Key 0, The Fool
Aleph = A = 1 = Bull or Ox (Taurean Age: Invention of the alphabet). Ruach (RVCh) “Breath” is the vital principle attributed to this Hebrew letter (English: Spirit, Latin: Spiritus, Greek: Pneuma, Sanskrit: Prana).
Agriculture = basic form of civilization. Ox represents power at work, creative energy, Life-Power, and is symbol of wealth.
Uranus = attributed to Aleph (higher octave of Mercury). Greek word for sky.
Zero Key = Aleph. No-Thing. Limitless Light. Active principle of existence prior to actual manifestation.
The Fool is pictured as a youth because we think of the Absolute in terms of our own experience. To our minds, the forever young Life-Breath presents itself in human form, but this is a personal something much higher, typified as the white sun, a Heavenly Androgyne.
This Higher-Something is an impersonal power manifesting as limitless energy radiated to the planets of world-systems streaming to them from their respective suns. In manifestation, this energy is temporarily limited by living organisms.
The vegetable kingdom is represented by the green wreath.
The Fool's hair is yellow symbolizing the radiant energy of the Life-Breath.
The red feather rising from the wreath symbolizes the higher class of organisms in the animal kingdom, evolved from the vegetable kingdom. This feather is also symbol of aspiration and of truth.
The white sun, spiritual sun or celestial sun is behind the traveler at forty-five degrees in the eastern heaven and at the zenith of everything, which the idea is that infinite energy can never reach a point in manifestation whence it must begin to decrease in power. The Fool faces north-west, which is symbolic of the unknown and the state just prior to the initiation of a creative process.
The inner robe is white representing the light of perfect wisdom. YHVH is traced in the folds at the neck.
The black coat of ignorance lined with red of passion almost wholly conceals the white inner robe.
The black outer garment is embroidered with ten yellow wheels that contain eight red spokes. The number eight is symbol for action. Around the wheels are seven green trefoils.
The yellow color of the wheels represent Air or breath.
The red color refers to the rhythmic action of the fiery activity which sets the Life-Breath into whirling.
The green color of the trefoils refer to organic life in the vegetable kingdom. Each trefoil represents one of the “Seven Spirits of God” and one of the “Seven Great Rays” of the universal creative energy. They are trefoils because the seven force-rays has a triple expression: integrating, equilibrating, disintegrating.
The letter Shin is in one of ten-wheel designs and refers to the connection with Aleph, both are alphabetical symbols of the fiery Life-Breath (or Holy Spirit).
On the right breast of The Fool is a yellow circle enclosing a triple flame of red. This represents the state of the Life-Breath prior to manifestation. The universal energy (yellow disk) and the triple flame (triple potency of expression) has not yet organized that potency into the rhythmic whirling motion which is the basis of all modes of expression.
On the left shoulder is a golden eight-pointed star and a silver lunar crescent which represent the Sun and Moon ((or gold and silver of the alchemists) or (hot, electric, solar current and cool, magnetic, lunar current of Prana)).
The black wand is a measuring tool that supports a wallet which has a flap sewn with ten stitches. The wand is a symbol of will and attention. The wallet is symbol for memory and contains summed-up experience of previous manifestations. At the beginning of every new cycle of self-expression, the Life-Power carries with it the essence of all its experiences in former cycles.
The lock symbolizes the All-Seeing Eye (or Eye of Horus) and through the development of higher type of vision we might gain access to the treasure of universal memory.
The ten stitches have the same meaning as the ten wheels and refer to ten types of vision (higher perception).
Below the flap is an eagle and refers to Scorpio, which implies that the wand and wallet may be understood as phallic emblems. This means the natural process whereby the accumulated experience of the Life-Power is passed on from cycle-to-cycle through an endless chain of living organisms.
The white rose indicates freedom from the lower forms of desire and passions. The Fool holds the white rose behind him (along with black wand and wallet) which also indicates that he has come from a previous scene of cultural activity; a plain somewhere behind him on his journey.
A girdle on The Fool's waist has twelve circular ornaments (seven are visible) that refer to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, through which express the powers of the seven heavenly bodies. The girdle also represents Time. In order to remove the black coat (of ignorance and passions), the girdle must be removed to overcome the illusion of Time (and replace with Eternity).
The yellow shoes represent Air or breath, the vehicle of the Life-Power.
The Fool's citrine (or olive) hose represent the element of Earth and Malkuth (the Kingdom).
The icy peaks in the distance show the cold, abstract principles of mathematics which are above and behind all the warm, colorful, vital activities of cosmic manifestation.
The white dog is a descendant of (wild and dangerous) wolves and has become a companion with human adaptation. This indicates that all sub-human forms of Life-Power are elevated and improved by the advance of human consciousness. Egyptian symbology classifies the dog as intellect (subordinate to super-consciousness).
The Fool also symbolizes the state of Life-power just prior to the beginning of a cycle of self-expression, which represents inexperience. Until the Life-power enters the activities of such a cycle, it can have no real experience of those activities, hence the name “The Fool”.
The Fool's name also represents that super-consciousness is above reason, imagination, thought, felling, and all other states of self-consciousness. 'He has neither imagination nor reason, nor does He know anything as it is, nor does anything know Him as He is. The foolishness of God is wiser than men.'
The Fool is symbol for Endless, Infinite, the Unknown; the whole of the seven ternaries into one great unity.
There are only two keys with the white rose: Key 0 and Key 13.
The wallet is red and has an embroidered eagle that represents Scorpio. The wallet is closed and hangs from the black wand which represents will. The wallet hangs at the level of The Fool's head which indicates the sublimation of the reproductive energies and their rise to higher centers. This indicates that The Fool can access these energies through the symbolic eye on the wallet clasp.
The ground under The Fool has the brown color of Key 13, The Devil, the illusion of the separation of appearances. Unlike the two individuals in Key 16, The Tower, The Fool does not build anything but rather gently rests his feet on appearances, lightly, without being fascinated by them. His gaze is always fiercely turned toward the horizon.
The Fool gazes North-West where in Key 10 and Key 21, the symbol of Man/Angel/Aquarius reside.
Fool in Hebrew is spelled eveel (aleph, vav, yod, lamed) and is assonant to the English world evil. In Gematria, eveel has a value of 47.
The Fool knows there is no cliff since he is looking North-West and not concerned where his feet land. He knows Earth to be a passive principle that mirrors spirit.
The wallet of memories is closed, meaning memory is a power at rest. Often, memories are what hinders individuals in their quest; memories drag us behind with fear.
Aleph is composed of a Vav and two Yods. Vav = 6. Yod = 10. 6+10+10 = 26, the number of YHVH.