The Fool's Journey
by Ned Hogan, Jr.

his balance began to trick him and curiosity backfired. he almost fell but turned it into a good squat. great waters rose around him with that thin tin hot noise and he felt as if he were being probed from every side. It had always been him before. He who(so proudly, so proudly) reached out, oh, yes, yes, as delicately as he could, just like he thought an artist should, so that his own observation would not disturb anything too much. But now he was on the other side of the shinny coin, at the focal point, stuck on the wrong end of his own bi-nocks. He struggled to turn and move away now to avoid the bright burning spot that meant to find him. and he couldn't move. and it was wandering its way over and through everything; only a matter of time. always, always, only a matter of time. in panic his mind remember the notion of a 'second wind' and tried to generate a typhoon to carry him over, over this so empty sea that was swallowing him whole, oh, yes, just as if he were nothing, nothing at all. and just then somethig happened that you wouldn't believe if i told you; so i will. i will because i know that you to have learned to sometimes just ignore appearences; she was crossing the street and her so so magic feet were wearing purple shoes, sandals. as if they were beautiful all on their own. tremendously subtle markings in a green more emerald than any stone ever was wrote in spider webs across the living leather and he knew he could never see it clearly enough , could never see it like it was, read it, know the intent of the author. and then like a sudden rain clearing the air he was there. right there. and we all were speaking with a magic language that disappeared the moment it was understood. it was a small case 'i' right next to, just before, an upside down 'y'. and the most amazing thing ever happened again. in the middle of the hopeless storm a so magic bird escaped. escaped with news. silent news. her smile. like the child at the breast it fed itself hungrily on my need. it consumed thought completely and laid my own ugly child of a mind down to rest in the sleep of blest. all its toys discarded with a look that was a caress.

Divinations
by cck

Upright:
Wide eyed innocence; optimistically start with no knowledge of the journey or the destination. A quest for knowledge or enlightenment. Beginnings. Awareness.

Reversed:
Wasted efforts. Dubious prospects. An exercise in futility. Indecision. Ineptitude. Silliness. Adolescent behavior.

Note: Depending on the cards it is entangled with, could mean just out for a good time.

Touchstone
by Arrow

The Empty Room

Nasrudin would constantly enter a small locked room in
his house and come out looking very troubled. Eventually
someone asked him, "Mullah, what is in the small locked
room?"

"I keep it empty," explained Nasrudin, "but everytime
I enter, something seems to be in the room. I suspect
someone is stealing the emptiness........."

"Show me!" demanded the curious enquirer.

Reluctantly, Nasrudin opened the room.

"But Mullah, there is nothing in this room but me and
you."

"It's getting worse!" screamed the mullah, "Yesterday
there was only me in here......

Anonymous Source

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Among the many teachings of cabala there is that of the mystery called 'sod hatsimtsum'. Tsimtsum is considered to precede the act of creation where, in order to establish a space in which to manifest the Cosmos, the omnipresent Creator first withdraws from and abandons an area of own Self, leaving a void in that Presence of Being to be filled through the Holy principles of fecundation. In regards to the refilling of that void, this quote is appropriate as it furthers the subject:

"More than that, every new act of emanation and
manifestation is preceded by concentration and
retraction." (Gershom G. Schloem)

Given that statement, and since emanation is in constant action, it may also be determined that this withdrawal to create space must likewise be constant, and constantly renewed, in order to give birth to a continual creation.

Now, this space opened through the Divine act of tsimtsum , this void, is the penultimate quality of 'free'dom, as it binds nothing. If we view this state in the light of the hermetic axiom, "As above, so below." we may perceive that this 'emptiedness' is both the origin and the archetype of all freedom. As such it is an instrument of and is inherent in the entirity of the Cosmos, including our ownselves. Or, as was put forth by Nicolas Berdyaev:

"Freedom is not determined by God; it is part of the
nothing out of which God created the world."

The freedom that is produced by the act of tsimtsum is a foundation principle of all manifestation, and though it may certainly be seen as a great gift, moreover it is simply a part of the machinery of all creation. Everything moves forth from and within this eternal 'Zero', only to return to it for the constant source of new growth that is it's allowance; the room with which to spread wings.

Let us now take this to the realm of human activity in order to illuminate the meaning of The Fool archetype as it may be applied to the alchemical opus. Many well-honed performing artists and athletes are familiar with the phenomenom which, to the artists, at least, is viewed as the activity of the Muse. Though there are many areas of art and athletics that may be used to drive the point, I will take music for the platform of this analogy to The Fool, and the corresponding Zero.
There comes a time when a musician has trained well enough and studied music well enough that the musician developes a sort of 'auto-pilot' state. In fact, some particularly difficult passages must be relegated to memory from repetition in order to be executed at all. For when the mind begins to analyze what is taking place during complex passages it can slow the machinery down but, spontaneity from hours of practice is not all that is needed to free the music.
A certain abandonment is therefore adopted by the musician; a state of mind and being that is often called a 'center'. In a manner that 'center' is like the action of tsimtsum. It is a type of withdrawal from the self in order to create a space for the music to take place and live through the action of the musician.
In the course of the musical passage as the musician is at that 'center' there is an odd feeling of vacancy through abandonment yet, also a keen awareness of presence within the creation that is taking place. That, too, cannot be focused upon, for that is also a distraction that can lead the musician away from that center where the self vanishes into the zero to be remanifested in the flourishing of the music. This has been said to be able to bring about a state of rapture where the musician becomes acutely aware of the abandonment to that creation itself.
This is the same state that the zen archer uses to perfectly guide arrows, and there are many, many other good examples of this abandonment, which may be called 'faith' developed and honed to it's fullest. In this state of being the perfomer is alligned to the archetype of The Fool, and thereby is brought to a perfection of faith. This faith is much like a silent, yet on-going prayer. It is a connection to, and with, the Divine source, and that 'Zero' is the means of it's way.

For a final example, all we must do is to look at the children of this world. They generally give themselves to live moment to moment in all faith, and that abandonment is their freedom, and that freedom is their bliss. From this blissful abandonment they open the portal of seemingly endless imagination. They are tapped into it's very source.
Indeed, if we are to search for The Fool's own heart, then all we have to do is to observe the children, for they know well The Fool's essence. It is embraced through their abandonment. It is within that wellspring of their wonderfully free imagination, and that innocence that is the fertile seed born of The Fool. Hidden within that seed, one may find the stone.