The Fool’s Bag
What is the Fool’s Bag?
Self-interest, a line between selflessness and selfishness. Selfless does not mean a doormat with no awareness, it requires absolute awareness. Let us consider awareness as the root of self-consciousness, when the identification of self is removed there is only consciousness, total awareness, liberation.
When self interest becomes all consuming one becomes selfish. Selfishness harbors greed, pride, envy, lust etc – the 7 deadly sins. 7 divides the circle into 2; the diameter is 7 and the circumference 22. Simple geometry. “And the serpent said it will make you wise knowing good and evil”, the fall – the return is your choice, you cannot return in ignorance, you must know yourself. This is true self interest; you can only surrender it when you know it.
The self interest that leads to selfishness is a delusion, we justify all manner of delusion in this state. When deluded, awareness is limited, if awareness is limited so too choice, this leads to possession. Look at the world around you, a world full of abundance yet so many suffer, and few prosper. Those that prosper are often suffering their delusions of self-interest.
Christ said a rich man is like a camel trying to fit through the head of a needle.
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you; it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:21-24)
Let us consider what he is saying here? The eye of a needle is small, it allows only a fine thread to pass through it. The idea of riches suggests a degree of self-importance, a mind full of worldly attachments, thus self-interest. To fit through the eye of a needle one must have a thin thread to the worldly. This is a state of mind. Buddha’s disciples had a small bag of essential possessions all else comes from the karma of their journey. The Fool of the tarot has a small bag, and he takes the first big step.
The Kabbalah of this Bag, Byth 2 has an audit spelling; audit spelling is its sound B 2, Y 10, Th 400 = 412 = 7. Let us consider Byth, the first letter of the first word of Genesis, as 7 days of creation day and night, 7 and 2, the circle divided by the diameter. Byth is a habitation, a house, could you consider the life you live a house? We all fell into this body and its life, “and the serpent said the tree in the centre will make you wise knowing good and evil”, in the centre, the diameter is the path of return, this is our true habitation, our house where we live, a house protects one from the extremes. Byth is the Magician card, the builder of the house.
The traveller of this path is the Fool, the letter aleph 1, the central letter of “bag”. Aleph is a line between 2 Yods, the path between extremes. He/she who walks within the house. Aleph is A 1, L 30, and Ph 80 = 111 = 3. The 3rd and final letter of the Fool’s bag is G, this is Gimmel 3, the card of the High Priestess with flowing gown, the waters of life, the Tao. Gimmel’s totem is the camel, the ship that crosses the desert, without it the traveler would perish. The Tao is the way, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”, said Christ.
The Tao, the way, the camel passes through the eye, the Fool’s bag: Byth, Aleph and Gimel 123, the first 3 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The 123 of life’s journey, choices are yours. The next number is 4 the letter Dalleth, the door, “knock and the door shall be opened”. (Paul Tisdell 2023)