The Archetype and The Tarot: The Damsel and The Fool
For the week of October 15, 2023
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The Damsel Archetype
If you’re like me, the word Damsel might make you cringe. It conjures up images of young women being locked in a tower, desperately hoping to be rescued by a knight in shining armor. Or worse, it brings to mind those old silent movies where a woman is tied to railroad tracks by a mustachioed villain and, just before the train runs her over, she is rescued by the handsome hero.
I mean, yikes.
Every time this archetype comes up in a reading, I have to remind myself that all archetypes are neutral patterns. If I don’t like it, it’s because I’m only seeing the shadow side.
The word Damsel comes to us as a shortened form of the French word mademoiselle, which means a young, unmarried woman. By the 13th century, a damsel referred specifically to a young, unmarried woman of noble birth. Originally, then, a damsel wasn’t necessarily in distress.
That being said, this archetypal pattern of power is not just for women. Archetypal patterns are universal and we all have some life experiences through this pattern. When The Damsel shows up, we’re being asked to be aware of the ways we relate with receiving help.
On the light side, The Damsel has a healthy relationship with this. We’re functioning through the light side when we are clear about when to ask for help and when something is ours to do. The Damsel on the light side balances responsibility with receiving care. This one knows the difference between accepting support and giving up power to an external force.
On the shadow side, The Damsel is, in many ways, that one in the tower or on the train tracks. Personally, my automatic response is to say I never operate through the shadow Damsel, but then my guides say, “Hang on, not so fast. Look closer.”
When The Damsel comes up, it’s good to take a moment to get real with ourselves. Are there times when we bury our heads in the sand or turn a blind eye to a situation in order to remain helpless? Would clearly seeing the situation mean having to make changes we don’t feel ready to make? Is it easier to wait for someone else to make the changes instead?
Most commonly, however, the shadow Damsel is more like the light side in excess…we are simply afraid to ask for help when we need it.
As we move through our week, let’s explore our relationship to receiving help.
Are you afraid to ask for help when you need it?
Would you rather just do everything yourself?
Is there a source of help in your life that feels safe to access?
The Fool
In traditional decks, The Fool card shows a person with a bindle in one hand and a flower in the other. With face turned to the sky, they continue forward, unaware or unconcerned that they are about to step off the edge of a cliff.
In my opinion, The Fool is the most unique card in the tarot deck. This one is simultaneously outside of the context of the other cards while also containing all of them. Numbered ‘0’ (or unnumbered) in most decks, The Fool is not part of the plot of the story of the tarot, but is the player living the story. The Fool is about the journey of life that we all must take: the journey of embodying spirit.
At its core essence, The Fool is liminality. They have begun the journey as well as not yet begun the journey. They are both grounded and in the air. The Fool is poised in that exact time and place where the infinite and the finite coexist, simultaneously becoming both.
Because of the liminal nature of The Fool, they are purely connected with Creator, with Divinity, and are the epitome of faith in action. This is reflected in the card as the proverbial leap of faith, the stepping off into the unknown. The Fool journeys forth with a heart full of faith, knowing that the exact path they need will rise up to meet their every step.
This is a call to step into our wholeness; our own liminality and realm of potential.
It’s easy to see in this card that The fool is perfectly comfortable about this journey too. They are well-supplied and unencumbered by any outside stressors. Enthralled by the journey itself, The Fool is uninterested in any external power dynamics.
How do they work together?
When The Fool merges with The Damsel, I see the tower, or the train tracks, vanish. Poof. Whatever is not part of the journey just disappears. Unless this merged pair wants to explore the tower, or the underside of the train, these things simply don’t exist. There is nothing to be rescued from.
Where might we be putting blocks on our own journeys?
In what ways might we be fueling someone else’s need to be the rescuer instead of moving ahead with our own journey?
Can we allow ourselves to be captivated by what’s right before us rather than held captive by the past?
In what power(s) do we place our faith?
I’d love to know how you relate with this pair this week! Do you have feelings about The Damsel like I do? Are you able to journey in faith like The Fool? For me, I think I will mostly be pondering the prompt about being captivated by what’s right before instead of held captive by my past. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. 🤗
I admit I struggle with this card because it’s so hard to have faith going into something I know nothing about! I gotta work on that, and asking for help while being in control of what you do is key. However tying the Fool with the Damsel makes a great piece and very thought provoking.
I can relate entirely to ‘preferring to do everything myself’! To my own detriment usually too... perhaps I am the epitome of the damsel in distress (often the case when at the end of the day when I can do no more and yet still continue...) I need to learn to follow the fools leap of faith ..! Indeed, even at my age... I have stil much to learn!🍂