The Fool is the One Who Refuses to Look Foolish
The Fool Gets a Bum Rap!
Our culture is rough on you if you look “foolish.” You know this if you’ve ever felt humiliated on April 1st. But the original definition of fool wasn’t one of ridicule. The true meaning has been twisted over time.
In order to understand how dreams of the Fool might be encouraging you to embrace a new perspective, or take the scenic route through life, consider the meaning of the Fool in the Tarot deck.
The Tarot’s Fool
The Tarot defines the Fool in the upright position as a symbol of new life; the overturning of the status quo. Very powerful stuff. Especially if you’re talking about politics, career, or relationship. It’s great to know the status quo isn’t terminal.
But the Fool in the reversed position warns against ill advised risk, instability, or the wasting away of creative energy. It advises you to be alert to the risks that come with change.
Truthfully, these are two aspects of the same archetype. You can’t have new life, an expanded self, without taking a few risks.
Even nature demonstrates the true fullness of the Fool in spring. Trees grow new shoots at the risk of dying in a late freeze. Animals birth their young even though they may become prey for an awakening, hungry hibernator. There just aren’t any guarantees!
So where did we go wrong in our cultural perspective? Why did the Fool become such a symbol of ridicule? When did we begin defining innocence and spontaneity as a negative? Let’s start looking at foolishness from a new perspective.
A New Kind of Fool
Really, how are you ever going to grow if you don’t take a few risks? Our greatest inventors believed in possibilities that seemed outrageous and often found themselves labeled as foolish. Consider how the Wright brothers must have been judged by their neighbors, pushing that “winged thing” up and down the beach. And yet they persevered through multiple attempts at their dreams before they found success.
In today’s world, those who are willing to look “foolish” should be prized members of a creative team; to be clung to for their stamina in life; cherished as a brave leader.
“But I’m not an inventor, or a leader,” you say. Nonsense! You’re inventing your self and your life every day. And someone, somewhere, is following your lead. And believe it or not, you have an excellent imagination.
Think back to an April Fool’s Day when you were approached with an unexpected declaration, and someone said, “Got’cha!” Instead of feeling silly or embarrassed, what if you realized that for one moment, you believed anything is possible? What if you captured that feeling of unlimited possibility for your own empowerment?
And what if you started looking to your dreams for help? Wisdom and guidance are yours for the asking!
Dreaming the Fool’s Wisdom
There are dreams that nudge you down the path of the fool. They invite you to travel an unexpected, even crazy route in life. When you wake from that dream, you may shake your head and wonder, “What’s up with that!”
Yet we know that our dreams come in service to our wholeness and well-being. Our dreams will not present anything that we are not prepared to explore. So when you dream of the Fool, take a deep breath, and consider the possibility that your dream may be asking you to try on an attitude of innocence in order to grow more fully into your life.
Here’s a dream I had a few years ago that invited me to delve further into myself:
The Scruffy Legless Man Makes a Most Interesting Companion
There is a rugged man on the sidewalk with a scruffy, day-old stubble. He is close to my age, starting to gray, wears a worn leather cowboy hat, and has no legs.
We are sitting under the shade of a building overhang. He seems very interesting and I‘m intrigued by him. But I’m waiting for a different man who’s gone to get his racecar, and this legless cowboy is waiting for the bus.
In the next scene I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the racecar and the legless man is cruising down the sidewalk on a skateboard right past the bus stop. He can’t even be bothered to put his fake legs on so he can ride the bus. He gets himself around just fine. I’m thinking I should be out chasing him instead of sitting in this fancy car.
Fool? Maybe … Maybe Not
When I woke from this dream I had to admit I was being asked to explore my values and approach people in my life from a different perspective.
In my waking life it would be a huge risk to accept a date with a legless cowboy on a skateboard instead of the man driving an expensive car. Some would no doubt call me a fool. But this dream has served me well in pushing past appearances, investigating possibilities, appreciating the true nature of everyone I encounter.
When you feel foolish in your dreams, ask how you are being called to grow? And when you feel like a fool in your waking life, ask for a dream to show you how wise and courageous you are!
