Who is the Fool?

Cartomancer

Who is the Fool?

The Fool card of the Tarot deck is a portrayal of the constellation Bootes in the northern celestial sky. The Fool card of the Tarot deck is usually pictured as a shepherd with a pastoral staff and one of his hunting dogs. The Fool is actually quite clever, but hides his wisdom and is a humble man. He wishes to learn from others, especially the wisdom of the working people.

The constellation Bootes is usually drawn as a young man walking on a mountain path. He might seen herding cattle along steep mountain trails. As an itinerant herdsman, he drives the cattle to new pastures and on to the market. He may care for cows, oxen, sheep, horses or goats, depending upon whom he is working for at the time. The animals that he herds seem to love him and obey his whistles and shouts when he urges them on to the higher pastures. Bootes carries a pastoral staff with a curved hook at the end of it.

The herdsman uses his staff to nab the necks of animals that fall into crevice and need a gentle pull to free them. Bootes carries some of his personal belongings in a sack that he ties to the top of his staff, making it look like a so-called hobo's stick and bag.

The herdsman also uses his staff as a walking stick which he sometimes leans upon when he is tired. Late into the night he watches the herd and looks into the starry sky. The other herdsmen have pointed out the bright stars and told him their star names and have shown him the constellations and told him the stories of the heavenly figures.

Bootes the herdsman has learned the constellations by heart and has memorized the stories of the stars. Late into the night as he watches over the herd of cattle, the herdsman will gaze at the stars and recite the stories of the constellations to himself.

Bootes has traveled through many lands and worked for many kinds of people, but he eventually wants to go home to the land where he was born and the destiny that awaits him. His only constant companions are his hunting dogs, the Canes Venatici, who help herd the sheep and keep the wolves at bay.

The constellation Bootes can be sighted by first sighting the famous Big Dipper of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. From the dipper rectangle, follow the curve of the handle stars about 30 degrees down across the sky until a bright orange star is seen. This is Arcturus, the alpha star of the constellation Bootes, and the sixth brightest star in the sky.

A telescope can make Arcturus visible even in the daytime if you know where to look for it. Arcturus is a giant orange star that is eleven parsecs from our solar system, and is about twenty-six times larger than our sun. The golden-yellow hue of Arcturus makes it one of the splendors of the sky. The other major stars of this constellation may be found by imagining a kite in the stars of Bootes with Arcturus as the base point. Construct the kite in the sky by connecting the stars Alpha, Epsilon, Delta, Beta, Gamma and back to Alpha. The constellation Bootes is visible from March to September, but is known as a spring constellation.

To the left of Bootes is the constellation Corona Borealis, which can be recognized as a circlet of stars that resembles a crown and is represented as a sun in the Fool card. Below Bootes lies the constellation Virgo. Some of the stars of Virgo were once known as the mountains of Mons Maenalus, which was one of the favorite haunts of Pan the goat-man and also the young god Dionysus. Bootes the herdsman also wanders along the mountain paths of Mons Maenalus.

The ancient Sumerians knew Arcturus as the faithful shepherd of heaven. Early Arabians knew Arcturus as the keeper of the north and as the keeper of heaven. The Arabians thought Arcturus to be one of the supports of heaven and called it the armed or lance-bearing prop. The other prop of the skies was Spica of the constellation Virgo, which was called the unarmed prop. These ideas of support, of keeping care over the north and of heaven have given Bootes a very benign character. Bootes is the watcher, guard, and protector.

Bootes is also the keeper of the Great Bear, Ursa Major. The ancient Arabians thought of the polar stars as if they were a sheepfold with Bootes as the shepherd. The Chaldeans called Bootes a name that means, "The Shepherd of the Life of Heaven."
He is the original image of the religious pastor watching over his flock. In those ancient days, Bootes sometimes carried a spear or a lance. The word "Bootes" is thought to be derived from the Greek word that means "ox" or from another word meaning "to drive" (i.e. cattle).

The early Greeks saw their young god Dionysus in the stars of Bootes. Dionysus is called the "twice born", because of the circumstances of his birth. In the ancient Greek myths, the great god Zeus changed himself into mortal form and visited the beautiful maiden Semele, who was the daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. Soon Semele was pregnant. Hera was the wife of Zeus, and she was outraged when she heard the news. Hera decided to take revenge on Semele even though it was Zeus who was to blame.

Hera visited Semele disguised as Semeles' old nurse and friend. In her disguise Hera persuaded Semele to ask her new lover to reveal his true identity to her. Hera knew that the true nature of Zeus is revealed in lightening and thunder, and that no mortal could ever face Zeus in his majesty and live through it. When Zeus visited Semele again she asked him to grant her a favor. He gave his word, and then Semele asked him to reveal his true nature to her. Zeus was reluctant, but could not take back his word once he had given it.

Zeus went back to Mount Olympus and dressed up in storm clouds. When he appeared before Semele in this form, she was consumed by lightning and thunder shook the palace and the entire city of Thebes. Zeus saw that the unborn child might be saved from destruction so he tore the baby from the charred remains of Semele and sewed the premature baby into his thigh. Later he opened the stitches, and Dionysus was born again.

Dionysus was born with small serpents growing out of his head like hair and had two small horns on his head. Hermes soon took the young Dionysus to Ino who was Semeles' sister. As soon as Dionysus was left alone, Hera sent some monsters to kill the child. They tore him apart and the ground was soaked with his blood, and soon a pomegranate tree grew there. Later Rhea his grandmother recognized him in the tree and restored him to human form again. This is another reason why he was called the "twice born."

There are many examples of the resurrection or rebirth theme in the myths of Dionysus. The nymphs of Mount Nysa also nursed Dionysus in his youth and later joined him as the Maenads. Dionysus placed the Maenads over the stars of the Hyades in Taurus in grateful memory of their care and service.

In one story, Dionysus needed a ride to another island and asked some sailors to assist him. The sailors agreed to take Dionysus to the island, but when they were out to sea the sailors and captain decided to become pirates and hold the handsome young Dionysus for ransom, for they thought he might have a wealthy family.

Dionysus was tied to the mast with ropes while the sailors decided what to do with him. The helmsman of the ship tried to stop them, but they beat and bound the helmsman too. Just as everything seemed as bad as it could get, Dionysus began to sing.

The sailors were amazed by his beautiful voice and his strange songs. Soon they were all singing and wildly dancing around the mast. A barrel of wine was brought out and consumed. The drunken frenzy continued under the hot sun until the sailors were exhausted.

The ship stopped dead in the water and then Dionysus caused magical things to happen on the ship. The sailors saw grape vines and ivy began to grow out of the mast, deck, and oars. In their insane drunkenness the pirates imagined they saw lions, tigers, and bears chasing them.

Madness seemed to take over the ship. The sailors and captain all jumped overboard in their frenzy. Then the ivy and wild animals suddenly disappeared from the ship. Then the ropes that held the helmsman and Dionysus fell loose to the deck.

The sailors were still wildly splashing in the water and would have drowned, but Dionysus magically transformed the sailors into dolphins. Dolphins will to this day help sailors in trouble in the water as they have done for thousands of years. Dionysus and the helmsman then sailed on for their island destination. Dionysus put one of the dolphins in the sky s the constellation Delphinus, the dolphin.

Dionysus wandered for many years because Hera drove him mad in still another act of revenge. His grandmother Rhea found him again and purified him of his insanity. When Dionysus came to Thebes he drove all of the women crazy and brought them to Mount Cithaeron to join him and the Centaurs, Satyrs, and Maenads in a wild orgy.

Dionysus was soon jailed by Pentheus, the son of Agave and the Sparti Echion, who was one of the five brothers born of the dragons' teeth. Chains could not hold the young god. The prison cell he was thrown into simply opened when he touched it, so he walked out. Cadmus, the king of Thebes, gave in to Dionysus and the bacchants.

Pentheus, the leader of the Sparti, secretly went to Mount Cithaeron and watched the orgy from a branch in a tree. As he watched the rites, his mother found him and pulled him to the ground with the help of her Theban sisters. In madness she attacked him as if she were a wild animal and soon they were all tearing at his flesh. That evening the Theban women returned home with the head of Pentheus carried on a pole in the hand of his own mother.

The spell was then broken and the women were suddenly freed from their trance, and they realized what they had done in their madness. Later Thebes became the main religious cult center for Dionysus in the ancient world after the Thebans recognized Dionysus as a young god.

Dionysus went on to fall in love with Ariadne, who was the daughter of King Minos of Crete. Ariadne was worshiped as a goddess in her own right in some parts of the world then. Dionysus rescued Ariadne when she was deserted by Theseus when Theseus was carried out to sea by a storm. Dionysus gave her a jeweled crown, which he later placed in the heavens as the constellation Corona Borealis near Bootes.

In another version of the Bootes myth, some ancient Greeks saw Butes in the stars of Bootes. Butes was the son of Pandion, the King of Athens, and of Zeuxippe, who was the daughter of the Athenian river god Eridanus. Butes was the twin brother of Erechtheus, who became the political leader of Athens and priest to Poseidon when their father died. Butes became the priest to Athena.

Some said Erechtheus robbed Butes of his wealth and exiled him. In any event, Butes wandered off into the wilderness and had to live like one of the common people. Butes suffered poverty and hunger. He became a hunter and tiller of the soil. It was during his time as a farmer that he invented the plow, which he yoked to two oxen and tilled the soil.

The constellation Bootes is next to Ursa Major, which is known as the Big Dipper, the Big Bear, and also as the Plow. All of the stars in the sky were also thought of as sheep, cows, oxen or cattle in general. Butes herded the cattle through the heavens. Butes carried the plow stick on his shoulder when he traveled across the countryside looking for work as a herdsman or a iternerant farmer.

Butes was known as the plowman of the heavens, because he taught the people how to make the plow and thereby became one of the great benefactors of humanity. At one point in his career Butes joined Jason and the Argonauts, but jumped off the Argo when he heard the alluring singing of the Sirens who were bird women.

Butes swam to shore, but was rescued by the beautiful goddess Aphrodite who took Butes to Lilybaeum, in Sicily. Aphrodite bore their son Eryx. Butes was later honored when he returned to Athens, where he used his understanding to assist the common people of the kingdom. Time eventually brings the Fool to the end of his wanderings.

When interpreting the Fool card you can bring to mind the themes of the myths about the constellation Bootes, which the Fool card pictures. Take into account all of the misfortune and hard work that the Fool had to go through. Remember the hunger and hardships he suffered and how he eventually got through the worst of it and was honored later in his life.

The Fool did not choose to wander, but does choose the paths on which he travels. He looks to the stars for inspiration and direction. In his travels he picked up pieces of wisdom from all corners of the world, and he went on to share his wisdom with the people.

The following interpretations of the Fool card from a mythological view may be applied in card readings. This is written in second person for ease in interpretation.

“The completion of your tasks gives you freedom. You may have time to explore the world. Help others when you can or accept help when you need it. Travel will bring adventure into your life and inspiration to your mind. The beauty of reality becomes enchanting when you take a chance and become adventurous. Protect your self from ordinary dangers in the environment. Try to free yourself from hardships you cannot handle or burdens that are not your own. The Fool may be free as the wind.

Beware of immature actions. Don't take risks that you don't have to. Be patient with those you don't understand or those who don't understand you, but be uncompromising if they are bent on giving you a bad time. The Fool has learned his lessons and is not about to let himself or those he cares for become vulnerable.

Often the Fool card comes up in a Tarot spread when a major decision is needed to be made. Trust your inspiration, and be thoughtful and considerate of the seriousness and dangers of each new situation. You may persist in a folly until reality forces you to wise up. Experience is the great teacher.

The Fool beckons you to the wild. Travel away to the woods, sea or wild places to commune with nature. You may go to the mountains and dance and sing in the moonlight like a lunatic, but don't end up in a straight jacket.

You may feel the animal nature arise in you, but remember that you are a human being. Be what you wish to be and do what you want to. Liberate your passion for life and enjoy the world as it is while you can because later you may have little time for such things.

Join with others in a celebration of the seasons. Share pleasure with revelers in natural ecstasy. Enjoy your body by being aware of where you are and what you are doing. Express your inner joy in pleasant and uplifting ways.

Those who drink the wine of the vine or the brew from the grains, should be careful of morning-after headaches. If you are aggressive in romance and let your lusty self be free, be aware that there may be a heavy emotional price for everybody involved to pay.

Give up problems you don't need by putting them behind you. Go where you are needed. Seek new employment in other regions if work has gotten too slow. End unpleasant situations by taking the steps necessary to solve problems. Try to be a help in the world and not a hindrance. Irresponsibility will lead you astray.

Take steps to settle disputes, especially if you may suffer bad bystander vibrations as a consequences. Find a simple way to solve problems.”

Here is an illustration of the FOOL tarot card art by Ellery Knight for Katharsis Astrological Products 1978 Solar Lunar Calendar. Art Director: Lance Carter. Portrayal of Fool in the constellation of Bootes with dog as Canes Venatici and the sun as Corona Borealis. Also, the staff and bag as Ursa Major.

http://piecework.deviantart.com/art/0-FOOL-Knight-CROP-267x380px-Copyright-Grayscale-370434266

Link to Bootes in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boötes

Link to Bootes in constellational art:
http://www.kristenlippincott.com/assets/Uploads/Bootes-Sept-2011.pdf

-Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Theoferrum

The Vagabond

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The original depiction was of a Vagabond, holed up in Ruins and chased by Dogs.

The Dogs are the Wolf and Ferral Dog of the Moon Card.

The Ruins are from the Poleshift that occurred preflood.

And he is a Vagabond because he is a Captive in Mesopotamia that is fleeing back to Egypt.

The 'feathers' in his hair are actually 'Dreadlocks' because he is in fear for his life from the dangers of the road.