Tarot Cards is a pack of playing cards that was being used in the early centuries in various parts of Europe. Research also showed that the tarots cards where first initiated in Italy in 1403s. The tarot cards where first known as tarrochi in Ferrara and Milan in Northern Italy. Tarot cards where played as games until the 18th century when the French occultists began to make claims of tarot cards being used to seek knowledge of the past, present and future (fortune telling). The French occultists also claimed that tarot cards had connections to the ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, India Tantra or the I Ching. Thereafter, they became two different types of tarot cards, those used for fortune telling and those used for playing games. The tarot cards used for fortune telling had four suits which vary by region. The Latin suits in southern Europe, the French suits in Northern Europe. Each region has 14 cards each. Ten pip cards numbering from one (known as ace in the tarot card) and four face cards, (the king, the queen, the knight and page). The tarot card has additional separate 21-card trump suit and a single card “the fool” . Tarot cards are still played in most part of Europe as games without any occultic associations or meaning.
In the occult tradition, tarot cards are referred to as ‘Arcana’ . The major arcana which consists of the 21-card and the fool, while the suit cards are known as the minor arcana. This terms are however not used for the tarot cards used for playing games.
This card is the starting point and ending point of the main card’s spiritual journey. At the beginning is the energy of a person who has not yet started that journey. He is ignorant and has no self, just like a child. His energy lives in the moment, so it may be scattered in most directions, unable to integrate anything, or may do some stupid things without using his brain. He is a child, a fool, a fool. This naivety and spontaneity will reappear at the end of the journey, but now it is a state of awakening. It is a kind of trust, and with the whole, it goes beyond personality and self to live. In the general interpretation, this card can mean to give yourself space, and follow your own energy every moment, without worrying about the fear of the future.
The fool is represented by the Greek god of wine, Donysus. He is a slightly crazy character, surrounded by many living or growing things. He represents the ability to open to life. He is fearless to contact with those natural, organic and real Cambodia and Spain in every moment of change. His horn and the bunch of grapes are the symbols of Bacchus, the god of wine, women and singing. The symbol of fear in the East is the tiger. It bit Dionysus’ leg, but because he ignored it, it did not work. The umbilical cord around him represents his newness or innocence and the whole universe. Four circles represent the possibility of rebirth on the four levels of human existence: spiritual, emotional, rational, and physical. The coins in the bag are marked with different astrological student numbers, symbolizing the wealth and richness brought about by this lifestyle. This card represents a fool or a clown of the medieval European court. He is a smart man, but he plays the role of a fool to convey his insights in a way.
