The Fool
I have recently been playing through a game called "Persona 3 FES," a re-released version of the original game with added bonuses and a full 30-hour sequel. I absolutely love this game.
And I'm losing a ton of sleep over it. In fact, my average length of sleep the past three nights has been four hours. This game seems to be absorbing my life.
However, even as I play it, I continually realize new things about myself.
See that card above? It's part of a 78-card Tarot deck. It's Number is 0 or unnumbered, depending on the version of the deck, and it is part of the 22 Trump cards that make up what is known as the Major Arcana. These cards are best known for divination. In fact, I'm quite positive you've seen them used in a movie/a television show/a game/real life at some point. Depending on the cards drawn, a seer would be able to read your future or fortune.
Anyway, The Fool is a very interesting card. It has several interpretations. First of all, though called "The Fool," the card is often a representation of the spirit in search of experience. Though the man in the picture is standing precariously close to what appears to be a sheer cliff, he is accompanied by the sun at his back, encouraging him on, and the dog at his heels, to bring him back to earth. Some also claim that The Fool is a crazed adventurer, about to fall to his death. Others consider him an experienced journeyman, preparing for a leap of faith in his next endeavor. And The Fool is always the beginning and the end, a symbol for what could be versus what must be. The Fool represents the ability to change, to live, and to journey. Once that change has finished, our life is lived, or our journey ends, we become something else, something more grounded.
I believe we are all Fools by nature, driven to journey and discover more about ourselves. It's a part of being human. We are a curious people, always poking our noses where they don't belong and finding ourselves waist-deep in crocodile-infested waters. Yipes. However, these things define us. Even parents who seem to settle into their lives with children and grandchildren live vicariously through others and continually pursue self-discovery, even if there is no physical journey to be made. All things stem from The Fool and all it stands for.
However, there are 21 other cards in the Major Arcana set. What are they? As portrayed through Persona 3, these cards are the people and experiences that you come across through your journey as The Fool. And as you go through these experiences and build relationships with the people you meet, you strengthen the powers of these other 21 cards and how they impact you. The Fool is a bit of a wild card, but a wild card is useless without a proper hand...and that is why we imbue our lives with 21 others.
Now, I'm not saying that there are exactly 21 other people and relationships to experience and discover. You may meet three or four different people who all share similar circumstances and therefore share the same Arcana. And it is important, as The Fool, to strengthen these cards, to fill these cards with power and strength, for they fuel the power of your own Arcana, The Fool, since it is dependent on that proper hand to be implemented most efficiently. Without the 21 other Arcanas, The Fool's number, 0, will remain empty.
I encourage you to seek out these relationships, work on them, support them, and do not give up on them, for failing to do any of these things is a reflection of your own failure.
Here's a little fun to be had. These are the other 21 cards of the Major Arcana. Can you identify what part of your life they may relate to? A person? An experience? A future?
1. The Magician
-represents action and initiative...but also immaturity
2. The Priestess
-represents contemplation and hidden knowledge
3. The Empress
-represents motherhood and the life it brings forth
4. The Emperor
-represents fatherhood, leadership, and decision-making skills
5. The Hierophant
-represent formality and knowledge, as well as religion
6. The Lovers
-represents choice and consciousness
7. The Chariot
-represents personal victory
8. Justice
-represents the knowledge of right and wrong
9. The Hermit
-represents the inward search for answers within the heart
10. Fortune
-represents fate and the choices that come with it
11. Strength
-represents both passion and self-control
12. The Hanged Man
-represents the inability to take action
13. Death
-represents spiritual death
14. Temperance
-represents the balancing of opposites
15. The Devil
-represents temptation
16. The Tower
-represents destruction and disillusionment
17. The Star
-represents hope and serenity
18. The Moon
-represents illusion or deception
19. The Sun
-represents happiness and achievement
20. Judgement
-represents redemption and renewal
21. The World
-represents completeness or fulfillment
Each card can be taken by interpretation, so there are no true answers. But that is the beauty of tarot cards: they enable a person to interpret their own life, reflect on one's past decisions, and prepare oneself for the choices ahead.
Good luck.
...oh! I just drew a card. Care to know its outcome...?
...and in some instances, maybe we're best off not knowing?
And I'm losing a ton of sleep over it. In fact, my average length of sleep the past three nights has been four hours. This game seems to be absorbing my life.
However, even as I play it, I continually realize new things about myself.
See that card above? It's part of a 78-card Tarot deck. It's Number is 0 or unnumbered, depending on the version of the deck, and it is part of the 22 Trump cards that make up what is known as the Major Arcana. These cards are best known for divination. In fact, I'm quite positive you've seen them used in a movie/a television show/a game/real life at some point. Depending on the cards drawn, a seer would be able to read your future or fortune.
Anyway, The Fool is a very interesting card. It has several interpretations. First of all, though called "The Fool," the card is often a representation of the spirit in search of experience. Though the man in the picture is standing precariously close to what appears to be a sheer cliff, he is accompanied by the sun at his back, encouraging him on, and the dog at his heels, to bring him back to earth. Some also claim that The Fool is a crazed adventurer, about to fall to his death. Others consider him an experienced journeyman, preparing for a leap of faith in his next endeavor. And The Fool is always the beginning and the end, a symbol for what could be versus what must be. The Fool represents the ability to change, to live, and to journey. Once that change has finished, our life is lived, or our journey ends, we become something else, something more grounded.
I believe we are all Fools by nature, driven to journey and discover more about ourselves. It's a part of being human. We are a curious people, always poking our noses where they don't belong and finding ourselves waist-deep in crocodile-infested waters. Yipes. However, these things define us. Even parents who seem to settle into their lives with children and grandchildren live vicariously through others and continually pursue self-discovery, even if there is no physical journey to be made. All things stem from The Fool and all it stands for.
However, there are 21 other cards in the Major Arcana set. What are they? As portrayed through Persona 3, these cards are the people and experiences that you come across through your journey as The Fool. And as you go through these experiences and build relationships with the people you meet, you strengthen the powers of these other 21 cards and how they impact you. The Fool is a bit of a wild card, but a wild card is useless without a proper hand...and that is why we imbue our lives with 21 others.
Now, I'm not saying that there are exactly 21 other people and relationships to experience and discover. You may meet three or four different people who all share similar circumstances and therefore share the same Arcana. And it is important, as The Fool, to strengthen these cards, to fill these cards with power and strength, for they fuel the power of your own Arcana, The Fool, since it is dependent on that proper hand to be implemented most efficiently. Without the 21 other Arcanas, The Fool's number, 0, will remain empty.
I encourage you to seek out these relationships, work on them, support them, and do not give up on them, for failing to do any of these things is a reflection of your own failure.
Here's a little fun to be had. These are the other 21 cards of the Major Arcana. Can you identify what part of your life they may relate to? A person? An experience? A future?
1. The Magician
-represents action and initiative...but also immaturity
2. The Priestess
-represents contemplation and hidden knowledge
3. The Empress
-represents motherhood and the life it brings forth
4. The Emperor
-represents fatherhood, leadership, and decision-making skills
5. The Hierophant
-represent formality and knowledge, as well as religion
6. The Lovers
-represents choice and consciousness
7. The Chariot
-represents personal victory
8. Justice
-represents the knowledge of right and wrong
9. The Hermit
-represents the inward search for answers within the heart
10. Fortune
-represents fate and the choices that come with it
11. Strength
-represents both passion and self-control
12. The Hanged Man
-represents the inability to take action
13. Death
-represents spiritual death
14. Temperance
-represents the balancing of opposites
15. The Devil
-represents temptation
16. The Tower
-represents destruction and disillusionment
17. The Star
-represents hope and serenity
18. The Moon
-represents illusion or deception
19. The Sun
-represents happiness and achievement
20. Judgement
-represents redemption and renewal
21. The World
-represents completeness or fulfillment
Each card can be taken by interpretation, so there are no true answers. But that is the beauty of tarot cards: they enable a person to interpret their own life, reflect on one's past decisions, and prepare oneself for the choices ahead.
Good luck.
...oh! I just drew a card. Care to know its outcome...?
...and in some instances, maybe we're best off not knowing?