The Fool’s Journey: What Tarot Archetypes Teaches Us About Starting Over
The Fool has always felt like the purest symbol of sacred beginnings to me. It’s that brave, tender part within us that steps forward into a new chapter even when we’re exhausted, grieving, unsure, or convinced we’re not ready.
Standing With the Fool at the Edge
In the traditional imagery, the Fool stands right at the cliff’s edge—chin lifted to the sky, carrying almost nothing, a loyal little dog at their side. It’s such a perfect metaphor for those moments in life when everything falls apart, and you suddenly find yourself staring into the unknown.
Fiona Gurtiza describes reaching her own “edge” after loss piled on top of loss—death, heartbreak, career collapse. What felt like an ending became something closer to tarot’s card 0: a reset point, an invitation to begin again. In tarot, 0 is potential in its rawest form. It doesn’t belong anywhere in the sequence, and yet it fits everywhere. It reminds us that we can start over at any time, no matter how late it feels.
The Fool’s Journey as a Map of Becoming
‘Many readers view the Major Arcana as the Fool’s Journey—a symbolic guide through the many phases of human growth. The Fool wanders through archetypes like the Magician, Chariot, Star, Sun, and eventually The World. Each encounter offers a lesson, a challenge, or an initiation.
Fiona reimagines these archetypes as earlier versions of herself:
- The Magician as her wildly creative inner child
- The Chariot as her driven, ambitious young adult
- The Star as her performer-self, shining and seen
- The Sun as her radiant, purposeful self, aligned and alive
Seeing the cards this way highlights something many of us already know: tarot isn’t just about “what will happen.” It’s about recognizing who you’ve been, who you are right now, and who you’re becoming.
The Fool as Sacred Boldness
The Fool archetype carries a kind of wise recklessness—the willingness to look inexperienced while stepping toward what your soul is calling you to do. If you refuse to be a beginner, you shut the door on transformation.
Tarot writers often describe the Fool as innocence, spontaneity, and a leap of faith into the unknown. Fiona’s story reflects this beautifully: after a long season of grief and paralysis, she realized that surviving the darkness had delivered her to a new threshold. From that place, she chose again—tarot, spirituality, healing—and eventually created Fool’s Gnosis, her spiritual wellness brand.
Meeting Your Inner Archetypes
Each Major Arcana card can be seen as an inner voice or character:
- The Magician: your creative power
- The Chariot: the ambitious part of you that pushes forward
- The Star: the part that hopes and shines
- The Sun: your clarity, joy, and vitality
- The World: the version of you that feels whole
When you sit with tarot, you’re not just pulling a card—you’re entering a conversation with these inner selves. Tarot becomes less of a fortune-telling tool and more of a mirror, a way of making meaning out of your lived experience.
Walking Your Own Fool’s Path
One of Fiona’s final insights lands deeply: our greatest achievements often unfold when we’re standing at the edge of the unknown. That edge is pure Fool energy—the place where you’re still scared or uncertain, but you feel the call to move.
Here are gentle ways to work with that energy:
- When you feel stuck or broken, imagine yourself beside the Fool on that cliff. Ask yourself: What tiny step forward would honor my inner Fool right now?
- When a Major Arcana card appears, treat it like a visiting archetype. Ask: Which version of me is showing up? What chapter is this card inviting me into?
Being “a fool” in your own life isn’t about naivety—it’s about courage. It means you’re willing to begin again, to risk hope, to trust the path as it unfolds.
Because at the end of the day, tarot isn’t here to dictate your fate.
It’s here to remind you of the many selves you already carry—
and the Fool walks beside each one, urging you toward a life that feels true.
Resources
