You know, I’ve had an issue with The Fool in the Tarot being labeled 0 (zero) since I was seven years old. I guess, that 46 years is enough time for an idea to steep and let the cat out of the bag so the dog’s not so alone.
I’ve never seen a wild thing sorry for itself.
~ D.H. Lawrence
I do not think the O in the middle of the top of the card is a zero. I don‘t think it is a number at all or the concept of zero. One, all the other numbers are at the bottom. Certainly, a number 0 at the top could be a telling anomaly, like the head of the ouroboros’ (uroburos) potentiality to bite its tail prior to the tail forming, a “nothing about the caterpillar tells it about the butterfly“ kind of thing, though, I grimace at that with a pretty hefty ‘Nope.’
So, what do I feel from an artist’s perspective? Well, Pamela Coleman-Smith designed the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) Tarot cards. And, I feel the O at the top of The Fool in the RWS is a Day Sky Full Moon. I think that goes a long way to include everything in the card like a whole oak tree in an acorn. The Sun. The Day Sky Full Moon. The elements. The Archetypes all in an unseen place beyond much like the Buddhist Concept of the Disappearing Path indicated by the cliff’s edge right in front of the Fool. Then, all of the unseen things are seen, and the whole oak tree of the deck is in the acorn of The Fool.
How does the O in the top middle of this card image land for you as a Day Sky Full Moon? No need to research this. You won‘t find any attributions as the idea is mine, a personal, Tarot acorn so to speak. My Fool sees the world from the moon, so the earth is what waxes and wanes and is New and is Full through cycles for the Mystereum Fool. How does the O as a Day Sky Full Moon land for you?
Tarot in the Land of Mystereum Fool image (c) 2010 Jordan Hoggard
Rider Waite Smith Fool image (c) US Games, Inc.
Jordan Hoggard
Karen Sealey
April 10, 2021 at 4:15 pm
A day sky full moon? Yup! Now you’ve said that, my brain says – well d’oh! Obviously! What else could it be…
I like that A LOT! 😁
Jordan Hoggard
April 10, 2021 at 5:44 pm
😀 Yup, it only took 500 years until I was 7 years old to figure out, and then another 46 years to lay it out there. 😀 I brought it up in a webinar today, and had the response from a very knowledgeable person, “I haven;t ever seen that.”
Cool, I thought. I’ll blog it to make it my own. 1st full-on original thought in a while, and now? (C) me 2021. And, it gives me a whole new forensic, visual history tool to play with and track back through… Nope, it can stay right there. My Acorn. My Fool Acorn that has the whole deck within. Ok, if you insist. Time to start designing another deck.
Karen Sealey
April 10, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Old McHoggard had a deck E I E I 🌚
Karen Sealey
April 10, 2021 at 5:53 pm
Oh I absolutely insist. Now crack on! 😆
Laleh Chini
April 15, 2021 at 11:06 am
Hi Jordan, if you are interested I can email you my book ‘Soroosh’ for your wonderful review. I loved your effort on reviewing ‘Climbing Over Grit. Let me know. Much love.
Jordan Hoggard
April 25, 2021 at 5:13 pm
Hi Laleh! Great to hear from you. I would love to experience your book ‘Soroosh’. Do you have my email?
Laleh Chini
April 25, 2021 at 6:19 pm
Appreciate it dear. Email me your email lalehchini@yahoo.com -your reply means a lot .😍
iotaserpentis
April 24, 2021 at 5:49 pm
I like the spirit of iconoclasm here and you definitely have a point. Who wants to be considered a zero after all? I’m sure the Fool would agree with you!
Jordan Hoggard
April 25, 2021 at 5:13 pm
Thanks much! Excellent comment. I appreciate the nod.
rajeev patel
May 1, 2021 at 5:56 am
Infinite number 😀
Jordan Hoggard
May 1, 2021 at 10:02 am
Excellent, Rajeev. Yes. And, O, circle, is as well infinity. And, if you twist a circle, like a rubber band with your hands, it folds over itself to become the lemniscate, the infinity symbol.
rajeev patel
May 2, 2021 at 4:15 am
yes, Thank You 🙂