The Alice Tarot: The Fool

DarkYarns

"Alice was sitting by her sister on a bank, one afternoon. She was feeling sleepy and bored, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her. The Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on. Alice ran after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole. In another moment down went Alice after the rabbit and had not a moment to reconsider before she found herself falling down a very deep well."

Like many great adventure stories, Alice in Wonderland begins with the protagonist taking a leap (or in this case, fall), unaware of or unconcerned with possible dangers into the unknown. The Alice Tarot Fool captures Alice just before she falls into Wonderland. She's already made her decision to follow the unknown, and stands perched on a mossy rock, watching the White Rabbit as he enters a rabbit hole at the base of a tree in a sun-dappled forest.

The Alice Fool is a reminder that the Tarot traditionally follows the cycle of life, representing those times we fearlessly (or heedlessly) embark on a new adventure. The Fool represents beginnings, but is also a point in a circular and endless cycle - of beginnings and leaps of faith. The Fool card seems especially positive here, possibly because we know things will turn out right for Alice in the end. After all, there is a "peculiar providence for drunkards, fools, and the United States of America." (Otto von Bismarck)

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Pam O

An observation:
In the story, Alice is beside a stream, then follows the rabbit down the hole.
Here in the picture, Alice is positioned to jump and is looking at the hole under the tree. She is not looking at the rabbit wearing the waistcoat off to her side.

Is this picture showing Alice knowing what is going to happen before it happens? Has the rabbit already gone down the rabbit hole in her mind, and her dream is running a bit behind reality?

But none of this is reality, because it is all "just a dream"...

"Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream."

I am also reminded of The Wizard of Oz, another dream that starts out with a little girl, and an animal (her little dog Toto), embarking on a great trip.