Namaste
Of all the Fools in all our decks, this is, to me, the most sublime, the most incredible, and the most wonderful perception of at least one of a lesser explored parts of this card's archetype.
Before I write about it, though, I must confess to you that this is the reason I bought the Rohrig in the first place. I saw the Fool and fell in love.
Where to begin...
The marriage of female and male in each of us. The yin/yang, passive/aggressive dichotomy, without which I don't believe we could survive in this world.
The face, half female, half male: A beautiful woman who appears to be in command of herself, conscious of her power as a woman and of the best in mankind; a smiling man, who for all his savoir faire and self-assurance, dare I say cockiness, even, has the smile and eyes of a trickster.
She is beautifully made up, her hair is impeccably coiffed. She reminds me of Les Liaisons Dangereuses..., but wiser.
He is not young, oh no... Innocence? I think not. I think more a depiction of the courage and the will to stand by oneself if necessary; to be the lone voice in the wilderness, which is not afraid no matter what.
They say the Fool embodies the unconcious consciousness, but this Fool appears to know very well where he/she is headed: towards conscious consciousness as The Rohrig Tarot Book suggests.
Do these two together represent the balance that must be struck? Chaos tempered by wisdom? Is she wise? I would rather call her sagacious.
The beasts? The crocodile (Sebek perhaps): sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, first identified with Seth bringer of chaos, then later with Ra, the sun god. The Nile was said to issue from his sweat; that same river that is our subconscious, deeply flowing within us below the surface of our conscious minds? What of the fact that the crocodile either appears to be swallowing the tiger, or that the tiger is emerging from its jaws? Some African tribes revere crocodiles as powerful intermediaries between the divine and human worlds... The subconscious depicted by this card as the intermediary between the divine in us and our very human nature?
The tiger? In China, it symbolizes courage... The courage each of us must have to step into the unknown on our journey towards awareness perhaps. Those born in the year of the tiger are said to be brave, stubborn and sympathetic. All qualities that we must possess on our journey through life.
In Hinduism, tigers symbolize humanity's rampant, unbrindled appetites and passions which must be subdued for balance to prevail. The same can be said of senseless anger that the tiger represents in Buddhism.
See how the third eye appears on the man's forehead as a pink and glowing light, and on the woman's as a bright spark. Behind the face, in the cleft of the "hair" shines another light. The divine, perhaps?
The woman is capped both with a small bell dangling at the end of the one of the peaks of a jester's hat and with feathers.
We all know, don't we, that the least foolish of all foolish men (and women) were the court jesters of years gone by?
The feathers... but, of course, associated with the Ancient Egyptian Maat, the goddess of truth and ethical consciousness. When we think that Maat was often the consort of Thoth, the bringer of the logos, are we not led to understand that real awareness, at least the understanding of ourselves, comes when we can give voice to our unconscious?
I think, therefore I am, wrote Descartes. Easier said than done, because it isn't only the act of thinking, but the understanding that comes with the ability to make meaning of experience, that defines us; an awareness that must be earned like the gift of an eagle feather, which for Native Americans is a particular honour.
The Buddhists tell us that we are especially blessed to be born human, this time around, and that this incredible gift must not be squandered. I understand this to mean that whatever else I do in this world, my first priority must be to become fully aware of my higher self and to strive towards englightenment.
I look forward to reading what you have to say about this incredible card...
Before I write about it, though, I must confess to you that this is the reason I bought the Rohrig in the first place. I saw the Fool and fell in love.
Where to begin...
The marriage of female and male in each of us. The yin/yang, passive/aggressive dichotomy, without which I don't believe we could survive in this world.
The face, half female, half male: A beautiful woman who appears to be in command of herself, conscious of her power as a woman and of the best in mankind; a smiling man, who for all his savoir faire and self-assurance, dare I say cockiness, even, has the smile and eyes of a trickster.
She is beautifully made up, her hair is impeccably coiffed. She reminds me of Les Liaisons Dangereuses..., but wiser.
He is not young, oh no... Innocence? I think not. I think more a depiction of the courage and the will to stand by oneself if necessary; to be the lone voice in the wilderness, which is not afraid no matter what.
They say the Fool embodies the unconcious consciousness, but this Fool appears to know very well where he/she is headed: towards conscious consciousness as The Rohrig Tarot Book suggests.
Do these two together represent the balance that must be struck? Chaos tempered by wisdom? Is she wise? I would rather call her sagacious.
The beasts? The crocodile (Sebek perhaps): sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, first identified with Seth bringer of chaos, then later with Ra, the sun god. The Nile was said to issue from his sweat; that same river that is our subconscious, deeply flowing within us below the surface of our conscious minds? What of the fact that the crocodile either appears to be swallowing the tiger, or that the tiger is emerging from its jaws? Some African tribes revere crocodiles as powerful intermediaries between the divine and human worlds... The subconscious depicted by this card as the intermediary between the divine in us and our very human nature?
The tiger? In China, it symbolizes courage... The courage each of us must have to step into the unknown on our journey towards awareness perhaps. Those born in the year of the tiger are said to be brave, stubborn and sympathetic. All qualities that we must possess on our journey through life.
In Hinduism, tigers symbolize humanity's rampant, unbrindled appetites and passions which must be subdued for balance to prevail. The same can be said of senseless anger that the tiger represents in Buddhism.
See how the third eye appears on the man's forehead as a pink and glowing light, and on the woman's as a bright spark. Behind the face, in the cleft of the "hair" shines another light. The divine, perhaps?
The woman is capped both with a small bell dangling at the end of the one of the peaks of a jester's hat and with feathers.
We all know, don't we, that the least foolish of all foolish men (and women) were the court jesters of years gone by?
The feathers... but, of course, associated with the Ancient Egyptian Maat, the goddess of truth and ethical consciousness. When we think that Maat was often the consort of Thoth, the bringer of the logos, are we not led to understand that real awareness, at least the understanding of ourselves, comes when we can give voice to our unconscious?
I think, therefore I am, wrote Descartes. Easier said than done, because it isn't only the act of thinking, but the understanding that comes with the ability to make meaning of experience, that defines us; an awareness that must be earned like the gift of an eagle feather, which for Native Americans is a particular honour.
The Buddhists tell us that we are especially blessed to be born human, this time around, and that this incredible gift must not be squandered. I understand this to mean that whatever else I do in this world, my first priority must be to become fully aware of my higher self and to strive towards englightenment.
I look forward to reading what you have to say about this incredible card...
