The Fool: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A traveller approaches a cliff with a small bundle, a white rose, and a watchful dog.

Upright

beginning · openness

Step toward an unfamiliar experience with curiosity and attention to the ground beneath you.

Reversed

recklessness · hesitation

Enthusiasm may outrun preparation, or fear may prevent a necessary first step.

In a reading

The position gives this card a particular task: a description of the situation, a challenge, or guidance. Read its image and meaning alongside the other cards and the question that brought them together.

Golden Dawn correspondence

Element: Air. This is the attribution in Book T.

Sources

A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. These notes are original interpretations of the Waite–Smith imagery, informed by that text.