Question Arising from Dec.1 Salon Presentation

Kathe, sorry it’s taken me so long to reply! I’ve been traveling, but I’m back at my desk now.

It’s a great question and the short answer is, this can be interpreted in multiple ways. I link to think of the first four cards as representing foundational influences: mother, father, spiritual mothers and fathers, the earth, heaven, God/Goddess, and so forth. And just like we always carry our earliest formative influences with us throughout our lives, naturally we could say the fool does the same. After all, *we* are The Fool, and each of the 22 archetypes found in the Major Arcana represent dimensions of our common archetypal experience: signposts to what Carl Jung called “the collective unconscious.”

So yes, I do think each archetype invites us into new/more creative ways of engaging with all the other archetypes, but especially with those foundational energies that have been with us from the beginning. It’s just like how psychotherapy often will invite us into sustained/deep reflection on our relationship(s) with our parents — not because the parents are necessarily at fault, but because no relationship is perfect and our imperfect relationships with Mom and Dad will naturally color and shape all the rest of our lifelong interactions!

So I love your question, it’s not something I have specifically thought a lot about, but I think it would bear fruit to reflect on this question: how does the Fool’s “Team” support (or challenge) his/her/their way of relating to all the subsequent relationships/connections/callings that life offers? And how do all those “other” relationships/encounters offer ways of growth and healing for those most primal relationships? Lots to reflect on here!