The Fool

The first thing I always look at with the Fool is his tattered sleeves. Most people skip right past them, but they tell you he’s actually done this before — he’s gone from beginner to the World and back again, so he knows how to succeed even though he’s standing at the very beginning of something new.

He’s carrying this tiny little sack, which says he’s more prepared than he looks. To the outside world what he’s about to do might seem foolish, but he’s got more knowledge than he realizes. He’s even got a feather in his cap — literally — which is our old saying for someone who knows their subject.

Then there are the ice-capped mountains behind him. Sometimes that’s the part that jumps out at a reading, and it can mean the person is hesitating, frozen at the start of their own journey when they really have more than enough to get going.