The Holy Fool
June 17th, 2007
Let me don my clown wig and big shoes, and tell you a little bit about the wisdom of the fool. In the tarot there is always a dog biting at the heels of the fool. That dog represents the constraints of society. The fool does not notice-she continues merrily on her way, with a grin that says, ‘If I can’t laugh in your spiritual revolution, then count me out.’
The fool is the trickster, the crow, the dervish, the changeling, shapeshifting, adapting, aware of the impermanence of the so-called person. True to the diamond self, indestructible. The fool was the only one in the court who could question the king, who could mock the pompous dogma of the day.
Back in the eighties, punk rock was all about tearing down the structures of hierarchy, the ways of power over. “God Save the Queen – she ain’t no human being,” the Sex Pistols sang, laughing in the face of dogma.
Of course there were some severe limitations to this tearing down – nothing was really raised up in its place. This is why spiritual activism is so key. What was missing from punk rock, to a large extent, was compassion.
Aleister Crowely wrote “Do what thou wilt shalt be the whole of the law – under Love.” Too many people leave out the Love part. Keep that in, and you can step off the precipice safely, into the realm of the Present.
The fool is unmediated, unconditioned, free from pattern thinking. Spontaneous combustion. Breaking out of pattern thinking is liberation.
Terrence Mckenna used to say that we take tiles, and write the names of things on them. We write ‘Beautiful Sky’ on a tile, and then stick it up, cover the sky, tile the sky, until the sky itself can no longer be seen. Un-tile the sky is the fools call. The call at the core of all the mystic traditions.
As we become adults, our habitual mind begins to see everything as a repetition of the past. Not this particular tree, just a tree, the tree we’ve seen before, we’ll see again: generic tree. We do need a certain level of filtration to survive. That is the purpose of pattern recognition-it allows us to focus on other matters. And it’s fast.
Sometimes we need that function to survive. “Danger tiger. Safety-cave. Run!” No time for contemplation of the beauty of the tiger, or the metaphoric significance of the cave. To see things as generalized repetitions of previous experiences means instantaneous response patterns.
But it precludes actual seeing. All we’re doing is responding with a tired old mental image, or ‘Kuntak’ as Tibetan Buddhists say, a construct. Likely one not even devised by us. Instead, created by society.
To break that down, to see things with fresh eyes, this is the role of the fool. Every day is a new adventure. Fresh, alive, full. And unattached. It comes, it goes. Around the corner, new offerings will come. And new tests. Which are also offerings.
This spirit represented is represented by the fool. The great sages know the importance of laughter, the smile that says, ‘all is empty.’ Life demands a constant treading of the line between Samsara and Nirvana, between the absolute and the relative, between the divine and the human, between the freedom of the fool and the wisdom of the sage.
Aldous Huxley claimed he could move into the clear light at will. The temptation to stay was great, but he always chose to come back. There were things to do right here, right now, for this planet. This is the compassion of the Bodhisattva. The deeply sane madness of the Holy Fool.
by Velcrow Ripper
Documentary Filmmaker
Toronto, Canada
www.fiercelight.org
Hi, I enjoyed the article “The Holy Fool”. The only thing I disagree with is the sentence, “In the tarot there is always a dog biting at the heels of the fool.” I believe that is incorrect.
In the Tarot of Marseilles, especially in the early decks, it would appear that the animal attacking The Fool is feline in nature.
This is a romantic and appealing notion of a spiritual career, but what is missing here is a mention of its extraordinary demands. To be an effective holy fool requires, as it seems to me, huge humility and compassion nearly beyond my comprehension. Lacking these qualities, the holy fool is a mere poseur, a pretentious pain. I know. I’ve been there. “Originality” is no excuse.
This is a beautiful article, and well written. I agree with the comments so far, and would add that hiddeness is another quality. The deep wisdom inherent in the archetype is veiled by the comic or eccentricity presented by the surface features of the personality. In some ways this allows resonance in unexpected places and times, which then fires a certain vital awakening.
The work begins when we start dismantling the barriers made obvious by the enlightenment, and the perseverance required to maintain liberty.