Up: [[0 - Fool]] Related: [[I’m a Fool for Not Being More of a Fool]]; [[Inner Child Work that Works!]]; [[Major Arcana]] Created: 2024-03-03 Updated: 2026-06-14 To live by our instincts, as the Fool does, is to be scarily unpredictable, and viewed by others as immature and irresponsible. Our world runs on predictability, our individual lives governed by our innate need to belong, so when we are taught by our families and cultures to fit in, that’s exactly what most of us do. The Fool lives completely in the moment. There is no past and no future. While this might sound idyllic, it means that the Fool can’t plan, can’t think ahead. Worse, living completely in the moment means not being able to know oneself because there is never opportunity to reflect. That’s why the Fool in Tarot is required to interact with all other archetypes of the [[Major Arcana]]. It’s the only way she is going to develop self-knowledge and, ultimately, wisdom. The Fool is playful, spontaneous and trusting. We can think of her/him as the essence of our authentic self. While it would be wonderful to stay that way, our decades of experiences and the expertise we develop in our work often mean that as we age, we have to resort to consciously employ [[Inner Child Work that Works!]] in order to even glimpse moments of the Fool’s energy. ![[Fool William Blake Tarot.webp|300]] Image is from *William Blake Tarot*