Learning Tarot - The Fool

May 27, 2011 2:17pm CST
I am currently at the start of a journey, learning the tarot and from what I can gather, very much like the card I would like to discuss. The Fool. Now apparently there are 101 different ways of studying the tarot. The difficulty I am having right now is A) which is best for me and B) If the majority of Tarot reading is 'instinct' based, how does it work so well and finally c) There are so many different tarot decks that the images change and don't always contain the same objects as such so how can you use these objects to provoke a feeling? For example, the fool. We know him predominantly as the fool but in Italian he translates as the begger or madman. Now I know you can link these three words together losely but why the huge difference? Then his appearance changes, with a beard and without, shoes on and off, followed by a pet then an aggressive animal, and in the french version he is shown as neither, he is infact a joker. Has anyone any insight into this? I would really appreciate the confusion to lift, if that is at all posible.
3 responses
@Orson_Kart (6347)
• United Kingdom
28 May 11
Call ME the fool if you will, but what I want to know is - why, although it is spelt similarly to carrot, is it not pronounced the same?
1 person likes this
28 May 11
Aha! That really tickled me. As for knowing the answer, I have no clue but if I were to hazzard a guess, I think it would be somethng to do with language translation. Very much like the french Beret. Thank you for making smile Orson_Kart x
1 person likes this
30 May 11
I would really like to learn how to read the tarot properly. I have jumbled through a deck over the years, things like that have always took my interest. I still don't know if I am ready to accept it yet though. I just can't get my head around working off of intuition and experience. How can you have something with a book to teach you and then be told to pretty much disregard it. That the reading comes from you. I also must agree with you, you come across as a bit of a card, your posts make me chuckle =) Thank you for coming back x
• United Kingdom
29 May 11
You're welcome! :) I did have an interest in Tarot when the lovely Jane Seymour played Solitaire in Live and Let Die. I remember James Bond turning over a tarot card to reveal 'The Fool' and she said, "You have found yourself" lol I've never been interested again until now. I can be a bit of acrd myself, so I look forward to your next shuffle. Ferret :P
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
27 May 11
Unfortunantly to be able to really read them instinct is a major part. Most decks come with a basic meaning for the cards but the important part is how they make you FEEL at the time & how they relate in the situation. If for instance the question involved finances & you pick up on the begger aspect of the fool then perhaps the outlook isn't good. Think of them not as a card but a representation of part of a personality. A joker for could be someone simply having fun & bending reality a bit but taken to excess could become completely illogical ( thus making themselves poor ). The context you'd want would be determined by the cards around it.
27 May 11
So are you saying then that you pretty much make it up as you go along, as long as you can 'relate' it to the card and hope you get something right? People have been reading the tarot for years can it really be summed up in that way?
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
27 May 11
Sorta, each card will have a personal meaning to you. The set may have a general meaning for the card but you add the rest.
30 May 11
Do you have the ability to read Tarot cards uath13? It seems that way from your post. If so, is it something you picked up easily? Are you self taught and do you find your reading to be accurate? If you don't read them yourself, have you had them read for you? Also, did you find your reading to be an accurate one? Thank you x
@irishmist (3814)
• United States
12 Jul 11
You should check out Lotus Tarot.com. It is a wonderful site, and you can learn the meanings of the cards, and they really make sense. Also if you join for free, you can get a 6 card reading, which is usually on point, trust me I know. I also read card here at home.