A BASIC PRIMER on TABLOID 15
The Fool is just in training
A Magus for to be
His mind knows no restrictions
The freest of the free.
The principle part of this tabloid is two people, one male and one female, dancing around the maypole. Traditionally the maypole is a symbol of fertility, of spring, and of fresh growth. One doesn’t have to look too closely then to spot the problems with their endeavour. They have been trudging around the pole, planted in the brown, barren soil for so long, they have gouged themselves a rut that they may well struggle to get out of, even if they were to recognise it.
He wears a grey tailored suit and carries a briefcase. She wears a grey dress, and looks stressed, struggling to carry her shopping. These are indeed stereotypes, quite intentionally, because they represent roles of life, seemingly imposed by a society, that we find ourselves trapped within. They represent all roles of life that are manufactured to fit an external remit though; the most important aspect of the whole Fools’ Journey is to get to the core of oneself- to the what one is- away from all the whos that we created for varying purposes along the way.
on the ground at the foot of the maypole is The Jester, drawn here with exaggerated hands anf anguished expression, pointing upwards to the top of the pole. If the two people were to raise their eyes from their pointless task to see gesticulations, they would see that despite all of their effort, they have achieved nothing. There is no worthwhile accomplishment for the core in this venture. The Jester has before him shreds of the paper chains they hold on to. So convinced are they of their strength they’ve given up even trying to break their flimsy restraint.
Atop the pole is the Harlequin, who represents a potential enlightened future, unseen to most, and almost always invisible to any trapped within the wrong endeavour. The tragedy here is that, if they can’t even see The Jester, they’ve no chance of seeing The Harlequin.
This is tabloid 15 though, the first card of the third octave, and herein it offers hope. It is the beginning of a new cycle- one of a higher order- and it offers the tools and awarenesses to let go of the false roles and follow the path of the finer self.