Look at us, fresh on our first day of 2017! Last night we had champagne on our lips and confetti in our hair as the countdown took us to midnight, three-two-one and then that sliver of a second that is past and present and future all at once. It's as if a new world shimmered itself into being right before our eyes.
And now here we are on that proverbial edge, dazzled with adventure, a little breathless, once again in the land of the Fool. Haven't we been here before? Yes. And we will be here again. Such is the nature of the Fool—always setting out even as we are always returning home. Always seasoned and always naive. We are making a leap of faith. Is it blind faith? I would argue that all faith is necessarily blind—to require evidence pulls the feathers out of its wings.
So...yes. Blissfully blind. To be Foolish is to court disaster. To be Unfoolish, however, is to climb into the box and close the lid after oneself. Safety as slow suicide. The new year requires us to wear motley and dance on the airy edge of extinction. We have been here before. We will be here again. We are, as Miss Dickinson so aptly phrased it, "zero at the bone." Betwixt and between. And as Schrodinger's Cat reminds us, neither/nor is sometimes a necessary state. A prelude.
It is my wish for you this January 1st that the New Year reveals a fresh slate for you. May you carry only what you need (or what you treasure) and leave the rest behind. May your horizons offer promise. And may your steps always land safe and true.
Happy 2017!
*This image of The Fool comes from Thalia Took, whose A-Musing Grace Gallery is full of tarot artwork and spreads and insight aplenty. Give her a visit at http://www.thaliatook.com.
And Happy New Year!
For those who follow the Wheel of the Year, tonight marks a particularly special turning--the ending of one and the beginning of another. Which makes The Fool a particularly apt companion.
As with all cards marking the moments between in the tarot, the Fool is paradox in action. Resplendent in motley, eyes looking up, The Fool is all about the beginning of the journey. The Fool's Journey, as played out through the Major Arcana, begins with this first step and ends with The World.
May your journey around the Wheel begin and end with love, and laughter, and all good things. May you find colorful characters on your doorstep, and may you have sweet surprises the whole year long.
Don't let The Fool fool you-- this is not a card of foolishness. It is a paradoxical card, betwixt and between, neither here nor there. A card of beginning, yes certainly, but also of ending. For a new journey cannot begin until the old journey is behind us. And yet there is a moment -- a singular fleeting instant -- with one foot firmly on fresh ground and one toe still touching familiar territory.
This is the Fool. Card Zero. It is also the turning of the year, fireworks and countdowns and Auld Lang Syne
May the Fool be with you this New Year's Eve as it melts into New Year's Day. May this liminal moment reveal to you all the blessings of the passing year even as the yet-to-be blessings shimmer on the horizon. May both gratitude and hope be yours this midnight, and all through the coming days.
Happy 2016!
