16. The Fool

Art: A young man dances at the edge of a cliff, wearing a crown, a khimar and a bellydancer's costume with bells around his ankles. His right arm is upraised, and he holds the edge of his khimar. In his other hand, seemingly absentmindedly, he holds a cobalt blue rose, such that the stem runs along his arm and the head is towards the ground. In the foreground, a butterfly floats and a feather is tossed aimlessly on the breeze. In the background, a tsunami sweeps towards a small island.

Meanings:

Meanings-reversed:

Associations: The Fool is the intermediary between the Sword and the Cup. In traditional readings, The Fool reinforces and is reinforced by The Night (and, by extension, The Hidden Treasure.)

Designer's Notes: Since nobody's going to guess it otherwise, the basic image of The Fool was inspired by a stunning poster of Bulleh Shah I discovered in The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam. All other references are esoteric and for the reader to discern.

8. The Lost

Art: A child is shivering in a misty winter forest. In the picture are four cups, one of them empty; the other three are filled with ashes, dust and salt. In the distance, a volcano is erupting and the sky is illuminated with lightning. In the foreground, a rapier and a diamond lie in the mud, concealed by rocks.

Meaning: Irrecuperable losses. Obsolescence ("the world has moved on.")

Meaning-reversed: Overreaction, making mountains out of molehills. This card may, occasionally, connote the involvement of rakshasa.