al-majus

Divinity: Asmān, Guardian of the Sky

Manthra:

To the high, powerful heavens; to the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones.

ashnô berezatô sûrahe vahishtahe angêush ashaonăm raocanghô vispô-hvâthrô. (Flowers, Original Magic, 96)

Sometimes numbered zero, sometimes twenty-two, often not numbered at all, the Fool is a card of beginnings, or pre-beginnings.

A carefree youth who is about to embark on an adventure is pictured with his head lifted serenely towards the vast, open sky. Called Asmān in Zoroastrian mythology, the deity of the highest heavens, the sky was the first of the seven elements to be created according to the holy Avesta, followed by the elements of water, earth, flora, bull, man and flame. 

With his eyes fixed happily towards the endless possibilities of Asmān before him, the Fool seems oblivious to the dangerous precipice at his feet. His dog, a symbol of protection, tries to warn him. Will he fall over or catch himself in time? 

The Fool brings only a small pouch of knowledge and experience with him. The pouch is adorned with the head of the Huma, a mythical bird in ancient Iranian mythology which was said to live its entire life flying the skies, never to land or rest. Both male and female, the Huma bird was auspicious in nature, its shadow indicating kingship in ancient times. According to the Sufis (who some scholars suggest are the natural heirs of the Magians), this kingship was interpreted as more spiritual in nature, and symbolised breaking through earthly limitations as well as the limitations of the mind.

Divinatory Meaning: beginnings, possibilities, adventure; beginning of a new spiritual path, initiation; also folly and inexperience 

Written by Alaleh Mohajerani

Works Cited

Fine, Sinéad. “The Fool.” Sinead Fine, n.d., https://sineadfine.com/tarot-card/the-fool/

Flowers, Stephen E. The Magian Tarok: The Origins of the Tarot in the Mithraic and Hermetic Traditions. Inner Traditions, 2019.

Flowers, Stephen E. Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi. Inner Traditions, 2017.

“The Fool (tarot card).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 February 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fool_(tarot_card)

Mark, Joshua J. “Ancient Persian Gods, Heroes, and Creatures – The Complete List.” World History Encyclopedia, 16 January 2020, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1488/ancient-persian-gods-heroes-and-creatures—the-co/