Dark Carnival: 0. The Fool

[Tarot Orat]

A young man in tattered clothing is poised at the edge of a flat city roof, his right foot perilously extended far beyond the edge. His eyes - one almost blank, the other very wide - are directed at an orange butterfly over his right shoulder. Behind him on the roof are a gray pigeon and a crushed, empty bottle of blue faygo (the favorite beverage of the Juggalos). The building he stands on is red brick with a black tarpaper roof; all around and behind is a cityscape, buildings in blue glass and gray stone, and factory chimneys on the horizon. The sky is yellow with swirls of orange, rippled by the rising heat from the chimneys; an orange sun is barely visible in the upper right of the card, casting five long orange rays.

The man is pale, unshaven, with traces of black paint or makeup around his eyes. He wears a colorful jester's cap with five bell-tipped points, a ragged red jacket, torn gray-blue pants (blue jeans or cargo pants?), black and green striped socks, and light brown boots with a hole worn in the sole. He clutches an open prescription pill bottle in his right hand. His left arm holds a slew of objects to his chest: a bong, a bag of marijuana, a cigarette or joint, a Playstation controller, a Tarot card (which looks like the Death card from this deck), and an envelope labeled "NEWTIES". (A quick Urban Dictionary search: "a spare Newport cigarette. sometimes used for other types of cigarettes." This may not be the exact meaning here, I'll do a little more research.)

The overall impression is of a 21st-century youth who's been so overstimulated with pop culture, video games, cigarettes and drugs that he no longer knows where he's going or what he's doing. He's lost in a hazy, surreal, and sub-real world, unbalanced (physically and mentally). Like the Playstation controller, he's unplugged, unable to direct the game of life. Ironically, the one connection he's making with the natural world - gazing at the butterfly - may be that last distraction that sends him over the edge of the roof. On the other hand...maybe that butterfly is making him pause; maybe he'll even step back.

There is plenty more to talk about in this card, but I was trying to keep the opening post as simple and literal as possible.

 

[Tarot Orat]

Some ruminations on the natural world...I'm a big fan of insects and birds, I can't let that butterfly and pigeon go by without some biological commentary.

Orange butterfly

Butterflies are, obviously, symbols of rebirth, resurrection, metamorphosis, and transformation. In ancient Greek, psyche means both "butterfly" and "soul" - the lofty counterpart to the physical body and the crawling caterpillar. All that's sufficiently well-known; I want to concentrate on the entomology.

In North America, the best-known butterfly is the orange and black monarch, famous for migrating hundreds or even thousands of miles between Mexico and the U.S./southern Canada. Less well-known is that no single butterfly ever makes a round trip. The adults that fly south in autumn arrive in Mexico, reproduce, and die; their offspring mature and metamorphose over the winter and fly north in the spring. And then they reproduce and die, and their offspring are the ones that fly south in the autumn.

I can see this as a symbol/metaphor for the Fool: the young adult that sets off on a journey it's never made before, to a place it's never been, with no idea what awaits (not that butterflies have much brainpower...then again, that plays into the innocence and naivete of the Fool). It risks its life on a long, perilous journey that ultimately leads to fulfillment of its role and its species. The only thing the butterfly knows is that is has to set off into the unknown...like the Fool, it launches itself into the wild blue yonder.

Pigeon

Pigeons are not exactly well-liked, especially in cities - "feathered rat" is one of the nicer terms for them. But they're actually a kind of dove, and doves are one of the most beautiful and beloved birds, a symbol of innocence, purity, and romance. Is it the pigeon's dull coloration and city-dwelling habits that cause it to be considered unattractive and filthy? Admittedly it doesn't have clean habits - pigeon droppings can be a real scourge in cities - but it's not the fault of the pigeon (the rock dove) that the environment humans created exactly replicates their natural habitat of rocky cliff-faces.

In this card, I can see the pigeon as a metaphor for the young man; his tattered clothes, unshaven face, and urban setting make him a less appealing figure than, say, a well-dressed youth from the clean open suburbs/exurbs. But he still feels as deeply, he still matters as much as a human being. His outer appearance may stigmatize him but it doesn't take away from his inner being and his soul. (His psyche....there's the butterfly again...)

 

[Elendil]

Some initial thoughts/observations...

We should probably not read much into the eyes of the figure in the card. This style of one pinpoint eye and one wider iris is an artistic signature I think, since it is used on several/many of the faces in the deck...

Is there a hole in his shoe? Is this part of the tread? (The Emperor's shoe has a similar 'hole').

I wonder if Rachel can shed light on the NEWTIES?

There appear to be a couple of CD cases in the Fool's arm too...more pop culture to dull the senses.

I love the idea that this guy is 'unplugged'.

The swirls in the sky may well serve to represent a polluted society.

I get a strong sense of 'transition' about this card (so it is probably significant that a butterfly of transformation and the tarot card Death are features of the card).


More later....

 

[Elendil]

An archetypal 'Fool'. He is introduced by the deck creator with the lyrics of a Motown song:

"Everybody plays the fool sometime
There's no exception to the rule
Listen, baby, it may be factual, may be cruel
I ain't lyin', everybody plays the fool"

Motown was the record company originally established in Detroit. This provides the urban setting and context for the Dark Carnival Deck and it can be no mere coincidence that The Insane Clown Posse who are so closely linked to this deck hail from Detroit.

Numbered 'zero' we can place him at the head or at the foot of the Major Arcana. He has no specific place in the sequence. Many tarot writers see the following 22 Arcana as the 'fool's journey' through experience and are happy to place him at both ends, so why should we argue?

I regard the fool's cap/the jester's hat as his own particular 'crown'. It is motley coloured and 5-pointed which suggests the 5 elements associated with tarot: FIRE : WATER : AIR : EARTH : SPIRIT.

In his tatterdemalion clothing this fool is an outcast. He is 'on the edge' in more ways than one. His stare is more than a little crazed which might imply dementia. Those things he holds onto ever so tightly have become important to him. They are iconic references to sub and counter culture. They set him apart as a rebel or at the very least someone who operates outside the norms.

Looking at the image I wonder if he has started to drop the things he once held so close….starting with that bottle of Faygo. It seems likely that he will be unable to carry them all much further. He is distracted from life (and the stuff he carries has been a source of that distraction). I love the idea (from Tarot Orat above) that this guy has become not just detached but 'unplugged'.

Distracted by a butterfly he is about to walk off the top of a tall building. Does he have faith that he will not fall? Is this a 'foolish move'? One thing is for sure - he is about to drop even further out of society (and quite literally at that).

 

[Elendil]

This 'Fool' is in the act of liberating himself from all those things which he has been addicted to (mind, body and soul)...He's about to make a completely fresh start...ditching that armload of cr*p.

The only other 'real' things in the card (apart from himself) are the butterfly and the pigeon. Like the butterfly he is about to transform himself. Like the pigeon he is about to 'fly'...

Now how foolishly stupid is that...?

 

[Tarot Orat]

Is there a hole in his shoe? Is this part of the tread? (The Emperor's shoe has a similar 'hole').

You're right, that's actually where the logo goes on a Timberland boot....Timbs, cargo pants, and hoodies (pretty sure that red shirt is a hoodie from the way it bunches behind his head) are the uniform of the Disaffected Urban Youth. Again, trying to fit in with a culture but it's all worn and tattered, no longer a good fit.

The swirls in the sky may well serve to represent a polluted society.

Oooh, I like that. More on the pollution, from the booklet:

How many times do we let "pollutants" in life block our vision? We literally pollute too. And we do it obliviously.

I get a strong sense of 'transition' about this card (so it is probably significant that a butterfly of transformation and the tarot card Death are features of the card).

Yes...I hadn't really thought much about the Death card but it's clearly an important symbol here!

I like your idea that he's being liberated of all the stuff he's been using to deaden himself to the world around him; I wonder whether he's losing his grip or letting go...and if it matters which, as long as it's gone!