Play the Fool
“Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.”
—GK Chesterton
Spring is a time of fumbling beginnings–wobbly legged lambs, unfeathered chicks, and puppies with paws too big for their bodies.
There is an awkwardness inherent in new beginnings. Contrary to the preference of our egos, we don’t get to jump straight into maturity or mastery.
New life requires us to play the fool.
The archetype of the fool invites us into the art of self-forgetting, to inhabit a beginner's mind, reclaim our original innocence, and get lost in the joy of discovery.
We are reminded that play is how we learn best. Spring is one big permission slip to start again.
Just watch a toddler as she learns to navigate the world on her own two legs. She will fall and fail again and again, and, most times, she will simply get right back up and try again. Unconcerned with how she appears to others, focused on her singular desire to explore, she eventually gains the skills she seeks.
The fool’s willingness to take a risk can be an oracle of unexpected wisdom.
The royal courts of England often employed a court jester as a “licensed fool.” In an era of strict hierarchy, the jester had the unique privilege of being able to speak openly and even mock the royal court.
The jester wore a silly floppy faux crown with bells and carried a false scepter as symbols of this strange and silly status. With a good dose of playful humor and at no small risk to themself, the jester spoke truth to power in a way no one else could.
The fool’s wisdom is uncensored by social norms and therefore free of unnecessary restraints. While the rules of society are often there to keep us safe, the fool offers us much needed freedom from the tyranny of the status quo.
ln the story of the Emperor’s New Suit, the ridiculous truth that the emperor is buck-naked is finally made plain by a child's innocent observation—a fact everyone could clearly see, and yet no one dared to acknowledge.
The fool invites us to both squarely face reality and also to see what else might happen if we choose to hold things lightly.
Interestingly, the word fool comes from the Latin follis, which means “bag of wind,” and spring is associated with the element of air.
The fool may be “full of air,” but their fresh perspective can usher in the change we need. I think of the breath that moves music through the bagpipes, or the bellows that cause the spark to flare into flame. The fool can make things happen.
One of my favorite fools is Coyote, my local wild neighbor. In one Navajo legend, Coyote’s playful curiosity and foolish disregard for Black God’s carefully laid plans causes the gorgeous and chaotic arrangement of stars in the night sky.
The fool teaches us that there is a wild beauty that can be born from our willingness to take a risk and a special grace found in our inevitable mistakes.
In a culture of performance and competition, looking silly, making mistakes, falling, and failing can feel like risky business.
Many of us were humiliated as children for daring to act like children. We may have internalized harsh cultural pressures to be perfect, get it right, and tow the line. It is not uncommon for our bodies to register the sensations of looking stupid, feeling dumb, or being wrong as threats in our nervous system.
The fool asks us to let those narratives go and audaciously step into our holy humor, discover the medicine of our own laughter, and the joy of play.
In the Tarot, the Fool is often pictured about to unwittingly step off a cliff.
While on the surface this seems like a dangerous and unfortunate misstep, the fool also holds the wild possibility that new life emerges when we dare to step out into the unknown.
How might you play the fool this spring? Can you practice looking silly or perhaps even failing on purpose in small and not-so-risky ways?
What might it mean to inhabit your original innocence? What in your life warrants a re-do?
What medicine and invitation does the fool hold for you?
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Connecting to the body’s wisdom and the longings of our soul are important aspect of the work I do as a 1:1 Soul Companion.
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Hi, I’m Stephanie!
As a Soul Companion, educator, and sacred space holder, I am passionate about deepening our connection to the earth, our bodies, and the Divine Mystery that dances in all that is.
Let’s journey together into the sacred wild!
