A Journey through My Tarot Decks

This is the first post in a series where I will eventually discuss all of the Tarot cards in order, beginning with The Fool, using a different deck for each card.

As I've decided to use my decks in alphabetical order, the first post will concern The Fool from The Ancestral Path Tarot by Julia Cuccia-Watts.


This was one of the earliest decks I acquired and it is still one of my favorites. I love the fact that different cultures are incorporated into the deck.

In the excellent book written to accompany this deck, Tracey Hoover reveals to us that she herself was the model for the diviner on this card. She also points out various symbols and symbology used on the card. The words in quotes below are from the book.

Purple cloth on the table: Purple is a "psychic color" (my personal keywords for the color purple are power, royalty, imagination, and mystery)

Pink sweater: "pure affection" (my keywords for the color pink are emotions, harmony, and sensuality)

Oval mirror: "meant to reflect the Seeker," also an "indirect allusion to the Fool's number, zero"

Jesters are carved into the back of the diviner's chair, and three dolls hang beneath them. One of these dolls is the Tarot Fool. Close inspection reveals that the scarf on which the cards are spread is decorated with the four Tarot queens.

Tracey Hoover notes that The Fool can be compared to the Sacred Clown of Native American tradition as well as to the medieval European fool or jester. The Fool in the Ancestral Path deck invites us to enter the world of the Tarot with a childlike spirit and open mind, without fear and without any preconceived notions about what we will or "should" find there.

As I face The Fool across her table, I stand on the brink of a new experience, leaning forward every so slightly with one foot lifted in preparation for taking that first step. I know nothing, yet knowledge is not outside my reach. It merely awaits my presence and attention.

To read about the astrological associations used for The Fool in various decks, click HERE.