I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good. Mephistopheles (Goethe, Faust) The esoteric system of tarot cards remains only a fortune-telling tool for skeptics. Carl Jung did not have time to consider the system of tarot archetypes, otherwise it would have been classified as a full-fledged psychotherapeutic tool. But many psychologists are now very successfully using this system, both directly and with the help of active imagination of the arcana or meditation on the arcana. The symbol of the tarot system has a deep meaning from Jungian interpretations, since it is represented as a square and a triangle enclosed within it with a dot in the middle. The square as a symbol of the material world and stability, a symbol of stability and form. The square displays the minor arcana, 14 on each side. The triangle corresponds to the Major Arcana, 7 on each side. In the center, as a point or seed, as a source or original principle, the Major Arcana Fool is represented. Thus, in the diagram we see the usual Jungian mandala, where from the first principle a world of archetypes appears, along which a fool or a spirit in the form of a point begins its journey. The world of archetypes of the Major Arcana is emanated or manifested through the world of matter. The Fool lasso goes under the number zero, which means the mandala or integrity, the totality of all things. The main Archetypal idea of ​​the Fool is the idea of ​​archetypal integrity. The Fool of the Tarot, as a zero card, suggests a transition from the unknown and emptiness (or vice versa, complete confusion) of Chaos to the Cosmos being built - already on other cards. It is “non-being passing into manifestation,” as Crowley put it. The jester is the point of transition from freedom and uncertainty to the potential of all reality. In this image there is no next stage yet - world building, it will only begin with the Magician (I lasso). But here is the first step! Into the unknown. And to reality. Duquette, a researcher and interpreter of the works of A. Crowley, notes: “By and large, there are not twenty-two major arcana. There is only one Fool, and all the other major arcana are contained in him and emanate from him.” And Sally Nicolet points out: "...among this apparent chaos, a pattern begins to emerge. Thus, the Fool represents a kind of bridge between the chaotic world of the unconscious and the ordered world of the conscious." The jester - this divine state of the Universe and man - is traditionally associated with the place of residence of the soul before conception, as well as with the prenatal and infant periods of development. And this is such a quality when we do not yet separate the Self from the World. There is no boundary between internal and external, there is no awareness of oneself, one’s being. This means there is no understanding of one’s capabilities or not, which gives absolute freedom. Freedom to be anyone. And with this undivided cosmic consciousness, a person comes into this world. The fool is the original thing from which consciousness grows. Spirit is freedom, the idea of ​​absolute creativity. “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the abyss, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said: Let there be light. And there was light." Bible, Old Testament The next interesting aspect of the Fool archetype is that it represents the Zeitgeist of the times. And from the images of the decks of the Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and the 20th century, one can trace the transformation of the Jester Archetype. And also to trace changes in the culture of all mankind. The first image of the Fool that we meet in the Middle Ages is shown to us by the Visconti Sforza deck. Here the Fool is presented as a holy fool. The holy fool was the target of ridicule, but only he couldexpress everything that was aimed at criticizing social life. The struggle between Lent and Carnival was the main theme of the conflict of that time. Moreover, the Fool with a club showed the image of Lent breaking into Carnivals and destroying them. These are tragic medieval times, where spirit is radically opposed to matter. Here the spirit is separated from the physicality. The consequences of this are known from the history of the Middle Ages. The next interesting aspect of the Fool archetype is that it represents the Zeitgeist. And from the images of the decks of the Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and the 20th century, one can trace the transformation of the Jester Archetype. And also to trace changes in the culture of all mankind. The first image of the Fool that we meet in the Middle Ages is shown to us by the Visconti Sforza deck. Here the Fool is presented as a holy fool. The holy fool was the target of ridicule, but only he could express everything that was aimed at criticizing social life. The struggle between Lent and Carnival was the main theme of the conflict of that time. Moreover, the Fool with a club showed the image of Lent breaking into Carnivals and destroying them. These are tragic medieval times, where spirit is radically opposed to matter. Here the spirit is separated from the physicality. The consequences of this are known from the history of the Middle Ages. Next we see the image of the Fool during the Enlightenment in the Marseille Tarot. And here the Fool is still crazy and carries negative aspects. The dog tearing off his pants symbolized the unconscious lower personality traits and the Fool, due to his stupidity, goes where he himself does not know. If we connect this map with the Age of Enlightenment, then at that time humanity proclaimed the cult of reason. And then it manifested itself in the mental inflation of society. Since we know that as soon as consciousness is identified with one part or with one complex, it becomes defenseless against its own unconscious. Therefore, the goal of Jungianism is not perfection, but integrity. Another manifestation of the Jester in later times is seen with the help of the Etteilla deck. The court jester acted as a privileged arbiter in matters of morality, and he was given the right to mock the king and courtiers or owners of castles.” […] “In a system where others have found it difficult to condemn the head of a political unit, we find an institutionalized joker functioning at the very top of that unit... a joker capable of expressing a sense of outraged morality.” It is important to emphasize here that the jester was institutionalized. That is, a recognized King and included in the social system. At the same time, the Court Jesters had the trait of observation and omnipresence. When they were perceived as Fools, at that time they were in charge of the secrets of the royal court. And the King consulted on issues of national importance with the Jester. “Grozny was a unique representative of the laughter element of ancient Rus'.” […] The oprichnina started by Ivan the Terrible had a playful, buffoonish character. The oprichnina was organized as a kind of monastery with the monastic robes of the oprichniki as anti-clothes, with drunkenness as an anti-fast, with a funny divine service, with the Terrible himself laughingly reading the church fathers about abstinence and fasting during meals-orgies, with funny conversations about law and legality during torture and etc.” Ivan the Terrible did not dare to encroach on the social order from the standpoint of this order itself. He used the technique of exiting this order into the sphere of anti-order and leaned on it, setting chaos against the order with which he was at war. The oprichnina was a protracted carnival, introduced by bloody blows into the official social order. Laughter is not the main thing here (what laughter there was!). The main thing is society's habit of institutionalized forms of undermining the social order. The next important transition was manifested in the Rider White deck. Here the Fool already takes on positive traits. He walks along the edge of an abyss, but does not fall into this abyss. The figure of Ivanushka the Fool, who can do what the three brothers cannot do due to the fact that Tont simply does not know that it is difficult! And the three brothers understand that!