The Fool is the protagonist of a journey in which he will encounter various archetypal individuals that make up the major arcana of the Tarot deck, gaining experience through each encounter. This concept is a rather common one in interpretations of the Tarot with “The Fool’s Journey” often cited as the central “story” told by the cards. It is a puzzle game in which you play as the Fool sent on an errand to locate 14 treasures that have gone missing in a kingdom, a kingdom populated by familiar faces from the Tarot, the Magician, the Hierophant, the Hanged Man, and the like. Indeed, the structure and plotline of The Fool’s Errand is based on the imagery of the Tarot deck. Johnson’s version of the Fool is most obviously influenced by the traditions of Tarot.
However, Cliff Johnson’s 1987 classic, The Fool’s Errand, is certainly an example of an homage to the tradition of the Fool in literature, folklore, and culture generally.
We don’t often celebrate the Fool, as indeed he is usually the butt of our jokes or he makes us the butt of his own clowning. Given the fast approach of April 1st, I decided that this week I would play the Fool.