The Fool: A Musical Journey through the Major Arcana of the Tarot

Several years ago I wrote 22 days of blogs following the Major Arcana of the tarot. I expanded on the meaning of each tarot card for me, and used musical references that I thought were associated with each card. I sent the first two blogs which featured The Fool and the Magician to Smashing Pumpkins musician Billy Corgan since he asked people for ideas regarding his own blog. At the time, he was also recording music reflecting the tarot, so I thought my 22 days might interest him. Never heard a peep from him, but he said he would read each email personally, so I know he saw those two blogs.

I never published the 22 days of tarot blogs, but was re-reading some of them the other day, and thought I'd share them about once a week. I need to work on some of the higher numbers as I got a bit long winded and they should be edited, but the first few were pretty good. Much of what I wrote was when I was in a different place regarding Cheap Trick and my spiritual journey with them. I think I'll change what needs updating, but leave the essence of the blogs intact.

Here's the Fool, #0 in the tarot.

Number:  0

Tarot Card: The Fool

Symbol: The void

Sound: Silence/Rest note

 
Quote:

         “The rest of the band will follow me down any dark alley. Sometimes there’s a light at the end of the alley, and sometimes there’s a black hole. The point is, you don’t get an adventure in music unless you’re willing to take chances.” – Jerry Garcia

“I believe in the collective unconscious. I believe writing is tapping into that…The good days are really spiritual.” Don Henley

“Silence is the altar of God”- Paramahansa Yogananda
 

Songs:  "What a Fool Believes" - Doobie Brothers

            "Into the Void" - Nine Inch Nails

            "The Sounds of Silence" -  Simon and Garfunkel

In the beginning:

Many scientists postulate that before the creation of our universe, there was the void. Zero, or 0, represents nothing, but simultaneously contains everything. This apparent paradox is at the core of many spiritual teachings, so I ask you to contemplate the void, and see what it means to you. 

Not long after my January, 2002 spiritual awakening with a famous rock band, I discovered Tarot cards. The MajorArcana* cards represent 22 archetypal steps all human beings go through at various points in their lives. Archetypes are like blueprints in our psyches, patterns that we unconsciously follow. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed archetypes to be the building blocks not only of the unconscious mind, but of a collective unconscious. He concluded that everyone in the world is born with the same basic subconscious model of what a "hero,”  "mother," or "trickster" etc…is, and that's why people from all cultures create similar stories and myths. A movie such as Star Wars draws heavily upon archetypes and depicts the mythic hero’s journey. 

We are all just a bunch of Fools on a bus:

The first card of the Major Arcana, (#0, the Fool) represents the hero at the start of a new adventure, not knowing where it will lead but having complete faith that the path will bring a deeper understanding of ourselves. The Fool is often seen by society as ugly, crazy or insane because they do not share the same values as everyone else. Marching to the beat of her own drum, The Fool must muster an inner resolve and not give-in to societal pressure to conform as she travels down the road to enlightenment. Trusting our soul's guidance is a challenging yet essential part of the Fool's journey.  

When a friend shared a wise old Tibetan saying which very loosely translated means; "We are all just a bunch of silly Fools on a bus," I couldn’t help but laugh at the parallel since rock stars spend mucho time in tour buses. But rock stars aren’t the only bus traveling Fools. It seemed a perfect metaphor for me as well, for I was a complete Fool during the entire course of my rock 'n' roll journey. I hadn’t a clue I was driving down Self-Actualization Avenue on a metaphorical coach sans a steering wheel. Since I didn’t know where the path would lead me, it was like being in the void all things were possible. When we leave ourselves open to all potential outcomes, life can unfold in surprising and delightful ways. I’ve discovered when I try to control everything, I leave no room for the Universe to do its magic, no room to hear where the music is guiding me. That’s a Fool for ya. 

Sound/Musical reference of the Day: Silence

The rest note represents the void. Silence. Silence is perhaps one of the most important elements in music, for without it, there would be nothing but sound. As the spaces between words are necessary, so too is silence in both music and our lives. If we are so busy racing from one item on our to-do list to the next, we can’t stop the internal chatter of the mind and appreciate what the moment has to offer.

Today, take a moment to appreciate the stillness. You could turn off your radio/CD/iPod on your way to work and just listen. Listen to the silence, for within it, mystics and sages throughout the ages have experienced a divine connection with all that is or what is referred to as **The Sacred Sound Current.  Silence and emptiness has much to teach us Fools.  

TERMS:

*Major Arcana- 22 primary cards in the Tarot. Whereas the Major Arcana of the Tarot deals with archetypal and universal ideas, the Minor Arcana ("Lesser Secrets") embodies more everyday situations, problems and people. There are 56 Minor cards divided into four suits of 14 cards each. The four suits correspond to the four elements, the four Worlds of the Kabbalah and any other four-fold attribution, such as the four directions, winds, or Jungian personality functions.

**Sacred Sound Current- It stems from the word Shabd or Shabda which literally means “sound” or “word” in Sanskrit. Esoterically, Shabd is the “Sound Current vibrating in all creation. It can be heard by the inner ears.”   In some traditions, the reason for human form is to meditate on the Sound Current, and in so doing merge with it until one’s own divinity is ultimately realized.