Author: Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila

The Fool represents a free spirit with a lust for life, knowledge, and adventure, who has little fear of taking risks. Does this sound like your card?

Innocence and naivete are associated with The Fool, for the young have no fear of new experiences or change.

As you grow older you can lose that childish innocence and enthusiasm, becoming fearful and cynical of change and new experiences.

The mind of The Fool is always open, an empty vessel eagerly waiting to be filled with new knowledge. Any experience, pleasant or challenging, is life knowledge that he accepts as part of his learning.

The Fool does not sit on the fence waiting for life to come to him, he always takes the first step himself. The Fool does not analyze all the possible risks of a new adventure, he learns as he goes along.

The fearlessness and sheer enthusiasm associated with The Fool makes for quite a maverick character, and often this card can signify that such a person, male or female, may step into your life.

It is your attitude that influences the choices and decisions you make, and often your mind is so full of doubt and fear that you become closed-minded to the possibilities of change.

When The Fool appears, ask yourself how open-minded you are being at that moment in time, how enthusiastic are you about life, and do you desire new experiences and excitement but fear taking that first step?

Any journey starts with the first step, and motivating yourself to take it is the hardest part. The Fool encourages you to discover your inner child and harness that youthful enthusiasm to help you on your way to a new life and future.

A time to exercise caution is when The Fool comes up as the first card in a reading for you. You may want to question your motives or judgment, since as this is the first card, it can indicate folly. Perhaps you are motivated for the wrong reasons, so look before you leap.

You will have to deal with many twists and turns, paths and crossroads on your life journey and The Fool can help as a sign post when you need to take a new path.

Temperance reversed indicates a lack of balance.  You may be overemphasizing your feelings and not paying attention to your behaviour.  In your relationships, you or someone else may be refusing to budge on some issue.  Someone is not willing to compromise or may be compromising too much in order to please others.  You might be trying to make too many changes at once, for example, radically changing the way you eat at the same time as beginning an intensive exercise routine.  This card may be reminding you that making life changes is best done gradually and gently.  It may be that you are keeping the different aspects of your life totally separate so that you feel like entirely different people in your different roles.  You might be keeping your romantic partner apart from your coworkers, or your creativity separate from money making ventures.  Explore integrating the parts of your life that you have kept separate in order to feel more whole.

You may have an opportunity to teach someone something about life.  Will your teachings be flexible so that your student can integrate them into their own life, or are your beliefs rigid and dogmatic?  Who or what has been your teacher?  Do the lessons you’ve learned serve you will now, or is it time to seek a new teacher?  Are you making a decision based on what you believe you “should” do, or are you tuned into your higher calling?  Bottom line:  When the Hierophant appears, it is a time to examine your beliefs.