(i) Thoth Fool YouTube Video

My new YouTube channel is : Thoth Tarot Videos. and the 2018 video presentation for The Fool can be accessed by clicking on the image below:

 

 

(ii)  Thoth Fool Introduction

The Thoth Fool is somewhat different to the Fool in the Rider Waite Deck,but they are both a glyph of:

•  spiritual light descending from Kether forming the manifested universe and

• a representation of the infinite spiritual potential inside us, where we return to God via the Spiritual Journey (through the major arcana).

 

 

(iii) Thoth Fool & The Spiritual Path

The Fool represents the new Initiate as they stand out from the sequence of the other 21 cards of the major arcana.

The Fool has not acted on the path before him yet and has NOT engaged in the spiritual process.

Will the Fool proceed to follow the experiences contained within the 12 signs of the zodiac in his bag and engage in the 21 cards ?

Will he stop along the way or fall back into the world ?

(iv) Rider Waite Fool

The Rider Waite Fool shows a young man standing on the edge of a cliff, without a care in the world, as he sets out on a new adventure. He  looks upwards toward the sky (Universe, the last major arcana card) and is seemingly unaware that he is about to step off a cliff into the unknown.

(v) Crowleys Key Themes for the Fool

Crowley identifies some key concepts regarding this card:

• The Number Zero
• Silence
• Innocence
• The Breath

(vi) Thoth Fool & The Tree of Life

The Number Zero

The Fool occupies the Path of ‘Scintillating Intelligence’ between Kether (Spirit) and Chokmah (Wisdom).

Scintillating means ‘shining brightly’

Simply put it is the outpouring of energy spirit which carries with it the intelligence of creation. The aces of the minor arcana are associated with Kether and between the 4 suits contain the intelligence or potential to fulfil those suits. Thus the Fool represents our full potential

The Thoth Fool connects the path from Kether (Spirit) to Chockmah (Wisdom) . So this is a path of the Fool pursuing the Spiritual Path through developing and applying wisdom.

However, as the Aces are associated with Kether, the first sephiroth, The Fool being the number ZERO is associated with the 3 veils of negative existence above Kether. Zero represents the ‘pregnant nothingness’ from which all things arise.

The Fool has the infinite potential of Kether for ‘all possibilities’  of expression. Will he tread the spiritual path or wont he ? These 2 paths give the Fool the potential to create anything ( the Fool carries the 12 signs of the zodiac in his bag which reminds us of this). As mentioned above Hercules trials all the signs of the zodiac to achieve fulfilment.

 

Silence

Crowley states that it does not relate to just refrain from speech but is a much deeper aspect which can be accessed through special meditations

 Its nature is Pure Being, beyond intellect and intuition. We have a similar description in Taoist philosophy:

“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name.”

i.e. not the spoken word

One of the twins matures into Harpocrates (The God of Silence), and we can see him in The Aeon card of the major arcana putting a finger to his lips:

Innocence

The passage below is stating that only by deep silence,meditation and connecting with the Law of Love, can we find that Innocence and hence true will (life purpose) inside. Simply following what society expects of us is simply a restriction on our being.

The Fourth Power of
the Sphinx is Silence; to us, then, who aspire to this power :as the crown of our
Work, it will be of utmost value to attain His innocence in all its fulness. We
must understand, first of all, that the root of Moral Responsibility, on which
man stupidly prides himself as distinguishing him from the other animals, is
Restriction, which is the Word of Sin. Indeed, there is truth in the Hebrew
fable, that the knowledge of Good and Evil brings forth Death. To regain
Innocence is to regain Eden. We must learn to live without the murderous
consciousness that every breath we draw swells the sails which bear our frail
vessels to the Port of the Grave. We must cast out Fear by Love; seeing that
every Act is an Orgasm, their total issue cannot be but Birth. Also, Love is the
law: thus every act must be Righteousness and Truth. By certain Meditations
this may be understood and established; and this ought to be done so
thoroughly that we become unconscious of our Sanctification, for only then is
Innocence made perfect. This state is, in fact, a necessary condition of any
proper contemplation of what we are accustomed to consider the first task of
the Aspirant, the solution of the question. “What is my True Will?” For until we
become innocent, we are certain to try to judge our Will from the outside,
whereas True Will should spring, a fountain of Light, from within, and flow
unchecked, seething with Love) into the Ocean of Life.

(Book of Thoth, p121)

 

(vii) Thoth Fool Hebrew Attribution

The Breath

Aleph = a silent letter unless paired with another letter and so we have the concept of soundlessness. The breath is silent and yet it sustains life.

It also means OX or OX PLOUGH, with the letter Aleph looking like the plough that is associated with the Ox :

 

Ox = a beast of the earth and therefore the fool connects the highest (spirit, Kether) with the lowest (Earth, Malkuth). He contains within him therefore everything, being born out of Spirit, and yet lacking worldly experience and depth.

 

(viii) Thoth Fool Elemental and Astrological Attribution

Elemental Attribution

Associated with AIR = the breath, silence. The breath is silence and we see in the section on symbolism that Air is represented many times in The Thoth Fool card.

 

Astrological Attribution

Uranus = some characteristics of this planets influence on the personality are shown in the image below:

 

(ix) Thoth Fool Symbolism

Green Man = the mysterious energy giving birth to new life in the Spring. New life represents being reborn into your spiritual path.

The Thoth Fool is ANDROGYNOUS (neither male or female) so he is not limited by gender. God transcends gender.

Leap = this is a leap into the world and he does so with enthusiasm. It’s a YES to life and its the beginning of the connection to spirit even though he might only Intuit the connection at this stage.

Diamond Crown = Kether the first Sephiroth on the Tree of Life and Purest. Spirit flowing through the Crown Chakra.

Rainbow = this is the ‘coloured universe’ of form arising out of the purity and formlessness of Kether. The zero becomes the duality.

Background = Yellow with white diamonds = colour of air (yellow) with reflections of Kether (white diamonds)

Fools skin = yellow representing air

Green Clothing = earth creativity.

Gold Shoes = colour of the Sun and the creative light of life. The sun rules Tiphareth on the Tree of Life, and the Fool is associated with Air, and the Vav of the Tetragrammaton

Tiphareth  means ‘Beauty’. It represents Christ Consciousness, the decent of spirit into man. The Fool has a direct link to the Godhead, but is not really aware of it yet.

Sun over genitals = creative potential of the genitals, where human consciousness usually resides. This needs to be raised to the purity of the diamond in Kether at the crown chakra and this process represents the Fool’s Spiritual Journey ahead.

3 spirals around Fool  = the 3 veils of negative existence that reside above the Tree of Life and they form an umbilical cord to his heart chakra linking him with spirit. The spiritual path is ultimately one of the heart and expressing universal love. 

The soul is said to reside in the Heart Chakra, and this chakra also links the higher to the lower chakras in man, so once again we get the theme of the Fool being Directly linked to God and the raising of his energy from lower to higher consciousness

The spirals also represent the spiral nature of the universeIn the photo below we have the magnificent spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81:

 

Inner Spiral 

Contains: 

• Dove
• Vulture
• Butterfly
• Caduceus Crowned with a Pine Cone

All fly towards the Fools Heart:

Dove = descent of spirit into matter as it heads towards the Fools Heart .

 

20 rays of light emanate from the dove (although not all are clearly visible).

 

 The dove also represents the hermaphrodite as it is both feminine (representing Venus) and masculine with the rays of Yod emanating forth.

Vulture = represents the Egyptian Mother Goddess MUT meaning Mother. 

 

The name means ‘mother’ and MUT was also thought to be a hermaphrodite, having the power of both male and female reproduction and therefore a Goddess as she a CREATOR OF ALL THINGS. This had its basis in the notion that there were no male vultures and the female vultures were impregnated by the winds (air).

Butterfly = represents air. the soul entering the body of the Fool as he takes up his Spiritual Quest. The job of the butterfly is to transform and likewise this is also the quest of the Fool to transform himself, to evolve into a higher state of consciousness as he progresses through the major arcana.

 

Caduceus = has a sword blade as a shaft and both are symbols of AIR.

• The caduceus is associated with MERCURY (The Magus, thought and communication),
• sword = suit of swords of the minor arcana also representing air.

Thyrsus (Pine Cone) on Caduceus

A thyrsus or thyrsos was a staff occasionaly intertwined with vines or ivy leaves and topped with a pine cone. These staffs were carried by Dionysus and his followers. Euripides wrote that honeydripped from the thyrsos staves that the Bacchic maenads carried. The thyrsus was a sacred instrument at religious rituals and fêtes.  It is hugely symbolic: 

• The pine cone is representative of the pineal gland
• Honey is symbolic of sexual/spiritual energy
• The staff is the spine
• The vine or ivy twirling up the staff is the kundalini energy

 

 

Grapes: The vine of the grapes wraps around him making a circle around his heart. This represents divine intoxication in spirit. Now we have a vision of the universe of pure joy, love and perfection rather than sorrow and separation.The grapes are associated with the sweetness of this state of bliss.

Horns = also associated with Dionysus.

Sack of coins = these are suspended from the grapevine and have astrological symbols inscribed on them. The sun is surrounded by the 6 ancient planets:

 

 

These are all circled by the 12 signs of the zodiac and so this sack contains all of the LABORS OF HERCULES, or the potential for anything and everything within him. For more on the Labors of Hercules click on the icon adjacent which was written by Alice Bailey.

 

 

 

Flaming Pine Cone = in his left hand and a symbol of his creativity.

Cup = in his right hand with the contents pouring forth below. The base of the cup is a pyramid (masculine) and the bowl is receiving and womb like representing the feminine.

The creative fire unites with the cup thus they represent the spark and creation of life. The Fool represents the Spring and the creation of new life. This is a recurring theme as new life = born again spiritually.

Tiger = a symbol of fear and the Fool is ignoring it as he leaps forward on his path.

 

Flower Arrangement Below Fool

Rose (Uppermost) = Rose a symbol of Air (in Golden Dawn Rituals), white also links it to Kether.

Lily (Lower Right) =  linked to Saturn which rules Binah, Malkuth and Virgo = all symbolise the purity of Earth.

3 smaller lilies (lower left) = the 3 smaller lilies have 4 petals each, one lily has 5 petals

3 x 4 = 12 + 5 = 17 petals in total.  This represents the 16 sub-elements of the court cards + spirit which governs them :

The 4 letters of the tetragrammaton are represented in this card symbolically by :

 

Yod = the flaming pine cone, rays issuing forth from the Dove

He Primal = the cups

Vav = Rose

He Final = Lilies

 

This is significant in  that it infers the Fool has all the tools he needs to know God and the completness of that Enlightened State.

 

 

The Twins

The Twins = represent the Vau and He final which mature to become RAA HOOR KHUIT and HARPOCRATES. These are the same twins that recur in the Lovers and Sun card as we will see later. They mirror the twin serpents in the caduceus.

 

Thoth Fool and The Crocodile

Moon Above Crocodile = the moon is a feminine energy, the sun a male energy, Between the two the twins are present representing CREATION and fertility which are associated with the Fool as we have seen above as a recurring theme.

 

 

 

The Crocodile is associated with Saturn and KRONOS who devoured his own children as he feared they would overthrow him as king of the gods.

The importance of the croc lies in the Egyptian idea of PARTHENOGENESIS which represents virgin birth similar to MUT and the vulture. It is a type of asexual reproduction in which the offspring develops from unfertilised eggs. It is particularly common in arthropods and rotifers and can be found in some species of fish and amphibians, birds, reptiles, but not mammals.

 

 

 

This is explained in a YouTube video by Paul Hughes Barlow:

‘Why is there a crocodile in the Thoth Fool Tarot Card’?

Devouring = the mystic would say that his soul is devoured by God.

“Devouring is the equivalent of Initiation.. To initiates the crocodile helps to determine the spiritual meaning of the card as a return to the original characteristic of ZERO. The He final which can revert into the Yod”     (p.62-63: Book of Thoth).

 

 

(x) Thoth Fool & Universe Tarot Cards

This is the relationship between the everything (Universe) and the nothing (Fool). The Fool contains limitless possibilities and the infinite nature of spirit within. If he completes the spiritual path then he realises that the universe is within him and yet at the same time his essential nature is formless and limitless. 

                  

(xi) Thoth Fool Divinatory Meanings

Upright

Material/practical matters = not very knowledgeable, spiritually intuitive.

New Beginnings the Fool encourages you to open to the possibility of new adventures, experiences and embrace them without fear. Embrace the unknown without letting the past affect you discovering a new sense of fulfillment in the present. 

Therefore a great time for personal growth through a new found openness.

The Fool also reminds us to have fun and return to some of our childhood innocence. We can be just as creative right now.

Meditate on the Fools Energy, he is telling you to relax and forget your fears. Also, in meditation to connect with that deep silence within and from there we will get a clearer idea of where we want to go next. We need to forget about what society expects of us as this is simply a restriction the way we want to live life.

Connecting with love in meditation, that simple, innocent and yet profound energy that sustains the universe.

 

Reversed

 

Acting recklessly and not caring about the consequences of ones actions.

Wanting to break free of social norms and routines but you are doing it in a harmful way to you and or others.

Not fulfilling your potential at present, feeling trapped.

Lack of seriousness about an issue/life which is harming you.

Being restricted by what others or society think of us instead of connecting with our true path (Will)

A head full of thoughts without direction. A period meditation and stillness needed which we have put off.

Fear of the unknown, past life events holding you back from self expression.

 

 

(xii) Thoth Fool & The Celtic Cross

 

1 : Heart of the Situation = the need to trust in the process of life and take a leap into something that you care passionately about but with an open mind

2 : Possible obstacle  =Lack of joy and adventure .

3 : Unknown influence = fears from the past stop your sense of expressing yourself 

4 : Past = reckless actions, not being clear on your life path

5 : Hopes and goals = freedom to express yourself and find your true purpose in life

6 : Future = life may throw up an unexpected chance to fulfil your potential

7 : Self image = carefree, dislike rules, norms . Free spirit.

8 : How others see you = (if reversed).. somewhat wreckless in action, ruled by fear from previous bad experiences.

9 : Guidance & warning = now is the time to take time out,meditate and connect with your inner purpose. A warning that your potential may not be realised unless you reconnect with yourself in a more supporting and loving way

10 : Overall Outcome = life will throw up unexpected opportunites. Take time to meditate on these chances when they arise, not letting fears of the past restricting what fantastic chances may come your way

 

(xiii) Recommended Videos on the Fool

Paul Hughes-Barlow

MarVeena Meek 

 

(xiv) Meditation Group Links

The Spiritual Hierarchy

Meditation Group

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