggle! He really must focus on juggling less things or he might fall off his perch (wand, with what appears to be the head of the Devil on one end and the centre of the sun on the other).

I love the skies and clouds behind, so much of the unknown in there and potential if only he would juggle less, take away his mask and notice.

My overall perception of this beautiful card is that in the Gilded Fool's hands he holds/juggles illumination and potential. When he is ready, his feet will touch the ground and he can be anything he wants to be.
 

wildirish

I hope this is not innappropriate to say, and I don't mean it with any negative connotations either. But The Fool looks VERY similar to current U.S. President George Bush. If you look at the face and eyes of the fool, you can see the resemblence, don't you think?
Yes, he does look like G.W. Bush. One of the Kings in this deck looks like Frank Zappa, and the man in the 4 of Swords looks like Eric Idle in his youth. :)

I would really love this deck, except that the Court cards look too similar. There's very little symbolism to inspire one's intuition, which is a shame because the colors and artwork are so gorgeous.