The Fool
Interpretation
In this Fragonard scene swings a woman suspended between worlds—caught in mid-air under a stream of light in an ominously dark garden. She is a care-free figure living fully within the present moment, accompanied by a small dog lifted from a dystopian Bosch landscape. This representation of The Fool (or Joker) reveals a woman unscathed by life with an enviable light-heartedness while above her looms a glowing black hole—eater of worlds and the center of all galaxies. This card invites you to move from your conscious mind into your body. What is it asking of you? To let go of rumination and simply be. For just a moment, take the time to breathe into the joyous sway of consciousness and become aware of the miracle of your existence. Acknowledge your breath and let all else flow from the space that you find yourself inhabiting.
Take a moment to appreciate life as it and not how you wish it to be. Awareness is important, but look at any concerns you may have as though you are an onlooker—observing, but not bearing any weight. Let yourself feel any fear or resistance like a river, allowing it to flow through you unbounded and without suppression.
Background
The Swing, by Fragonard appears to be somewhat influenced by concepts from tarot present in French culture at the time. At the center you have a carefree woman in colorful attire enjoying a moment of bliss accompanied by a small dog at the lower right of the painting against an ominous backdrop. Pretty much following the script of a traditional Fool card.
The original painting was considered somewhat bawdy by its audience. Our central character was the center of attention between a young suitor and her older husband (originally a member of the clergy). A more contemporary reading of the composition though shows the individual dominant over both the church and over society, setting the stage for ideas that are central theme in the French Revolution.
I’ve chosen to add the rendering of a black hole and a more imposing dog from Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. The black hole represents the force of gravity that binds all physical things. Universally when we describe an out of body experience the first thing to go is gravity. We quite literally float upwards away from our body, abandoning a sense of gravity along with our consciousness. So the interplay of the swing and the black hole, eater of worlds, serves as a dramatic reimagining of our first tenuous steps on earth, of our toying with the sensations of being human, being alive, taking the first steps on our journey.
The dog represents all the worldly concerns that have yet to capture the attention of our protagonist. For now she is simply experiencing the joy of the world and a moment of life without the dystopian weight of worldly concern.
