The Fool

Our homework this week from Elena at Inner Revealings Tarot was to spend some time with the first of the Major Arcana ( the 22 cards of the Tarot that represent the great archetypes, the stages on the souls journey ), and reflect on the meaning of the archetype in our own lives. I've lived with the Tarot imagery for so long, and I really want to take Elena's homework as an opportunity to revisit these familiar images with beginner's mind. I chose to by-pass my intellectual knowledge of the card by engaging in some creative play (a great Fool activity!) and making a spontaneous collage of my own inner Fool! Here are the results. She's now sitting on my bedside table, encouraging me to reflect on her qualities. I am by nature a very goal-oriented person: I like plans, order, and security. The Fool challenges me to remember the importance of nurturing my creativity with occasional spontaneity, risk, adventure, travel, and imaginative flights of fancy! I've already started researching retreat centres in Hawaii to teach at next winter!
Here are some positive Fool qualities I manifest:

• childlike vision
• ability to take risks
• love for nature
• hope
• big dreams
• desire for adventure
• beginner's mind approach to the spiritual

and a few shadow Fool qualities I'd like to transform:

• procrastinating on responsibilities
• not always considering consequences of actions
• occasional negative impulsiveness!

For more about the Fool's qualities, visit Inner Revealings here.