The Fool

The Fool is the unnumbered Major Arcanum of the Tarot de Marseille, where it is called Le Mat, and is numbered 0 in the Rider-Waite-Smith and the Thoth. A traveler in motley clothes, bundle on his shoulder, walks on while an animal clings to his breeches. Upright, it symbolizes freedom, departure, momentum, spontaneity and openness to the unknown. Reversed, it is read as wandering, recklessness, escape or lack of direction. Standing outside the numbering, it can be placed at the beginning or at the end of the path.