Musings On The Fool’s Journey: The Fool Meets Justice

rws_foolThis is the next installment of my Fool’s Journey. I am simply writing the story as I think it might happen for this eternal wanderer of the Tarot. I hope you enjoy. You can read from the beginning by skipping to the end of this post.

With his dog yipping at his heels, the Fool left the strange scene of the ever-turning Wheel behind him. He flipped a bit of cheese to his dog as they continued down the road. For a moment the Fool had wondered if he should go back, but then he shrugged.

“I guess forward is better because I don’t know what’s there. I’ve seen what’s behind me and I know Will wasn’t there. So come on, my little friend. Who knows what we will find next. I hope it is something exciting, don’t you?”

The dog gave a short growl as he gave his piece of cheese a killing shake. Wagging his tail he pranced off into the weeds. The Fool shook his head as he laughed at the silly dog.

“It must be nice to be a dog! You don’t have to worry about this Will that I must find.”

He saw his dog burst out from the grassy side ahead of him so he took off in a run to catch up to the shaggy beast. As he ran, he saw a crossroads coming up. He blinked then rubbed his eyes as he ran. It looked as if someone stood waiting for him in the middle of the road.

And he was right! As he drew nearer, he saw a woman. But he was also wrong. She did not stand waiting for him. Instead, she was seated on a throne. Some type of curtain was situated between two pillars just behind her. He skidded to a halt wincing as a small stone bounced from his foot to her foot that peeked out from under her scarlet robes.

The Fool hesitated only a moment before he blurted out, “Oh hello! Can you tell me which way I should go from here? I see there are three choices. Should I go forward? Should I turn right? What is to the left?”

The woman gave a soft chuckle. “No” was her only answer.

“No?” The Fool nearly danced with impatience. “No? No to which one? All of them?”

“No to the first question,” came the calm reply.

The Fool had to think for a moment to even remember his first question. “Oh. So you can’t tell me which way I should go?”

“You are the Fool. Your journey has been drawn already. The scales would be tipped if I told you where to go. Shall I tell you a story about these scales?” She held up a set of brass scales and counter-balances that the Fool had not seen before.

The Fool immediately plopped down in the middle of the road at her feet. “Oh yes please. I do love stories.”

So Justice told the Fool that in most of the world’s sacred stories there was a Deity related to Justice. She spoke of Athena and others but the one the Fool found the most interesting was Ma’at.

“So if your heart wasn’t the right size, you got eaten?”

Justice shook her head as she smiled. “Not quite, my little friend. You see, your soul was thought to reside in your heart by the Egyptians. So what was being weighed was your soul. If it was heavier than that red feather, the Goddess Ammit would eat your heart.”

“But what made your heart,” the Fool corrected himself, “your soul heavy? Was it because they were sad?”

https://tarotbyarwen.com/images/tarot/justice.jpg
Justice (World Spirit Tarot)

“It was because they did not follow the rules, little Fool. They did not treat others right.” Then Justice’s face transformed before the Fool. He could not believe his eyes when he saw a beautiful woman with a feather in her head looking at him. Then she changed again and again and again until he saw the many faces of Justice. The final face was a woman with a blindfold on. She had the scales with her as had all of the incarnations before.

“Wow. How can you be that many people, Justice?” He started to speak, but she lifted one elegant finger to her mouth.

“I have to be this many people. I must be many things to many people but above all I must be fair. That is why you will often seem me as I am now. Wearing a blindfold. I hold the scales in my left hand to remind myself that my decisions must be weighed carefully. I hold the sword for when I must be the terrible, swift arm of justice deserved.”

The Fool sat in silence for a few minutes–an eternity of waiting for our young friend. Then he slowly spoke, “Thank you for this lesson, Justice. Before I go, may I ask you one question?”

“I do not have what you are seeking, Fool. I will tell you that your journey brings you towards some of the hardest parts. You will have to be brave once you have passed the man in the tree.”

“Who is,” the Fool began, but Justice held out her sword to his heart.

“No more questions. You must be on your way now. Good luck, Fool. Remember that your soul is your heart and it will be weighed. Make your choices carefully.”

And then she faded out, leaving the Fool standing by himself at the crossroads with a decision to be made.

To be continued…

5 thoughts on “Musings On The Fool’s Journey: The Fool Meets Justice”

  1. Arwen, this is an excellent idea! I love the idea of portraying the Fool in a storytelling environment. It seems like such a natural way to exact interpersonal exchanges between characters from the major arcana. It helps tie things together in an entertaining and informative way. What about expanding this into a book? I can’t wait to read more! 🙂
    .-= Lisa Hunt´s last blog ..Making the Journey out and in =-.

  2. why must you be such an angry young man
    When your future looks quite bright to me
    and how can there be such a sinister plan
    That would hide such a man
    Such a caring yourng man
    and You’re FOOLING yourself and you don’t believe it
    Your killing yourself and you don’t believe it
    —Styx

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