One of my favorite aspects of the tarot is following the story of The Fool’s Journey, through the major arcana of the tarot. I first became enamored of it in the early 90s in the computer labs at college. There were almost exclusively Apple computers, with some really cool puzzle games. Among my favorites was, “The Fool’s Errand” which followed the fool (the player) through a bunch of quests and puzzles based on the tarot imagery.
While it introduced me to the imagery and some very basic meanings, it wasn’t a strict interpretation of the cards. The “Fool’s Journey” is the narrative framework that connects the 22 cards of the Major Arcana. It is a common concept in Tarot, serving as a powerful metaphor for the human journey through life, growth, and self-discovery. The fool is the hero, starting out as naive and unworldly, traveling through life, learning the lessons of the archetypes toward enlightenment in the end.
The twenty-one Major Arcana cards represent the archetypal experiences, lessons, challenges, and stages of personal growth The Fool encounters. The journey is often broken down into three main phases. The first phase (Cards 1 – 7) focuses on the world of Self and External Learning. The second phase (Cards 8 – 14) explores the world of Soul and Internal Change. The third phase (Cards 15 – 21) is about discovering the world of Spirit and Universal Consciousness. It is a complete journey from ignorance to enlightenment.
Self and External Learning
This phase focuses on developing the self, learning basic life skills, and navigating the immediate, conscious world.
1 – The Magician: Recognizing one’s own power, skills, and ability to manifest.
2 – The High Priestess: Tapping into intuition, inner wisdom, and the subconscious.
3 – The Empress: Experiencing nurturing, creativity, and abundance.
4 – The Emperor: Learning structure, authority, and establishing order.
5 – The Hierophant: Seeking knowledge, tradition, and spiritual guidance from others.
6 – The Lovers: Making moral choices, forming personal values, and relating to others.
7 – The Chariot: Using willpower and discipline to achieve success and move forward.
Soul and Internal Change
This phase is an inward turn, dealing with more complex social, psychological, and spiritual transformations.
8 – Strength: Taming inner passions through gentle yet firm self-control and courage.
9 – The Hermit: Seeking solitude, self-reflection, and introspection to find inner truth.
10 – Wheel of Fortune: Understanding cycles of fate, change, and destiny.
11 – Justice: Facing accountability, finding balance, and establishing fairness.
12 – The Hanged Man: Surrendering, seeing things from a new perspective, and sacrificing a rigid viewpoint.
13 – Death: Experiencing necessary endings, transformation, and letting go of the old.
14 – Temperance: Achieving balance, moderation, and harmonious integration of different aspects of the self.
Spirit and Universal Consciousness
This final stage addresses cosmic truths, deep spiritual lessons, and the integration of all experiences.
15 – The Devil: Confronting inner bondage, materialism, addiction, or self-imposed limitations.
16 – The Tower: Experiencing sudden, dramatic upheaval that shatters old, faulty structures.
17 – The Star: Finding hope, inspiration, and renewed faith after a crisis.
18 – The Moon: Navigating fears, illusions, and the hidden aspects of the subconscious.
19 – The Sun: Gaining clarity, vital energy, joy, and success.
20 – Judgement: Experiencing a spiritual awakening, self-assessment, and a call to a higher purpose.
The End (and Beginning)
The journey culminates with The World, representing a cycle’s completion, wholeness, fulfillment, and perfect integration of all the lessons learned. The Fool is no longer naive but is now a fully realized being, ready to begin a new cycle of experience. The Fool’s Journey is cyclical, meaning once The World is reached, The Fool is ready to become the protagonist of a new journey, starting again at The Fool (0), but at a higher, more evolved level of consciousness. It is a powerful tool for understanding human psychology, spiritual growth, and the recurring patterns of life.
This is a powerful storytelling tool, but also a good way for examining both the overreaching and smaller individual life stages and lessons that we encounter as we go through our lived experiences. Also, the archetypes are engaging and entertaining. The imagery allows us to connect to powerful lessons, and each card offers advice, warnings, and congratulatory messages as you pass through their realms.
