by phil gennuso
Introduction
The beginning of life! Is anything more exciting? Is anything more filled with promise and dreams? Or the beginning of any journey, or any quest. That is what this card signifies to me.
Many decks call this card the Fool. But this is not an opinion I share. Inexperience does not necessarily make one a fool. Naive perhaps, but not a fool.
Some decks leave this card unnumbered rather than starting with zero. Either way it represents the beginning, the beginnings of life, the beginnings of journeys, the beginnings of civilizations, the beginnings of our universe.
My card is innocence. In order to live fruitfully, we must keep our innocence alive somewhere inside of ourselves, somewhere inside our polis. When innocence dies, so does any hope of creativity, vitality, progress.
Design
For my design, I chose a young woman, someone just starting out her independent life as an adult. She is dreamy, romantic, longing. She is surrounded by darkness (which may signify the present), but there is a bright sunlight behind her (which may represent the future). The contrast is dramatic and clearly drawn.
My image is straightforward and direct. I am not using any overt symbolism in my deck. More typical decks tend to use symbolism, and fill the card with different items which might refer to different events. I want to concentrate on the essence of how I perceive each card. For me the Tarot is not so much a prophecy as a revelation. The cards reflect different stages in our lives and invite us to reflect on what is relevant at this moment.
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