The Fool’s Journey

0. The Fool

Unnumbered, because this is his tale. The Fool is the wanderer at the threshold—young, wide-eyed, brimming with wonder and trust. With little more than a bundle of dreams and his loyal companion at his heels, he prepares to leap into the unknown. No maps, no plans—only the call of the road and the whisper of destiny.

1. The Magician

Early in his path, the Fool meets the Magician, a figure of will and mastery. The Magician shows him the tools: cup, wand, sword, and pentacle—each symbolizing one of the four elements and the powers they bestow. The Fool glimpses the secret: he, too, holds creative power within.

2. The High Priestess

Opposite the Magician, the Fool meets the veiled Priestess who guards the deeper mysteries. She is the gateway to intuition, to the hidden currents beneath the surface. She does not speak, but gestures to the scroll in her hands and demonstrates the mysteries contained within. In silence, the Fool begins to learn the language of dreams and the wisdom of inner knowing.

3. The Empress

He then encounters the Empress—abundant, nurturing, maternal. She teaches the Fool of life’s pleasures, of growth, beauty, fertility, and love without condition. She is the living Earth in bloom, and through her, the Fool understands nourishment and care.

4. The Emperor

Then comes the Emperor—stern, structured, commanding. A father-figure who brings laws, boundaries, and the strength of order. From him, the Fool learns discipline, authority, and the stability needed to build a foundation in the world.

5. The Hierophant

Leaving behind home and kin, the Fool enters the sanctuary of the Hierophant. A spiritual teacher and keeper of tradition, the Hierophant represents society’s structure, institutions, and sacred teachings passed through generations. The Fool begins to understand the wisdom of lineage, rites, and communal belief.

6. The Lovers

A crossroads appears—and with it, choice. The Lovers reveal not only romance, but the deeper truth of alignment: inner values versus outer desire. The Fool must now choose with heart and soul, and in doing so, begins to shape his own destiny.

7. The Chariot

With his choice made, the Fool meets the Chariot—a symbol of victory through discipline and drive. He learns the balance between opposing forces, the importance of self-mastery, and the momentum needed to move forward.

8. Strength

Soon, raw force is challenged. The Fool now meets Strength—not brute power, but gentle courage, inner resilience, and loving dominance over one’s darker instincts. He learns to lead through compassion rather than control.

9. The Hermit

A time comes when solitude calls. The Hermit appears, cloaked and luminous with a lantern. The Fool withdraws from the world to reflect, guided only by his own light. He learns that truth is not found in noise, but in silence and soul-searching.

10. Wheel of Fortune

The wheel turns. The Fool realizes that life is a dance between fate and choice, ascent and descent. He learns acceptance—that change is constant, and fortune rises and falls. All things move in cycles.

11. Justice

To bring balance to his past actions, the Fool meets Justice. Here, he examines his choices and their consequences. Integrity becomes essential. He begins to understand responsibility and the impartial scales of karma.

12. The Hanged Man

As a result of the karma of the past, the Fool is suspended—caught between what was and what could be. There is no escape and he must allow himself to be hung upside down. The Hanged Man offers surrender, a chance to see from another angle. In stillness and discomfort, a new vision arises. What was once true begins to dissolve.

13. Death

After 3 days hanging on the tree, there is a death and a break with the past. Transformation now comes. Death arrives as an end, as a release. The Fool sheds old identities, beliefs, and attachments. It is the pruning before rebirth. What is no longer needed is laid to rest.

14. Temperance

Emerging anew, the Fool is met by an angel with vessels in hand. From her, he learns the art of balance, harmony, and sacred integration. Extremes are tempered, and he begins to walk the middle way.

15. The Devil

But temptation still lurks. The Devil reveals bondage, not imposed from without but chosen by one’s own self — addictions, illusions, false pleasures. The Fool sees the chains for what they are: mental prisons. Liberation begins with awareness.

16. The Tower

Without warning, lightning strikes out of stormy skies. The Tower crumbles. All that was built on falsehood collapses. Though painful, this is divine intervention. The Fool’s old structures fall, making space for truth.

17. The Star

From the rubble, the Star rises. A maiden pours water under heaven’s watch. The Fool feels hope, clarity, and healing. Inspiration is reborn. He begins to trust again—in himself, in the cosmos, in the path ahead.

18. The Moon

But night deepens. Under the Moon’s glow, shadows return. Illusion, confusion, and dreams blur the way. The Fool must navigate with intuition in a strange world of dreams and illusions. He learns to feel, to question, to walk forward though he cannot see the end.

19. The Sun

Dawn comes at last. The Sun bursts forth, illuminating everything. With joy and innocence, the Fool rejoices. The warmth of truth and the play of life embrace him. He has rediscovered his light.

20. Judgement

Then, a trumpet sounds. The Fool is called to rise, to reflect, to be reborn in spirit. All that has passed is reviewed. He forgives, lets go, and claims his full self. This is the final reckoning before completion.

21. The World

And finally, The World. A dancer within a wreath—completion, integration, wholeness. The Fool has journeyed through every stage, every lesson. He has integrated all 22 steps of his soul’s journey and become the World—and yet, from this circle, a new journey begins.

This time the journey unwinds from the opposite direction - he moves from The World through the 22 paths until he becomes again The Fool….