The Fools Journey Part 3
Over the last two weeks, we have looked at The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana of the Tarot Deck. Starting with The Fool, which is card 0, the first part of this series looked at cards 1 to 7, and part two looked at cards 8 to 13. This week we continue our journey from card 14.
Card XIV is Temperance, and is the next step on the Fool’s journey, This is where we incorporate what we have learned so far into our life. The image on this card in the Alice in Wonderland deck shows Alice with a piece of mushroom in each hand while the Caterpillar looks on. It is the Caterpillar that teaches Alice that one side of the mushroom will make her small and the other side will make her big. This is something that Alice practices as she tries to return to her normal height. As she continues her journey, she then finds it necessary to grow small again and does so with ease because she has practised.
In a reading, the Temperance card asks us if we are in control of ourselves, if we have the ability to look at things from a broader perspective, and if we have the ability to respond to different situations. It can be a card about finding balance and moderation in your life so that you can keep moving forward.
The Devil is card XV and is represented by the Mad Hatter and the March Hare sat at their eternal tea party. It is always 6pm and always time for tea. When they have used the cups at their current location, the Mad Hatter and March Hare simply move to a new seat and start again. When Alice asks them what will happen when they run out of clean cups, the March Hare changes the subject.
The Devil card in a reading can be something that is keeping us stuck. Has a good habit become rigid? Are we staying in an unhealthy relationship because we fear being alone? This card is usually a sign that you are either having too much fun and need to calm down a bit, or that you are not having enough fun and need to relax more.
The next card brings us chaos, sudden change and destruction. In the Alice deck, The Tower card shows Alice pulling the tablecloth off the table while the Red Queen watches in shock and the White Queen is knocked over. Alice tried really hard to fit in during her second adventure in Wonderland. She understood that the aim was to become Queen and did everything that was expected of her to get there. Only once she did, it was not at all what she expected. After pulling the cloth away Alice wakes up, but she will always remember her adventure and the lessons she learned there.
In a reading, the Tower card comes to show us that a situation or belief is not what we think it is. Transformation is messy and when we strive to become the best version of ourselves, we no longer fit into our old lives. Change is scary and so sometimes we need a rather hard shove from the universe to actually do something about it.
The next three cards all represent celestial bodies, starting with card XVII, which is the Star. The Wonderland deck shows Alice’s sister looking into a pond and finding a fan and a glove. Alice’s sister is mentioned at the start of the story as she is reading a book that Alice finds very dull, and again at the end of the story when Alice tells her about her adventure in Wonderland. She sends Alice off for her tea and sits with her eyes closed imagining that she is in Wonderland.
The Star card is the calm after the storm. Now that the Tower card has ripped away our rose-tinted glasses, we are able to see the world for what it is, with new clarity and focus. We understand that we are on the right path and what we have to do to continue our journey.
I hope you are enjoying the Fool’s Journey and can see how these cards relate to the things you have experienced in your own life. Join me next week for the final part of the Fool’s Journey.
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