Tarot of the Brothers Grimm: Glenn Chadbourne, Lisa Mannetti, Robert Dunbar

EXCERPT

The Tarot of The Brothers Grimm

by Lisa Mannetti

Robert Dunbar

Illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne

0 The Fool

Here we see the Fool about to embark on his bold and strange new journey. The Fool is a seeker of knowledge and wisdom and represents the first steps towards experiencing life. Though he can’t know it yet, he is about to tread some of the most peculiar territory ever encountered—from dead men hanging on a gallows to a haunted castle no one has yet survived.

In his hands he carries two emblems of hope: a white rose and a staff covered with full-bodied grapes. For we cannot set out on any journey unless we believe some good will come of it. Behind him the luminous sun shines over mountain peaks; when we are a quest, the rising sun indicates the universe supports our beginning—however tentative those first steps may be—because we must have new experiences we can learn from—in order to grow.

The Tale: The Youth who Wanted to Learn to Shudder

A young man has proven himself entirely useless in learning any occupation or completing any task. So backward is the lad, he cannot envision any future for himself. One thing constantly mystifies him: when others hear a ghost story or say they are afraid to be out at night alone in the dark and just the thought of walking down dark roads or in the forest makes them shudder, he repeats over and over that he wishes he could learn to shudder.

A sexton comes by and the young man’s father repeats in disgust that the lad is so foolish that his only ambition is to learn fear. The sexton decides to take him in hand and scare the life out of him. He hides up in the bell tower and when our hero comes to toll the bell, the sexton refuses to answer or say who he is. The boy, thinking the sexton is either a ghost or a good-for-nothing thief throws him down from the tower and kills him. No punishment ensues from this act, but the boy—now disgraced in the eyes of this father—is sent to make his own way in the world.

His first encounter leads him to a man who shows him seven men hanging from a gallows tree. The fool is so backwards, the thinks the dead men must be cold and cuts them down to lie by his campfire. When he takes them down, then sees they do not move to save themselves from burning, he becomes so exasperated he hangs them again; all the while unaware that the men are dead.

His next adventure leads him to the an Inn where he hears of an enchanted castle where no man has ever survived a night, but if one should live three nights, the King has promised that man shall wed his beautiful daughter.

Here, the youth thinks, is a place where surely he can learn to shudder.

He can take no living object with him during his watch, but asks for a fire, a lathe, a cutting board and the knife that goes with it.

Dauntless, in subsequent nights, he overcomes a pack of wild black cats with burning red eyes; men who drop down from the chimney, their bodies riven in half, then grotesquely wriggling and joining to become whole, while bones and skulls rain down. The fool plays skittles with them—even turning the uneven skulls on the lathe to make them smooth and round. None of this terrifies him—not even when his dead cousin is brought by enchantment in his coffin nor when the bed he sleeps in is rolled and flown all over the castle.

Finally, a horrible old man appears and the fool bests him and is rewarded with gold. One third is to be given to the poor, one third to the King, and the remaining third is for him. On the stroke of twelve, this ghastly spirit disappears and with that the castle is released from enchantment and the King appears in the morning.

The fool indeed marries the King’s beautiful daughter—but regrets he still does not know how to shudder. Not until, that is, his wife shows him. As he sleeps, she throws a bucket of cold water (complete with pond fish) over him and he wakes in shivery delight: “Ah,” he declares, “at last I know what it is to shudder.”

Symbolism: The Fool is all of us. We may not know what we want, we might have an ambition considered absurd by others, but we must go out into the world and experience life to learn about it. This includes book learning—for that is a part of life, too—but experience is by far the best teacher. Sometimes even when we err, we are protected on this journey; just as when the youth kills the sexton and suffers no punishment. His desire leads him on an subtly we see he is learning: he cannot recognize the men on the gallows are dead, but by the time he spends the third night in the haunted castle, he has learned what death means. He has also learned to turn disadvantages to gains as when he plays ninepins with the skulls and bones. He is shown that life is giving and taking: the gold is to be divided equally—for without the King, he would not have had access to the castle and he must learn to help those (the poor) who do not have his opportunities. His last encounter in learning to deal with life is in the area of relationship--with the not-so-subtle hint that the shivering he has learned is sexual frisson.

Some versions of this tale end with the words, “He learned to shudder—but not from fear”; which also establishes a connection to the power of optimism and the importance of moving ahead without letting fear stop you. On another level, since fear is not part of his character make-up, we can be sure this youth will embark on many many more journeys.

Divinatory Meaning: The fool signifies a new journey in life. It’s important to try new avenues and to take steps to find your way in the world. It’s not a time to let fears stop you from going forward; and, to take it on faith that ultimately all your experiences—even those which are not positive—lead to the good. Some things can only be learned first hand and you must engage with life to understand it and to live it fully. This cycle of learning and growth is not just for those who are young—we repeat this behavior again and again in our lifetimes. Without the willingness to be open to life, we begin to die inside.

Reversed: Fear of taking risks; past mistakes make you afraid to try again or to try alternative methods even if things are not “working” for you. Stasis. Staying in a rut rather than making changes. Doing something that is not merely foolish, but destructive.

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